Thursday, July 23, 2009

The Dog Days of Summer are Upon Us.

Wether you live in Las Cruces, NM or anywhere in the Continental United States.
Here are a few tips to keep your garden and a few specific problems from getting away from you during the month of August gardening. Your lawn, again usually three things or any combination of them may be the culprit(s) for making your lawn or patches of your lawn turn brown.

Check water first. It may be that your sprinkler is just not applying enough water to certain areas of your lawn. Remember if you can see your footprints in the lawn after you walk on it then it is time to get water on it asap. If the patchy brown areas of your lawn feel slightly "warmer" than the green areas of your lawn it usually means that particular area is not receiving enough moisture. It is best to core holes in this area, which will help deliver water right to the roots. The second item you may want to check will be for grubs.

There will be no mistaking these creatures. They are usually about the size of your thumb, creamy white with a brown head. They will feed on the grass roots to store up for winter and "hibernate" and emerge next year as adults.
These adults are the May and June beetles your see flying around at dusk in early summer. There are granular and liquid insecticides as well a natural beneficial nematodes to help control these critters.
The third item to check for will be a fungus. If you look closely at the blades of grass that are just around the edge of a dry patch you may notice lines or markings on each individual blade(s) of grass. If you have already checked for water or grubworms and are sure these two are not the problems this could be whats making your lawn turn brown.

There are also granualar and liquid fungicides available to help with this situation.
If you have any flowering trees or shrubs such as roses, crape myrtle, vitex, bird of paradise, oleander, among others it is very important to remove the "spent blossoms" as they appear. This action will help keep your flowering plants blooming up until frost. If this is not done the plants will spend a lot of energy into forming seeds at the expense of new blossoms.
Remember this usuallly works on just about any flowering plant. If your plants are looking a little pale in color you may want to incorporate some iron into your soil. Plants and lawns can lose some of their deep green color this time of year due to so much watering.
The soil may get leached out of it's nutrients by August so it is important to replace these minerals with chelated iron or Ironite. This not only puts a deep green back into the foliage but also makes flowers more vibrant.

If it has been more thant 5 to 6 weeks since you last fertilized your lawn then it is time. For this area a 16-8-8 fertilizer with iron, sulphur and zinc is recommended. This may be used on a fescue, rye or bermuda lawn, as well as trees and shrubs.
If you have any questions concerning "August Garden Tips" please email us at: us@guzmansgreenhouse.com

Here are a few tips to keep your garden and a few specific problems from getting away from you during the month of August gardening. Your lawn, again usually three things or any combination of them may be the culprit(s) for making your lawn or patches of your lawn turn brown.
Check water first. It may be that your sprinkler is just not applying enough water to certain areas of your lawn. Remember if you can see your footprints in the lawn after you walk on it then it is time to get water on it asap. If the patchy brown areas of your lawn feel slightly "warmer" than the green areas of your lawn it usually means that particular area is not receiving enough moisture. It is best to core holes in this area, which will help deliver water right to the roots. The second item you may want to check will be for grubs.
There will be no mistaking these creatures. They are usually about the size of your thumb, creamy white with a brown head. They will feed on the grass roots to store up for winter and "hibernate" and emerge next year as adults.
These adults are the May and June beetles your see flying around at dusk in early summer. There are granular and liquid insecticides as well a natural beneficial nematodes to help control these critters.

The third item to check for will be a fungus. If you look closely at the blades of grass that are just around the edge of a dry patch you may notice lines or markings on each individual blade(s) of grass. If you have already checked for water or grubworms and are sure these two are not the problems this could be whats making your lawn turn brown.

There are also granualar and liquid fungicides available to help with this situation.
If you have any flowering trees or shrubs such as roses, crape myrtle, vitex, bird of paradise, oleander, among others it is very important to remove the "spent blossoms" as they appear. This action will help keep your flowering plants blooming up until frost. If this is not done the plants will spend a lot of energy into forming seeds at the expense of new blossoms.
Remember this usually works on just about any flowering plant. If your plants are looking a little pale in color you may want to incorporate some iron into your soil. Plants and lawns can lose some of their deep green color this time of year due to so much watering.

The soil may get leached out of it's nutrients by August so it is important to replace these minerals with chelated iron or Ironite. This not only puts a deep green back into the foliage but also makes flowers more vibrant.

If it has been more than 5 to 6 weeks since you last fertilized your lawn then it is time. For this area a 16-8-8 fertilizer with iron, sulphur and zinc is recommended. This may be used on a fescue, rye or bermuda lawn, as well as trees and shrubs.

This article "Dog Days of Summer" is free to use as long as the following is attached: - Authors Gary and Paul Guzman Website: http://www.guzmansgreenhouse.com

Desert and Xeriscaping Plants in Las Cruces, NM

Color your world nursery has lots of desert landscaping plants. These plants and trees are very good for those who prefer water saving or drought tolerant landscaping. Here is a list of some plants and trees that require little water once established.

Honey Mesquite trees
Chilean Mesquite trees
Ash trees
Spanish and Desert sword plants
Texas Laurel or Mescal Bean
Bottle Brush
Vitex Tree
Desert Willow
Agave or Century Plants
Red and Yellow tip Yuccas
Sotol
Even Lantana, Verbena and Crape Myrtles need only occasional after they are well estabhlished.

And thousands of other colorful landscaping plants to suit anyones needs.

Visit this website for some colorful picturs of some of these plants and trees:
http://www.guzmansgreenhouse.com/desert-trees/southwest-trees.htm

Don't forget to visit Color Your World Nurseries located at: 540 N. Telshor Las Cruces NM. Or call us at 575 521-0496

Ask for Paul or Gary Guzman...we will be glad to help with any questions you might have about desert type plants.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Vegetable Gardening Tips


Vegetable gardening tips for anyone.

Depending on the type of vegetable seeds you have they all need different times of dormancy lengths. Most annual seeds will of course germinate the following spring season. Seeds need air, moisture, and good temperature for germination.

When the seeds assimalite or absorbs water and food surrounding the inside of the seed it will then convert from starch to sugar. This is when the embryo (seed shell) will start to grow. Eventually it will burst out of its hard shell.

Your seeds will now began to take food and water from the outside world. This is also the time when you will need to do your best to increase the chances of growing these seeds into a vegetable, fruit, pepper for healthy edible food.

How to plant garden vegetables

Choose a good location. Preferably a west location as this side will have plenty of sun. Most vegetables like lots of sunlight. Especially green chile peppers, jalapenos and other southwestern chile.

Vegetables andChile plants love the long southwestern sunshine which is ideal for productive and abundant crop.

Rototill the land or at least dig up the soil with a shovel to loosen the dirt/soil.

Clear the spot or location of any large rocks, grass or weeds that may be in the area.

Chose a good vegetable garden fertilizer and apply it over the soil.

Chile peppers and vegetables do NOT like cooler temperatures. Plant them when temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees fahrenheit during the night.

A good fertilizer will have the following nutrients: Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K) are the three nutrients of concern to most gardeners. Calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) are also needed. A good fertilizer will have a 5-10-5 mixture. Apply about 2 tablespoons per 50 sq ft.

Consider growing vegetables and chile seeds that are suitable for your area. Call your local Nursery for information on what will grow well in your area. Many nurseries have vegetables and chile already planted as seedlings. These type of plants will do better for the novice gardener since they are already set to plant and grow!

Remember its YOUR garden decide if you want vegetables seeds or grown container plants?

Water is essential to your vegetable garden. Use a good Drip System or water by hose on a daily basis especially in the desert southwest. About 1.5" of water per week should do.

Vegetables like low acid PH levels in the soil. You can always amend the soil with nutrients at a later date.

Weeds will suck up all the nutrients from the soil. So remember to pull out all weeds whenever possible.

Do NOT over water or have standing water over a long period of time. Over watering is just as bad as little or no water! Blossom end rot is where the tomatoes will look brown or black usually at the bottom. Click here for Blossom-End Rot Control

Try to buy tomatoes and chile that are resistant to "VFN". What is "VFN"? Following is what this means: V=Verticillium F=Fusarium, and N=nematodes. These are fungii that causes plants to wilt.

The most important part is constant viewing of your plants. If you don't look at them at least daily you are just wasting your time and money.

Paul