Peach trees are in! Last week I planted two Contendar peach trees, and one Honeycrisp apple tree. Good thing I am cutting back on gardening stuff — right. My friend CJ, sampled me a few of peaches off her Contendar tree. They were amazing, best I ever had times two. She picked about 100 off her one tree, can’t wait!
Now is also a good time to sprinkle down some grass seed if you have thin areas. Considering 3 straight days of rain, this would have been good advice for last week! Getting the right grass seed so it matches the rest of the lawn can be tricky. If your lawn was originally sodded it likely was 100% Kentucky Blue Grass in our region. Otherwise, your turf is likely a mixture of grasses.
Houses in newer developments are usually sodded, older parts of town lawns were likely seeded. You may think all grass is the same color, until you notice obvious circle of dark green. Lawns started from seed are often a mixture — mostly KBG, but also fescues, and perennial rye. A bald spot, seeded with perennial rye in a yard of KBG would be obvious. When you are over seeding a thin lawn, spreading the new seed everywhere won’t be noticed as much as a specific area. KBG is by far the most expensive seed to buy, annual rye the cheapest. Many mixtures contain some annual rye grass.
Annual rye, unlike perennial rye, will not return the next year, so why is it included in the mixtures? Annual rye grows quickly and acts as a nurse crop to help the other grass seeds stay in place — so it does have a purpose. Just be careful when choosing mixes that the percent of annual rye is not greater than 20% or so. The cheaper the bag of seed is, the higher the amount of annual rye. Let the percentages, not the price, be your guide for a better investment.
Fine fescue performs better in shady areas than other grasses, and tall fescues take a lot more abuse — like in a kids play area. When repairing dead grass areas, rake or scruff up the soil so the new seed has good soil contact. Moisture is critical for good germination, however constant watering can create rivers of grass seed running off the yard. There are many great soil patch products to choose from these days. The old ways, like covering with straw or pine needles still work too.
Be conscious of the soil in patio containers
Potting up large patio containers? Be sure to always use bagged soil and little to no soil from your garden. You can mix types if needed as many of the bagged mixes are light weight. If you can easily carry a 2-cubic-foot bag of any given potting mix, it is probably too lightweight for the season. Mix in some bagged garden soil, or a few scoops of soil from your garden — not more than 20% of your own soil. Too much soil from the garden, and the soil in your container will be like concrete later in the season. Patio pots need good drainage and should not be allowed to sit in water, so turn that saucer upside down!
This year, I am reluctantly trying tomatoes and peppers in large 10-gallon size pots. This is out of necessity. What little area is left for vegetables (not sure who planted all those flowers!) is overrun every year with amaranth weeds. Last year that are was seeded with grass and can now be mowed as a means to control the amaranth which can grow about 6 inches a day.
My pots will be subject to wind, so planning to put a few soccer ball size rocks in the pot to give them some weight. Because weed seed is a problem in my diggable garden area, I will only use bagged soil.
In the event of high winds, the two-wheel dolly cart will be ready to roll and move them next to the house or in the garage. One benefit — if you every lost your garden to hail, strong winds or perhaps a tornado, you understand!
The outdoor Farmers Markets opening day is May 4th, at 8 a.m. until noon in the Best Buy parking lot on Adams Street. We will have over 30 vendors to greet you on opening day! We are a rain or shine market. Our weekday markets always start in June. Just a reminder, pets are not allowed at the Mankato Farmers Market, trained service animals always welcome!
See you there!