Time to prepare your garden for winter after the first frost.

Fall is upon us with the changing temperatures and entering the month of October. Some may start to think about the garden as the growing season comes to an end. Doing a couple of things now can help when winter sets in. The first frost may be a ways away but being prepared is always a good thing.

Start by cleaning what leaves have fallen so far with the start of fall color season beginning. Trees are dropping leaves with the dry conditions that area around along with the cooler night temperatures. Add some organic matter to the garden to help add some revive the soil for next spring, such as compost or cow manure. Once the first frost set sets in, some perennial ground covers can be cut to ground level such as hostas or day lilies. Cutting these plants back keeps disease and pests from hiding in the garden all winter. Give the plants a deep watering to help the soil preserve moisture through the winter. Plant spring bulbs at this time to give the garden some new color in the spring. Apply a winter fertilizer to the lawn to help a deep root system develop, avoid adding any nitrogen unless it is a cool season grass such as Fescue or Bluegrass. A few things can help things survive if we have a harsh winter as some are predicting in different areas of the country.

Fixing a Soggy or Flooded Lawn

With all the rain in St Louis lately, some homeowners may have issues with soggy or flooded lawns.

Not only is a soggy, muddy yard unsightly but it can also cause some problems.  Soggy puddles, also known as “ponding”, may affect the quality of your soil hurting your lawn, attract pests, and other potential issues.

There are a variety of solutions to fix a yard that has been saturated with water.  More drastic problems require solutions that may involve digging in your yard.  Before digging in your yard local utility companies need to be called to locate any wires or underground pipes.  If they exist, ask them to come out and mark them to avoid damage.

The first step to fixing a soggy lawn problem, is to remove the sod from the area you will be working to fix.  Use a shovel to carefully remove the sod and be sure to keep it so that you can replace it when your work is completed.  

Dig an area, avoiding any marked wires or pipes your utility company may have located, of about six inches wide by 24 inches deep.  A power trencher (which can be rented at most equipment rental stores) will make the job easier.  Dig the trench all around the soggy area, and at the end of it dig a location where the excess water can flow out.  Fill this area with a gravel bed, or if permitted in your location you may be able to relocate the water to the street.

Once your area is dug out, place a layer of landscape fabric in the trench making sure to cover the bottom and side areas; leave enough fabric to fold over when gravel is filled in. Fill the trench with washed clean gravel to a depth of two inches.  Do not pack gravel.  Place a 4 inch diameter pipe on top of the gravel, running the length of the trench.  Perforated pipes should be used in soggy areas, and regular pipe for the rest.  Place pipe that only has holes on one side, the holes pointing downward.   Be sure to angle the pipe to drop at least an inch every eight feet, to ensure a proper drainage slope.  More gravel can be added to help correct any angle problems.  

Cover your trench with 1-inch gravel until it is filled almost to the top, leaving room for sod to be placed over the gravel, being careful not to block the discharge end of the pipe.  Fold landscape fabric over gravel filled trench making sure to cover area completely.  Hide the fabric by tucking in over complete area.  Final step is to carefully replace original sod to area dug out and stamping it into place.  Do not put sod over the area of pipe where water will discharge.

What are the black spots on my rose bushes?

Those unsightly and damaging black spots on your rose leaves, commonly called “blackspot”, are caused by a wind borne fungus also known as “Diplocarpon rosae”.   You will notice this fungus when your rose leafs have a black round spot, eventually turning the leaves yellow and causing them to fall off leaving you with an unsightly looking rose bush.  This disease can be devastating to rose bushes and if severe enough will weaken your bush and blooms.  

Blackspot is especially prevalent in climates with a lot of rain or high humidity.  Blackspot cannot be cured but there are methods to control the spread of this damaging disease.

One way is to remove the areas affect by black spot and be sure to pick up any leaves or other parts of the plant that still harbor the fungus or it will possibly spread from the fallen leaves.

Using fungicidal soap or Sulphur in dry weather (as rain will rinse these off) is one solution to help prevent further damage.  Both of these can be obtained at your local nursery.  There are also natural solutions that may help slow blackspot disease.  

According to horticultural professor Jeff Gillman, a spray composed of one part milk and two parts water will help when applied weekly.

The best prevention for black spot disease is to space out your roses when planting to allow air circulation.  It is also best to water your roses using a drip or soaker type hose on a day the sun will dry out any possible moisture on leaves.

Preparing your lawn for spring in St Louis

Preparing your lawn now can help keep your yard healthy and green during the harsh summer months in St Louis.  The early spring is a good time to give your yard the head start it needs with aeration and fertilization.  Lawn aeration allows essential nutrients to reach your yard's root system and reduces soil compaction .  Improving the health of your yard's root system will help ensure your lawn can survive the heat stress of the summer months.  Applying fertilizer after you aerate your lawn, will get "food" immediately into your root system. Choosing the right fertilizer is important.  Usually a slow release product will be a good option for most lawns.

Keeping your yard weed free is also important.  Weeds are opportunistic and invade "weak" lawns so keeping your yard healthy is a good start.  To minimize weed invasion its important to take care of bare areas of your lawn by seeding, proper fertilizing, proper mowing and watering which will help your lawn stay healthy enough to keep weeds at bay. 

Here are some more tips to prepare your lawn for summer in St Louis:

1) Rake and remove excess thatch and debris accumulated, rake up matted areas to allow new growth of grass.

2) Apply a pre-emergent crabgrass control in early spring prior to temperatures reaching 60 degrees.  After it will no longer be effective as seeds will have begun to germinate.

3) Fertilize your lawn to provide nutrients to give your yard strength for the upcoming heat of summer.

4) Core aeration will allow water and nutrients to reach your root zone faster resulting in a stronger root system .

5) Repair damaged areas from salt by re-seeding areas 

6) Mow lawn properly and frequently. Frequent mowing helps strengthen roots and make your yard
 more hardy.

All these lawn techniques will help your yard survive the heat of summer, leaving you with a vibrant, healthy green lawn.