September Organic Maintenance
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PLANT:
WATER:
The Dirt Doctor, Howard Garrett http://www.dirtdoctor.com/
- Wildflower seeds if you didn’t plant them at the best time in summer.
- Finish warm-season lawn grass plantings of Bermuda and zoysia by seed no later than early September.
- Solid sod can be planted any time. Cool season grasses such as ryegrass, fescue and blue grass can be planted in the later part of the month.
- Transplant established spring-flowering bulbs, iris, daylilies, daisies, and peonies.
- Fall blooming perennials such as asters and mums, hardy perennials, especially spring blooming plants.
- Divide spring blooming perennials if necessary.
- Cool-season vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, beets, turnips, spinach, potatoes, lettuce, carrots, beets, radishes, and English peas.
- THIRD MAJOR FERTILIZATION OF THE YEAR
- All planting areas with an organic fertilizer at approximately 10-20 lbs. per 1,000 sq. ft. Corn gluten meal can be used to help control annual winter weeds such as bluegrass, dandelion, henbit, fescue grass, ryegrass, and Poa annua.
- Spray Garrett Juice Plus and drench plant roots with Garrett Juice Plus and Thrive.
- Avoid all synthetic fertilizers but especially “weed and feed types” and the “nitrogen only” types. Remember that the only complete balanced fertilizers are organic. Others contain no carbon and poor compliments of trace minerals.
- Root-prune wisterias that failed to bloom in the past.
- Shade and ornamental trees if needed. Make no flush cuts and use no pruning paint.
- Remove spent blooms of summer flowering perennials if you haven’t already.
- Remove surface tree roots if you must but no more than 20% of root system per year. It’s best to leave the roots and add shredded tree trimming mulch or convert from grass to ground covers.
- Root-prune wisterias that failed to bloom in the past.
WATER:
- Water deeply but only as needed during dry spells.
- Potted plants and hanging baskets regularly. Add Garrett Juice as a root stimulator for better performance.
- Brown patch or take all patch in St. Augustine: Apply whole ground cornmeal at 10-20 lbs. per 1,000 sq. ft. For follow up applications, use dry or liquid garlic, potassium bicarbonate or cornmeal juice. Dry granulated garlic at 2 lbs. per 1000 sq. ft. also works well.
- Webworms, tent caterpillars: Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) as a last resort on infected plants only. Spinosad is also effective. Make a note to release trichogramma wasps next spring.
- Grubworms – apply beneficial nematodes if necessary but realize that only 10% of the grubs you see are harmful to plants. Dry molasses will also help.
- Cabbage loopers on broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage: Spray Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Release trichogramma wasps prior to this time next year.
- Aphids on tender, new fall growth - spray garlic tea or water blast followed by release of ladybugs. Add 1-2 ounces of molasses per gallon of spray. Spinosad can also be used.
- Fire ants - Drench mounds with orange oil based mound drench or plant oil products and apply beneficial nematodes. Apply spinosad products for problem infestations.
- Black spot and powdery mildew: Spray garlic-pepper tea and see the Organic Rose Program on the website, DirtDoctor.com.
- Weeds: Chemicals pushers recommend MSMA. It’s an idiotic recommendation. The product contains an arsenic compound. They also recommend the dangerous 2, 4 – D products for broadleaf weeds. They also recommend products like Manage for other weeds. These chemicals will severely injure or kill trees. Image is a waste of money and can do damage. Organic weed control results from healthy soil, thick healthy plants, fertilizing with corn gluten meal and spot spraying natural organic weed controls.
- Chlorosis (yellow leaves, dark green veins, newest growth first): Apply the entire Sick Tree Treatment and add Epsom salts or sul-po-mag if magnesium is deficient in the soil. Greensand can help because it contains many trace minerals. Iron may not be the only one deficient. The key is to stimulate the biological activity of the soil so that the “tied-up” minerals in the soil are made available to plant
- Mow weekly and leave clippings on the lawn.
- Turn the compost pile.
- Feed and water the birds!
The Dirt Doctor, Howard Garrett http://www.dirtdoctor.com/