Lawn Care

Lawn Care – Weed Control

Spot treat existing weeds growing now with natural horticultural vinegar. It will burn any foliage so take care to not spray your plants or lawn.

To prevent weeds, apply Bonide Weed & Crabgrass Preventer or Weed Beater Complete to help control existing weeds and prevent new ones.

Lawn Care – Bare Spots & Brown Lawns

You can overseed your lawn now with winter rye grass seed (or fill bare spots with this seed) at the rate of 1 lb. per 100 sq.ft. We have it in 10 to 50 lb. bags.

Do not think about fertilizing until your lawn begins actively growing. Generally this is around early March.

Note:  You cannot apply both winter rye and pre-emergent weed control in the same lawn. The seed will not sprout.

Read: Why Won’t My Weed Killer Work?, Our Secret Ingredient for a Happy Lawn

Plant

Vegetable Seeds

Beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, Swiss chard, collards, lettuce, mustard, radish, spinach and turnips.

Start pepper and tomato seeds indoors to transplant into garden later.

Vegetable Transplants

Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, onion sets, seed potatoes, and spinach.

Tomato transplants can be nurtured in pots now and set in the garden in February.

Read: Growing Onions

Read: Secrets Under The Dark Side of The Moon

Read:  Plant Seed Potatoes

Flower Seeds

Petunias, alyssum, carnations, larkspur, nasturtium, poppy, dusty miller, stock, calendulas and bluebonnets

Flower Transplant

Pansies, petunias, alyssum, dianthus, snapdragons, and violets, flowering cabbage & kale

Read: Flowering Cabbage & Kale – Another Winter Treasure

Indoor Plants

• Give your indoor plants a checkup. Look over the foliage, remove any old or dead leaves to freshen their look and keep them healthy.
• Be sure to set your plants in the proper light indoors but watch that the heater and/or AC vents do not blow directly on them. Windows provide good natural light – open blinds and curtains during the day.
• Water when needed, but plants will not drink as much during Winter months. Remember you can add more water, but hard to take out!
• Fertilize plants indoors organically with ½ strength Hasta Gro.
• If your plants look unhappy, they might need re-potting. Be sure to use a good all-purpose potting mix. Back to Nature’s Premium Potting Mix is one of the best!

Read: Plants, the Perfect Rx for Clean Air

Fertilize

Watch Out For

Scale Insects
Watch for scale insects on hardy trees and shrubs. Spray with Neem Oil or Dormant Oil spray

Read: Organic Gardening 101 – What’s Buggin Ya?

Lawn Fungus
This can be a major problem after long periods of wet, cool weather. There are 2 major lawn fungus – Take All Patch and Brown Patch.

• Treat Take All Patch organically with Natures’ Blend Organic Compost or peat moss; or use conventional Fertilome Systemic Lawn Fungicide.

• Treat Brown Patch organically with Serenade or Actinovate; or use conventional Bayer Lawn Fungus Granules or F-Stop Fungus Granules.

Prune

• Fruit Trees – prune peaches, apples, plum, pear lightly to shape. Do not prune citrus.
• Hardy Dormant Trees – prune oak, mesquite, cedar elm, crape myrtle & soapberry. Do not top trees!
• Perennials that have finished their bloom.
• Pick spent flowers from annuals to prolong their bloom.

Water

• Only as needed – but dry cold fronts, high winds and low humidity can dry plants quickly.
• Established lawns only need water every couple of weeks, provided we don’t get rain.
• Be sure to check your sprinkler system and adjust accordingly.

When or if temperatures dip below freezing:

• Move tropical potted plants inside or group them together in a protected area so they may be easily covered.
• Mulch and water newly planted trees and shrubs well; water tropicals and potted plants.
• Cover tropicals and tender plants with frost blankets (which we sell), sheets, household blankets or plastic (Note plastic can burn the outer foliage it is touching).
• Bring fabric all the way to the ground allowing heat from the soil to be trapped around the plant.
• Uncover all plants as temperatures rise to prevent the foliage from scorching.

Read: Some tips on preparing for a freeze in last week’s “Freeze Alert”