Plant Tomatoes earlier with a Wall-O'-Water

Eager to get your tomato starts planted but concerned about May's unpredictable weather. Take the uncertainty out of spring planting with a Wall-O'-Water. 

A Wall-O’-Water acts like a mini-greenhouse to protect your young plants from the cold, wet weather we can experience in May. 

Start by amending your garden soil by digging in two to three inches of organic material. Next, open the package and select one of the three enclosed Walls-O'-Water.

An easy way to hold the empty Wall-O’-Water in place is to set it over a 5-gallon bucket.

Fill each of the Wall-O’-Water tubes about two thirds full and then remove the bucket. Once the bucket is out of the way, allow the tubes to fold into themselves. This will form a teepee and help protect your young plants.

Plan to set up your Wall-O'-Water at least one week before you actually set out your plants. This allows the soil to warm up under the Wall-O’-Water and reduces transplant shock. While the soil is warming up under the Wall-O’-Water, start setting your young plants outside for a few hours at a time. This is called “hardening off” and it allows your starts to become accustomed to the outside temperatures and conditions.  When you're ready to plant, pick up the Wall-O'-Water and set it aside.

Plant your tomato in the spot where the Wall-O'-Water has been sitting, then put the Wall-O'-Water back in place, covering the plant. As your plants grow and temperatures warm up, fill up each of the tubes to the top. Keep your Walls-O’-Water in place at least until mid-June and then remove them. You can use Walls-O'-Water for tomatoes, peppers, squash and other warm weather vegetables. 

Walls-O’-Water are available in original green or red and are reusable, so store them in a safe place until next season.  

Spring Rose Pruning

  

Late April into May is the time to prune your roses. This year, many of our roses have already broken dormancy and while we’ll still get some temperature fluctuations, now's the time to inspect your roses to see how they fared through the winter and to get them ready for the new season.

Start by gathering your tools. You'll need garden scissors, a good pair of bypass pruners, a set of loppers for large canes and sturdy gloves.

Next, remove the rose collar from the base of the rose and start pulling back the mulch. It’s best to remove mulch gradually over the course of several days. This will allow the rose to adjust to the change in soil temperature.

You’ll notice many spring weeds such as dandelion and wild lettuce have taken advantage of the mulch to set down roots of their own. Remove these before you go any further.

The same is true for any leaves or rose hips that may have wintered over. Black Spot and other diseases can winter over in this debris. A good cleanup now will help keep your roses healthy through the growing season.

Start your actual spring pruning by removing any dead, diseased or damaged canes. Use your bypass pruners on medium sized canes. A long-handled lopper makes easy work of larger canes. Next, open up the rose bush to light and improve air circulation by removing any canes that cross in the center. After all the dead, diseased, broken and crossed canes have been removed, you're ready to prune for shape and bloom production. The rule of thumb is to prune canes down until you reach green wood, then cut one inch deeper. 

Using a sharp bypass pruner, select an outward facing bud eye and cut the cane about one quarter inch above the bud eye. The bud eye may be active or dormant.  Pruning cuts made this way will keep the rose bush growing outward.  Use your garden scissors to remove any small, twiggy stems and rose hips from last season. Mini-roses grow on their own roots. This is the time of year to remove all winterkill down to healthy wood. Climbing roses have two types of stems, the main climbing canes and the lateral shoots, which come off the main canes. The lateral shoots are the ones that produce flowers. Start by removing any dead or damaged canes, then cut back the remaining canes a foot or so.

After pruning your rose bushes, fertilize them with Fertilome Rose Food or Mile High Rose Food. This first feeding should be done in mid to late May. Finally, don't avoid pruning because you're worried about making a mistake.

Roses need to be pruned in the spring in order to do their best. As long as your roses are healthy, well-watered and fed, they’ll bounce back fine from one or two bad pruning cuts.  If you have questions about pruning roses, stop in. We'll help you.  

Spring Ornamental Tree Care

Ornamental Crabapple trees are among the most popular of the spring-flowering trees. Their fragrant, colorful blossoms last for weeks and provide a source of nectar and pollen for early foragers. As we approach bloom time this spring, here are some things you need to do now to ensure their continued health.

Start by removing tree wrap. Applied in October, tree wrap protects the tree bark from winter sun scald, but now's the time to take it off. Tree wrap left in place through the spring and summer  creates excess moisture between the wrap layer and the bark, inviting insects and disease. It can also constrict growth.

Next, prune away any suckers. When a crabapple tree is under stress, it will begin to propagate itself by producing shoots or suckers, from the root system. These suckers drain energy away from the tree and need to be removed.

Established crabapple trees will benefit from a fertilizer applied in the spring. Fertilome granular Tree and Shrub fertilizer is a good choice. It's effective and easy to apply, especially if the tree is planted in the lawn. You need to water it in, once applied.  Tree spikes are also available and convenient to use.

This is the time to watch for Fire blight. Fire blight is a bacterial disease which can affect crabapple, apple and pear trees. Symptoms include dead branches, light brown to black leaves and a “burnt” look. Fire blight can be spread in the spring by wind, rain or snow and by poor pruning practices.  If you’ve seen infected trees in your neighborhood, you should spray your trees. Fire blight is treated by applying streptomycin when blossoms first open and weekly during the bloom period. Streptomycin can be found in Fertilome Fire Blight Spray.

Finally, it's important to improve the soil your tree is growing in.  Regardless of how long your tree has been in the ground, it will benefit by the application of organic material and humates. These products will help break up compacted soil, increase soil biological activity and improve nutrient uptake, important factors in your tree’s overall health and longevity.  

Selecting the Right Grass Seed for Your Lawn

Winter can take its toll on your lawn. As your grass begins to break dormancy, you may notice brown spots or bare patches. This damage can be caused by a number of factors, including winter kill, dog urine, disease and insect activity.

April is generally a good time to repair and rebuild your lawn and a simple, cost effective way to do this is to apply grass seed.  Whether you're spot seeding or re-seeding the whole lawn, there are two important factors to consider. First, you need to know the type of grass you have, so you can select the right seed. Second, you need to know when’s the best time to apply your grass seed.

Turf grasses are generally divided into two categories: cool season grasses and warm season grasses. Cool season grasses include Kentucky Blue Grass, Perennial Rye Grass and Turf Type Tall Fescue.  Cool season grass seed should be planted as soon as the soil temperature reaches 50° F. As of April 4, 2018 at 0730, the soil temperature is in the low to mid 40°s. While Kentucky Blue grass is the predominate turf grass in our area, many lawns are combinations of Blue grass, Perennial Rye grass and Turf Type Fescue grass.

Warm season grasses include Buffalo grass and Blue Grama. Warm season grasses should be planted when the soil temperature reaches 60° F, generally in May. 

Buffalo grass is a short, dense, sod-forming grass. It generally grows from 4” to 6” high.

Buffalo grass can be sown directly into the ground once the soil temperature has warmed sufficiently. You can also start seeds in trays and then transplant the plugs to the area you’re trying to get started. Buffalo grass does not perform well in higher elevations (above 6,500 feet). If you need a grass that does well at our altitude and up to 9,00', plant Blue Grama. Blue Grama is a drought tolerant native grass. You can direct sow Blue Grama with good success, once the soil temperature is 60° or higher. Blue Grama is the state grass of Colorado.

Choosing the right grass seed is the first step to getting your lawn in shape for the coming season. We carry a wide variety of turf grass seed.  We can help you select the right seed for your particular lawn situation and because we carry grass seed in bulk, you can buy the exact amount of seed you'll need.