SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
Ciscoe’s Tips of the Week: Time to mow the lawn
May 30, 2013, 4:04 PM | Updated: May 31, 2013, 8:43 am
Ciscoe’s Tips of the Week:
– Mow the lawn whenever it grows 1/3 taller than the height you mow it. Leave the clippings. They provide about a quarter of the nutrition needed for healthy growth and act as a mulch reducing the need to water as often.
– If you haven’t done it yet, apply mulch to garden beds. In shrub beds where you rarely move plants, wood chips from arborists are a great choice. In perennial beds where you move plants often, use compost.
– Apply a slug and snail bait that contains iron phosphate and that is listed for Organic Gardening. Put the bait inside and under the foliage to stop birds from eating it. If the birds eat it, the bait won’t hurt them, but there won’t be enough left to control the mollusk marauders.
Ciscoe’s Tips of the Month for May
– Keep roses blooming by feeding a mix of organic rose food and alfalfa meal. Remove spent flowers.
– Remove aphids by blasting them off with a powerful spray of water, or use a natural insecticidal soap.
– Apply 1 inch of water weekly to lawns, and mow every five to seven days.
Click here for Ciscoe’s Plant of the Week!
Gardening with Ciscoe can be heard on KIRO Radio on Saturdays at 10 a.m. Available anytime ON DEMAND at KIRORadio.com.
