If we had no winter, spring would not be so pleasant.
Hello, again!
Well that was quite a winter blast!! Pretty much as KAKE-TV Meteorologist Frank Waugh forecasted, the snowy, windy and cold weather started Tuesday and headed out to eastern destinations to cause havoc. But as I mentioned in last week's enews, our long range forecast looks pretty good for gardeners to get some projects done in the lawn and landscape for the upcoming season. Here are a few on my list:
For gardeners with fruit trees, early spring is the perfect window for insect control on fruiting trees. ferti-lome Horticultural Oil Spray is safe for dormant and growing season application when the daytime temps have warmed above 35°F and crops are free from moisture. Horticultural Oil controls insects, mites, and scale, including aphids, leafhoppers, mealybugs, phylloxera, psyllids, immature plant bugs, sawfly larvae, whitefly and powdery mildew. It kills all stages of insects, including eggs - and it's OMRI labeled for organic gardening.
The window to control peach leaf curl can close pretty quick this time of the year. It’s important to control the disease before early spring growth. Use ferti-lome Copper Fungicide to treat this disease.
ferti-lome Fruit Tree Spray is a combination insecticide and fungicide. Fruit Tree Spray will safely control insect eggs and larvae, as well as adult insects including aphids, spider mites, scale, mealy bugs, white flies and tent caterpillars. It also controls rust, leaf spot, powdery mildew, tip blight and other diseases.
Early spring is an ideal time to prune many landscape plants. I recommend thinning out much of the old growth of landscape trees, shrubs and fruiting plants. If you've never pruned a fruit tree before, ask for one of our how-to handouts when you visit the store.
With the warmer temperatures, our spring weeds will start to grow and bloom. It’s much easier to control dandelions, henbit and chickweed now in lawn areas with ferti-lome Weed Free Zone. Weed Free Zone works well in cooler weather, and covering half an acre, it’s very cost effective.
We’ll cover more lawn care in upcoming newsletter editions and Johnson’s Garden Time TV segments Saturdays and Sundays at 7:55 AM on KAKE-TV (starting again soon!) If you haven’t yet, subscribe to our YouTube channel to catch all of the past episodes.
Our home-grown violas have arrived at the stores! These plants love the cool spring weather and will perform well until it’s time for our summer annuals. With our cole crops (broccoli-type) in stock and also cold tolerant, it’s a good time to plant those as well.
Join me outside as we enjoy a reprieve from winter weather and gear up for the spring gardening season!
Your friend in the garden,
Marty Johnson
Owner - Johnson's Garden Centers
