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

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

"JOHNSON'S GARDEN SHOW"
    Live music on Johnson's Garden Center's radio show? If you tuned 
in to our Saturday morning talk show earlier this spring, you were
entertained (?) by my singing along with Guy Clark's hit "Homegrown
Tomatoes." I personally think that it's a great song, although others
may differ. Jeremy and Debbie, my partners on the radio show, have
continually given me a hard time about my singing skills. My thought was
to bring in some professional musicians to sing "Homegrown Tomatoes"
live on the radio show. On Saturday morning, May 8th, the listeners were
entertained by the Praise Band from Grace Point Church. Marla Beagley,
Michael Snow and Tommy Luchner did justice to Guy Clark's famous hit.
Tune in Saturdays from 8-9 a.m. to see what the Johnson's "House Band"
will sing next.

WHERE'S WILFRED?
    In the April issue of "Garden Talk" I introduced Wilfred the Garden
Gnome. Wilfred was released in February in Austin, Texas as part of a
global game called Geocaching. Wilfred has shown up in the Dallas, Texas
area visiting private gardens. To follow Wilfred in his travels, go to:
http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?tracker=tbg2vg

    Or you can visit the Geocaching web site. Go to the travel bug link
and search for Wilfred's ID number of 463277. Hopefully, in the future,
Wilfred will be able to get out of Texas and travel internationally.
Currently, Wilfred is on his way to New Mexico.

SLIMY SLUGS
    "I've got something eating my hostas!" is a common complaint coming
into the stores at this time of the year. Slugs love the tender leaves
of these great perennials. There are a couple of effective products that
will stop the insects from making Swiss cheese out of your hostas.

    Sluggo, a unique product from Monterey, is a combination of Iron
Phosphate and an attractant which lures the slugs to ingest the product.
Sluggo makes the slugs stop eating and death occurs in 3-6 days. Iron
Phosphate is also used as an ingredient in fertilizers so it helps your
plants grow at the same time! Sluggo is safe for all areas of the
landscape, including vegetable gardens.

    Eliminate by ferti-lome is a combination of Sevin and Methaldehyde.
These products have been used for years in the control of garden pests.
What ferti-lome has added to the mix is an attractant to bait the slugs
to eat the product. Eliminate is safe to use around both ornamental
plantings and the vegetable garden.

BEWARE OF BAGWORMS
    I always mark my calendar in early summer to treat for bagworms to
make sure the population is under control. If let go, those small
insects turn into large (2-3") plant-eating creatures. The good folks at
ferti-lome have introduced a product containing Spinosad which is a very
safe insecticide. It does little to harm beneficial insects but is
deadly to bagworms. Borer, Bagworm, Leafminer and Tent Caterpillar Spray
attacks the insect's nervous system and causes the insect to stop
feeding soon after application.

AND MORE...
    Be sure to stop by your favorite Johnson's location to see what we
have for you this summer. Check out our plants for summer color,
including both tropical and hardy summer-flowering shrubs.

    Add some drip irrigation to keep your plants happy and healthy this
summer and have a great time on your summer vacation.