July 7 2007 Timely Tips

GARDENING CALENDAR

TEXAS COOPERATIVE EXTENSION

BEXAR COUNTY BY DAVID RODRIGUEZ

July 7, 2007

  • Set your lawnmower height at the highest level while it’s hot, 3 ½ – 4 inches for St. Augustine.
  • If you see dead areas in the St. Augustine, check for grubs and chinch bugs. To check for grubs, dig a hole a foot square and about five-to-six inches deep. If you find more than three grubs in the soil, apply an approved insecticide. Chinch bugs like the hottest part of the yard, beside driveways and sidewalks. Cut the top and bottom out of a coffee can. Push it down into the soil about an inch and then fill it with water. If little bugs float up, they’re probably chinch bugs. Apply an approved insecticide.
  • Water fruit trees with one inch of water over the drip line per week until the fruit are harvested.
  • Take out the old canes in the blackberries to make way for the new ones next spring.
  • Fall webworms may appear on pecan, mulberry, ash, persimmon, and other trees. The biological spray Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) provides control; but a new, longer-lasting fungal metabolite is now available. It’s an insect nerve agent named Spinosad.
  • Drink plenty of water, use sunscreen, and work in the garden early in the morning or late in the evening. Take plenty of breaks and don’t get overheated. Just relax and enjoy the fruits of your labors.

David Rodriguez is County Extension Agent-Horticulture with Texas Cooperative Extension in Bexar County. For more information, call the Master Gardener “Hotline” (210) 467-6575 or visit our County Extension website at http://bexar-tx.tamu.edu.

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