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Hort Shorts  March - April 2008 | |||
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TIME TO PLANT COOL SEASON CROPS Many of you have already planted potatoes, onions, and peas in the garden and now it is time to plant the cole crops (cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli) if you haven't already done so. The cole crops can take cool temperatures (down to 26°F.) before they will show injury. However, prolonged temperatures of around 32° for several days can make young broccoli and cauliflower plants "button". This is a process where the small plant will produce a premature stalk of broccoli or a small head of cauliflower. After this happens, the plant is essentially finished growing and the edible part will not increase in size. Thus, the plants have to be pulled up and discarded. Fortunately for those who wish to set out plants now, we shouldn't have to worry about that. Spacing for cole crops between plants in the row is 1 foot for cabbage and broccoli and 1.5 feet for cauliflower. Spacing between rows is 3 feet for all of the above crops. After transplanting the plants into the garden, be sure to water them with a water soluble fertilizer containing a high amount of phosphorus to stimulate a good root system. An example of this would be a 15-30-15 fertilizer which contains 15% Nitrogen, 30% Phosphorus, and 15% Potassium. Follow label directions. About 3 weeks after transplanting, make another application, and another 3 weeks later. This will make the plants grow and mature quickly before hot weather arrives. The cole crops prefer cool temperatures to make their best growth. Try cabbage and broccoli varieties that will mature in 50-60 days. Cauliflower will take about 60-70 days or longer. TIME TO CONTROL CRABGRASS IN THE HOME LAWN As soil temperatures are approaching 60°F., it is now time to apply pre-emergence herbicides to control germinating crabgrass seed. Crabgrass is an annual that develops from seeds produced the previous year. New plants continue to establish from late spring until the first fall frost. The plants mature during late summer and early fall, forming purplish seed heads that give the lawn an unsightly appearance. Crabgrass will not tolerate shade. A thick, dense turf that is cut no shorter than 1½” offers shade conditions that retard the growth of crabgrass. If you control seed production for several years, the viable seed supply in the soil will diminish to a point where it is no longer a serious threat to the lawn. There are several granular herbicides that have been consistent in controlling crabgrass in lawns. Residues of most pre-emergence crabgrass herbicides will also retard or prevent the germination of lawn grass seeds for 2 to 4 months after treatment and reseeding must be delayed. However, TUPERSAN can be applied at the same time lawn grasses are planted for selective crabgrass control in the new seeding. BALAN, BETASAN, and PENDIMETHALIN can be used in effectively controlling germinating crabgrass seed. BALAN is safe to apply to all established turfgrass except bentgrass. Do not apply it in the spring to lawns seeded the previous fall or to golf course greens. Do not use on newly sprigged turfgrasses. BETASAN can be applied to all established turfgrass. Do not use on bermudagrass greens or newly sprigged turfgrasses. PENDIMETHALIN can be used on established bahiagrass, bermudagrass, centipedegrass, fine fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, St. Augustinegrass, tall fescue, and zoysiagrass. Do not use on winter-overseeded grasses. Follow label directions concerning application of the herbicide. PESTICIDE FERTILIZER OR GRANULAR "WEED AND FEED" COMBINATIONS Numerous granular weed and feed combinations are advertised to homeowners in the Spring. They are popular because herbicides and fertilizers can be applied at the same time. Granular pre-emergence herbicides should be applied by themselves, without the addition of fertilizer. Applying fertilizer to cool-season grasses like fescue and bluegrass in the spring, encourages tremendous leaf blade growth, with the nitrogen accumulating in the grass with none of the nitrogen going to the roots. The result is a very soft and succulent plant, that will be more susceptible to brown patch fungus disease, which turns the grass brown, and kills it during the summer. Fertilize cool season grasses in the fall, when the nitrogen will move into the roots to store for the following year's growth. TIRED OF WATERING AND RE-SEEDING YOUR LAWN IN THE FALL?? TRY BERMUDAGRASS! Bermudagrass is a warm-season grass that grows well in the Piedmont. It grows best in summer, goes dormant in the fall at the first heavy frost, turns brown, and then greens up slowly the following spring. It is planted in late spring and early summer. Bermudagrass spreads by stolons (above ground stems) and rhizomes (below ground stems), and it can invade flowerbeds and other areas because it has runners that spread rapidly both above and below ground. But it is extremely drought tolerant, grows rapidly on any type of soil except where drainage is poor, and makes a good turf if fertilized and mowed low and often. Bermudagrass variety textures range from coarse to fine, and it forms a dense, durable surface when grown in full sunlight. The majority of varieties will not tolerate shade. Bermudagrass is well adapted to sandy soils. It establishes quickly, withstands wear and traffic, and recovers rapidly from injury Most finely textured, high-quality turf-type bermudagrasses are planted using sod, sprigs, or plugs. Common bermudagrass, which is the most coarsely textured, can be seeded. Several newer varieties, however, can also be seeded that have a medium texture. Bermudagrass should be seeded at 1 to 2 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Best results are obtained by planting dormant sprigs in March or by seed in late May to early June. Bermudagrass lawns perform best when mowed at ¾ of an inch to 1 inch using a reel mower. However good performance can be achieved with a rotary mower with sharp blades set as low as possible without scalping. Uneven ground can make mowing this low difficult. For best results, bermudagrass should be mowed often (at least twice per week), especially at the lower mowing heights. A list of common bermudagrass varieties include: Arizona Common, Mohawk, Numex Sahara, Savannah, Southern Star, Sunbird, Sundevil II, Sunstar, Transcontinental, Yukon, Riviera, and Princess. These varieties are available as seed and will produce acceptable quality under proper management. They closely resemble common bermudagrass in its coarse texture and light green color. Transcontinental, Yukon, Riviera, and Princess are finer textured and denser than other seeded varieties
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