Saving water
With our less-than-normal snowpack and early melt, gardeners are faced with figuring out how to water wisely and efficiently for optimum plant health. Drought-stressed plants are more susceptible to disease and pest issues. Try these tips to keep your vegetables, trees and turf happy.
• Water your lawn and flower beds when needed. If a 6-inch screw driver inserts easily into your turf or beds, then no water is needed.
• Footprints or mowing tracks visible in the lawn, or a bluish-gray color, indicate the need for water.
• Water at night; finish by 10 a.m. and water shadier areas less.
• Tilted, broken or twisted sprinkler heads cause brown or dying turf. Check each head and watch every cycle to spot defective heads.
• Use drip irrigation or soaker hoses on flower beds and bury the hose under 2 inches of mulch.
• Speaking of mulch, it’s a gardener’s friend for many reasons. It reduces soil evaporation, improves soil structure and keeps weeds down. Use a few layers of newspaper (not the shiny sections) then cover with bark mulch. For vegetable beds, use newspaper and cover with chemical-free grass clippings. www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/07214.html
• Monitor and water newly planted flowers daily, especially the first two weeks after planting, then gradually reduce water.
Herbs
• Lovely lavender is in full bloom. Once the flower heads are fully open and vibrant in color, it’s time to cut them for arranging, drying, crafting and cooking. Cut the flower stems (include the long part) in the cool part of the day, place in a dry vase while waiting for them to dry or hang several bundles secured with a rubber band and place in a cool, dark, ventilated space.
• Arrange when freshly cut and make an aromatic bouquet. Include roses, blooming annuals and ornamental grasses for dramatic height.
• www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/07245.html; at cooking at http://relache.hubpages.com/hub/Cooking-with-Lavender
• The fall-planted garlic harvest begins when the lowest leaves begin drying and the plant is one-half to three-quarters brown. Hardneck scapes (flower stalks) should be cut half way down two weeks before the harvest. Use the scapes in stir fries or an infused oil.
• To harvest, use a spading fork and carefully lift up the entire plant. Gently remove any soil on the roots and place on racks or newspapers in a cool, dry place to cure for about 4 weeks. When the bulbs are completely dry, cut the top and roots off, store in mesh bags.
• Save some cloves to replant later in October.
Vegetables
• More: www.ext.colostate.edu/ptlk/1816.html
• Tomato blossoms may be drying up or not forming because of temperatures in the 90s. Blossom set sprays will not work at higher temperatures. Use a shade cloth or wait out the hot spell for blossoms to form fruit.
• Mound soil around the base of potatoes and keep the plants well mulched to prevent sunburn. The first potatoes, called new potatoes, can be harvested after the plants bloom. Leave the rest of the tubers to harvest when the vines wither and die later in August to September.
Pest/Disease Watch
• If birds are frequent visitors to your lawn and you notice irregular, scattered patches of wilted or dying grass, Billbugs are a type of weevil and their larvae or grubs feed in the crown and turf-root zone. Biological control such as birds, hunting wasps or parasitic nematodes are helpful. More: www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05516.html
• Kentucky bluegrass lawns with circular or donut shaped patches of dead areas may have Necrotic Ring Spot, a very common turf disease in Colorado. It generally shows up in July or August. : www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/02900.html
• Look for spider-mite injury (bronzing or mottled foliage) of flowering plants, trees, roses and shrubs. Hose off plants to reduce populations.
• Look for leaf damage to vegetables by the Mexican bean beetle (it looks like a lady bug on sterioids) or the Colorado potato beetle. Both insects feed on leaf backs, leaving them skeletonized (chewed, thinned leaves). Scout your plants daily and control the beetles by picking off adults and squishing larvae or eggs.
Betty Cahill, bettycahill@ymail.com
