Welcome to Hamlen's
Helping Hand!
__________________________________

This is our Fall newsletter, the 3rd
newsletter of 2004. We look forward to
seeing you at the garden center.
______________________________

In this issue...

Cool temperatures and autumn rainfall make for a great planting season. Dig a good hole first- twice the diameter of the root ball and the same depth of the root ball.

Before putting the plant in the hole, work in a few shovel fulls of peat moss along with some bone meal and root stimulator, add water to the hole and mix well. Add the plant to the hole and backfill with existing topsoil.

[Back to Top]

Autumn is the perfect time to select and plant shrubs that can transform your garden into a “mini” bird sanctuary. Shrubs offer food and protection for just enough feathered friends to add life and song to your garden.

Some good shrub choices for birds are winterberry, viburnum, rosa rugosa, some crabapples, service berry, elderberry, chokeberry, and many others. These are all good hardy shrubs for our area. So beautify your home landscape and help our wild friends at the same time.

Fall berries are a special treat for wild birds. The fruit from many popular garden shrubs attracts cardinals, hummingbirds, orioles, thrushes, and other birds noted for beautiful plumage or song.

[Back to Top]

If your lawn looks like it needs help, autumn is the season to assess any damage, devise a strategy for repairs and, most importantly, to take action. The best time to seed your lawn is mid-August to the third week of September.

More often then not, a sickly lawn can be revived without any drastic measures. Easy-to-use soil-testing kits will reveal if soil is too acidic or too alkaline. Improper pH reduces the availability of nutrients to grass roots-even if soil is fertile. Apply lime to correct acidity and sulphur to correct alkalinity. Ideal pH range for a lawn is 6 to 7 on the pH scale. When the pH is between 6 & 7 weeds have a harder time to grow.

Here is an inexpensive, three step fall rejuvenation plan: 1) adjust soil pH; 2) make an extra application of lawn fertilizer; and 3) raise your lawn mower blade one-half inch or more. Tall grass recuperates more readily than clipped short.

If a dramatic improvement does not help, the cause may be compacted soil or a thick thatch layer. Both conditions prevent moisture and oxygen from reaching the roots. Unlike flower beds and vegetable gardens, lawns are rarely dug up and turned over to improve soil aeration and drainage. An aerator is a power-driven drum mounted with hollow cores. The cores penetrate the lawn and remove finger sized plugs of earth. Grass grows rapidly over the narrow holes, which eventually refill themselves. In the meantime, the soil’s permeability is substantially improved.

Rejuvenated grass grows vigorously enough to fill in small bare spots throughout the lawn. Patches larger than 9 or 10 inches across must be reseeded. Remove all dead or unhealthy grass from within or around each spot. With a spade, mix into the soil a two or three-inch layer of peat moss plus a dusting of fertilizer.

Roll the soil with a roller so it is level with the surrounding earth. Sprinkle grass seed sparingly over the spot and rake the seed about one-eighth inch down. Roll the soil again and then water thoroughly. cover the spot with a thin layer of straw to retain moisture. Reseeded areas should be kept constantly moist throughout germination.

[Back to Top]

Autumn is the only time to plant spring-flowering bulbs. They require a few months of in-ground refrigeration to perform their spring magic. Hamlen’s Garden Center has bulbs in all colors, sizes, and shapes. Some bulbs bravely sprout in late winter. Late bloomers delay their appearances almost until summer. Countless other bulbs burst into bloom during the weeks in between. Colorful crocuses are famous for breaking through frozen earth or melting snow. Snowdrops may unfurl even earlier. Soon there-after daffodils pop up everywhere, and hyacinths spread there aroma. By mid-spring tulips are in their glory.

Most bulb plants prefer sunshine, but because they flower before shade trees are fully in leaf, bulbs will brighten almost any garden spot. Plant them in flower beds, shrub boarders and along walkways. Or create naturalistic clusters of bulbs in lawns and around tree bases. For “naturalizing,” daffodils and crocuses work well. Stop by Hamlen’s Garden Center for all your spring bulbs and supplies!

[Back to Top]

It rained so much on our vacation, instead of a sunburn we came back with rust.

[Back to Top]

[Back to Top]