Vol. 13, No.2
March/April 2009
University of Illinois Extension, Pike County Horticulture Newsletter
Pike County
1301 E. Washington St.
Pittsfield, IL 62363
Phone: (217) 285-5543
Fax: (217) 285-5735
If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate
in any program we offer, please contact University of
Illinois Extension, Pike County at 217-285-5543.
Articles in This Issue:
Please Help – Send Email addresses ................... 1
Gardening Tips From Sharon ............................. 1
Congratulations New Master Gardeners ............ 1
Earth Day – April 22, 2009 ................................. 1
Upcoming Events ................................................. 2
A Taste of Gardening ......................................... 2
Preserving Natural Enemies Makes Sense ......... 2
Time to Think About Soil Prep for Gardens ....... 3
Spring Lawn Seeding May Not Be Ideal ............. 4
Healthy Turf Zaps Lawn Weeds.......................... 4
Attack of the Birds ............................................... 5
Spring Planting Dates ......................................... 6
Landscaping with Vegetables .............................. 6
Strawberries – An Easy Treat to Grow .............. 7
Carnations – Not Your Granny’s Bloomers ....... 8
Water Grass – What is it? .................................... 9
Asparagus Facts .................................................. 10
Shady Lawns May Have Moss Problems ............ 11
The Master Gardener’s Plot ................................ 11
Please Help – Send email Addresses!
We are looking at ways to cut down our mailing lists,
with the upcoming increase in postage. We hope you
enjoy our newsletter and we want to keep providing
you with gardening and horticulture information
through this newsletter.
If you have an email address, we would be more than
happy to email the newsletter to you. Please provide
your email address to us. Please email
cwestfal@illinois.edu with your address.
And, if you are not interested in receiving
this newsletter, please let us know and
we can discontinue mailing it to you.
We really appreciate your help!
Gardening Tips From Sharon
Do you often wonder if you are picking produce at the
peak of freshness? Maybe you have a problem with a
pesky insect.... Seasonal suggestions could be just a
click away! Sign up to receive email gardening tips
throughout the growing and harvest season from
Master Gardener Sharon Crum. Simply send an email
requesting to be added to ‘Gardening Tips from
Sharon’ to cwestfal@illinois.edu or call the Pike
County Extension office at 285-5543.
Congratulations to the New Pike County
Master Gardeners!
Master Gardeners are members of the
local community who are interested in
lawns, trees, shrubs, flowers, gardens,
vegetables, and the environment. These volunteers
complete approximately 60 hours of instruction in all
areas of home horticulture to become certified. Sally
Lemons of Pittsfield and Peggy Rawlings of Barry
recently finished the certification program. They now
join the other Master Gardeners including Sharon
Crum, Kay Dunham, Duane and Suzanne Lanchester,
Pauline Little, and Glenna Olson in volunteering their
expertise to projects throughout the county.
Don’t miss the opportunity to visit with several
Master Gardeners and ask your questions from 10:00
a.m. until 4:00 p.m. on April 25 at the Pittsfield
County Market.
Earth Day – April 22, 2009
This is the 39th anniversary of the first Earth Day.
The beginning of the environmental movement in
the United States originated on April 22, 1970. On
that date, approximately 12,000 schools, colleges
and universities and over 20 million Americans took
a visible stand on environmental issues.
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
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Upcoming Events
A Taste of Gardening
Upcoming Spring Horticulture Telenet Series:
Growing for Farmer’s Markets
Warm Season Vegetable Gardening
Presented by Mike and Teresa Roegge
April 30 – 5:30 p.m.
University of Illinois Extension, Pike County
Fee - $5; Deadline to register: April 28
Area growers offer a wide array of fresh, locallygrown produce. Have you ever been interested in
growing for farmers’ markets and roadside stands?
Learn the tips of the trade from area experts and find
out more about local farmers markets.
April 14 at 1:00 p.m.
Registration Deadline: Friday, April 10, 2009
Sweet corn, green beans,
tomatoes…..Growing your own produce
is rewarding, healthy, and economical.
Learn how to plan, plant, and care for your
summer veggies.
Buy Local, Eat Healthy
April 28 at 1:00 p.m.
Registration Deadline: Friday, April 24, 2009
Illinois growers offer a wide array of fresh, locallygrown produce. The key is to know when it is in
season. Find out when fresh produce is at its peak so
that you can mark your calendar and visit farmers’
markets and roadside stands.
Building a Basic Water Garden
May 12 at 1:00 p.m.
Registration Deadline: Friday,
May 8, 2009
Starting with site selection and
ending with the serenity of a water
garden, this program offers step-bystep instructions on how to build a backyard water
garden.
Registration Details
Each session is $5. Handout materials will be in color.
Advance registration is needed one week before the
program you attend. If you would like a CD of the
program, please add an additional $2.
For More Information or to register, contact the
Pike County Extension Office at 217-285-5543
Upcoming Seasonal Horticulture Telenets:
Pies, Pies, and More Pies
Presented by Shirley Camp
May 5 – 5:30 p.m.
University of Illinois Extension, Pike County
Fee $10; Deadline to register: May 1
Learn the art of making pastry and pies and return to
home-style cooking for your family. Each participant
will make a basic pie dough, and use the dough to
make a one-crust pie shell, an individual tart and a
turnover to take home. Participants are asked to bring
a rolling pin and an 8 or 9-inch pie pan. Pastry
blenders and pie cloths are optional. Join us to learn
to incorporate your fresh fruits into taste treats for all
ages!
Preserving Natural Enemies Makes Good
Garden Sense
Preserving insect enemies that reside in your garden
will help control some insect pests, but sending
additional enemies into the area may not be so useful.
Many gardeners buy packages of "beneficial
insects"—insects that feed on pests. Then they release
the beneficial insects into the garden to control aphids
and other crop-destroying insects. Most of the time
people get much less out of these releases than they
expected.
Summer - Turfgrass Diseases; Don’t Blame the
Plant; Landscaping on the Wild Side
Fall - Tree Maintenance; Poisonous Plants; Bonsai
Watch upcoming newsletters for more details!!
Three of the most common beneficial insects sold for
this purpose are lady beetles, praying mantises and
green lacewings. Two of these insects often do not do
much good.
A common problem with mail-order lady beetles is
that they fly away soon after being released. Because
most of them won't stay in a backyard garden, only
community-wide releases are likely to provide much
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
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benefit. However, once established, they tend to stay
within an area if food sources are present.
immediate effects on pest populations, but natural
enemies need time to search for prey or hosts.
Praying mantises are fascinating to
watch, but they are not useful or efficient
predators. They tend to eat each other if nothing else
is around to munch on.
Time to Think About Soil Preparation for
Gardens
Placing green lacewing eggs in the garden is really the
most promising strategy, and even that has
questionable value.
Already-established populations of beneficial insects
are likely to provide better results than introducing
purchased insects. The following are some simple
principles to help preserve any beneficial insects
already living in your garden.
1. Learn how to recognize beneficial insects.
2. Minimize insecticide applications. Most
insecticides kill beneficial insects along with the
pests. For example, microbial insecticides that
contain different strains of the bacterium
Bacillus thuringiensis are toxic only to
caterpillars, certain beetles or certain mosquito
and black fly larvae.
3. Maintain ground covers, standing crops and
crop residues. To survive the winter, many
beneficial insects require the protection offered
by vegetation. However, preserving ground
covers and crop residues can also help certain
pests. Evaluate this strategy according to its
overall benefits and drawbacks.
4. Provide pollen and nectar sources or other
supplemental foods. Plants with very small
flowers make good sources of nectar for adults
of certain beneficial wasps. Seed mixes of
flowering plants intended to attract and nourish
beneficial insects are sold at garden centers and
through mail-order catalogs.
When attempting to preserve beneficial insects, keep
in mind that these natural enemies will never
completely eliminate a pest. When a pest population
becomes low, the beneficial insects often leave the
area and search for more abundant prey.
If you need 100 percent control, natural enemies alone
usually do not provide enough control, but natural
enemies will reduce the pest population to moderate
levels, which are acceptable in many cases.
One other point to remember is that natural enemies
take time to do their work. Insecticides have nearly
The ideal garden soil is deep, crumbly, well drained,
and has high organic matter content, whether you are
dealing with vegetables, flowers, turf, or trees. Proper
soil preparation provides the basis for good seed
germination and subsequent growth of plants.
Check soil fertility and pH by having your soil
analyzed at least once every three years. Soil pH
measures the degree of acidity or alkalinity of the soil.
Vegetables vary to some extent in their requirements,
but most garden crops will do well with a soil pH of
6.2 to 6.8. This is a little below neutral or slightly acid
(sour).
If soil pH is too high or too low,
poor crop growth will result—
largely due to the effects of pH
on the availability of nutrients to
plants. A soil test will also give
you a relative idea of the nutrient level in the soil.
For best results, take several slices of soil down to a
6-inch depth from several areas, mixing these together
in a clean pail, and extracting one pint of the mixed
soil. Make basic nutrients and pH adjustments to the
soil by adding required fertilizers and lime (or
acidifiers).
If you are putting in new plantings in an existing
lawn, remove sod with a spade. Then use it to patch
your lawn, or you can put it in a compost pile to
decay. Plow, spade, or rototill the soil. Work only
when soil moisture conditions are right. To test, pick
up a handful of soil, and squeeze it. If it stays in a
mud ball, it is too wet. If it crumbles freely, it should
be about right.
Excessively dry soil is powdery and clumpy and may
be difficult to work. If soil sticks to a shovel or, if
when spading the turned surface is shiny and smooth,
it is too wet. Working soils when they are excessively
wet can destroy soil structure, which may take years
to rebuild.
Plowing with a tractor when the soil is wet is
especially damaging, causing the formation of a
compaction layer that will inhibit root growth. Soils
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
with adequate humus levels generally allow more
leeway because of their improved structural qualities.
Just prior to planting, break up large clods of soil, and
rake the bed level. Small-seeded vegetables germinate
best in smooth, fine-surfaced soil. Do not pulverize
the seedbed soil. This destroys the structure and
promotes crusting and erosion problems.
The type of equipment used to prepare your garden
will depend on the size of the garden, your physical
ability, time, and budget. Options include hand
digging with a spade or shovel, tilling with a power
rotary tiller, using a small garden tractor, or using a
full-sized farm tractor.
Spring Lawn Seeding May
Not Be Ideal
Spring may seem like an ideal time to
sow grass seed. However,
there can be a few problems.
Fall is a better time to seed.
Spring results may be satisfactory, but summer's heat
can create problems.
Grass plants need sufficient time to establish before
summer's heat and dry conditions set in. A strong root
system and dense plant stand is the goal. Kentucky
bluegrass needs at least 10 to 12 weeks of ideal
growing weather once germinated to produce an adult
stand. Perennial ryegrass needs 6 to 8 weeks. Turftype tall fescues are an exception. Plants remain in the
juvenile state for 10 months. However, the turf-type
tall fescues are able to withstand heat and drought
much better than the above two.
Another problem with spring seeding is the
competition with weed seeds germinating, especially
crabgrass. Crabgrass pre-emergence weed controls are
not specifically formulated to distinguish between
weed and desirable grass seed. A homeowner may end
up with excellent crabgrass control as well as control
of grass seedlings. Siduron or Tupersan can be used at
half the recommended rate to provide some crabgrass
control and allow grass seeds to germinate and grow.
Read and follow all label directions.
When sowing grass seed, make sure seed is covered
lightly with soil. It is essential to have good soil-toseed contact for germination.
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Bare patches should be raked of debris, seed sown,
covered, and kept moist until germinated. Daily
watering to wet the ground an inch is sufficient.
Avoid heavy irrigations.
Over seeding can be done to improve the turf's stand.
Sow the seed and rake in. Use a leaf rake to push the
seed down to the soil.
Fertilizing should be avoided until grass plants
become established. The recommended time to
fertilize in the spring, however, is May 15. Grass
seeded in early April should be up and growing by
that date.
Kentucky Bluegrass can be seeded at the rate of one
pound for over seeding or 3 to 4 pounds for bare
areas. Double the amount for perennial ryegrass and
tall fescue.
Keep the soil moist until the seed germinates. Once
seedlings become established, settle for an inch of
water per week. Continue watering through June and
early July. Deep and infrequent watering are the best.
Healthy Turf Zaps Weeds Before They
Can Appear
A thick, healthy lawn is your best defense against
weeds this spring. Careful mowing and adequate
water and fertilizer will give you the dense turf
necessary to crowd out weeds.
Mowing a lawn too short reduces
vigor of the grass and allows weeds
to take over. A cutting height of 2
to 2 ½ inches for most Kentucky
bluegrass varieties is
recommended.
Soak the soil at least 6 to 8 inches deep when you
water the lawn. Frequent, shallow watering favors
weed growth.
During dry spells, you may have to water more
frequently. You’ll know it’s time to water if the grass
starts to wilt or your footprints are visible after you
walk on the turf.
If broadleaf weeds get ahead of you, apply
postemergence herbicides. While 2,4-D can be used to
control broadleaf weeds, remember that it may also
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
kill or damage bentgrass and clover. If temperatures
are expected to go above 85 F during the day, do not
apply postemergence herbicides. Wait for a cooler
day.
Do not use 2,4-D on a newly seeded lawn. Read the
label for detailed information on correct herbicide use.
To help beat the problem of herbicide drift and
possible damage to desirable broadleaf plants,
manufacturers have “packaged” the herbicides in
several forms. You can apply herbicides with
fertilizer—commonly called “weed and feed”—to
control weeds and fertilize in one operation.
Several chemicals are good for preemergence
control of crabgrass and other annual grasses and
broadleaf weeds. Crabgrass control materials
available at garden centers usually do a good job if
they’re used properly.
Apply these chemicals before the crabgrass
germinates. Too much herbicide can damage lawn
grasses, so use it carefully. You’ll find helpful
suggestions on the chemical container.
If you follow label directions carefully, weed control
materials on the market will do the job.
Attack of the Birds
Spring is in the air. Grass is
greening, spring flowers blooming
and many birds are returning.
Sometimes, a few birds may
appear to have partied too hard while
they were wintering down south. These are the birds
that fly headlong into your home’s windows or
periodically flutter or peck at the glass. Some studies
estimate that millions of birds die each year from
collisions with windows.
There are two basic reasons for this behavior. In the
first case, male birds are establishing their territories.
This most often occurs with cardinals or robins and
may take place for several weeks in the spring. When
a male sees his reflection in the glass, he sees it as an
intruder. He tries to fight the imaginary intruder and
will repeatedly attack the glass.
In the second case, a bird may be flying from a
predator. A large glass window may appear to be an
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escape route. If the bird is flying at full speed, injury
or death of the bird may be the outcome.
Where birds are pecking or fluttering around glass in
the spring, the easiest thing to do is wait a few weeks.
This activity usually stops after mating season.
Reducing the window reflectivity may alleviate
attacking problems. First, identify which windows
seem to have recurring bird problems. Go outside and
see if the window reflects more at different times of
the day. Also check if there is a window on the
opposite wall of the house, to appear as if birds would
have fly-through passage.
There are several methods of safeguarding your
windows and the birds as well. Turning on inside
lights during dusk or nighttime hours may help.
Window screens are beneficial. Other options to
reduce reflection are planting trees next to windows,
installing awnings and altering drapes or blinds.
If aesthetics are not a major concern, placing sheets of
paper or stickers of predator birds on windows may
work. The bird stickers do not scare other birds away,
but they do reduce reflectivity. These are more
effective if they are placed on the outside portion of
the window. Spraying the outside glass with a soapy
solution and allowing it to dry will also help reduce
external reflections.
Temporarily placing bird netting over problem
windows will reduce collisions and should protect
birds that fly into windows from being seriously hurt.
This type of netting should be 5/8 inch or less, to keep
birds from getting entangled.
If a bird feeder is close to a window that gets attacked
or flown into, move the feeder to a new location
farther away. If this is not an option, move the feeder
closer to the window. This may not prevent collisions
but may keep birds from attaining a high enough
speed to cause injury.
If a bird does fly into a window and appears injured,
do not immediately try to pick it up. It may just be
stunned and may revive and fly away after a few
minutes. Keep children and pets away from an injured
bird. If a bird does appear to be alive but injured,
contact a local wildlife rehabilitation center. Also
keep in mind that it is technically illegal to handle
federally protected migratory birds without a permit.
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
Spring Planting
Dates
First, let's determine our
frost dates. In central
Illinois our average date of last frost is April 15 -20
with the later date for more northern counties. The
first vegetables that can be planted are the very cold
hardy ones. These plants withstand freezing
temperatures and hard frosts without injury and seeds
will germinate readily in cold soils. They can be
planted 4-5 weeks before average date of last frost, so
mid-March through mid-April.
Very hardy vegetables for extra early planting by seed
include: collard, kohlrabi, kale, rutabaga, salsify, leaf
lettuce, peas, spinach, and turnips. Spinach and lettuce
seeds may even be planted in the fall for spring crops.
Hardy transplants include: cabbage, broccoli, Brussels
sprouts, parsley, Irish potato sets (baby potatoes),
onion sets (baby onion bulbs), asparagus crowns, and
rhubarb and horseradish plants.
Frost tolerant vegetables can be planted 2-3 weeks
before average frost date, so late-March through
April. These vegetables withstand light frosts and
seeds germinate in cool soils, but not as readily as the
very hardy group. Frost tolerants include seeds of
beet, Swiss chard, mustard greens, radish, parsnip,
lettuce, carrot, arugula, green onions, Asian greens,
and endive. Transplants of cauliflower, Chinese
cabbage, and leeks can also be planted now.
Early plantings of cool season vegetables produce the
best quality vegetables. In addition many vegetables
flourish and produce a crop before all the insects wake
from a long winter's nap.
Landscaping with Vegetables
There isn't anything as tasty as picking fresh
tomatoes, peppers or lettuce from your
backyard garden on a summer
day. But with the average home
lot filled with shrubs, trees, a lawn
and flowerbeds, is it absolutely
imperative you have a space designated for
vegetables.
If space is a problem, it's perfectly acceptable to
integrate vegetables into your landscape. Several of
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the vegetables lend themselves nicely to landscape
use.
The first thing you have to change is the mindset that
vegetables do best when planted in nice straight rows
or in a large plot. Some, like green beans, do. It's not
true for all of them. There is no law that vegetables
must grow in their own confined space.
Sure, it's easier to take care of plants when you can
rototill an entire area. Weeding and watering is also
easier when everything grows in one location.
Some vegetables just won't do well in the landscape
even with careful planning. You'll have a hard time
producing quality sweet-corn ears without the stalks
in large plantings to ensure good pollination.
Pumpkins tend to want lots of room to ramble as they
grow. On the other hand, many vegetables can be
tucked in among shrubs and flowers.
It doesn't take much space to sow some leafy
vegetables. Patches of lettuce and spinach need only a
square foot here and there. If planted early in the
spring, the space can be used for flowers or other
vegetables later in the season. Since most leafy
vegetables are in for only eight to 10 weeks, you can
plant some late-season annual flowers to fill in the
same space.
Peppers also work well interspaced among flowers.
The reds, oranges and purples of the fruit will add a
little zip to the landscape. The newer one- to twoperson eggplants also do well, producing vivid purple
or white fruit to contrast or compliment surrounding
flowers and foliage.
Many of the root crops, from radishes to carrots to
beets to parsnips, fit in well. It may take a little more
patience when planting to make sure that the seedlings
are spaced properly. Place two seeds in each location,
thinning down to one plant if both germinate.
Remember not to hoe or cultivate deeply around the
plants.
Many of the root crops have interesting foliage,
including the fern-like carrots and the large reddishgreen beets.
Tomatoes also work well tucked in among other
plants. You may find the need to stake or cage the
plants, but that isn't much of a problem if done when
the tomatoes are small. Consider some of the pink,
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
orange and yellow cultivars as well as the red types.
Cherry and plum tomato plants don't grow as large
and rampant as slicing types.
'Bright Lights' Swiss chard is an interesting vegetable
with a multitude of various colored stems. They add a
certain pizzazz even if you don't harvest the leaves.
Most gardeners grow the bush snap beans, but pole
beans probably fit better in a landscape border as
they'll climb up above the other plants, essentially
sharing the same space but at different levels.
A plant of broccoli planted in early spring will
produce heads by midsummer, when the plants can be
pulled up and replanted with another vegetable.
Broccoli, cabbages and cauliflower can also be
planted in late August for a fall crop, replacing
vegetables or flowers that are past their prime.
Vining crops such as cucumbers and cantaloupes can
be trained on fences, supported by old nylon
pantyhose or foam-covered twist ties. Plant the seeds
in hills close to the base of the fence and allow the
plants to ramble up. The weight of some plants may
be too much for some old fences, so make sure the
fence is secure.
For years, herbs have been mingled with flowers. In
fact, many gardeners enjoy the chance encounter with
herbs while working the flower garden, releasing their
aroma. Dill, fennel, sage, rosemary and basil are ideal
for flower gardens.
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Strawberries – An Easy to Grow Treat
Few home grown fruits offer the easy growing and
luscious eating attributes of strawberries. A small
investment in plants and time now will yield several
years of backyard glee in grazing the strawberry
patch.
Strawberries are best planted in the
spring as soon as the soil can
be worked, usually early April.
Be sure to plant at the correct
depth so the soil level is just
above the roots. Don't bury the short
compressed stem called a crown or leave the
roots exposed. Water thoroughly after planting and
keep moist through the summer. Strawberries need
about one inch of water per week.
Strawberries will grow in just about any soil, but the
best production will be in well-drained and highly
fertile soils in areas of at least 6 hours of direct sun.
Before planting, work in well-rotted manure or
compost into the soil. Or apply 1.5 to 2 pounds of 1020-20 fertilizer or equivalent per 100 square feet and
work into the top six inches of soil.
Avoid planting strawberries where peppers, tomatoes,
eggplant and potatoes have been recently grown.
These plants could harbor verticillium wilt, a serious
strawberry disease.
Just remember to read the seed packet or transplant
tag to determine how much room the plant needs to
grow properly. Don't fudge; if cabbages need 18
inches by 18 inches, don't try to grow them in a square
foot.
Straw mulch can be applied after planting. Strawberry
flowers should be removed the first year of planting. I
know it’s tough removing the flowers, but the first
year of growth should be left to establishment of the
plants and not production. However the flowers of
everbearers and day neutrals may be left on at the end
of summer to allow one late crop the first year.
Look for those seeds or transplants that mention that
plants are compact or smaller than normal. Those do
the best.
Strawberries are generally free of insects and diseases.
Most diseases can be remedied with proper
maintenance and disease resistant varieties.
Finally, don't forget containers on decks and patios.
There are many vegetables bred for compactness
which makes them perfect for containers. Just
remember to give them enough room to grow and
plenty of water when it gets hot.
Three types of strawberries are available – spring or
June bearing, everbearing and day neutral. June
bearers such as (in order of ripening) Earliglow,
Honeoye, Seneca, Jewel, Allstar and Ovation produce
their crop in a two to three week period in spring.
June-bearers produce flowers, fruits and plenty of
runners. Strawberry plants produce "babies" at the end
of above ground stems called runners. By selecting
early, mid-season and late varieties of June bearers a
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
gardener can stretch the season over several weeks.
June bearers produce the biggest fruit.
Everbearers such as Ozark Beauty usually produce
three flushes of flowers and fruits throughout the
season in spring, summer and fall. Day neutrals such
as Tristar and Tribute will flower and fruit continually
through the season. Everbearers and day neutrals
produce few runners so are better suited to small
garden spaces.
In a home garden a mix of cultivars of June bearers
and everbearers or day neutrals works well for
continuous production. However supplemental
watering is needed for good summer production of
everbearing and day neutral strawberries. Soaker
hoses or drip tubes are an efficient way to irrigate that
also keeps the leaves dry to lessen disease problems.
The matted row system of planting is the most popular
method for growing June bearing varieties. The plants
are set 24 inches apart in rows 3 1/2 to 4-feet apart.
The runner plants are allowed to root freely to form a
matted row about 2-feet wide.
The hill system is the best method to grow
everbearing and day neutral cultivars. All runners are
removed so that only the original mother plant is left
to grow. Runners develop from the same region as
flower stalks so runner removal enables the mother
plant to develop numerous crowns and more flower
stalks. Multiple rows are often arranged in groups of
two, three or four plants with a two-foot walkway
between each group of rows. For more information
visit http://urbanext.illinois.edu/strawberries
Carnations – Not Your Granny’s
Bloomers
Carnations are often referred to as "old fashioned"
flowers. In the garden, however, they are not your
granny's bloomers. Carnations, also known as pinks,
include several species in the genus Dianthus. The
large familiar carnations found in flower
arrangements are generally grown in greenhouses. A
whole closet full of carnation relatives is ready to add
lovely flowers, foliage and fragrance to the garden.
Although pinks are often a pink
color, the name originates from the
word "pinct". In the world of sewing
(fabric not seeds), "pinct" or "pinked"
refers to the jagged edge produced by
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pinking shears to reduce raveling of the fabric edge.
The fringed edges of the flower petals resemble the
work of a bored sewer.
Cheddar pinks, Dianthus gratianopolitanus, grow
naturally at Cheddar Gorge in southwestern England,
an area made famous for its cheese. A cheddar pink
cultivar 'Firewitch', also known by its German name
of 'Feuerhexe', was named the perennial plant of the
year for 2006 by the Perennial Plant Association.
Similar to other dianthus 'Firewitch' grows best in full
sun to light shade in well-drained, slightly alkaline
soils. It may be short lived and eventually die out over
the winter in wet soils. The narrow almost needlelike
leaves are held in lovely evergreen or rather everblue-grey-green 3-4 inch tall mounds all year. The
plants get to 6-8 inches tall in flower. They are a
perfect size for edging a sidewalk, flower border or as
a ground cover in a spring bulb garden.
Rock gardens, raised beds and wall crevices are
perfect spots for cheddar pinks. Masses of small hot
pink flowers cover 'Firewitch' plants in mid spring. If
that weren't enough, pinks are known for their spicy
clove fragrance. To encourage additional flowering
through the season, spent flower stalks should be
sheared after first flowering. Since pinks hate wet soil,
they should not be mulched heavily with organic
mulch especially in winter. The plants will grow
better with mulch of sand, poultry grit or pea gravel.
Other cheddar pinks are 'Tiny Rubies' with their
double flowered deep pink flowers and the pink
flowered 'Baby Blanket'. Both form nice small
clumps. 'Bath's Pink' has 1 inch in diameter soft pink
flowers. The plants tend to scramble over walls and
the ground in a ground cover not a "ground smother"
kind of way. 'Mountain Mist' has similar pink flowers
but has bluer leaves. The plant adds a fine texture to
the garden even when it isn't in flower.
Another species Maiden Pinks, Dianthus deltoides,
offers cultivars of 'Zing Rose' with deep scarlet
flowers, 'Brilliant' and 'Red Maiden' with rose to red
flowers and 'Vampire' with carmine red flowers and
deep green leaves.
Sweet William, Dianthus barbatus, is a traditional
granny garden flower. They are generally biennials
but often reseed themselves so as to appear as
perennials. Sweet William is known for its clusters of
fragrant flowers often grown as annuals or cut
flowers. Well-known cultivars of Sweet William
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
include 'Messenger Mix', 'Indian Carpet' and the 'Tall
Cutting Mix'.
Some new dianthus in the "Fruit Punch Series" are
'Coconut Punch' with fluffy red and white flowers and
the velvety red flowers of 'Pomegranate Kiss'.
Dianthus is an underused and under-appreciated group
of plants. Combine pinks with other perennials such
as catmint Nepeta x faassenii 'Walkers Low' or 'Blue
Wonder' or the intense blue flowers of plumbago,
Ceratostigma plumbaginoides. Good companions
include hardy geraniums, rock soapwort or early
spring blooming pansies.
Water Grass – What is It?
You say, "water grass." I say, "What is it?" Take a
poll at your coffee shop and you will get wildly
different descriptions for water grass. Numerous
grassy weed species are called water grass. It may not
seem like a big deal but proper identification is key to
controlling grassy weeds in lawns.
First of all, the best way to prevent weeds from
invading your lawn is through proper lawn care
practices which encourage a dense stand of vigorous
grass. Weeds get a clear invitation anytime turf is
opened due to traffic next to sidewalks, poor growing
conditions or improper management practices.
For example, lawns mowed higher (over 2 inches)
tend to have fewer problems with annual grasses such
as crabgrass. Closely mowed lawns tend to open,
allowing weed invasions. Light, frequent watering
also favors crabgrass. It often invades areas seeded in
late spring because of bare soil, frequent watering,
and onset of hot weather, ideal for its growth. Ideally,
new lawns should be seeded in fall.
If you have a grey green colored grass which is
growing right now with white fleshy rhizomes then it
is probably quackgrass. Lucky you, quackgrass is one
of the most difficult weeds to control in lawns and
flowerbeds. Tall fescue can also appear as a weed in
Kentucky bluegrass lawns. It is a clump grass with a
wide leaf blade. This tall fescue is the pasture type
and not the more desirable turf-type tall fescues.
Quackgrass and tall fescue are both cool season
grasses so they start to green the same time as
Kentucky bluegrass.
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A warm season grassy weed is nimblewill. Its finebladed, light green leaves do not green until warm
weather, usually in May. Nimblewill is most
noticeable now as a straw colored patch that greens as
the weather warms then goes straw colored early in
the fall.
Quackgrass, tall fescue and nimblewill are perennials
which mean the same plant comes back every year,
bringing its family of seedlings or rhizomes with it.
There aren't any selective herbicides available to
home gardeners to kill these perennial weeds and not
kill your desirable grass.
Conventional crabgrass controls will not control these
perennial grasses. You have three options: either
thoroughly dig it out; spot treat it with a non-selective
herbicide such as glyphosate sold as Round Up or
Kleen Up; or live with it and only look at your lawn
through your car windshield. After the weed is dead
or removed, the area should be reseeded or resodded.
Crabgrass is an annual and must come back every
year from seed, so it is just now starting to germinate.
Crabgrass germinates when soil temperatures are
greater than 55 to 60 degrees F for 7-10 consecutive
days, and continues until soils reach 95 degrees F.
Other annual grasses germinate later as soils warm. If
you see a big clump of grass with long leaf blades
right now, it is not crabgrass.
If an herbicide is desired to control crabgrass, it is
usually a preemergence herbicide which keeps annual
grassy weeds such as crabgrass from emerging.
Timing of application is very important. The
preemergence herbicide for crabgrass should be
applied in our area by mid to late April.
Do not use preemergence control if you plan on also
reseeding the lawn this spring. Only one
preemergence herbicide, siduron (Tupersan) is labeled
for application to newly seeded areas. All others have
a waiting period. Be sure to read, understand and
follow all pesticide label directions.
Check out the University of Illinois turf site at
http://www.turf.uiuc.edu/ or U of I Extension
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/lawntalk/ for pictures,
descriptions and control measures for weeds in lawns.
Or if all else fails you can say, "at least it's green most
of the time."
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
Asparagus Facts
Asparagus is a hardy perennial. It is the
only common vegetable that grows wild
along roadsides and railroad tracks over a
large part of the country. Although
establishing a good asparagus bed requires
considerable work, your efforts will be
rewarded. A well-planned bed can last from 20 to 30
years. For this reason, asparagus should be planted at
the side or end of the garden, where it will not be
disturbed by normal garden cultivation. Asparagus is
one of the first vegetables ready to harvest in the
spring. Asparagus is native to the Mediterranean and
was eaten by the ancient Greeks.
Asparagus is spring’s most luxurious vegetable. It was
once cultivated for medicinal purposes as a natural
remedy for blood cleansing and diuretic properties.
During the Renaissance, asparagus was also promoted
as an aphrodisiac and banned from the tables of most
nunneries.
Botanically, asparagus is a member of the lily family,
closely related to onions and leeks, though it bears no
resemblance to them in appearance or flavor. It is a
finicky plant, harvested by hand and requiring much
attention during the brief growing season. Left to
mature it will sprout into beautiful feathery ferns that
are often used in floral arrangements.
While Europeans prize white asparagus, Americans
tend to prefer the green or violet-green varieties.
When you are buying asparagus, look for compact tips
and smooth green stems that are uniform in color
down the length of the stem. Check the cut stem end
for any signs of drying and always avoid withered
spears.
Pencil thin or thick stems can be equally delicious.
Contrary to popular belief, thinner stems are not an
indication of tenderness. Thick stems are already thick
when they poke their heads out of the soil and thin
stems do not get thicker with age. Tenderness is
related to maturity and freshness.
Asparagus comes in a variety of colors including
white, violet-green, pink and purple. If you must store
any variety of asparagus, treat it as you would treat a
cut flower. Trim the stems and stand them in a glass
with one to two inches of water. Cover with a plastic
bag and refrigerate for 2 to 3 days or until ready to
use.
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Asparagus is low in calories and provides substantial
amounts of two antioxidants—vitamin A and C. It
truly shines as a source of folate and has a goodly
amount of fiber.
Nutrition Facts
(Serving size, 1/2 cup cooked); Calories 90; Protein 2
grams; Carbohydrates 4 grams; Dietary Fiber 1.5
grams; Potassium 144 mg; Vitamin C 10 mg;
Folate 131 mcg; Vitamin A 485 IU
Below are some questions & answers you may have
when growing your own asparagus:
Q. What causes my asparagus spears to have loose
heads? - A. When the weather turns hot, the growing
point expands rapidly and the bracts (modified green
leaves) are spread by the early development of the
stems and ferns. The asparagus is safe to eat because
only the appearance is affected.
Q. Early spring freezes caused the asparagus
spears in my garden to turn brown and wither.
Are they safe to eat? - A. Frozen tips should be
picked and thrown away. These spears, although not
poisonous, are off-flavor.
Q. Can I start asparagus from seed? - A. Yes. You
can grow your own plants by planting seeds 1/2 inch
deep and 2 inches apart in the row. Start the seeds in
the spring when the soil temperatures have reached
60°F. Dig the plants the following spring, before
growth begins and transplant them to the permanent
bed as soon as the garden can be worked. Growing
your own plants delays establishment of your bed an
additional year, but it ensures that you are starting
with freshly dug crowns that have not lost vigor by
being dug, stored and shipped. Also, variety selection
is usually much greater when shopping for seeds
rather than crowns.
Q. What causes crooked spears? - A. Asparagus
spears grow quickly and are sensitive to mechanical
injury from cultivation or cutting tools, insects or
wind-blown soil particles. Injured areas grow slowly
so that the rapid growth on the opposite side causes
spears to curve toward the injured side. The cause of
flattened (faciated) spears is unknown.
Try this recipe with asparagus:
Sautéed Asparagus with Mushrooms
Use your favorite fresh mushroom for
this recipe. This dish is also excellent served chilled.
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
11
1 pound asparagus, trimmed
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped or 1/2 tsp. dried
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
In a large skillet, bring 2 inches of water to a boil with
a teaspoon salt. Prepare a bowl of ice water and set
aside.
Test the soil pH to make sure your lawn is not too
acidic or alkaline for the variety of turfgrass grown.
Incorporate needed amounts of fertilizer and lime or
sulfur to correct the soil pH.
Add asparagus to the boiling water and cook 4 to 5
minutes or until barely tender but still firm. Using a
slotted spoon or tongs, remove the spears to the ice
water bath. Leave in ice water 5 minutes or until cool.
Drain and set aside. Discard blanching water.
Using the same skillet, heat olive oil over mediumhigh heat. Add mushrooms, asparagus, thyme and salt
and pepper to taste.
Moss can be temporarily removed by raking or can be
chemically killed by thoroughly soaking the moss
with a ferrous sulfate solution at 5 pounds per 1,000
square feet of lawn. Dead moss may be removed by
raking, and bare areas can be reseeded.
Sauté until mushrooms are wilted and the asparagus is
just heated through, about 3 to 4 minutes. Serve warm
or chilled. Yields 4 servings.
Shady Lawns May Have Moss Problems
If your lawn is overly shaded and has poor drainage,
moss may be a problem. Moss is a fast-growing,
shallow-rooted plant that covers the ground, smothers
grass and exhausts food reserves from the soil.
When moss appears in a lawn, it is usually because
growing conditions for grasses are adverse, such as
overly shaded or moist areas of the lawn. Other
conditions favorable for moss invasion include soils
with poor aeration, compaction or drainage, low
fertility and high acidity or alkalinity. To control moss
permanently, conditions that allow its growth must be
eliminated.
Because shade is a major cause of moss growth, you
might want to prune some of the trees surrounding
your lawn. Removing lower branches and thinning the
crowns of large trees will also help.
Improve your lawn's drainage by filling depressions,
redirecting downspouts and adding tile. Slicing or
core cultivating will improve aeration or reduce
compaction.
Mechanical devices such as aerifiers, core cultivators
and vertical mowers can be rented at local rental
stores.
In addition, raising the mower cutting height to 2 1/2
or 3 inches will improve the vigor of the grass and
will help shade out moss.
Where conditions are not corrected, moss will
continue to grow.
“...seed (is) thrown on a field by a man who then goes to bed and
forgets about it. The seed sprouts and grows -- he has no idea how it
happens. The earth does it all without his help: first a green stem of
grass, then a bud, then the ripened grain. When the grain is fully
formed, he reaps -- harvest time!” (Mark 4:26-29) Eugene Peterson,
The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language
The Master Gardener’s Plot
- by Duane Lanchester
This month one of those magazines
you get when you buy a product and
the manufacturer decides you are
now part of “their family,” had an article about
gardening without dirt. Seeds are planted in raised
beds filled with a sterilized mixture of things like rice
hulls and peat moss; then fed “an organic fertilizer”
containing essential nutrients plus “nearly four dozen
trace ingredients.” The article says, “Yields are
prodigious.” A tomato sliced for a BLT is bigger than
the bread. And there are no weeds!
Before you cover your garden with cement and build
raised beds, remember all those articles that say
vegetables grown hydroponically - that is grown in
nutrient enriched water - just don’t taste as good. And
maybe are less healthy. And probably cost more than
those grown in the dirt in your back yard.
So which is the right way to garden? Remember these
articles are about gardening; when you are gardening
there is no right way.
Pike County Down To Earth Newsletter
For instance, “all” good gardeners know the best time
to plant lettuce - and maybe spinach - is Valentine’s
Day. Even if there is snow on the ground, you just
sprinkle the seeds on top and (If the birds don’t eat
them first!) when the conditions are right, they will
geminate and grow into an early crop of fresh greens.
If you are worried you won’t be able to see where you
sprinkled the seeds, put the lettuce seeds in a sugar
shaker with sand. You can see the sand and tell about
your coverage.
That’s a good method. Maybe even the best method.
But I don’t own a sugar shaker, I don’t have any sand,
and I have not yet planted either lettuce or spinach.
Am I too late? Maybe, but I’ll try - and I may get a
wonderful crop before the weather gets too hot and
the plants bolt. (A plant bolts when it decides it is
time to get on with the business of reproduction. The
quality of its leaves changes; it gets leggy; and it starts
developing seeds.)
Sometimes what’s right is just a matter of
circumstances. Behold: The Lady Bug verses the
Aphid!
I spent my teenage summers as an employee of the
Walla Walla Pea Growers Association, counting pea
aphids in the basement of an entomological (that’s
insects) laboratory. Aphids are remarkable baby
producers. Once they start in the spring they don’t
even waste time with sex. A female aphid will crawl
across a leaf, sucking plant juices at one end and
dropping babies at the other, and leave a line of little
aphids of graduated sizes behind her. Each of these is
female and within days each of these can become a
sap-sucking, aphid-producing mother. Within weeks
aphids can multiply and reduce a field of green peas
to shriveled, sticky stubble. The mission of the
scientists at my lab was to keep that from happening.
There were chemicals that could help, but they were
expensive and applications could hurt the crop -- and
sometimes the applicator.
Enter the lady bug. This misnamed
insect (It’s a beetle, not a bug.) is
usually considered one of the good guys
because it and its offspring, the alligator
shaped ant lion, love to eat aphids. A
couple decades ago someone introduced a tough
variety of lady bugs from Asia into Pike County to eat
the aphids infesting the soy beans. Was this a
successful “green” solution to a threat to commercial
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agriculture? It depends on the circumstances. When
they are in the fields - or my garden - they are great,
but lady bugs like to spend their winters indoors so
they won’t freeze to death. And during their coming
in and their going out, they swarm on windows, gather
on ceilings, crawl on kitchen tables.... So every
spring and fall in Pike County the lady bug is one of
the householder’s worst pests. Most of the year I love
lady bugs, but at this time I wish I didn’t have any.
It’s time to think about planting tomatoes. (Not time
to plant them, but time to think about it. And to start
saving milk jugs so you can cut off the bottoms and
use them as little hot houses for the little tomato
plants. Do milk jugs work? I think so - and they look
cool.) “Good” gardening practice says you should
have cleaned up your garden last fall. Instead I piled
my leaves on the garden. This provides a perfect
habitat for slugs, but also a perfect habitat for ground
beetles - who are death on slugs. The last few years I
have turned the leaves under in the spring. This year I
plan to just dig through the leaves to plant my
tomatoes. I’ll let you know how this works. It may
not be the best way, but it’s the easiest. I want to be
like the man in Jesus’ parable who planted his garden
-- and then forgot about it and took a nap until it was
time to eat those BLT’s.
The articles in this newsletter have been
provided for you by University of Illinois
Extension, Pike County office.
The following have contributed articles to this
newsletter:
David Robson
Sandra Mason
Martha Smith
Duane Friend
Horticulture Educator
Horticulture Educator
Horticulture Unit Educator
Natural Resources Management Educator
Compiled and Designed by Cheryl Westfall, Secretary
If you have any questions or comments regarding the issue of
“Down To Earth”, please contact University of Illinois Extension,
Pike County, at (217) 285-5543.
Jennifer Mowen, County Extension Director
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of
Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
United States Department of Agriculture • Local Extension
Councils Cooperating University of Illinois Extension provides
equal opportunities in programs and employment.