Monty Justice traveled to LaRue County, Kentucky to shoot a commercial, talk with 4-H students, and meet with customers of Lee’s Garden Center. In between events, Monty and Robin Lee took some time to disucss all things plants and Lawn & Garden.
Ask Monty’s for 6/13/11: Broccoli, Calla Lillies, Roses
Ask Monty’s:
“I’ve planted broccoli for the first time this summer. How do I know when it can be picked?”
Samantha – Apple Valley, Minnesota
Samantha:
Broccoli can be eaten at a couple of different growth stages. Some people eat the unopened flower buds. As the weather gets warmer you’ll want to pick it before the flower heads bloom. So harvest the buds when they are about the size of a match head. Samantha, one mistake common among home growers, especially first timers, is that you keep waiting for the heads to get to the size of those in the super market. Don’t expect your home grown broccoli to get the size of supermarket broccoli heads, as their growing environments are much more controlled to achieve the size they get. What they lack in size, though, they will make up for in flavor and nutritional value. Using Monty’s 8-16-8 will help.
Ask Monty’s:
“I plant roses because I love how they look and also because of their smell and the diversity of smells they provide. Bleeding hearts are also quite fragrant. Are there other more fragrant flowers to consider? I know all have their own degree of fragrance, but I’m looking for strong smelling flowers to entice the senses when you walk in my garden.”
Rose – Knierim, Iowa
Rose:
Brugmansia, or “Angel Trumpet” comes to mind immediately for year round outdoor growing in zones 8-11, although in your climate you’ll have to make it a patio plant that you can take indoors in the winter. The same is with a Gardenia, “Passion Flower,” jasmine, nicotinia (flowering tobacco) or lemon and limes. Sweet Alyssum, Moonflower and 4 O’clocks are also great smelling plants. Unfortunately, none of these plants are perennials for your Iowa climate, but they can be grown in your greenhouse or as patio plants that can all be moved inside over the winter. All have overwhelming fragrant qualities. Honeysuckle and magnolias are also fragrant favorites particularly in the south.
O, and since you asked about roses, don’t forget to check out the latest videos on roses from our founder and noted rosarian Monty Justice. You can find them on youtube, or here. You can also check out our rose care calendar to make sure you are getting the most output from your roses.
Ask Monty’s:
“My Calla Lily never blooms. I thought these plants required low maintenance and even bloomed in diffused lighting conditions. What am I doing wrong?”
Blaine -Cold Springs, Nevada
Blaine:
There are a couple of reasons that come to mind as to why your Calla Lily is not blooming. Although they really are low maintenance, they do prefer bright indirect sunlight, with morning and late afternoon light as their preference. So if you have them in any less they simply aren’t getting enough light. If you are using a fertilizer, make sure it is low in nitrogen, which encourages green, leafy growth. Too much nitrogen will overpower the phosphate a plant needs to make blooms. Monty’s 2-15-15 is a great fertilizer to use if you are looking to encourage more, and longer lasting, bloom. Read more, here. Another reason a Calla Lily will not bloom is if the bulbs are simply getting too old.
Controlling Morning Glory in the Vegetable Garden
I remember as a child that my mom would wake me cheerfully with the words, “Morning, Glory!” We will forget for a minute that there is never a reason to be that chipper and cheerful at 5:45. Nonetheless, that phrase combined with her effervescent personality made me think of Morning Glories as a positive thing.
What did I know; I grew up in a desert and morning glories were not a problem for us? I have since moved to East Tennessee, where they are not only a problem, they are a menace! My disdain for them is second only to kudzu.
I know that some people, for reasons I cannot imagine, grow them on purpose. I have even seen recipes for cooked morning glories, and found legions of devotees to the plant. This blog is not for them. In fact, they will probably want to hang me for suggesting the destruction of the plants. That notwithstanding, for those of us who did not plan on raising a crop of morning glories, they are a problem.
They are vigorous, invasive, will outcompete most anything and they seem to believe my corn stalks were planted as climbing trellises for them. Additionally, in their early stages they are very similar in appearance to my green beans and okra. In my early days of gardening, I cannot tell you how many of my desirable plants I have hoed down, thinking I was killing a morning glory.
In my search for control of these blasted weeds, phrases like this “You are fighting Mother Nature, which loves the plants we call weeds just as much as she loves your garden plants. Weeds are simply Nature’s darlings which have learned to out-compete other plants. Keep your hoe active, and remember that weed control is good exercise!” were small consolation. (this is actually a quote from a web page on controlling morning glories!)
At long last I have come upon some information that helps me understand my enemy, and through trial and error I have developed a method for reasonable control.
First let’s shed some light on this plant and give you some of the basics.
- The Morning Glory (Calystegia sepia) is a vine-based plant that prefers shade and fertile soil.
- Morning glories propagate in two ways: rhizomes (horizontal underground stems) and seeds.
- Seeds from one flowering morning glory can remain viable in the soil for up to 5 years.
- The tend to build up in the flanks of your garden, then invade the heart of the garden.
- They are heavy foliage producers. This allows them to produce and store abundant sugars for energy through photosynthesis in their roots.
Why your current methods of control may not be working:
- Their propagation method makes them very hard to control. If you seek to pull them up, till them, or hoe them out before they flower and seed you are only controlling one method. However, be pulling on them, you are breaking their flexible roots allowing the rhizomes to send of more shoots. If you hoe or till them you are chopping the rhizomes into pieces and each one of those pieces, even small ones, are capable of developing a new plant.
- Even if you could successfully remove the plants so that the rhizomes were not an issue, their seeds remain viable for up to 5 years so you will have to remain diligent for a protracted period of time to gain success. Even one slip up, or taking a vacation where the plants can flower and produce seed will serve as a setback.
- You can remove the leaves so that you interrupt photosynthesis which will weaken it. However, since they have such an extensive underground network of roots and rhizomes, the sugar you rob from a plant in one part of the garden can be replaced by stores of energy in a plant tens of feet away.
Given their hardiness and the survival mechanism that nature has built into these survivors, how can you control them. One way is to exclude the plant from seeing the light of day. That is, by using carpet, cardboard, layers of newspaper, or turf to shade out the plant completely. This process will usually take a full growing season, but it is effective. Because it takes a season, if you garden regularly like I do, it may not always be practical. One solution is to rotate your garden. Take your larger garden plot and subdivide it into two or three sections. Garden intensively in one section, while the other remains fallow. (If you do this, use a cover crop like barely, clover, or a legume as a ‘green manure’.)
The other method, and this is the one I use, is the use of a labeled herbicide.
2, 4-D is very good BUT it will also volatize (rise up in the atmosphere) and hover with morning fog and dew. Once it does that, it will settle on plants you did not wish to kill and will cause damage if not destruction of your desirable plants. For the sake of your other garden plants and for your neighbors, even area farm crops (there have been proven cases of 2, 4-D volatizing and ‘walking’ on fog up to 2 miles from the point where it was applied. This is a big problem in my area where cattlemen use it to control pasture weeds and tomato growers occupy the same county. Complete fields of tomatoes have been wiped out by this product because of its use by a neighbor.)
My herbicide of choice is glyphosate, brand name is round-up, but there are less expensive generics out there. Glyphosate is a ‘take-all’ or complete herbicide. It will kill anything it touches, even your valuable plants so you must be careful. However, here are some tips:
- It goes without saying, but read and follow the label. DO NOT increase the dosing instructions on the label. It is unnecessary, it can provide unwanted effects, and is expensive.
- Adjust your spray nozzle to a stream rather than a mist. This will reduce the likelihood that you will have problems with overspray from your intended weeds to your desirable plants.
- Never spray when the wind is above 5 miles per hour. In my area, that usually means spraying early in the morning or late in the evening.
- Spray in the morning because the temperatures are cooler and the pores in the plant are open and receptive to liquids. By the heat of the day, to keep from drying out, the plant shuts down making them almost impenetrable.
- Tie a sock or small piece of a rag over the end of the spray nozzle. This will allow you to wet the cloth with the herbicide and then ‘wipe’ the product on the leaves. This still provides good weed control but keeps the product off of neighboring plants.
- Use Monty’s NanoBoost. By mixing one ounce of NanoBoost per acre with the proper rate of glyphosate, you can increase the effectiveness by allowing more of the product to get into the plant. It will also help more of it reach the root system so that you are controlling the visible climbing weed as well as the underground network of roots and rhizomes.
- It usually takes about 2 weeks for glyphosate to work. (A bit less time with NanoBoost added). During this time, you still will want to remove the foliage and/or flowers form any viable plants to keep them from reproducing and to further weaken them until the herbicide has time to take effect. You may need to repeat this process a couple of times throughout the growing season. Once the canopy closes between the rows, you can let up a bit because not as many of the morning glories will become viable.
By following this plan, I have not gained complete control, yet. But after two years, my morning glory problem is only about 10% as bad as that of my neighbors. Be diligent and you will gain the upper hand.
Read more about Monty’s NanoBoost, here. You can find it at your local farm store, or by calling Monty’s Directly.
Ask Monty’s 5/27/11: Asparagus, Crickets, and Calla Lillies
Ask Monty’s: “How do you know when to harvest asparagus and leaf lettuce, spring’s earliest producers? I never have been quite sure.”
Susan – Joplin, Missouri
Susan: You can usually begin harvesting your asparagus spears when they are 6-8 inches in length. Snap them off at ground level when picking them. Stop harvesting them about 4-6 weeks after the first initial harvest so the plants can produce foliage and food for themselves. Once the asparagus emerge you can spray with Monty’s 8-16-8 for vigorous growth, additionally toward the end of the season, use Monty’s 2-15-15 to help them store energy in the roots so that they can propagate and emerge healthy next season.
Leaf lettuce is best picked when the outer leaves have reached about 4 inches in height. Let the younger, inner leaves to grow further which will allow you to have lettuce through most of the summer if you pick it right and keep it well watered. Don’t forget to spray it at least once a week with Monty’s 8-16-8. This will stimulate vigorous growth. As an additional benefit, if you are one who chosses to use pesticides or herbicides, they can easily be mixed with Monty’s products for no-fuss, one step application.
Ask Monty’s: “In early spring, if I don’t watch my garden or flower beds closely, young grasshoppers and even crickets almost strip my young plants beyond repair. I have been using a regular insecticide on them, but is there an organic approach to repelling them? It’s a reoccurring problem for me.”
Dexter – Granite Falls, Washington
Dexter: These little devils can indeed strip crops incredibly fast. Grasshoppers alone are responsible for consuming 25% of the available foliage in the western half of the U.S. each year! There is an organic product on the market that literally infects grasshoppers with a naturally occurring disease that is much like a bad case of grasshopper flu. The disease is called Nosema locustae and it infects over 90 species of grasshoppers and crickets. The best part is that pets, people, plants and other insects are not affected by it. You can find this product in gardening catalogs and garden centers and it is sold as Semasporte Bait or NoLo Bait. It has a very short shelf life of only about eight weeks, so if you store it in the refrigerator it will keep up to five months, so buy only what you need. You can also talk to your local independent garden center, they may have some insecticidal soaps that will do the tricks. A mild solution of JOY dish soap sprayed on the foliage helps with many insects, it may help with your crickets and hoppers as well.
One last thought, evidence indicates that Monty’s foliar fertility products will elevate brix levels (the measure of sugar in a plant). Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that elevated brix levels may help deter insects. We also know that insects tend to be opportunistic. That is, they tend to prey on plants that are weak or stressed. Think of them like a cheetah, they cull the weak out of the herd and in an odd way by doing so they are protecting the strength of the overall herd of antelope. So one way to address the insect problem is to make sure your plants are the healthiest in the neighborhood, this will tend to cause the insects to move on to more susceptible prey. They key to plant health can be summarized in three words. Fertility, Fertility, Fertility.
Ask Monty’s: “I have a love/hate relationship with my Calla Lily. Sometimes it looks fabulous and other times I just about kill it. It seems like when it starts blooming, and I fertilize it, it takes an immediate turn for the worse. I do not understand this. Am I giving it too much, although I follow the fertilizer instructions to the tee?”
Tessa -Portland, Oregon
Tessa: You should never feed a Calla Lily when it is in bloom, which is the opposite of most plants, I know. A good quality, healthy Calla Lily just simply doesn’t need it. If you just can’t resist, go with a low nitrogen, high phosphorous, high potassium fertilizer. this will decrease the nitrogen available for growth and increase those nutrients needed to support bloom and root health. We recommended Monty’s 2-15-15.
Understanding Soil Tests Pt. 2: Good Soil, Bad Test
We know that healthy soils have certain components like NPK, and trace elements like boron and manganese. We know that under ideal conditions plants work with the soils to replenish them each year. When that fails we fertilize, either based on ‘best guesses’, habit, or professional recommendations. As we discussed last week, soil tests are vital and I have argued strongly for them. However, as our body of knowledge increases, one thing is becoming clear; standard soil tests may not be telling us everything that is going on in the soil profile. You may already be using soil tests, or you may begin this year, but what if the information was incomplete? If the information is incomplete, then the conclusions would be faulty.
Good Soil, Bad Test
Almost 90% of soil tests solicited by homeowners are standard tests and these are okay. Where they fail is their inability to tell you what is available for your plant to use. They will indicate how many units of a given mineral or nutrient are present. What they will not show you is how many of those units are actually in a useable form.
Think of it like this. I go to the ATM at my bank and insert my card then request an account balance. The reciept shows two balances: my balance and my actual balance (my stated balance plus or minus any deposits or charges I have. Now, if I act like my “Balance” is how much money I have in my account, I can end up with some serious problems. The information is not wrong, it is jsut incomplete because some items have posted but have not cleared. In a similar way, what you need to see in your soil is not just what you have, but what your plants have access to.
Standard soil tests are not, in the truest sense, bad tests. They just provide incomplete data. The benefit of these types of soil tests, though, is that they are affordable and most people are familiar with them. For a traditional soil tests expect to pay about $10-15.
If you are looking for more information, for an additional $10-25, a more in-depth test, known as a water soluble extraction can be conducted. According to Ken Pohlman, Agronomist and President of Midwest Labs, this test not only will indicate what minerals and nutrients are in your soil but what percentage of those elements can be readily utilized by the plants. “Water extraction is a more sensitive test. It can indicate elements present even at lower levels.” It is not enough to know what elements are in your soils at any given time, though, that is better than no knowledge at all. You need to know how much is available in relation to the other nutrients present. In corn for example, zinc is crucial. Without it, other essential elements will go underutilized, decreasing the yield and quality of your stand. Pohlman said. “Trace elements can be a limiting factor; without the proper balance, your yields can plateau. The key thing to remember is that fertility is a process not a destination.”
Paul Leeds, soil specialist and farmer adds that this test “only has value if you can interpret it;” you have to know what you are looking for. If you know how to read the tests, are working with a lawn and garden consultant or have a knowledgeable independent garden store rep then Leeds says the pay-off will be immediate. “It is the difference between buying a Cadillac and a Yugo; this test gives you more for your dollar. There are things that I will never catch on the basic test that I can catch utilizing the water soluble test.”
Even more highly specialized tests can be conducted for nominal fees. Among information you may want to test for, consider these: Texture Analysis, Cation Exchange Capacity, Micronutrients, and Organic Matter (OM). If you are seeding a brand new lawn, have not tested in several years, or are growing flowers or plants for competition then the additional costs can be justified.
While soil testing does present some variables, regular monitoring will give you comparative data you can use to make determinations about your needs. When determining the ‘value vs. expense’ question facing you in real-world applications, Paul Leeds related his experience on his own farm. “I spend a lot of money on fertilizer, but I can [save enough money to] pay for these tests by avoiding buying things I don’t need. We no longer put money into nutrients that we already have.”
Monty’s Plant Food Company President, Dennis Stephens, says, “You cannot make blanket statements. Some products, like Monty’s Liquid Fertilizer, may allow you to cut back on traditional fertilizer applications IF your soil is in basically good shape. We emphasize that you must start with a soil test. Once we know what is happening beneath the soil-line, we can adequately feed the plant and help balance the environment in which it is growing.” He added. “In many cases, slight adjustments to your amendments, either to the soil, or to the plant directly will allow you to maintain or increase your results for relatively little cost.”
Once you have determined to spend the extra money on these advanced tests you need to have a snap shot in your mind of what healthy soils look like so that you can make some comparisons and determine what is needed to create the ideal growing conditions for your particular crop. You also need to know what keys to look for in your soil test. We will spend time on that issue more in depth in our next installment. If you are looking for additional information check with your local county extension agent, extension soil specialist, or contact www.midwestlabs.com or Monty’s Plant Food Company.
Understanding Soil Tests: If a Pound of Nitrogen Falls to the Ground and It Isn’t Utilized, Did It Really Get Applied?
Okay, so maybe my title this morning is a bit Zen for a Tuesday. But it does bring up a very valid question. We head out each year and apply pound after pound of fertilizer, but is it doing us any good? The answer lies in your soil test. So we are going to begina three part series on attaining and understanding soil tests. Let’s begin.
Combine one-hundred pounds of N, thirty-five pounds of P, and 62 pounds of K. Mix thoroughly. Add a pinch of manganese, a dash of copper, zinc, and boron. Once items are combined, spread liberally over one acre of soil. It sounds like a gourmet concoction, something to rival Martha Stewart. It is for lawn and garden enthusiasts, the Holy Grail; a one-size fits all formula for row crops nationwide. It, also like the Holy Grail, probably does not exist. We would even settle for a formula, by region, if someone would just create one. Even if you tried to create such a formula, it would likely only serve as a recipe for disaster.
However, most gardeners tend to operate as if just such a recipe does exist. At the local garden center or at a table at the local breakfast nook or wherever gardeners gather, you can overhear conversations about what is working on one particular lawn or another. The following morning you can track the participants to the local big-box-store door as they try to order the same formulation, assuming it will work on their lawn or garden as it did on the county leader’s property.
The main problem with this theory is that land is a living organism, and far from being the static expanse we sometimes assume, there is a vibrant and delicately balanced network of nutrients, chemicals, and organisms that extends from the top soil through to the bedrock. Because of the way they are interlaced, you cannot change one without impacting another. The end result is soil from one side of your field to the other may be as vastly different as soil from Montana is from Alabama.
We recognize the differences between states and maybe even within 
regions but we tend to treat similar plants under our care as if they all need the same ingredients. This, according the Paul Leeds, a soil specialist and farmer from Ontario, Canada just is not the case. The way the land has been used historically, the strata within the soil profile, topography, weather, and cultivation practices all work to determine what surpluses and shortages are contained within each section of land.
Leeds recommends that all farmers begin to know their soils by conducting a soil sample, then sending the sample to a reputable lab for analysis. Dr. Tony Provin with Texas A&M extension provides the following guidelines:
- 1) In fields up to 40 acres, collect at least 10 to 15 cores or slices of soil, from evenly distributed locations across the region being sampled, per composite sample. Because soils are variable, it is important to obtain enough sub-samples to ensure a representative composite sample. The greater the number of cores in your sample the more representative or reliable the results will be of your total landscape.
- 2) Unusual problem areas should be omitted or sampled separately. To properly diagnose the causes of poor crop production, collect separate composite samples from the good and poor growth areas. Do not include soil from the row where a fertilizer band has been applied.
- 3) Traditionally, soil samples are collected to a depth of 6 inches from the soil surface (after non-decomposed plant materials are pushed aside). Surface accumulation (stratification) of phosphorus and lime (calcium) from prior surface applications can dramatically alter soil test data. Stratification is of particular concern in parts of the landscape that are not generally tilled or disturbed (such as lawns) or in areas that receive limited rainfall or supplemental water. In these instances, sampling depths need to increase from 3 to 9 inches.
Once samples have been gathered, combine them in a large, clean tub and stir until all samples are thoroughly combined. Fill the sample bag or other suitable container with approximately 1-2 pints of a composite soil sample. Any suitable container can be used for the sample, but it is important to complete the information sheet and follow the instructions for collecting and mailing samples.
Once an adequate sample has been gathered, then you need to select a lab to analyze your soils, and to provide you with comprehensive results. Leeds advises that when you are selecting a lab you consider the following:
- History and Reputation
- Variety of Tests Available
- Reports are Clear, Concise, Easy to Interpret
- Lab has Staff Qualified to Make Recommendations Based on Report
- Familiarity with Your Particular Type Of Soil
Most Land Grant Universities offer testing services and you can obtain additional information through your local county extension office. Additionally, there are many national and regional private labs that will survey your soils, even some fertilizer and nutrient companies have working relationships with particular laboratories if you consult with your company representative. (Expect to spend at least $15 per sample) All soil tests and all reports are not created equally, in our next installment we will analyze the different types of tests and reports commonly available.
The goal is to bring your soils in balance so that they have the proper nutrition to maximize your production and quality while lowering your input costs. Calcium is great, but without enough manganese to metabolize it, any calcium you amend may be wasted. Similar statements can be made about any fertility product, macro- or micro-nutrient which you may add. Worse than not adding any amendments to your field is to add them, at times at considerable expense, only to find out later that they were unnecessary or under-utilized by the plants. The important thing is to realize that all soils are different, state-to-state, yard-to-yard, even year-to-year within the same lawn and without an accurate snapshot of your field’s condition you cannot make the best decisions about your Lawn or Garden.
It is possible to return, or increase, fertility to your landscape. But before you can improve the environment in which your plants will be grown, you must first know where you are beginning. Once you are armed with the knowledge of your fertility needs you can make the best, and most economical, decisions to promote healthier, stronger, and more productive vegetation.
Ask Monty’s 4/15/11: African Violets, Hydrangeas, and Selecting the Right Grass for your Lawn.
Ask Monty’s:
“I have a huge, beautiful African Violet that is very healthy. How can I grow new plants from it?”
Irene
Forest Lake, Minnesota
Irene:
It’s as simple as removing a healthy leaf with the stem attached and burying the stem in moist, well drained potting soil, leaving just the flattened round leafy blade above the surface. Water it thoroughly and put it in a warm, bright location. I even put the container in an open, clear plastic bag to increase the humidity level around the cutting to further encourage the stem growing roots. I used to have an old neighbor lady with quite a green thumb who had incredible luck with just putting the leaf stem in a glass of water with the leaf hanging over the lip of the glass. Once the stem started sprouting roots she’d then stick it in a small pot of potting soil and off they’d go!
A more aggressive approach would be division by carefully splitting apart the plant itself between the plant’s crowns, keeping the roots intact and then replanting them into individual pots. Be prepared to see your plants suffer a little shock for awhile, but with good care they’ll snap back.
Don’t forget to either root dip your cuttings and/or water them in with Monty’s 4-15-12. All you need is a weak solution (one-two drops per cup of water). This will stimulate root development and almost completely eliminate transplant shock. (See more detailed information here) After the plant has rooted well, you can start feeding with Monty’s 8-16-8, 4-15-12, or 2-15-15 – depending on the current growth stage of your plant. One note for AFRICAN VIOLETS, the leaf surface and flowers are very susceptible to spotting. For that reason African Violets are one of the few plants we DO NOT RECOMMEND using Monty’s products as a foliar application. Instead you can either wick feed or feed through the roots by mixing 1-2 drops per cup of water and pouring on the soil when you water. Check out our PDF on the care of African Violets, here.
Ask Monty’s:
“I transplanted hydrangeas from pots into my flower beds two springs ago but I haven’t seen them bloom yet in their new home. Is there any hope of their blooming this year or did I waste my time and energy?”
Gwen
Owensburg, Indiana
Gwen:
Patience is the key here and I think you have proven that. Plants moved from containers to larger bedding areas will spend the first couple of seasons putting down roots and getting comfortable in their new environment instead of blooming. Once established and no longer needing the excess energy to stabilize their root system, they will shift into a flowering mode. Make sure you’re not using a fertilizer with excessive nitrogen, which can also retard their natural flowering attributes.
To explain this, let’s think like a plant for a minute. The presence of N tells a plant it is time to grow. So you can end up with a plant that has a lot of showy foliage and can become quite large, but never blooms. This results in what gardeners refer to as a ‘leggy’ plant. This can also cause more than just aesthetic problems; the excess growth can lead to damage during heavy winds. Your plants have natural cycles: germination, growth, reproductive, and dormancy. It needs to go through each of these phases to maintain good overall health. By understanding this and allowing the plant to go through its natural ebb and flow you will get the best results. That is why Monty’s Fertility products come in three “flavors”; each one is designed for specific needs of the plant during each one of these stages of development. This season, try using Monty’s 2-15-15 at least once a week on the foliage. I think you will be amazed by the results. Check out our PDF on Hydrangeas, here.
Ask Monty’s:
“There are so many different types of grass on the market. How can you even begin to know what to choose for your lawn?”
Joel
Mt. Airy, North Carolina
Joel:
There are a lot of variables to consider when choosing the right grass for your lawn, and the top one evolves around where you live. If you are newly landscaping or starting from scratch, it’s always best to drive around your area and see what lawns have the look you’re after and make note of it. Your local nursery, a good landscaping company or your local extension office are going to be excellent, professional reference points for you. Many larger towns and cities even have arboretums that not only feature plant variety, but label them for guests and lawn grasses are often incorporated into their design.
Keep in mind though, if you want your lawn to look like a golf course, it comes with a price and a great deal of maintenance. Grass grows best in the spring and the fall when it is cool, so keep that in mind when you’re looking at other lawns too. Cool-season grasses are hardy enough to survive freezing winters and hot summers and include varieties such as fine fescues, perennial ryegrass and bluegrass. Warm-season grasses are your tropical climate lovers and include St. Augustine, Zoysia, Bermuda grass and centipede grass. There are also transition-zone grasses for hot summer climates and chilly winters that blend both your cool-season and warm-season grasses, but types a little more versatile include tall fescue or buffalo grass.
Ask Monty’s 4/11/11: Successful Petunias, Organic Lining for Terracotta Pots, and Fungus on Redbuds
Ask Monty’s:
“Every year I plant petunias and they never seem to do more than just make it through the summer. How can you fail at growing petunias?”
Alyce
Detroit, Michigan
Alyce:
Annuals need lots of water with being outside and braving the elements. Petunias love the sun and appreciate a little shade, but watering them daily is what they need the most. They should also be routinely deadheaded to keep them lush and healthy looking. By doing it before they get leggy, they seem to respond better. Don’t forget a little fertilizer every couple of weeks or so too. Make your petunias part of your daily garden maintenance walk and you’ll get much better results.
Ask Monty’s:
“You often talk about lining clay and porous pots with plastic bags to retain moisture for outside potted plants. Do you think newspapers would work too?”
Greg, Pete and Scott
Morton, Washington
Greg, Pete and Scott:
Excellent, more natural idea gentlemen! Newspapers may dry out a little faster than plastic, but will definitely serve the same purpose. When cleaning your pots out in the fall you can dump everything into your compost pile and not have to worry about taking the plastic bags out too. And, your newspaper liners may well be on their way to decomposing by that time. Make sure you’re using the actual newspaper and not those colored enameled sheets that are often inserted into newspapers for advertising and such. They do not break down the same way newspapers do.
Ask Monty’s:
“There is a greenish, flakey growth showing up on my redbud trees. What could it be and how do I get rid of it?”
Iris
Gladston, New Jersey
Iris:
There is a type of combination of fungus and algae that physically intertwines to become an entirely new growth called lichen. It can also grow on stones or shrubs too. It’s a very primitive plant species, absorbing water and nutrients from the air. There is nothing harmful about it as they are not a parasite and do not cause disease, so don’t worry about it being part of your redbud tree.
Reducing (or even eliminating) Transplant Shock
The Root of the Problem
Transplant Shock happens when plants are moved. Unlike humans, plants were not designed to be shuffled around. In nature, once a plant is rooted, that is where it stays. However, we are always waiting to change and design our environment and that means moving plants; either planting new annuals every year or moving, cutting, and thinning existing plants to more aesthetically pleasing areas. So, transplant shock happens when you move plants, but why?
The answer is all in the roots. We tend to talk about roots as if they were one ubiquitous mass. They are, in reality, not a mass but a system with individual parts serving particular functions. The tap root is one or two long, thick roots that generally go straight down, deep into the soil. Think of this root as the “trunk” of your plant. This root serves to access deep reserves of water, to add structural integrity, and to provide a wedge which breaks up the soil and allows for development of the second set of roots. This second set is somewhat smaller and grow out laterally from the main tap root. If the tap root is the “trunk”, these are the limbs and like limbs they stretch out, cross each other, and provide bulk. The main function of these roots is to provide stability, serve as an anchor to the plant to keep it from moving, and to hold the soil so that the plant can get the water and nutrients it needs from its environment. They also serve as host for the most important roots. The third set of roots is the hair-like feeder roots. These roots are very small, even on the biggest plants. They are thin, wiry, and about the size of a human hair. The ends, or growing points, are the only place where the plant can actually take up nutrients and the majority of water. Without getting too deep into the science, this is where the microbes and beneficial bacteria thrive and do their job of converting minerals into nutrients.
The problem with these feeder roots is even though they are vital to the plant, they are also the most susceptible to damage. Some research shows that exposure to the air for even 3-4 minutes is enough to cause them to dry out and die. They are also very easy to break. So, when you transplant the plants, even if you are careful, it is very easy to disturb this section of the root system and when you do, it takes the plant time to replace them. Until then, the plant is getting very little nutrition or water. The plant enters survival mode, any flower is jettisoned as it fights to allocate stored resources for survival rather than reproduce. As more resources are required to re-grow these vital roots, (and because it is getting no nutrition) it wilts. And this reaction is what is known as transplant shock.
So what can you do? Here are a few tips:
1) Be as gentle as possible. Handle the root ball of the transplants as carefully as possible. But know this. Even though you are careful, the feeder roots are so delicate they are going to break; it’s inevitable.
2) Prepare the new home. Even if you are planting into the ground, you will want to provide a new home that is delicate. Heavy clay soils are generally compacted and hard for the tiny roots to penetrate 
so mix some of the host soil with sand or soilless media and fill the hole loosely BEFORE transplanting. Then remove just enough of the soil to make room for the new plant.
3) Make sure the transplant is not root bound. There should be a good amount of roots at the outer edges but they should not be circling around the root zone in a solid mass of white. If they are, they will need a haircut, either by actually cutting and freeing some of the roots or by pulling them away to thin them out. This will kill of some of the feeder roots, but will cause fewer problems in the long term. You should introduce the plant to its new home as quickly as possible. I usually root-dip my plants for 10 minutes or so in a weak solution of Monty’s 4-15-12 or
2-15-15 (1 ounce per gallon of water) prior to placing them in the new environment. This loosens up their native soil and gives them a quick shot of energy. Then once all the plants are in, I water them in with any remaining solution. The picture to the right is lettuce and spinach two days after transplanting. Notice no signs of shock or wilt. You should place the plant its new environment just deep enough so that the stem and root ball is below ground level. Once the plant is in place back fill with the soilless/host soil mix. Be carefull not to press the soil around the plant as this can lead to problems with compaction.
4) Feed the plant. Some experts advise putting a bit of fertilizer in the bottom of the new home prior to transplanting. I have done it both ways and have not noticed much difference either way. USE A LOW SALT, LOW NITROGEN fertilizer. Nitrogen can burn even healthy plant material, much less tender feeder roots. Plus, nitrogen is the nutrient responsible for growth. There will be a time for that, but now it is too early. One of the biggest problems I see with zealous homeowners is giving the plant too much nitrogen too quickly. This is especially true for perennials and larger transplants like trees and shrubs. For these, I recommend very little nitrogen at all for the first full season. Here’s why. Nitrogen generates growth. The mere presence of the nutrient tells the plant to get bigger, taller, and put on more leaves. If you do that, and do not have an underlying root system to support this vigorous growth a few things can happen: One, the plant will become top heavy and a strong wind will uproot the plant because there are not enough anchors holding it place. Two, and this is the biggest problem. You know that droughts are going to happen. When they do, the plant needs a good root system to access available sub-soil moisture reserves. If, by applying nitrogen, you have spurred top-growth you have increased the burden on the plant by giving it more leaves, stems, and flowers to maintain and by not giving it the root system that it needs to provide the water and nutrients it is starving for. Instead of nitrogen, look for a fertilizer that is relatively higher in potassium and phosphorous (the second two numbers on the label). These are the nutrients that a plant uses to develop good root systems and the ones you need to ensure successful transplants.
By using a product like Monty’s 2-15-15 or 4-15-12 you can give the plant what it needs, and according to gardeners across the country, as well as my own experience, virtually eliminate transplant shock. Get more details on transplanting in our how-to guides on our website. While this is still true for annuals, it is not as critical, cause let’s face it, you will be throwing them away in 6 months anyway. Give them a week or two to settle in, then you can start using a higher nitrogen fertilizer. The low-salt issue is still a concern so I recommend using Monty’s 8-16-8. It’s high in nitrogen, but it has one of the lowest salt indexes on the market.
5) Water. Believe it or not, most homeowners are so afraid of under-watering their new plants, that they go too far and over water them. Over-watering is just as bad. It depletes oxygen form the soil, collapses pore space, compacts the soil, and creates an environment ideal for developing anaerobic bacteria (the bad ones) which leads to rot, disease, and can increase the likelihood of insect problems. If you are watering your plants keep them evenly moist so that they have to grow their roots both out and down. this will give you a better anchor and will get feeder roots out of the topsoil. If the roots stay in the upper reaches of the soil profile you will end up fighting drought conditions throughout the life of the plant as this layer of soil is the first to dry out in the hot dry days of summer. To accomplish this, stick your finger about an inch deep into the soil (up to your first knuckle) at the edge of the drip line. If the soil does not feel noticeably damp at your fingertip, it is time to water.
By following these few simple guidelines and by incorporating Monty’s Fertilitly Products you can get your plants off to the best start possible and virtually eliminate transplant shock.
Wiggly, Squiggly, Subterranean Farmers
Earthworms. Just the sound of them can make guys happy and girls squeamish. I remember chasing the neighborhood girls through the yard with an earth worm dangling from my fingers as I threatened to throw it on them. Well, time has moved on, I no longer chase girls through the neighborhood, and I have found a greater use for earthworms (yes, even besides bait).
Earthworms serve two functions for me in my garden and flower beds.
First they are the proverbial “canary in a coal mine”. Simply by their presence they let me know that everything is okay. Even before I ship my soil off to be tested, I can be relatively certain that I have a reasonable amount of organic matter and that my pH is neither too acidic or too alkaline if i see earthworms wriggling about.
Secondly, they help me till and fertilize. The tunnels they create beneath the soil provide channels for air and water to move through the soil profile. The air is necessary for good nitrogen and CO2 exchange with the air…yes Virginia, plants can get nitrogen from the air (it is a two step process involving nitrogen fixing bacteria and nitrifying bacteria in the soil, but good aeration makes it possible).
For the most part, the tunnels are not created by simply squeezing through the soil but by them actually consuming the soil and other decaying organic matter laying in the soil. As with all living things, what they consume is partly used in their own bodies what is unused is eliminated through effluent material (casts). Earthworm Casts are high in nitrogen, phosphates, and potash. Consider this if you have just 10 earthworms in a square foot of soil you will have 800 lbs of earthworms per acre. The worms will provide you with 40 tons of castings annually which will equal 1 lb of actual N, 12 lbs of phosphorous, 28.5 lbs of potash, 36 lbs of magnesium, and 200 lbs of calcium. Earthworm castings also improve the water holding capacity of your soil, reduce erosion, and improve nutrient availability. One earthworm can digest up to 36 tons of soil per year according to the US Soil Conservation Offices.
Worms are great indicators of the overall health of your soil, especially in terms of biological activity. If you have earthworms, chances are that you also have all of the beneficial microbes and bacteria that make for healthy soil and strong plants. So how do you check for earth worms. Grab a shovel and lets go out to the garden:
Be sure the soil has warmed to at least 55 degrees, and that it is at least somewhat moist, but not soaking wet.
- Dig a hole one foot across and one foot deep. Place the soil on a tarp or piece of cardboard.
- Sift through the soil with your hands as you place it back into the hole, counting the earthworms as you go.
If you find at least ten worms, your soil is in pretty good shape. Less than that indicates that there may not be enough organic matter in your soil to support a healthy worm population, or that your soil is too acidic or alkaline.
If you do find fewer worms than what you had hoped for, how can you encourage higher populations.
1. Keep the soil evenly moist. Too much water and they will flee their burrows, too little and they will dry out and die. Evenly moist soil should feel like a wrung out sponge.
2. Add up to 3 inches of organic mulch over the surface of your garden. If you are buying it, this can get expensive. However there are affordable and free composts available, if you are willing to look.
3. Add NON-PROTEIN food scraps to your compost. things like produce trimmings, coffee grounds, and tea bags work great.
4. Be careful about the amount and the kinds of pesticides and chemicals you apply. Broad spectrum pesticides can also reduce your earthworm (and other beneficials) populations. When possible opt for natural remedies that are targeted to specific pests.
5. Use compost or manure teas for fertility. Chemical fertilizers increase the acidity and salt content of soil which repels earthworms. Monty’s offers a complete line-up of fertility products that are very low in salt and are all naturally derived products that will not effect the pH of your soil. This makes these products an ideal choice for fertilizers (without the hassle and malodorous nature of the compost teas and manure teas.)
6. Use Monty’s Liquid Carbon to create a favorable soil environment that will help create a favorable environment for all soil microbes and organic material.