The Seasoned Gardener

Catalogs and New Products Abound for 2009

Major lawn and garden suppliers are beginning to hold their buying shows now.  Nearly all of the shows are closed to the public, but we have been invited to stop in to see what's new, and we'll be reporting to you here. 

Also, we've begun to get some advance copies of the new plant catalogs which also bring new varieties and really nice photos to the door each day. A really nice one arrived today from Spring Meadow Nursery. It highlights some beautiful Hydrangeas for 2009 as well as many more shrubs for your garden.  Check out their website at springmeadownursery.com for more info and some really great pictures.  The Spring Meadow site has a place for both buyers and gardeners, and it is one of the most well crafted and well illustrated plant catalogs I've seen. 

The natural/organic wave seems to be rolling along strongly, with many more offerings in the "Green"  category from some traditionally chemical manufacturers including Ortho.  Long-time garden protection company Bonide Products has corralled all 50+ of their organic and natural products under the "Garden Naturals" sub heading and have added a distinctive tan band of color on all of their natural control products to unify the look of their natural products line. 

Ergonomic products focused on the aging Baby Boomer population make common gardening tasks easier.  One product we really like is the "Reel Smart" hose reel, made by Hydro Industries which has just been purchased by Suncast who is selling them under the "No Crank" brand name.  Check them out!

As we travel the show circuit this fall we'll post more links and sites and discuss additional new and innovative items we have found for you this show season. 

SG

Manage the Mosquito Menace

Wet weather and the severe and troubling flooding in many parts of the country have delivered another cruel menace to already stressed residents...mosquitoes!

While in most parts of the country dealing with mosquitoes is a part of summer that everyone experiences and no one likes, occasionally, in years like this, the annoyance of a few itchy bites turns into a serious concern and even a health risk. 

I am surprised that the words "West Nile Virus" have not yet surfaced in connection with this years epic infestation of these dangerous vectors of disease. 

In a perfect world, there would be a single easy way to deal with this problem and still enjoy outdoor activities this summer.  That does not seem to be the case this year.  There are, however, some things that people can do to minimize the impact of this bothersome insect.

Personal Repellents - Most personal repellents contain either DEET or PICHARDIN as their active ingredients.  The higher percent of active ingredient in a product the longer it will last.  When applying repellents to children, be sure to use ONLY child approved formulations, and apply them more frequently. 

Area Repellents - Area repellents can work for a few hours up to a few weeks to repel insects.  As the name implies, these are not killers.  They create an inhospitable area for mosquitoes so that they go somewhere else.  Repellents can be granular or liquid sprays, and are usually more effective when they are first applied than after a few days.

Area Killers - Some other options available for mosquito control are area killers.  These products are usually found in hose end applicators and have names like "Bug Free Back Yard" or something like that.  Usually these products contain permethrin insecticide, and they are quite effective in killing insects in a larger area such as around a deck or picnic table.  With any insecticide, you should read, understand, and follow the lable directions.

The best protection against mosquitoes is a combination of all of the above products to create as close to a bug free zone as possible.  Taking other precautions such as avoiding dark colored clothes, avoiding prime mosquito times of dusk and dawn, and taking an aggressive approach to managing standing water in your yard by either treating it with a mosquito larvicide or removing it, can reduce the incidents of mosquito bites and offers some hope that mosquito borne diseases will not be a probllem for your family.

Fuel and Commodity Prices Will Impact Gardening Costs

Bad news at the gas pump and unprecedented raw materials costs will reverberate across the gardening industry shortly.  Aside from the obvious cost of fuel to deliver products to distributors and to stores, skyrocketing fuel and raw materials costs will make many gardening items from mulch to fertilizer more expensive than ever before. 

Watch for fertilizer costs to nearly double next season.  It will not matter whether you are purchasing organic or chemical products, costs will be going up a lot!

Other items including mulch (transportation costs), bird seed (grain prices and transportation), and tools (manufacturing and transportation) will all be rising dramatically. 

Anticipating this as the 2008 season winds down could help savy gardeners deal with the higher costs next year.  Watch for clearance sales this year on consumable items like fertilizer, insecticides, mulch and other items.  If your storage capacity and wallet can handle it, you probably will never see lower prices for these items.  Buy only what you anticipate using in ONE season.  Buying and storing more than that could lead to other problems.  Always store products in a dry and secure place where moisture, pets and children can not access them. 

Fall 2008 is also a good time to do plant maintenance to make sure that shrubs, trees and lawns get off to a good start next season.  Pruning, fall fertilizing, and weed and insect control and prevention measures now will eliminate a slow start next season. 

Local Master Gardener and Extension services will be focusing on "Economy Gardening" issues in their correspondence this year.  Make use of these resources for other ideas to keep your gardening value oriented. 

More information on this in later posts on this site...spread the news. 

Seasoned Gardener

You Might Not Know It's Spring in Chicago!

"When will it be spring???"  More cold and snowy weather is forecast for this weekend here in Chicago, but there are some buds showing in the maple trees, and the lawn looks a little less brown.  The tulips wish that they could go back down and wait a week, but at least there is a HINT of spring in the air. 

It must be spring in other places though, because the gardening questions are begining to appear on places like "Yahoo Answers" and others.  It is surprising how sustainable gardening is, and how many people take part each year.  The Garden Writers Association of America is saying that as "Boomers" age more and more people are taking up gardening as a pastime.  It makes sense to me. 

Some perennial questions starting to show up on the web are:

"Should I worry about planting grass after I have applied Weed and Feed?"  - Yes...You have to wait for the herbicide to dissapate from the soil, and besides, fall is a much better time to plant grass seed than in the spring. 

"How do I control Moles in my lawn?" - It's a process not an event.  Many garden experts will tell you that moles mean you have grubs in your lawn.  You may indeed have grubs, but moles feed on earthworms as the main part of their diet.  If you have moles you probably have a good healthy population of earthworms, so expensive grub control products may not eliminate them.  Try a repellent on your lawn to make the moles go somewhere else.  Most repellents are castor bean meal and create an "Unfriendly" environment for moles.  By the way, moles are very territorial, so you probably only have 1-3 moles in your 10,000 Sq Ft. lawn. 

There's a lot of work to do out in the garden.  Hopefully you will use this site to ask your questions and get some straight talk answers.  Gardening is fun, but it's not always easy.  I think I can help with the rough spots so you can really enjoy the summer. 

Happy Gardening

SG

Confusion Abounds Over "Organic" Pesticide Certifications

The garden chemical industry is in the midst of some considerable angst over what constitutes a "Certified" organic pest control product.  As the consumer conscience becomes more exposed to sustainable products, carbon footprints and the like, chemical manufacturers struggle to imply that their product is certified by some agency or other, therefore making it better than the rest. 

The truth is that although there are as many ways to state "Organic" or "Natural" on a pesticide label as there are bugs in your garden, there is no standard certification program which really tells the consumer what she wants to know. 

In a larger sense though, the certification mess and the emergence of questionable certification organizations does not address one of the key truths in the lawn and garden chemical industry.  That is that the terms Organic, Natural, or other adjectives like them DO NOT mean that the product is SAFE unless the user follows the directions on the label.  This is also true for synthetic products.  The perception that Organic or Natural products are safe or safer than their synthetic counterparts, or that their use somehow minimizes the risk of over application or will result in a more flavorful result just does not hold water.  What IS true is that the more manufacturers add to the noise around this issue, the less clear the choices become to consumers. 

Have you wondered why retail giants such as Home Depot and Lowes don't pay more attention to the organic section of the lawn and garden department?  It's because there is no sure means to untangle the consumer confusion.  In addition, although organic gardening gets about 80% of the press, it only represents about 5% of the business. 

At the present time, consumers would be wise to think of an "Organic" pest control product as a marketing device and not necessarily as a boon to the environment.  Organics have been around for a long time and have not moved the environmental needle yet. 

SG