Johnsons's Garden Centers Text File document - copyright 2004
PDF file available at http://www.johnsonsgarden.com/newsletter/gardentips.html

Garden Tips
April 2004
Marty Johnson, President, Johnson's Garden Centers & 
                Kansas Certified Nursery Professional

WORLD RECORD BLUE MARLIN COMING TO A JOHNSON'S NEAR YOU!
    Well not really a world's record, but probably the largest fish I
will ever catch. I was fortunate to be invited to go on a deep sea
fishing trip with my good friend Jay Storey. You've seen him, he's the
"No Problem" guy on the Furniture on Consignment ads. Jay hooked us up
with an outfitter while on vacation. We left early in the morning while
still dark. After a couple of hours of boating and fishing (about early
sea sick time) we finally got a strong bite. I think Jay was a little
woozy and he let me spend the next 35 minutes reeling in the Blue
Marlin. As the fish approached the boat, the crew asked if I wanted to
keep the fish and have it mounted. In the heat of the fight, I said
"Sure!" not thinking where I am going to put this 145 lb., 8 ft. Blue
Marlin. The fish is to arrive in early April and the only place I have
to hang it is at one of the stores, so on your next trip to the Garden
Center, check out the Blue Marlin. I am not sure where it will fit so
you might have to look to see where it ends up. I know it won't fit at
our house.

GEOCACHING
    As one who loves to spend time outdoors, it seems that I am
continually looking for new outdoor activities. I came across an
activity or game called Geocaching that involves the internet, GPS
receivers and time to explore in the outdoors. Geocaching was made
possible with the recent invention of personal-use GPS receivers. By
going to www.geocaching.com you can find locations in the area to search
out. By entering a zip code or city location, you will find coordinates
to a "cache" or usually a container that has items left there  by past
visitors. There are presently about 90,000 caches in over 190 countries.

    Travel Bugs are Geocaches which move from location to location. On a
recent trip to Austin, Texas, I placed a Travel Bug, Wilfred the Garden
Gnome, with the purpose of traveling to both private and public gardens.
If you go to www.geocaching.com/track/ and put in Wilfred's tracking
#463277 you will be able to follow Wilfred to various gardens. Presently
he has traveled to Dallas, Texas and is waiting to visit other gardens.

BACK HOME IN THE GARDEN
    If you have a broadleaf weed problem, I encourage you to use Weed
Free Zone from ferti-lome. I've used this new product a couple of times
with very fast results. By using Weed Free Zone you may reseed
earlier--as soon as several days--and it also works great in both cool and
hot weather, unlike other herbicides. After applying Weed Free Zone, you
will notice the weeds starting to curl and die within only about three
days. Usually the weed is dead within about 10  to 14 days, depending on
variety of weed, moisture and vigor of the weed.

    Stop by to see a new weapon against dandelions--Grampa's Weeder. This
handy little tool is by far the most effortless weed puller ever. With
its simple lever action and durable construction, this tried-and-true
tool is ingeniously designed and made to last forever. For almost a
hundred years, gardeners young and old have used Grampa's Weeder to
extract weeds AND their roots easily, with just a step of their foot and
a tilt of the handle. Senior gardeners are especially fond of Grampa's
Weeder as it allows them to weed without pulling, bending or kneeling.
Who says they don't make things like they used to?!

1. Center Grampa's Weeder over a weed, with the footpad lever
    pointing to either your right or left.

2. Press your foot on the footpad lever and push Grampa's Weeder
    into the ground, around the weed.

3. Remove your foot and lean the handle towards the footpad lever
    and out comes the weed, root and all!