The sun was bright this morning and it was filtering through to the snowdrops that were blooming under the redbud tree. These are the first signs of spring in our garden.(other than the robins that showed up a few weeks ago.)
I don't have a lot of these dainty bulbs. Actually, this is the only spot in my garden, but they are always the first to bloom in the beds. From here on in the other spring flowers will come along in their proper order and sequence. . . . all in good time.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Snowdrops
Monday, March 26, 2007
Do I need to rake my lawn?
Raking is good for the lawn. Raking is mainly a grooming exercise. And it can be exercise. Plus it gives you sunshine and fresh air (unless you like raking in the rain). Raking removes the dead grass blades. Once the dead blades have been removed, the lawn will look greener, even though you have also removed some green grass blades.
Raking is also a “pruning”. Just as trimming a forsythia bush will stimulate growth, raking a lawn will prune stems of grass and will also stimulate growth.
Is it absolutely necessary? No. The lawn will not look as green until more new growth starts, but the lawn will still survive. My lawn is huge and I never have time to rake, I don’t like raking, and so I don’t.
Dethatching is a form of mechanical raking. Generally, I find mechanical dethatching to be a little unnecessary. Many people see the dead grass blades from the winter and will say “My lawn has a lot of thatch.” As lawn experts, we call that dead grass blades. Thatch to us is that layer of stems, roots and other stuff between the green part of the lawn (the grass blades) and the soil. Some thatch is good as it insulates the soil from extremes of temperature and reduces moisture loss. Too much thatch (TMT) acts like a thatch roof and can prevent water from penetrating the root zone. TMT also provides protection for insect pests and can increase disease incidence. TMT accumulates because of the lack of oxygen and the proper micro organisms to break it down. Rarely is TMT caused by not removing the clippings. Return clippings to the lawn as this will better utilize the nutrients in the clippings and increase microbial activity. If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:
Turf King Home
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Click here to Request a Quote Online -
or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)
If you would like more information, please Contact us
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Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Signs of Spring- besides robins
This morning, I caught a rabbit feeding on the lawn. Now when I say “caught”, I mean visually not literally. I wouldn’t mind catching one literally, as they are multiplying like “rabbits.” The bad part of course, is that they like to eat my plants. Last year, they kept taking the tops of the lettuce plants and nibbling on the swiss chard. During the winter, they will “prune” certain plants, like the spireas, euonymus, and burning bush.
Turf King Home
Click here to Request a Quote Online -
Click here to Request a Quote Online -
or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)
If you would like more information, please Contact us
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Thursday, March 15, 2007
Vole Damage
We are getting calls from people who are unhappy with the pathways and runways that they are finding in the lawn as the snow disappears. Are they moles? Actually they are "Voles." Voles are basically the proper name for field mice. During the winter, the voles are able to run around the whole lawn under the protection of the snow. During the summer, they tend to stay in the bushes or in the fields where there is more cover. Where snow is piled up, the snow acts as a giant inflatable building which protects the voles from predators.
If you live in near a field, you are more likely to have problems with voles. The voles will migrate from the field to the lawn and the protection of the snow piles.
How do you get rid of the voles? Once the snow cover is gone, the voles will go into hiding again. If they go back to the fields, that's great. They may take up residence under the shed or under the protection of a dense shrub. So, normally, there is not a lot to do to get rid of the voles.
As far as the lawn goes, most of the lawn will recover. Often the pathways are on the surface and the grass roots will recover and grow back. There may be the odd spot that will not. We recommend that you sprinkle a little topsoil and some grass seed to speed up the recovery process. That can be done starting in early April.
If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:
If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:
Turf King Home
Click here to Request a Quote Online -
Click here to Request a Quote Online -
or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)
If you would like more information, please Contact us
Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/turfkingofgreen
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Global Warming
It is supposed to get warm this week and a lot of snow is melting very quickly. Which got me to thinking about all the attention "Global Warming" has been getting lately. Not that you would have noticed with the record cold temperatures last week.
So do lawns help with global warming? Maybe or maybe not, but they can keep the area around your home cooler. Certainly at least compared to pavement and asphalt.
Temperature Moderation - Turfgrass reduces temperature heat extremes by natural transpirational cooling. The front lawns of just 8 average houses have the cooling effect of about 70 tons of air conditioning. The average home-size central air unit has a 3 to 4 ton capacity.
Bird Seed and the Lawn
I usually try to place my bird feeders in the garden depending on what kind of seed they contain. I am down to only 3 kinds of feed lately.
I like whole unshelled peanuts for the woodpeckers and chickadees. I have a metal peanut feeder which works great. But I also use some onion netting as well. I saved a couple of netting bags from the small white onions or from a garlic netting bag. I put the peanuts in the netting, tie up the end and hang the bag in a tree or bush. It does bother me when the small downy woodpecker laboriously pecks a hole in the peanut shells, only to be chased away by the bully bluejays once the peanuts are accessible.
I keep the feeder for the niger
Black sunflower seeds seem to disappear over night. When the birds are ravenous, I could be filling the feeders every other day and still not keep up. The goldfinches, sparrows, purple finches, chickadees, bluejays, cardinals and morning doves all flock to the feeders. I don’t mind if these feeders are situated over certain garden beds. In these beds, I don’t mind if a sunflower or 2 or 3 sprouts up later in the spring.
In fact I usually save some of the sunflower seed to sow in the garden. A handful of bird seed bought at bird seed prices only cost pennies. A package of sunflower seeds is a couple of dollars at a minimum. If I feel extravagant I will splurge on a couple of packages of the fancy sunflowers, but for a mass planting, the bird seed variety is good enough for me (and the birds that do come along late in the summer to feed on the seed)
or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)
Copyright 2007 Turf King-Hamilton. All Rights Reserved.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Recycling the Christmas Tree
My youngest son is insistent that Christmas isn’t Christmas without a real Christmas tree. That’s fine since he will take it upon himself to choose the tree, bring it home and even set it up and decorate it.
Once the tree has served its purpose for the holiday season, I’ll take it outside somewhere and use it as a landing spot for a bird feeder. By Marc h, it is usually starting to turn brown. But at least, it’s gotten an extra 3 months of use. After that, I’ll take it into the edge of the woods (more like overgrown brush etc) along the fence line to let it serve another few months as cover for the rabbits and other wildlife that tend to inhabit the edges of the hayfield.
I’m not sure, though, if I should encourage the rabbits. My poor dwarf burning bush (Euonymus alata compacta) has always been a dwarf. In ten years, it has never grown past the 2 ft high mark. Every summer it manages to get a little higher, only to be chewed back each winter by the rabbits. I’m sure that burning bush is their favourite winter snack. They do munch on some of my regular evergreen euonymus and spireas but they usually don’t mind the trimming.
or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)
Copyright 2007 Turf King-Hamilton. All Rights Reserved.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Soil or Dirt
Soil is more than "Dirt." All plants will grow better in good soil. So. . . what makes soil good. Different plants have different tolerances to soil conditions.
Lawns need a soil with good structure. This refers to the size and shape of the soil particles. Ideally about 50 percent of the soil should be soil solids. The rest of the soil is composed of the empty spaces. These are called pores spaces. Basically there are two type of pores. The small pores are important for storing water. These small pores contain the water and allow it to move in the soil through capillary action. The smaller the pores, the higher up (the greater distance) the water is able to move. Large pores are essential for drainage and aeration. These pores are too large to hold water (at least for very long). These spaces though, are important because they hold oxygen. Without the correct balance of water and air, the roots will not survive.
Clay soils are fine textured and have the largest amount of pore space. However, because the pores are small, they tend to hold less oxygen and can contain a lot of moisture. Sandy soils, on the other hand, have large pores, which limits the amount of water that the soil can hold.
The best soil will have a balance of fine textured silts and clays, with some coarser textured soil solids to allow water to drain away after a rain or irrigation.
If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:
or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)
Copyright 2007 Turf King-Hamilton. All Rights Reserved.
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