Why I Oughta...

A week or so ago, right when they were putting on a bunch of their new growth, I applied the first treatment of fertilizer on our three Disneyland Roses that are planted on the south side of our house.  This is the second year that I've done a feeding program for them and something I mentioned I wanted to keep doing on my 2022 to-do list (#10) .   Last year, I used a granular product from Jobe's , but this year when I went to the orange Big Box Nursery, all I could find was this Vigoro granular.  I figured it was fine since the N-P-K were just about the same. I feed in early May, so this particular bag says that the next time I should feed them is two-to-three months from now, which would mean sometime in July.  And, then again sometime in September.   One of the other things that I need to remind myself is around companions for these Disneyland Roses.  I covered some ideas last year, when I mentioned Alliums and Nepeta as potential options .  I put down some Allium bulbs, but

I saw this bag of Lesco 19-0-7 lawn fertilizer with pre-emergent at one of the big box stores recently and thought it was worth tracking here for both price and N-P-K makeup.  For reference, Milorganite has a 6-4-0 N-P-K and based on what I've both read/watched and my initial soil testing, finding something like this that has a # in the Potassium part of the equation is, inherently interesting to me.  At $68 a bag, it is a little bit LESS interesting, though. This post and photo, however...reminds me that I NEED to keep an eye on my 2022 lawn care schedule as I'm planning on making some changes to the treatments this year - especially as I try to balance my historical heavy N-P's in the N-P-K analysis.

One of the many things that I've found a little bit of joy with in the yard and garden over the years is in doing my lawn upkeep myself.  By 'upkeep', I mean both treating, feeding and mowing the front and back with both my push mower and the Automower.  When we first moved in, I had 'a guy', but I wasn't that happy with how they were cutting it (when, how often, height, etc), so I transitioned back to doing it myself and bought myself my own push/self-propelled lawn mower. Just like with planting, laying out the beds and other yard/garden projects, I've found it most helpful to put down a schedule here as a way of guiding my decision-making over the coming months.  I first did this in 2020 and it was a helpful steer .  Last year?  I kinda 'wing'd it' and I'm pretty sure I need to get back to the schedule this year.   Why?  Because, last year I saw the MOST weeds, the most significant damage and the worst-looking lawn (parts) since we moved i

I started my lawn feeding program this year (2021) with a granular bio solid product called e-Corganite (from Menards) and I'm finishing off the year with the same 40# bags of e-Corganite for my late Fall/early Winter dormant feeding.  I had three bags of this fertilizer on hand and threw it down heavy this weekend.  I'm PRETTY SURE that I did the same thing (an early December feeding) last year, but I don't have it posted on the blog.  Here's a post from early December 2019 showing how I used a few bags of Milorganite on the lawn as it was dormant and cool .   Many folks will tell you that this late Fall/early Winter dormant feeding of the lawn is the *most* important one you can do - and if you were to do JUST ONE feeding per year, this one might be the one to choose.  Penn State's extension office says the benefits of feeding your lawn this time of year include a good 'green up'.  From PSU : Late fall fertilization should take place when shoot growth ce

A quick look at our trio of Disneyland Roses that are in bloom during the month of June this year with photos below.  I transplanted the third (or first, depending on how you are counting) of these floribunda roses to the southside of our house earlier this year before it broke dormancy .  The other two were planted in the Fall of 2018 and have fared really well without much care.   So, that means that one of them is in the fourth (2018, 2019, 2020 and now 2021) season.  And the other two are in their third growing season (2019, 2020 and now 2021).  First, the two more recent ones - below- with the best performing one located near our gas meter.  It is stretching out and up. And here, below, is a look at the other two.  On the right is the other non-transplanted rose and on the left is the transplanted one - and it looks like the transplant stress has had an impact on the overall size. Below is a closer look at the transplanted Disneyland Rose.  It is flowering, but is significantly s

Like I've done in year's past, I decided to use Jobe's tree spike fertilizer in and around some of our trees in the yard.  These were (surprisingly) hard to find this year - and I ended up buying them online at Home Depot . What struck me was the pretty BIG difference in the quantity of the package that Jobe's has brought to market.   Take a look at the photo in this post showing that they had boxes of 15 spikes last year (2020).  The, flip back here and look at the pile of spikes I bought this season below.  The boxes had just 9 spikes in each box.  I bought four packs of 9 - 36 total spikes for deciduous trees.  And one box of 15 evergreen spikes (below): I used the evergreen spikes around the new Falsecypress tree , the Weeping White Spruce and the hedge of Hicks Yews - where I wasn't able to put down spikes for every shrub.   Same thing on the decidious spikes - even with 36 spikes, I ended up short of feeding all of my planted trees around the yard, but tried

We have a pair of Rhododendrons planted on either side of our rear stoop that we put in the ground in 2018 as part of our plan .  I have never pruned them, but have protected them a little bit in Winter using Wilt-pruf a couple of times.  These are evergreen shrubs and they put on a nice flower show most years. But, this year these shrubs looked a little sad earlier this Spring.  They were yellow, drooping and leggy.  I bought some Epsoma Holly Tone this year to feed my hydrangeas and these Rhdodendrons and it seems like they've responded a bit.  I'm pretty sure they have an iron deficiency - as outlined here by Ortho.  Purdue University Extension office has a post up about this yellowing - called chlorosis .   I have started to feed these with a little bit of coffee grounds, but I think that I'm going to need some more drastic action to correct the iron. But, back to this season:  these two shrubs are flowering right now with light purple flowers.  Here, below are the pa

Every year, we've planted annuals in our front bed to add a little pop of color to the front of our house - with mixed results.  Last year, we used 24 Devine Lavendar Impatiens in the bed .  The most plants we've put in this area.  The full progression looks like this: Our first full year - in 2018 - we planted some Ranunculuses - about eight of them.  In 2019,  we planted 16 orange marigolds.  +8 plants yoy. In 2020, we planted 24 Impatiens.   +8 plants yoy. The second goal (beyond the color) is to help improve the soil in this area as when I got started it was solid clay - from the foundation backfill.  I amended the soil with Gypsum and have added some biochar/humic acid to the area, too.  And, of course I've added mulch to these beds over the years.  First, with hardwood fines, then in 2019 and 2020, I laid down cocoa bean hull mulch .  The thinking here is that nothing aerates and breaks up clay soil better than roots growing.  Every year that I plant here will make t

Trying to put down a marker in the lawn diary that I feed the front yard a couple bags of this new Milorganite competitor from Menards called e-Corganite .  It is a 4-3-O 'eco-friendly' product that carries all of the claims that Milorganite does in terms of being heavy in iron, being non-burning and slow release.   Right before Memorial Day Weekend, I threw down two full bags of this fertilizer on the front lawn, the parkway and the 'between two driveways' turf.  I bought five bags, but when I decided to put down a synthetic weed and feed in the backyard about a week ago , I held off on spreading any of this in the backyard.   Here's what the bag looks like: For my record-keeping purposes, this is the third application to the front yard.   First, I used a bag of Ironite on the front in mid/late April .   Followed up by 1/3rd of the bag of Soil Mastery soil conditioner featuring biochar, humic acid, sea kelp and lime at the end of April .  I'm going to do a seco

Putting this post in the [garden diary] so I remember what I did in terms of feeding some of my existing shrubs and flowers in the beds.  First, I fed my Disneyland Roses for the first time this year - using this product from Jobe's below - called Knockout Rose food.  Mine aren't knock-out roses, but this is the only organic Rose food that the Home Depot was carrying when I was there.  I also fed all of my hydrangeas with Hollytone (no photo), but I used the entire bag.  I spread Hollytone around all seven of the Oakleaf Hydrangeas , the one teardown hydrangea and the two early ones ( Tuff Stuff and Everlasting Revolution ) in the backyard.  In the front yard, I hit the pair of Limelights , the four Vanilla Strawberry across the front porch and the one, lone Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangea on the other side of the driveway.  Since this stuff is for acid-loving plants, I also put some in/around the pair of Rhododendrons by our back stoop. I also planted some new items (that I'

Putting this in the lawn diary - I put down about 15# of The Andersons Soil Master 5-0-0 in the front yard this week.  And, I put down 3 40# bags of pelletized lawn lime in the backyard.  I bought The Anderson's Soil Mastery bag online - and it includes biochar, humic acid, iron, gypsum and sea kelp.  My plan is to spoon feed the front lawn with this - three applications...one per month - across the end or April, May, June.    Here's what it looks like in the spreader: I've applied Humic Acid in the past - early Summer 2019 - and pelletized gypsum before - but I've never applied these other things like biochar and sea kelp.  This is supposed to be an all-in-one product that I found online at Yard Mastery.  Here's their product listing : If you’ve been looking for a granular bio-stimulant for your poor soil, this is for you. It’s meant to be an add-on to your regular fertilizing regimen. It will condition your soil, add carbon and bio-stimulants, and improve the

 I was looking out our bedroom window and taking in the yard when I noticed this weird pattern of dark green spots that have emerged in our lawn this Winter.  Have a look at it below.  At first, I just assumed that it was a result of nature.  But, take a close look.  This is TOO MUCH of a pattern to be natural, right? Lizzie fertilizer?  Maybe. But, I don't think so.  We *did* get the guys at Davey to come out and feed our trees this Fall.  Could these be the sites of the fertilizer injections?  That seems like the most likely culprit, right?

The second step in our process with the arborist from Davey is feeding the trees.  We started with applying growth regulator to the two most vulnerable trees (Norway Maple in Front and Red Oak in back) in late September .   Recently the guys came back out for step two:  applying fertilizer. In Davey's case, it is called Arbor Green Pro - a one year application that they fed to both large Oaks in back and the Maple up front.  Here's the Davey team applying the fert - around the area of the tree canopy.  It was raining, but he still went ahead with injecting it right into the ground.  What is Arbor Green Pro?  From their site :   The description says that it can last 'up to 2 years'.  But, what the guy told me was: every year. We have one more application to just the Oaks before Winter that I'll post about when it occurs. 

The hot, hot heat has hit the Chicago Suburbs.  We've had 90-degree temperatures for the past few weeks and it has NOT been a good environment for anything living outside - including our grass.  Lawns in our neighborhood are struggling.  Even ones with built-in irrigation.  Ours is no different.  I've been cutting it VERY LONG (setting #5 on the mower - all the way up) and watering it as frequently as I can - typically in the very early morning.  Here's how it is looking right before I feed it the usual "4th of July" application: It is green, thick and lush - which I'm happy with for the most part.  I'm almost 100% certain that the reason for the partial success this season is due to the tall cutting height.  I have other parts - like in the back where the Automower cuts - that are cut shorter that aren't as healthy and other parts where the grass appears to have gone dormant.  As for the timing of this post and the lawn schedule, I'm j

This post is now two weeks in the coming.  It is being published in the first week of June, but the photo above is from Memorial Day weekend when I put down two bags of Milorganite on the front yard.  I applied to the main yard, the south side yard, the parkway and the strip of grass on north side of the driveway.  My 2020 scheduled called for Milorganite application to the yard on Memorial Day with five bags (2 in front, 3 in rear).  In the photo, you see only 2 bags - and that's because I only applied the fertilizer to the front yard.  Of note, though.... #9 on my 2020 to-do list was to work the turf - and apply the work that I have done on the main yard on the parkway and the north strip.  I've been cutting those other sections high - like my main yard - and now the fert application is continuing that trend of hitting #9 on my list.  Why not the backyard?  Well...I don't have the backyard automower wire set up, so I held off on the back application because I d

Just a couple of days past a year ago, I posted about how I was feeding our columnar Frans Fontaine Hornbeams with Jobe's fertilizer spikes and included a photo of PART of the trees after they had been fed.  This year, I bought three boxes of the spikes for deciduous trees and one box for evergreens. In that post, I mentioned that I put the spikes in the ground on May 1st in 2019.  And despite this post being dated May 23rd, I have just gotten around to posting this - as I put the spikes in the ground on May 12th.  12 days behind 2019. Here's how the trees look below - from a similar view - as last year.  You can see how the gap between the trees that are right outside the screened porch is closing down below the fenceline. The trees haven't totally filled in for the year, but they're already doing well to provide some screening as they green-up and out this Spring. Hoping the fertilizer spikes will help keep them growing on their current trajectory.  202

There I was, just wasting time as I watched Caddyshack on tv a few weeks back and I see Carl Spangler prepping for his battle with the gopher. But, what's that in the sacks behind him?  Wait a second...that's...Milorganite.  Yeah...Milorganite.   Kinda interesting to see the old-school bags from 1979 that the pros down in Davie Florida were using, isn't it?   The time is near for my first application of Milorganite for the season - on/around Memorial Day .  

Our Home Depot is doing curbside pickup with online orders, so I put through an order for some lawn care products including pelletized lawn lime and (wait for it....) ten bags of Milorganite.  Yeah...it seems like they've figured out their supply chain issues this year?  Our local Home Depot is showing over 600 bags in inventory right now.  Based on my 2020 plan , I need 18 bags for the season, so perhaps I should buy the balance and store them (hoard them) for a few months.  Also, based on the 2020 lawn plan , I outlined a 4 bag application of lawn lime to the back in Mid-April.  You can't get any *more* Mid-April than April 15th, right?  That's a bag of the stuff from Home Depot (curbside FTW.) in the Chapin spreader that I was sent last Fall.  Mark it down.  Lawn lime applied.    #5 on the 2020 to-do list was to continue to wage battle against the Wild Onions .  This lawn lime is *supposed* to help do just that.    I'm going to go at the lawn with a small spad

A couple of weeks ago, I spread 5 gallons of biosolids on a rectangle of turf in our backyard.  Here's that post .  Today if you look out there, the grass is, ummm, different.  It is different than any of the reset of the grass in our yard.  It is deeper green and has taller growth than any other section of grass in our entire backyard.  If you look at the photo at the top, you can see the arker area that runs from top to bottom, right?  A couple of weeks in and you can still see the material that is in large chunks, but some of it has made its way into the thatch.  I was out there on a day that it had rained and it seemed that the original smell from the biosolids was invigorated a bit. That's a downside of topdressing with biosolids.  But, the upside?  It is visible in this photo - clear as day.  With that smell and our kids being heavy users of our yard during the Spring and Summer, I'm wondering if Fall is the best time to consider topdressing with biosolids.  It

I posted (in jest) last September a look at what Allyn Hane calls the 'domination line' in our front yard showing the fruit of the efforts of tending to the turf look like after most of a season.  Back in September, you can tell that the grass that I had fed over the season appeared darker.  Today, I'm posting a photo that I took recently to add to the [ garden diary ] of what our front yard grass/turf looks like after a rough Winter.  I'm including the 'domination line' as a way to see the difference in my grass over time.  The photo above is shot from the sidewalk toward the house with my yard on the right side.  The brown-est part in the middle of the photo (closer to the bed) is also the 'highest spot' in that area.  So, I'm not certain that it has to do simply with feeding or if the contours or grade of the yard is involved, too.  I have a gutter that comes out in the area of the bed near the house that runs each time it rains and the I