I have mentioned this type of error several times in various places. It is an easy mistake to make and it is usually made by two types of gardener. The complete non-gardener who wants as little to do with the garden as possible and the keen amateur who is trying to do too much in one go and is inclined to take "shortcuts". Yes I know the quotation marks are gone out of fashion but I couldn't resist.
The mistake is to cut the grass on your lawn too short. This month I was very busy with various things that I just could not get away from, so my wife decided to help out in the garden. This was going to be a surprise for me so she did not tell me until after the fact. She knew enough to know that around now would be when the grass would get it's last cut before the winter. So she decided to make it last. i.e. she cut it a little shorter than usual.
I'm sure that with the above facts you will all be cringing. The grass had not been cut for a month and then got it's last cut before the winter shorter than it should. The results were disaster. Well intentioned of course but disaster nonetheless. The grass looks like it has just come through a three month drought. It is the colour of hey and has about as much life in it. Ordinarily the slightly shorter than usual cut would not have made much difference as long as we did not get an early frost, but the fact that the lawn had been (uncharacteristically) neglected for a month meant that the green was at the top of a six inch long stalk and the grass below was yellow. My wife cut all the green off leaving the yellow.
Apart from the appearance of the grass it is most unhealthy for the grass. So let this be a warning to anyone in the same situation. Keep your relatives informed and ask them to never surprise you by helping out without telling you in advance. And if your wife does mess up like that, make sure to show your appreciation for the kind thought and effort to help out when thing were getting out of hand.
As for my lawn, feeding will not help as it is already a well fed lawn. So, all I can do is wait now and hope for a late frost.
Ah well! You learn by making mistakes.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Summer tips
Hi again.
A friend of mine made a "little" gardening mistake that inspired me to post again.
He had a problem with aphids on his roses and just about everywhere else. So I told him to order in some ladybirds (or ladybugs depending on where you live) to gobble them up. But Tom is a "belt and braces" kind of guy so I should have known there was going to be more to this story. But, without telling any more contact with me he went ahead and ordered them and when they came he released them into the garden to do what comes naturally. A week later there was no sign of them. So he called me over to investigate.
Blaming me for suggesting a plan of action that did not work.
When I went around the garden I saw that there were still some aphids on the flowers but not nearly as many as there were the last time I looked. I commented on this to Tom. His reply was, "Yeah well it was no thanks to your ladybirds."
"How do you figure that" I asked him.
"Well I sprayed the flowers with that new insecticide I heard som much about. After a couple of days the ladybirds were gone and so were the aphids. So it must have been the spray."
He said this with total conviction and total innocence.
I am sure that I don't have to tell you what happened. But just in case you don't get it...
Tom killed the aphids with the spray but he also killed the ladybugs. After all they are both insects and therefore susceptible to insecticide. He was thinking of the ladybugs as another form of insecticide and it never crossed his mind that he might kill them this way.
Until the next time. So Long
A friend of mine made a "little" gardening mistake that inspired me to post again.
He had a problem with aphids on his roses and just about everywhere else. So I told him to order in some ladybirds (or ladybugs depending on where you live) to gobble them up. But Tom is a "belt and braces" kind of guy so I should have known there was going to be more to this story. But, without telling any more contact with me he went ahead and ordered them and when they came he released them into the garden to do what comes naturally. A week later there was no sign of them. So he called me over to investigate.
Blaming me for suggesting a plan of action that did not work.
When I went around the garden I saw that there were still some aphids on the flowers but not nearly as many as there were the last time I looked. I commented on this to Tom. His reply was, "Yeah well it was no thanks to your ladybirds."
"How do you figure that" I asked him.
"Well I sprayed the flowers with that new insecticide I heard som much about. After a couple of days the ladybirds were gone and so were the aphids. So it must have been the spray."
He said this with total conviction and total innocence.
I am sure that I don't have to tell you what happened. But just in case you don't get it...
Tom killed the aphids with the spray but he also killed the ladybugs. After all they are both insects and therefore susceptible to insecticide. He was thinking of the ladybugs as another form of insecticide and it never crossed his mind that he might kill them this way.
Until the next time. So Long
Thursday, May 22, 2008
May Maddness
You know, I have been saying all along that I am a useless blogger. And I am.
But I completely lost the run of myself today and decided to post on my blog again.
May is the beginning of summer. It is pouring rain outside. For some reason my grass looks yellower than usual... probably need to be fed. Somehow things don't seem to be going well this year. Nah! they're not going bad. But you know, just the flowers seem to be late and everything is just that bit behind.
We had some really good sunny days last week. You know how everything seems to flow when the sun shines? And then we get the heavy rain. Now I know our rain is light compared to some places and there are places where they are crying out for it, but all the same you just hang your head when you get that combination, i.e. really bright warm weather then cold heavy rain.
I suppose I should put in some gardening tips here. After all it is a gardening site blog. Ok but we'll keep it simple for today because I was not expecting to have to do this when I started writing today.
Gardening Tip 1. Next time you are walking in the park in autumn/fall, bring a bucket. You can collect the fallen leaves from under the trees. The people who have to sweep up the leaves from the lawns will be glad you did. Put them into your compost or keep them in a dark place until they rot down and use them as mulch.
Ok! I'm on a roll here so I'm going to give you another tip.
Gardening Tip 2. If you want to get things moving in the garden earlier than usual cove the ground in that area with black plastic. It is easy to get on a roll at hardware shops and garden centres. The plastic keeps the soil warm, encouraging early growth from your bulbs, stops most weeds, and it is neat and tidy. That means that you do not have to keep sweeping it up when the wind blows, like you do with mulches. But, make sure that you weigh it down well, or the wind will blow it away altogether.
Now, that's enough for today. Well, well you know what? The rain stopped and the sun is trying to come out.
See you next time.
But I completely lost the run of myself today and decided to post on my blog again.
May is the beginning of summer. It is pouring rain outside. For some reason my grass looks yellower than usual... probably need to be fed. Somehow things don't seem to be going well this year. Nah! they're not going bad. But you know, just the flowers seem to be late and everything is just that bit behind.
We had some really good sunny days last week. You know how everything seems to flow when the sun shines? And then we get the heavy rain. Now I know our rain is light compared to some places and there are places where they are crying out for it, but all the same you just hang your head when you get that combination, i.e. really bright warm weather then cold heavy rain.
I suppose I should put in some gardening tips here. After all it is a gardening site blog. Ok but we'll keep it simple for today because I was not expecting to have to do this when I started writing today.
Gardening Tip 1. Next time you are walking in the park in autumn/fall, bring a bucket. You can collect the fallen leaves from under the trees. The people who have to sweep up the leaves from the lawns will be glad you did. Put them into your compost or keep them in a dark place until they rot down and use them as mulch.
Ok! I'm on a roll here so I'm going to give you another tip.
Gardening Tip 2. If you want to get things moving in the garden earlier than usual cove the ground in that area with black plastic. It is easy to get on a roll at hardware shops and garden centres. The plastic keeps the soil warm, encouraging early growth from your bulbs, stops most weeds, and it is neat and tidy. That means that you do not have to keep sweeping it up when the wind blows, like you do with mulches. But, make sure that you weigh it down well, or the wind will blow it away altogether.
Now, that's enough for today. Well, well you know what? The rain stopped and the sun is trying to come out.
See you next time.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Another New Year
Hello Folks!
A mild winter so far in most parts. At least up to now anyway. There was a lot of snow in parts of western Europe this week. But, this is a good thing for some people. The tourism industry for one and some gardeners for another. It game most of us an excuse to stay indoors beside the fire, not that we needed one.
Anyway a fall of snow is good for the garden. It kills many of the pests that have been thriving in the mild winters we having lately. The trouble is that it also kills many of their natural predators.
As long as you have prepared your garden for winter you should have no problem with a bit of snow. It only becomes a problem when you have to dig your way out. That might sound funny to anyone who has not had to do it. But, it is not funny at all when you are trapped wherever you are and unable to openb the door and if you can the snow is too soft to walk on and too deep to walk through... A story for another blog on another day, perhaps.
Anyway, let's hope it's a good one.
Happy New Year.
A mild winter so far in most parts. At least up to now anyway. There was a lot of snow in parts of western Europe this week. But, this is a good thing for some people. The tourism industry for one and some gardeners for another. It game most of us an excuse to stay indoors beside the fire, not that we needed one.
Anyway a fall of snow is good for the garden. It kills many of the pests that have been thriving in the mild winters we having lately. The trouble is that it also kills many of their natural predators.
As long as you have prepared your garden for winter you should have no problem with a bit of snow. It only becomes a problem when you have to dig your way out. That might sound funny to anyone who has not had to do it. But, it is not funny at all when you are trapped wherever you are and unable to openb the door and if you can the snow is too soft to walk on and too deep to walk through... A story for another blog on another day, perhaps.
Anyway, let's hope it's a good one.
Happy New Year.
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