Marty's Weekly eNewsletter

Who else is enjoying the fruits of labor from the garden? Maybe not too many fruits at this point, but how about vegetables? With the recent moisture, we've been enjoying produce from the garden recently; mainly radishes, green onions, and asparagus at this point. I know those who planted peas, carrots, lettuce, spinach and cole crops are enjoying home grown, fresh produce that they grew themselves. It’s pretty satisfying, isn’t it?  

There is something magical about rainfall. Plants thrive with moisture from the heavens. Rain is part of the water cycle as it clears the air, replenishes aquifers, allows plants to grow, eventually fills streams, rivers, lakes and ponds, and adds humidity to the air. This time of the year, mowing the lawn a couple times a week isn’t unheard of. Our spring planted bedding plants are getting established, and the early spring vegetables from the garden - radish, asparagus, onions, broccoli and others are being enjoyed on dinner tables.

When I plant flowers in my landscape, I tend to go with some sort of a color scheme. Always the brighter the better. I’ve done yellow and red combinations in the past, as well as orange. One thing I also like to do is plant many kinds of plants. Annuals are great. For the most part, they are plants that bloom soon after planting until our killing frost around the first part of November. Perennials have a place in my garden as well. My hostas have been great performers in the shade part of the back yard year after year. The occasional hail can mess with them, but they come out of it pretty well.

By now, most of us have our crabgrass preventer applied and the product is controlling crabgrass seedlings as they germinate. For All Seasons Lawn Food Plus Crabgrass and Weed Preventer from ferti-lome will work most of the season. I do recommend also applying Hi-Yield Weed & Grass Stopper in the hot spots of your turf, and along curb lines, sidewalks and drives for season long control as the heat shortens the life of For All Seasons a bit. Weed & Grass Stopper contains no fertilizer and is great for landscape areas as well.