GARDEN CENTER

Summer Lawn & Garden Tips

Lawn Feeding
With all the rain this spring, your lawn may need some more fertilizer, but be careful not to do more harm to your lawn than good.  If your lawn is made up of cool season grasses (Rye, Fescue, or Bluegrass), you might want to use an organic fertilizer like Milorganite or Bradfield Organics Luscious Lawn.  Neither of these will burn your lawn or give you fungus problems.  Warm weather and high nitrogen chemical fertilizers can bring about lawn fungus problems.  Warm season grasses (Zoysia and Bermuda) actually need high nitrogen chemical fertilizer during the summer to stimulate good growth and that dark green color.

Insect Watch
Now is the time to start your insect watch.
Bagworms affect evergreens and they have been given great camouflaging skills by Mother Nature: they take part of the plant that they're feeding on to make their bag.  Look for those "cones" to start moving after dark, bagworms feed all night.
Japanese Beetles.  We're on the lookout.  We haven't seen many yet this year, but with the wet cool spring, maybe the cycle has been disrupted.  There are scattered reports, so keep a watchful eye on your plants.
Slugs are everywhere right now!  You won't find slugs or snails out during the day, but they can feed all night long.  Slug damage is distinctive because they can eat holes in the middle of the leaf.  There are a number of organic controls -- including beer!  Stop in and we'll show you.
Mosquitoes!  With all the wet weather comes mosquitoes, gnats, and no see'ums.  We have a number of solutions -- both organic and chemical -- that can control the bugs and let you enjoy the outdoors again.