Discover the Fun of Gardening
August 18, 2011
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Discover the Fun of Gardening |
August 18, 2011 |
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How do you keep cool when it's hot
outside? Our favorite way is to take a quick dip in the pool (Tally was
helping us cool off by splashing around.) Always make sure you
drink plenty of water and plan your gardening for the morning or the evening
when the sun is less intense. Soaking a small towel in the hose and draping it on your neck can
also help keep you cool. Of course the heat and humidity also create the
perfect conditions for fungus and disease to flourish, so check out below
for some tips on preventing and treating diseased plants and lawns.
To give your garden a little kick start, we're running a great summer sale. Come in the nursery, pick out your favorite plant and pay us half, no matter how big or small. That's a great deal and is only for this weekend. Tell Alex when you checkout that you saw the sale in the newsletter and she'll give you the discount. Happy Gardening, Kim, Joey and Mark |
In This Issue
Fall Seeds are In Jumpstart your garden with our garden design service.
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A Fungus Among Us
Water Smart - We always lecture folks on not watering enough, but
plants can have too much of a good thing. Make sure that you turn off
your sprinkler systems when we get large amounts of rain and take a break
from daily hand watering. Watering an already wet flower bed is a sure way
to make fungus grow. When you do water in the humid season, make sure to do
so early in the morning so that the plant can take up water during the
day and leave the soil relatively dry by night.
Keep it Clean
- To avoid spreading disease, keep garden areas clean and weed free.
Weeds can often be hosts for plant diseases and of course, leaving piles of
rotting leaves and weeds around will definitely bring fungus to your garden.
Clean all lawn tools that you use with a light bleach solution. This is
especially important if you've just pruned a plant that has disease on it
(such as the rose pictured with black spot.)
Plant Well
- Probably one of the best things you can do to protect your plants from
disease is to get them off to a good start. For most plants, use a
well-drained soil, such as Kerby's Planting Soil when you plant. A good soil helps the plant get
nutrients and water, but also keeps the soil from staying soggy. If the area you are planning
on planting in has poor drainage, think about creating raised beds, since most
plants do not want to sit with their feet wet. Check out Kerby's Planting
Instructions for more information on how to make plants happy.
Treatment
- In our humid season, no matter how clean your garden or how carefully
you water, you will likely face fungus problems. Before a disease spreads to
too many plants, treat with a good fungicide such as Captan, Liquid Copper or
Systemic Fungicide (the specific fungicide that you need will depend on the
disease and the type of plant.) This year, we've got a ready-to-use systemic
fungicide in at the nursery that is easy to apply and provides lasting
control.
If you have a tough plant problem, bring a
picture of the plant and a leaf sample into the nursery and we can diagnose
the problem for you and get you the right treatment option. There doesn't have to be a
fungus among us anymore.
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Kerby's Nursery 2311 S. Parsons Ave. Seffner, FL 33584 (813) 685-3265 www.kerbysnursery.com |
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Summer brings regular afternoon thunderstorms and lots of humid air. This
year especially, the rain seems to be coming in huge amounts all at once. All
around town, you see trees, shrubs and flowers putting on fresh flushes of
new growth as they soak in the welcome water. However, if you're like us,
you are also starting to see mushrooms pop up throughout your yards and
flower beds, which is a sure sign that there is a fungus among us. Fungus
thrives in wet areas and at times of the year when the humidity is high
(which is almost all summer in Florida). It shows up in a variety of ways,
from whole limbs dying and black spots on leaves, to brown patches and
mushrooms in your lawn.
Fortunately there are some preventative measures that you can take to keep
your plants healthy and reduce
the amount of fungi that grows in your garden.
