Earthly Garden

Here are some great tips from Lowes. While I prefer giving my business to local nurseries rather than the big box stores, they do offer some good information on getting your lawn ready for next year!

MOORESVILLE, N.C., Sept. 27 /PRNewswire/ — With hot weather and long days soon behind us, it’s time to help your embattled lawn and garden recover from searing temperatures. Whether your yard is drowning in water or in desperate need of some moisture, don’t fret because there are solutions available to help solve your garden woes. Try these simple ideas to get your outdoor space ready for the winter months.

“When the signature signs of autumn, cooler evenings and colorful foliage, are approaching it’s the perfect time to prepare your yard for colder months,” said Patti Price, senior vice president of merchandising for outdoor living at Lowes. “By reseeding and applying a fall fertilizer before the winter months, it will ensure not only a healthy yard but one that’s the talk of the town come next spring.”

If Your yard Goes “Crunch”, Bill Fields, vice president of merchandising for lawn and landscape at Lowes recommends the following steps for bringing a dry lawn back to its former lush life. September and October are ideal months to overseed in order to revive a drought ridden lawn for the next spring.

— Control the weeds: Weeds tend to do well when grass is stressed. Two
to three weeks before the restoration process starts, kill the weeds.
First, mow the grass and weeds and two days later apply a herbicide.
Check herbicide labels before using, and select an appropriate chemical
for the weed types and lawn type in your yard.
— Remove the weeds and dead grass: You can accomplish with a metal rake or by mowing your lawn as short as possible and catching
the clippings, making mulch or compost. For extreme soil compaction, you may consider a core aerator. Aerators are essential tools for breaking up tough, dry hunks of soil to allow for greater movement of water, fertilizer and air.
— Prepare your lawn surface: You can apply seed, starter fertilizer and
lime all in the same day, one application after another, but never mix
them together in the same spreader at the same time.
— Water the lawn normally. Keep it moist until seed germinates –
usually 14 to 21 days. Try a strong gardening hose with a powerful
nozzle.
If Your Yard Goes “Squish” What steps should soggy homeowners take to get their lawns prepared for winter so they are picture-perfect by spring? Fields recommends the following for those suffering from oversaturation:

— Check for critters: Wet weather can bring out lawn-damaging bugs.
Look for ants and other pests in the soil to determine if you need
additional treatment.Then apply an insect killer to eliminate any bugs above and below ground.
— Watch for weeds: Lawns that were thinned provide a perfect environment for winter weeds such as dandelion, henbit,
chickweed and clover. Use Sta-Green(R) Winterizer Weed & Feed to help build a stronger root system while controlling late-season weeds.
— Feed your lawn for hibernation: Grass needs extra nutrients to withstand the winter weather.
— Over seed for the future: Select a two-in-one combination soil/starter fertilizer, such as Pennington Starter Fertilizer. Use this soil before you
put down grass seed to ensure that roots are deeply in place to survive harsh winter elements.

Winter blues creeping up? Add some color this fall: Mike Gettler, vice president of merchandising for nursery at Lowes, offers tips for ways to spruce up fall landscape and add color:

— Replace summer annuals with fall bloomers such as royal purple,
lavender and gold pansies to update the look of your garden. You’ll
stop traffic with curb appeal that will last for months.
— Invite color into your landscape: One of America’s classic flowers,
the chrysanthemum, happens to be a fall bloomer. Take advantage of
its magentas, dark reds and shocking pinks and plant them in window
boxes or outdoor planters.

Plant and harvest vegetables: For foliage that holds up in colder climates, plant ornamental cabbage or kale, whose chic lettuce-green and purple color scheme will add just the right splash of color to any garden and lawn. Fall is an ideal time to plant and harvest hardy vegetables — find out which vegetables will work well in your winter garden from local trained nursery specialists.

gardening, lawn care, fall color in the garden, pansies, ornamental kale

Looking for a great holiday gift for your kids? Check this out-and kudos to Nintendo!

REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Nintendo is on a mission to make some locations — both virtual and real — a little greener. In honor of the launch of Chibi-Robo(TM): Park Patrol for the portable Nintendo DS(TM), Nintendo is offering 500 tree seedlings to kids who want to help keep their environments clean and beautiful.

Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol is one of the first games based on the growing environmental movement, and it's a great way to get kids and their parents on a green path. In the game, players take on the persona of a cute little robot. They clean up a park by planting flowers, building park equipment and defeating toxic enemies called Smoglings.

Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol lets players use the Nintendo DS touch screen to control actions like watering plants, squirting enemies or riding a bike. Chibi's good deeds are converted into Happy Points that power him and the friendly toys he meets along the way. He even uses environmentally friendly modes of transportation to get around.

“From hybrid cars to energy-conserving light bulbs, everyone is going green,” says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. “Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol represents one of the first environmentally themed video game adventures.”

To get a tree seedling, register at http://www.Chibi-Robo.com between now and Nov. 9. Before America Recycles Day on Nov. 15, Nintendo will choose 500 people at random to receive a seedling that they can plant in their community.

But Nintendo’s environmental efforts are not limited to video games. In the real world, Nintendo has already undertaken multiple initiatives to help preserve the environment. Nintendo:

— recycles the paper it uses company-wide, limits the use of colored
paper (since it’s not easily recycled) and purchases recycled paper
towels, report covers, message pads and writing pads.
— recycles more than 70 percent of the waste generated at its
headquarters and promotes the recycling of aluminum cans and glass in
its corporate cafeterias. According to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, the United States as a whole recycles about 32
percent of its waste.
— requires manufacturers not use any banned substances (such as lead,
mercury, etc.) in components, nor use them in the manufacturing
process for any components used in its products.

Sounds like a great game, and three cheers to Nintendo for putting out a game that lets kids learn about the environment and growing things! I have a neice and two nephews and this sounds like the perfect Christmas gift!

gardening, trees, Nintendo, environment

Well after three weeks of sunny, warm, dry weather, we’re finally getting some rain. It’s been pouring all day. Maybe now we’ll finally get some fall weather! As much as I enjoy summer, I am ready for some crisp autumn days. I just harvested the last of my tomatoes-see the pic. Now it’s time to close up shop and plan for next year. I’m looking forward to all the seed and plant catalogs that will soon start arriving in the mail. In future columns I’ll review a few of the best and most interesting. The coming cold weather months also bring the chance to catch up on some reading. Don’t know about you but my “To Be Read” pile contains more than a few gardening books. I’ll be reviewing those as well, so stay tuned!

gardening, tomatoes, seed catalogs. gardening books, weather