Johnson's Memorial Day Sale begins today.
Hello, again!
I guess the unofficial start of summer is soon. School is out, the pools are opening and kids are enjoying themselves, taking a dip in the cold water. We are getting the teardrop camper ready to go out for the first time this year. At the stores, our colorful French gardens are planted and ready for patios or to decorate our families’ grave sites for Memorial Day.
My friend Hal Russell talked about how it's easy to celebrate Memorial Day for the wrong reasons. He reminded us that the day is for those who are not here any longer, those who gave it all in their military service to our country. Hal served, and I think he said it best: ‘I don’t ask for your sympathy, but your understanding’.
As we get to the warm days of summer, our lawn care differs from spring. Maintaining turf requires less food (fertilizer) during the summer months. ferti-lome Pro Green is made to apply during the spring and summer lawn growing season, to keep your lawn healthy and green. It also helps promote thicker lawn growth.
Another turf fertilizer for this time of year is Milorganite - which is basically a bag of dried microbes! For 90 years Milorganite has been manufactured by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. This unique fertilizer is created from heat-dried microbes that have digested organic matter in wastewater. It feeds both grass and soil, and it contains iron for greening. Milorganite is a non-burning, slow release fertilizer that feeds for up to 10 weeks. It can be used on lawns now, but also on flowers, vegetables, shrubs and trees.
Our weed control changes during the summer months as well. Crabgrass has germinated, and we’re also seeing nutgrass. ferti-lome Weed-Out with Crabgrass Killer controls difficult crabgrass, and over 200 grassy and broadleaf weeds in your lawn. Use it in warm season lawns (zoysia, bermuda, and buffalograss) and cool season lawns (tall/turf fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and ryegrass).
Nutsedge, or nutgrass, is particularly difficult to control. Pulling it simply encourages more growth, and it takes a selective (or targeted) weed killer to control it. I recommend ferti-lome Weed-Out Nutsedge Control.
Thinking back to Hal, I met him on the 2015 Tour Divide ultra-endurance bikepacking race. The Tour Divide race was made for Hal. It runs 2750 miles from Banff, Canada to Antelope Wells, New Mexico. On a good year, 50% of those who start the race will finish, and Hal was 6 for 6 finishes. There are very few rules; just do it on your own, with no outside help that’s not available to everyone. Hal was my inspiration for doing the race. When I found out about Hal at 60+ yrs old doing it, it’s what got me to Banff to race it as well.
I hope you’ll follow me and my friends this summer as we take off again from Banff down the Divide on June 14. We are raising money for Wichita’s HumanKind Ministries.
Your friend in the garden,
Marty Johnson
Owner - Johnson's Garden Centers
P.S. Our final spring sale is this weekend. With savings in most departments, it’s a great time to save and plant!
