4/21/2009 - Bamboo Update

Also wanted to note for the record that sometime last week I dug up all the variegated bamboo I planted years ago that was taking over. I know better than to think that it's completely gone, but I think I got a lot of it out and now I'm free to put something else there. Could be I'll be spending years digging up little shoots that pop up every so often - we'll see. In any case, no more bamboos for me unless they stay in a container I suppose and maybe none even then - too dangerous!

Spring 2009 Lawn Care Update

For future reference I want to write down how much WOW! Plus I applied to the backyard. Hopefully, this will save from remeasuring every time I go back there to fertilize:

Largest grassy area is 250 sq feet requiring 3.11# of WOW! Plus to deliver 1# of N/1000 sq ft.

Smaller grassy area is 140 sq feet requiring 1.75# of WOW! Plus to deliver 1# of N/1000 sq ft.

REMEMBER: WOW! Plus is 8-2-4 meaning 8% of a 20# bag is N or 1.6# of N per 20# bag.

See notes from last fertilization in file folder "GARDEN - Backyard" for review!

2/27/2009 Spring WOW! Supreme Application

Okay, a year to the date after my last Spring application I've applied more Wow! Supreme to the front yard. I applied 1 20# bag plus the remainder of another bag, about 12#. The exact correct amount to apply to get 1# of N per 1000 square feet is 27.5#, so I applied a bit more, but that's okay since I should get better weed control. Also, in the Fall I skipped applying fertilizer to one area I thought I was going to reseed. I never got around to it and that area is looking especially pathetic so I tried to get it a bit extra. Can't wait for things to green up! We should have rain all weekend, so that ought to settle it in.

I'm out of Wow for the moment and haven't applied any to the backyard yet. I do have some regular old fertilizer I should probably use up, so maybe I'll go that route. I think Gardens Alive! is having a sale right now on WOW though, so I do plan to stock up. Also, I will take some photos of the backyard once things green up so I can see how my grass seeding worked out. I did manage to grow some grass, so that's better than nothing I guess.

Also, I raked the yard clean prior to fertilizing and mowed over a ton of leaves to shred them for bean mulch. I also picked up a ton of sticks. Pretty much a full days worth of yard work. I think I started at 12:30 or so and it's now almost 7 - so a long day out in the yard, but it was a balmy 60 degrees, so that made it okay. I look forward to getting around to fertilizing the back yard and then eventually doing a serious mulch job, as well as finishing leaf pick-up and shredding and clearing leaves out of my bed. A gardener's work is never done!

9/21/2008 Grass Seeding Update / Fall WOW Supreme Application

I spent most of the weekend reseeding the places in the sod that didn't make it. As usual, it took a lot longer than I thought it would. Places where the grass didn't make it include: area under the magnolias, area on the slope near the maple, area where Mark staked down the blue tarp to protect the patio area from rain and killed the grass in the process, area where Mark decided to clean his bike, do some epoxy work and killed the grass. GRRRRRR...

I've had bad luck w/ grass over the years. Most of the places I've tried to reseed were in the front yard under the River Birches where there is lots of competition from the tree and not a lot of shade. Despite several attempts, the areas I tried to renovate in the front never took, so I'm not optimistic about my luck in the back. I did all the things you're supposed to do - removed the dead grass, raked up the top 1/4 inch or more of soil, chose the appropriate seed (chose a dense shade mix from Pennington - these areas aren't in dense shade, but the area in front I'm going to attempt to reseed is in dense shade, so I'm hoping it will work in both places - I don't see why not - my understanding is that grass only tolerates shade and prefers sun - so I think it ought to take all other things being equal. I covered the seeded areas w/ topsoil and then w/ straw. In retrospect, I'm realizing now that I didn't apply any fertilizer. I'm hoping I can go over that area w/ the spreader and I'll use some of the Gro-Green stuff that I've had sitting around forever. Once it gets watered in that should get it off to a good start. I'm going to try hard to document how it goes for future reference.

In my gut I have a terrible feeling I've just wasted the entire weekend seeding grass that will never live and I think,"If only I could grow liriope from seed or get someone to let me have some of theirs - I could replace all the grass there w/ liriope or other ground covers and never worry about it again!!" Though now that I visualize it, maybe liriope is too tall. Maybe the smaller mondo grass is what I really need. I wonder how to propogate that? I know it spreads slowly. That's what I'd really prefer to have there. I really prefer to have no grass whatsoever - just groundcovers and stepping stones!

Here's photos of what I've got so far.



I think germination should take 7-10 days. In the meantime I'll sprinkle it twice a day to keep it wet and there after water it every week. Not sure what happens once its cold - do people water new lawns once it's winter weather outside?? My plan will be to keep it well watered as long as possible.

Also, fertilized the front yard w/ WOW Supreme! This time I did just one 20# bag and part of the another 20# bag. This should have gotten me 1# of N per 1000 sq ft. While I was spreading I noticed that the chickweed has already sprouted. Seems
like every year I'm probably too late. To get the weed inhibiting effects timing is crucial since the corn gluten only works pre-germination. Really should've applied WOW on labor day weekend. Remember this for next Fall!! Apply the WOW earlier, Kendra!! Labor Day and Valentine's Day really are probably the ideal times to apply!

Did a bunch of weeding on the slope in the back yard. Here's a photo of the spot where the patio is supposed to be - covered in weeds and flooded w/ water.


Have to say that mulching the front bean in the Spring time w/ other people's yard debris (I mowed over it!) really kept the weeds down well in the front yard. I need to keep the mulch fresh on the back slope and side yards until I have time to get stuff planted there. Need to get stuff established in all my weedy spots so I have less weeding. My parents did a really good job of that in their yard. They do mulch every year, but I don't think they weed like I do because they have groundcovers everywhere and plantings.

I hope to someday have an established landscape that looks nice. I do enjoy gardening, but so far it feels like most of the time I spend is mowing and weeding and not actually caring for plants and admiring my beautiful landscape. I hope to someday get to that point! I hope to keep with it and do something every year to improve things a little bit while keeping things up. I do know from associating w/ other Master Gardeners that many of them spend A LOT of money on plants and that's not something I've done up until now. Eventually, I'll have to spend some money if I want to fill in all my empty spaces. My goal is to establish some new beds/plants every year!!

Remember, this is supposed to be fun, Eleanor! Seems like I spent a lot of my gardening time fantasizing about living in a condo or in a house in the middle of the woods w/ no yard work!! Sometimes gardening just feels so futile! Spend all this time planting grass or weeding only to have all that time not amount to anything because the grass didn't take or to spend a lot of time weeding only to have the weeds grow back. There must be lessons to learn from these things! Maybe I need an attitude adjustment.

Carissa Holly Pruning

I finally pruned the Carissa hollies out by the mailbox. I wish I'd taken a before and after photo. By the time I was done I'd sort of forgotten what they'd looked like to start with! I did a lot of thinning cuts just like it describes them in my Master Gardener's manual and some heading cuts as well - being sure to look carefully for the buds. The buds seemed to be pretty far apart on these as far as I could tell. I think I could have waited until they greened up and pruned then, but I might have missed my window of opportunity by then.

Overall, I think I did a good job and am really getting a hang of this pruning thing. I removed a lot of plant material without significantly altering the actual outward appearance of the shrub. I also managed to reduce it in size a bit. Hopefully, this will keep it in a check another year. I've read that Carissa hollies are slow growing, so people plant them close together, but their ultimate size is actually fairly large. So that means that if you plant them close together to get a more full effect from the get go they are eventually going to require pruning to keep them in check. And that's what I was doing today.

I'd have to check my gardening diary, but I don't believe I've ever pruned these significantly before in the past - so this was the first time in 8+ years they've had a good haircut. I'm especially pleased that I didn't end up having to "hat-rack" them - as I've heard people say - and take them all the way down to just bare sticks and branches with no leaves. I think that would've taken them a long time to recover from.

One of the bushes behind the mailbox seems to have significant mite damage. I pruned some of that out, but there was quite a lot of it. The others seemed to be okay. Hopefully, it won't spread.

Maybe now that I've thinned out a lot of the branches and there will be more air circulation and sunlight they will be less prone to mites? I'm sure having a record setting drought last year didn't help!

I will try to remember to examine the plant's response to my pruning in a few weeks or whenever new growth sets in.

Next on the list is to order bamboo barrier, trim the bamboo back, root trim it, and install the barrier. And, cut back the striped liriope - which I always contemplate getting rid of or moving elsewhere.

Also, on the list, demolishing the wooden retaining walls and all the landscaping in the backyard for the new retaining walls. I'll definitely try and take some before and afters of that transformation!

Liriope Trimming

Today I finally got around to trimming the liriope. It took a while, but I mowed over it and was able to get most of the cuttings up with the mulching lawnmower. Tomorrow I'll add them to the compost pile.

Next on the list! Prune back the Carissa Hollies!

WOW! Plus Update

I'm stocking up again on WOW! Plus because they have what seems to amount to a 50% off coupon and I wanted to cut and paste this text from their webpage here for future reference:

"Apply 10-20 lbs. per 1,000 sq. ft. when forsythia starts to bloom, through July. This timing corresponds with the time when crabgrass begins and ends germinating. Yearly spring and fall applications at 10lbs. per 1,000 sq. ft. provide as much as 85% weed control after two years and 91% after three years. Plus it provides balanced fertilization. Applications at 20lbs. per 1,000 sq. ft. provide even better control, because the percentage of weed control increases with higher application rates."

I applied roughly 20# per 1,000 sq. ft. based on my calculations, so I was on the high end, but perhaps I'll get better weed control as a result.