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SHRUBS AND TREE'S
Inspect for:
* cankers and swollen area's
* damaged and crossing branches
* dead, off-color, leaves and twigs
* guy wires that need to be loosened or removed
* continue routine pruning & thinning
* continue pruning flowering shrubs as blooms die off
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* identify the plants you intend to prune
* follow your local county extension pruning guidelines
Excellent month to thin and control size
Water stressed plants
(about 1/2 gal/sq. ft. of drip zone, per week)
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Lawns:
Mowing: mow irrigated lawns every 10-14 days.
- otherwise every 14-21 days
Lawns that grow very little can go every 3-4+ weeks.
If lawns are weedy, the weeds will need mowing more often than the above - .
I use a well adjusted and sharp push mower, for all my jobs now. Available at many hardware stores for about $100. Throw the bag away!
My niece and s/o keep their lawn quite long and i think this is an interesting idea. The cats provide the evening entertainment hunting bugs in the yard, half-hidden by the grass.
It still needs to be regularly mowed, nipping off as much as the mower can handle with each cut. I do not know all the pro's and cons, but i used to have pastures and i did regularly mow them and achieved good quality grass pasture for the cows.
lawn alternatives are more often seen now. They can reduce water useage, although i see lawns that have not been watered this year greening up with late september rains. Some lawns are not coming back. Moderate watering through the hot dry spells probably aids in recovery.
a customer of mine who was an economics professor tried replacing his lawn and found maintenance costs to be about the same.
Plantings which replace a lawn can be more interesting, and biologically diverse.
However, lawns can nicely frame a home and add useful living and recreation space.
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fertilizer: not now - fertilize late june and early november
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Weed control: Weed and Feed is NOT recommended (ever)
* try to identify the weeds you want to control
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* Spot treatments of household vinegar can be useful,
apply a little before noon if possible. ( Frankly,
I haven't had much luck with it this year. I
do not recommend using horticultural vinegar because
it is double strength and may cause injury on contact.)
* apply using a spray bottle or hand pump
* for non-selective control of dandelions,
many other weeds, and weedlike grasses
* it does not work on buttercup or ground ivy
* DO NOT USE OVER ROOT ZONES OF TREES AND SHRUBS
* a second application may be helpful
* target the weed
* apply with moderation as you would on a garden salad
* palm-sized spots of grasskill will recover
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* safe products based on cinnamin, orange oil, etc -
are available, & approved by the epa and
many states.
* read the label carefully and follow the instructions
hand-dig weeds where practical - use a corona mattock with adjustable handle (it can be done!)
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Watering: lawns will need about 1" of water per week
that is about 1/2 to 3/4 gal per sq. ft per week
In general let the lawn dry out a little between each watering. Shaded areas need less water.
- roughly 7-10 minutes, 3 times a week, for automatic pop-up zones, or garden hose sprinkler placements.
- rotaries or oscillators need twice as long
- adjust time as nescessary
- note: a hose bib puts out about 10 gal/minute of water
a circular sprinkler or oscillator uses 3 gal / minute
Homeowners may incur significant costs to renovate dried-up lawns or replace dead plantings.
Green landscapes form a valuable contribution to the urban environment.
better urban development oversight can insure water is retained on site - seattle area has 30" - 40" a year of precipitation, and more is now being done to control runoff.
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Aeration: aerate late sept or early october only if the soil
beneath the gras is not getting wet after a good rain
most lawns don't need aerating
To be effective, several passes (4 or 5) of the aerator is needed to remove sufficient soil surface
leave the plugs on the ground
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Cranefly control: Not recommended unless high numbers
are confirmed present in the soil
- not effective this month anyway
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For lawn renovation, moss, or cranefly problems,
see:
Lawn Care Tips
For monitoring shrub and tree pest problems,
see:
IPM for August - Seattle Area / PNW
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Beds:
Routine weeding & cleanup.
Cut back summer blooming heathers
plant winter cabbage, choy, mustard (my garden club planted: carrot, spinach, onion, peas)
harvest many fruits and vegetables such as potatoe, tomato, onion, carrot, apples, pears
plant cover crops in bare beds. Some suitable crops are winter wheat, crimson clover, fava bean, annual rye, austrian pea, hairy vetch
try wildflower and other drought tolerant plantings in larger open areas
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MULCH
- helps suppress weeds and makes them easier to remove
- protects soil from compaction and erosion due to rain
- protects sensitive plants against cold damage
* Add mulch to beds if needed. More than 2" total depth of mulch is not recommended
* Compost is a mulch containing significant amounts of decomposed organic matter
* Compost, leaves, and moss, are effective soil builders
* Leaves provide good cover for bare-dirt beds and slopes
* Leaves left in beds can be raked up if they become unacceptably unsightly after at least some of the mass breaks down; or, till them back into the bed in the spring, or add more mulch later over the leaves.
* Keep mulch away from trunks of shrubs and trees.
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Compost
* For garden area's and closely planted beds, Compost is a good mulch to improve soil quality and provide organic nutrients.
* Cedar Grove top soil/compost mix seems like a good product.
It has good structure and not so odorous and
mucky during winter and early spring as their compost
product.
* Compost of variable quality is usually available at landscape materials outlets. Check for excessive sand and sawdust in mix.
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* For open bed area's, play area's, trails;
* Arbor chips work well - they can be applied more thickly than other mulches, but will be more time consuming to apply, and variable in quality. sunset materials is a possible source.
* play chips can also be used as mulch but it will have a different appearance and color you may not prefer
* "Beauty Carpet" was attractive and conformed to play area specs. I am not sure if it was a compost, or if it is still available in the Seattle area.
* Coarse bark mulch will last quite a bit longer than finer bark
* Cedar chip /shredded mulch is sometimes available, - you may try Issaquah lumber. Also I have seen it available in bags at Pacific Hardware on Capitol Hill and lowes.
* Dyed wood chip mulch if used should be certified not to contain shredded pallets before using it.