October 21 2006 Timely Tips

GARDENING CALENDAR

TEXAS COOPERATIVE EXTENSION

BEXAR COUNTY

BY DAVID RODRIGUEZ

October 21, 2006

  • We are in the prime of our growing season, but winter will soon be upon us. As you finish using your garden tools, clean and repair them, if necessary. Rub your garden tools with any light oil if they will be sitting for some months. Make note of the tools that need replacing and drop a hint to Santa next month.
  • If you have not winterized your lawn and your landscape plants, consider using a lawn fertilizer of 3-1-2 or 4-1-2 ratio, such as an 18-6-12 or 19-5-9 analysis in conjunction with green sand. Make sure not to leave any fertilizer in the spreader or at the bottom of the wheelbarrow. Fertilizer attracts and holds moisture and rusts the metal.
  • Wildflower seeds will germinate and thrive if they are seeded into a lightly cultivated or raked soil. If seeding in an established turf, like Bermuda turf, which is dormant during the growing season and requires full sun, the wildflowers will do well.
  • If you want a green lawn all winter, over-seed with perennial rye grass at the rate of five-to-six pounds per 1000 square feet. Water and mow your lawn as you would during a normal season.
  • If your cool weather vegetables, such as cabbage and broccoli, are getting holes in their leaves, most likely the damage is done by an insect pest called cabbage looper. Treat this pest with an insecticide called Bio-Worm spray, which is safe for plants and vegetables.

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

Comments are closed.