A well maintained yard (including lawns) can add 15% to your home's value. Lawns help muffle noise, moderate temperatures, reduce dust and pollen, control erosion, improve soil, improve air quality by reducing CO2 levels, cushion the legs, and, though some may disagree, help keep dirt out of the home.

Maintaining a healthy, vigorously growing lawn is the best way to prevent a severe disease outbreak in a turfgrass. A 5,000 square foot lawn contains about four million turfgrass plants, each requiring optimum amounts of water and fertilizer, the right mowing regime, and an aerated, well-drained soil. About 75 to 85% of common lawn diseases can be avoided altogether just by optimizing these practices to avoid stressed grass, which is much more susceptible to disease outbreaks than healthy grass.

Proper Watering:

Water as infrequently as possible, but make sure you water enough. Watering infrequently but deeply will encourage the roots of the turf to go deep.

Water for as long as possible to get deep soil penetration (up to 30 minutes). It may be necessary to cycle irrigate if runoff occurs after just a short time. To cycle irrigate, water until runoff occurs, then stop and wait for the water to penetrate (usually 1 to 2 hours), then repeat.

Water as early as possible--first thing in the morning. Do not water between 4 pm and 4 am.

Do not water areas in the shade as frequently as the areas of your lawn that receive full sun.

Fertilizing:

Fertilization timing, amount, and type depend on the turf you have and your soil type. Unless your soil is very nutrient-poor, fertilize sparingly, as you can actually over-stimulate plant growth, making the lawn more susceptible to dry conditions and disease. Our professionals can help advise you on the best fertilizers to use.

Mowing:

It's very tempting to set the lawn mower very low so that you don't have to mow as often. Don't do it. If your lawn looks like Astroturf, you are mowing it much too short. Lawns mowed at 2-3" tend to have deeper roots, fewer weed problems, and look much better. On any given mowing, you should be removing about 1/3 of the grass blade.

If you are mowing regularly, let grass clippings stay on the lawn; they will readily decompose and return nutrients to the soil. If you have just inherited a meadow, and don't have a mulching mower, you can get the same effect by remowing several times, thus slicing up the long clippings that are lying on top.

Spot Care:

If there are brown spots in your lawn and you have ruled out fungus and insects, it could be a simple case of the soil's being too compacted. Try aerating the area and adding some grass seed; if it is very bad (dead turf) remove the turf, turn over the soil and amend with a good soil amendment If you reseed, lightly cover with a good organic topper The seeds must be kept moist continuously for the first two weeks or they will die.

Don't be confused by all those numbers! The N-P-K numbers (nitrogen-phosphorous-potassium) on the label simply give you the percentage of each of these primary nutrients in the fertilizer. For example, a 10-20-20 fertilizer contains 10% nitrogen, 20% phosphorus, and 20% potassium. This means that 100 pounds of this fertilizer will have 10 pounds of nitrogen, 20 pounds of phosphorus, and 20 pounds of potassium. These nutrients certainly aren't the only ones plants need, but plants use them in the greatest quantities. You'll sometimes hear the term "fertilizer ratios." This is simply the ratio of each to the other. Divide the numbers by the lowest number in the group of 3 and you will have the ratio. For instance, 10-20-20 would have a 1-2-2 ratio, and 15-15-15 would be 1-1-1.

Nitrogen is the nutrient most often in short supply in soils. It stimulates vegetative growth such as leaves and stems, and gives a lush green color to leaves. Phosphorous stimulates root growth, hastens flowering, and promotes increased disease-resistance, whereas potassium increases the size and quality of fruit and flowers, among other benefits.

The balance of these nutrients can be as important as how much you apply. For instance, a tomato may respond with lots of vegetative growth and few fruits if you give it too much nitrogen. If you give it too much phosphorous and potassium, and no nitrogen, the result can be a small plant that produces only a few tomatoes. Be sure to use a fertilizer that is specialized for the type of plant you are feeding.

A mature avocado tree needs to have at least two pounds of nitrogen a year and varying amounts of other nutrients such as phosphorus and zinc. For the home gardener, the easiest way to feed your avocado is to use a mixed fertilizer specifically recommended for citrus and avocados that contains nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and zinc . Be sure to follow the package directions.

In coastal zones, gardeners should divide the amount of fertilizer for the year into five equal applications and give one feeding each month from February through June. Interior gardeners should divide the total amount into four monthly applications and give one feeding per month from March through June. With slow-release fertilizers you can divide the fertilizer into two equal doses. Give the first dose early this month if you live along the coast, late this month if you live inland, and give the second dose in June.

If you choose to go with single-use fertilizers, you can feed avocados by spreading 25 pounds of aged chicken manure under each mature tree in February. Beginning in March, give each tree one trowelful each of blood meal and bone meal every six weeks, through August. If the mulch is very thick, rake it off, sprinkle the food underneath, then replace the mulch on top.

The main things an avocado desires are rich soil, excellent drainage, and a thick layer of mulch over the roots. Allow the leaves that fall to remain under the tree; don't rake them up. (Avocados are best planted at the back of the garden where their large leaves won't look too messy.) Add additional mulch to young trees.

Remember, never cultivate or dig under avocado trees, because that would damage the roots and all your fruit might fall off. It's best not to grow anything under an avocado tree, especially if that something needs frequent irrigation. Wet soil promotes root rot of avocado.

By Tamara Galbraith

Go ahead, be adventurous. Just because you don't live in a warm area of the country or don't have the space to plant a tree, it doesn't mean you can't grow oranges...really!

Basically, there are two primary factors to remember when growing dwarf citrus in a container: sunlight and pot size.

Think about it: most citrus fruits come from the sunniest of our states, i.e. California and Florida. So it makes sense that any citrus plant you decide to grow must have lots and lots of sun. Six hours is generally the minimum. (My trio of lemon trees sits in the sun-soaked driveway from spring through the whole warm season, and I haven't heard a complaint yet.)

Secondly, citrus wants space. Get the biggest lightweight pot you can find for your tart little friend, place it on wheeled tray strong enough to support the full weight of the pot when filled with soil, and plant the tree in a good potting mix, making sure the rootball is 1-4" below the pot's rim. Mulch around the plant to hold in moisture.

Don't overwater, however, as that is the #1 no-no of keeping citrus in containers. Make sure your container has better than average drainage at the bottom and only water when the top three inches of soil feel dry.

Bring your citrus in for the winter (you'll like having wheels beneath it at this point, believe me) when temperatures drop below 50 degrees outside; it should be fine by a bright window where it can look out and dream of the warm summer sunshine that is just around the bend.

Long ago and far away, the hills and flatlands of Southern California used to be covered with orange groves. One can almost hear Peter, Paul and Mary singing, “Where have all the orange groves gone? Long time passing. Where have all the orange groves gone? Long time ago. Where have all the orange groves gone? Gone to housing, every one. "

Ah, but you can have your very own “citrus grove,” right in your yard. Citrus trees are ornamentally beautiful, have fragrant blooms, are evergreen and boast colorful fruits all year long. Who could ask for more? Walk out into your yard and pluck an orange, lime, lemon, grapefruit, kumquat or your citrus of choice - fresh and delicious.

Now, we don’t mean to imply you should add rows and rows of citrus trees. But you can select your favorite citrus trees and incorporate them into your landscape, front or back yard. Also, dwarf citrus grow great in containers. Include them in that container-designed area of your patio or deck. If you plan to plant a citrus tree in a container, use cactus mix as the planting soil. This will give your citrus tree the best drainage.

We have numerous varieties of citrus trees from which to make your selection. Many of these are available in either standard or dwarf.

Citrus trees love full sun and well-drained soil. They prefer sandy soils. If you have more clay-like soil, amend heavily or plant the tree on a slight mound to keep the roots elevated for good drainage. And don’t forget to mulch, mulch, mulch! Citrus trees like moist soil, but not saturated soil. If you have clay soil, take care not to over-water in the root areas of your citrus. It is also best not to under-plant these trees at all, especially with grass that needs lots of water.

Fertilizing is important for citrus. They are heavy feeders and need lots of nitrogen. That should make sense when you observe their continuous foliage-growing, flowering and fruiting cycle. They also need other minerals such as iron, manganese and zinc. Yellowing leaves with dark veins are a sign of chlorosis from iron deficiency. Yellow mottling or blotching on leaves can be characteristic of manganese and/or zinc deficiency. If you are uncertain of what is happening with your citrus, bring us a leaf or two and we’ll direct you to the correct fertilizer.

Unhealthy citrus can get pests such as aphids, mites, scale, mealybugs, sooty mold and/or whitefly. Remember that you cannot use most synthetic chemical treatments on an edible plant. Keep your citrus healthy with regular organic fertilizing (we recommend Whitney Farms Citrus and Avocado), a full sun location, mulch, and regular water but not saturation. It also helps to mulch with worm castings from time to time.

If you do get one of or a combination of the above pests, the first type of treatment is spraying with water. You can knock off all of the listed insect pests with a hard blast of water. And you can clean foliage coated with black sooty mold with water and finger scrubbing.

If you are growing your citrus in a container, all of the above instructions are for you, too. However, you may need to water more often, because containers tend to dry out.

Citrus are excellent landscape plants that add to your gardens an attractive form, glossy green foliage, perfume fragrance, colorful fruits and above all, delectable eating! Come in to see us. We’ll meet you in the citrus grove!

The most effective management of leaf miners is simply to remove the infected leaves and throw them away. These larvae eat until full and then fall into the soil beneath the foliage to grow up. If you don’t want their life cycle to go that far, throwing out the leaves is best. If you miss a leaf or two, chances are birds or other natural predators will probably eat the pupae in the soil.

The Bayer Difference
Dual Action Formula Attracts and Kills Snails & Slugs - even after watering! Safe to use around pets.

QUICK FACTS

• Effective against a wide variety of snails and slugs.
• Can be used around pets and wildlife.
• Remains effective after rain or sprinkling.
• For use around lawns, gardens, ornamentals, vegetables, fruit trees and citrus.
• Treats up to 1,500 sq. ft.
• May be used up to and including day of harvest.

Around lawns, gardens, fruit trees and pets and wildlife.