Niemeyer Landscaping

Friday, May 24, 2013

Planting Urns & Pots

Many people at this time of year plant up urns, flower boxes, assorted pails, barrels, even old shoes with annual flowers.

What to plant is rarely in need of help; if you need something that grows in the shade you look for the shade cloth covered part of the nursery or garden center, sun loving plants are not in this shady part of the store. Once in the desired light or shade department the flowers generally sell themselves.

It would be wise to read the tags placed in each of the plant trays to find out all the pertinent information; like how tall and wide do they get, how far apart they should be planted, do they like wet/moist/or dry soil, and what their true light requirements are.

Now comes the soil that goes into your pot/barrel/box or shoe.

Since worms are not good jumpers or climbers you will need a soil mix that stays soft and airy; a soil type mix that resembles the subterranean activity of the common earthworm. This is where “potting soil” comes in; in fact it is not a soil at all; you will read on the bag “Soilless Mix”. What’s in this mix is half peat moss, half vermiculite or perlite, and sometimes a little bit of ground limestone. The reason being is that this combination will not compact into a hard lump of concrete like dirt can when devoid of worms.

Side Note: This is why you don’t want to kill off the worms when trying to get rid of the moles.

This soilless mix also makes the pot/barrel/box or shoe a lot lighter to carry when full. If you have large or deep pots, fill the bottom half with a block of Styrofoam or packing peanuts; most roots do not need to go more than 4 to 6 inch during this very short time of being in your pot/barrel/box or shoe.

Watering will be most every day on account of it being a rather porous mixture. There are additives you can mix into this soilless mix to help it retain moisture longer, just ask at the flower store.

If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me at NiemeyerLandscaping@Gmail.com or post a comment on this Blog. And like us on Facebook at Niemeyer Landscaping. For more Landscape and garden info and pictures on the subject check us out at www.NiemeyerLandscaping.com

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Roundup & Weed-b-Gon

Starting this afternoon they say the sun will be out, and it looks to be good through the weekend. If you have anything that needs spraying with Roundup or Weed-b-gon today would be a good time to do that.

Herbicides like Roundup and Weed-b-Gon are what they call systemic killers; the herbicide is absorbed into the leaf and is then sent to the stem where it travels down to the root killing the whole plant. So, no leaf (s) no kill.

In order for it to do its job completely it cannot rain for twelve hours. And, make sure you do not walk into the area you have sprayed and then walk out onto your lawn; you will leave dead grass foot prints.

In three days you should start to see the effects of your spraying; spray again anything that looks missed.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

African Rake Snake

There’s a predator lurking in your lawn, and it will strikes with a head throbbing vengeance when stepped on.

The strange thing about this lawn assassin is that it is more likely to pose a problem when people are working in the yard; almost like this kind of activity lures them out into the open.

Its teeth are formidable when on its back, yet these mandibles are not the deadliest part of its anatomy; the end, or tail, is the biggest inflictor of pain and misery.

When lying presumably face down it becomes quite dossal, seemingly asleep. But flip it on its back and it is poised and ready to strike when some hapless wayfarer stumbles upon it.

Most come in bright colors and assorted lengths, so you would think they could be easily spotted and avoided, but casualties unfortunately number into the thousands every year.

Bob Larson, creator of Far Side was the first to discover and name this fused vertebraed reptile; it is known as the African Rake Snake, and it lives to plant a big knot on your forehead whenever it can.

The best defense when coming upon one is to disarm it by flipping it on its face. Hanging it on a nail or peg in the garage seems to render it helpless as well.

Pictured is a dramatization of what can happen; embarrassment typically follows an attack.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Poison Ivy

Saw my first Poison Ivy plant yesterday.

If you're anything like me you can't get anywhere near Poison Ivy without spending the next two to three week scratching your skin off; and, I might add, it's not like snake venom, you don't build up an immunity to it. I have come to understand that you become more allergic with each major exposure.

To get rid of Poison Ivy is going to be a rainless, three day undertaking, but an undertaking that needs to be done none-the-less if you wish success.

First, you need to know what it looks like in order to avoid it in the first place, and to know what to eradicate.

Next, involves the three rainless days of spraying with concentrated Roundup; yes, concentrated Roundup, don’t dilute it. You must then spray every Poison Ivy leaf surface you see, for Roundup will only work if it is absorbed into the leaves of the plant.

Let me take a moment to say, sometimes other plants will be in the way, plants of a desirable nature……you must choose…….sometimes the good die young so the itchless need not scratch.

Your mission the next day will be to spray the PI leaves again, with another spraying the third day.

I would suggest a fourth day of spraying but the cellular structure of the plant will have broken down to a point where no more Round-up can be absorbed into the plant.

Now, let me warn you, it will look dead in two week but don’t touch or grab it with your bare hands; the itchy substance of the plant is in an oil present in the plant, even though it is dead. Do not burn it either, the oil will suspend in the smoke; and you won’t be able to get your hand deep enough into your mouth to scratch your itching lungs.

Just leave it, or, if you must, carefully remove it while wearing a long sleeve shirt and throw away rubber work gloves.

Please study this picture carefully, cut it out and put it in your wallet or purse, get to know this plant, be able to recognize it on the fly. To not be astute in the profile of this harmless looking perennial will cause you great embarrassment in the presence of others, you will feel the eyes of them all as they whisper among themselves, “who’s the leper in the Calamine paint”.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Hummingbirds are back!

Hey! The Hummingbirds are back! First one to get their feeders out wins!! And what do they win Johnny? Well, let me tell you; they win a summer of simple enjoyment as they watch one of God’s truly marvelous flying machines flit from feeder to feeder. Yes “feeders”, the more you put out the more birds you’ll attract.

Remember also that the “water to sugar” ration is 3 to 1. They will know if you’re being stingy with the sweet stuff; and if you are they will pass you by.

Let me put this in perspective for you. A Ruby Throat hummingbird must consume 3 to 4 grams of food a day in order to maintain flight and life; and not just any food, it must be high octane fuel food, no fluff stuff. That means if you were this bird, at your size now, you would have to consume 300 pounds of food per day to do what this little bird needs to do all day. That, my friend is a lot of grub. That’s 300 quarter pounders at McDonald’s, bun and all.

So, don’t skimp on the sugar!

Friday, May 17, 2013

Soil Amendments

A bag of high calcium lime on the garden is a must here in West Michigan because our levels of calcium are so low. Apply at a rate of 10 to 20 pounds per one thousand sq.ft.

Lastly, and this will be the icing on the cake, an application of good organic garden fertilizer tilled into the soil seven to ten days before planting will assure all Phosphorus, Potash and half of the Nitrogen, levels will be right up there while the young plants are growing. In six to eight week, when roots and foliage established the other half or the nitrogen can be added.

You are now ready for extreme success. The neighbors might even think you have been gardening for years.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Tilling Your Garden

Once a garden location has been established, you will probably have to do something about removing the sod. There are two options. One is to strip out the grass by hand or machine, which is a lot of work. The second is to kill off the grass, roots, and all with a herbicide like Round-Up or Kleen-Up. This can be applied anytime in April, with rototilling the dead sod under in 2 weeks. I am not a proponent of chemicals, but if this is the only one you use, you're doing fine. The benefit of this option is you get to keep all the topsoil.

The content of your soil may have to be amended. If your soil is heavy clay, till in some peat moss and sand. These two items will help loosen up the soil and promote better drainage and root development. The amount you will need will depend on the “heaviness of your clay, it would be best to error on the “putting it on heavy” side.

If your soil is sandy, till in a generous amount of peat moss. The peat moss will help the sandy soil retain moisture.

Compost mixed into the soil has to be the best single thing you can do to any garden new or old. There are many retail garden centers that sell compost by the bag; and one bag will go a long way.