Sizzling Summer 2013
Enjoy edible flowers & plants at your next BBQ
Lawn Care
Doing a quarterly water audit is healthy for your garden and being a good steward to our environment. Most lawn problems are caused by improper watering either too much or too little. The new Turf Type Fescues usually only need water two times per week! Below you will find the easy steps to make sure you are putting down the appropriate and even amounts of water for your lawn.
You will need a 4-6 coffee cups( same size), a ruler and a watch / timer to complete your audit.
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Take 4-6 coffee cups( make sure they are the same shape). Grass Farm also has water audit cups available.
Put the cups in random areas in your yard, right next to the sprinkler heads in between them, next to the borders, etc.
Turn on your system and time how long it takes to get ¼” in the cups. Write down the amount of time.
Also check to make sure all cups have approximately the same amount of water. If they are dramatically different, you may have to replace heads or clean them. You can tell which ones have problems if they have a lot less water in them. Through the usage of sprinkler heads, they may get sediment in them. Some can be cleaned but they may also be broken and need to be replaced.
With the information you have gathered you can go to cimis. water. ca. gov / cimis / infoIrrSchedule. jsp to find out how to use the CIMIS data to figure out how much time to water each day. This method uses the evapotranspiration or ET rates for our area( Zone 8) and how much rain we receive on an average monthly basis. You can find a PDF on Grassfarm. com to walk you through using the CIMIS and your water audit results to figure out how much water is needed in your yard. And remember watering between 4 am- 6 am is the best time for your lawn.( NO watering at night!)
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11155 Lena Avenue • 408.846.4555 • garden-accents. net
Summer is here and our favorite pastime is to spend time in the backyard and BBQ with the family. Why not plant one of your favorite containers with colorful tasty edible flowers & plants? Five star restaurants put them on their pizza and in their salads, why not you? Add some Nasturtium or Pansy to your salad( it’ s fun and tasty) or plant basil and use it in your pesto on your next pizza or fresh with some summer tomatoes and mozzarella. A few favorite edibles you can find at your local garden centers this time of year are Nasturtium, Pansy( Johnny Jump ups), Rose, Calendula, Lavender and, of course, you can add some Sage, Mint, Rosemary, Basil and Thyme.
Did you know Calendula can be a substitute for saffron? Just make sure you don’ t add any flowers that may be poisonous to your container.
Putting these edibles in a container that you use only organic( safe) practices on will ensure you can pick what you need right out of the container in your back yard to enjoy at your next summer BBQ, of course washing them first. Beauty and functionality at its best. Just ask your garden professional for the best soil and fertilizer to use in your edible container.
IT’ S TIME TO
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Fertilize your lawn every 90 days with Turf Royal( do not fertilizer when temps are over 90 °)
Remove spent blooms from your roses and other flowering plants
Fertilize your garden with a slow release fertilizer like Osmocote Plus – lasts up to 6 months
Keep the algae out of your fountains and ponds with Algaefix or just make sure to clean with a wet / dry vac and a sponge on a regular basis
Mulch with bark or fir mulch to help retain moisture in your garden
Perform water audit on your sprinkler system
o Leave grass clipping on your lawn to recycle the nutrients. Just make sure to mow when your lawn get to be 3” tall( recommended height for summer is 2.5-3”).
S U M M E R 2 0 1 3 G I L R O Y T O D A Y 19