Lawn and Garden
In Tune with Technology
Gardening too many is an ‘old fashioned’ activity. There’s nothing wrong with that and it doesn’t mean that we can’t use technology to our advantage. As an example I checked the 30 day forecast for predicted rain and temperature through the NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration) Weather Service. It predicts we will be warmer and drier than normal. Using this information I can plan my spring plantings accordingly. Because of the dry weather to come and the need that newly placed plants have for plenty of water and because of the limited time I have to care for plants, I will do best by grouping my spring plantings so it will be easier to keep them watered.
Many people feel an irrigation system is adequate for watering new plants. This is generally not true for an irrigation system throws water everywhere and new plants need water delivered directly onto their root ball. Once they establish and send out roots an irrigation system is effective, for the roots are everywhere.
Another thing to consider is that an irrigation system supplements natural rainfall. Once the soil is dry due to a lack of rain for several weeks, it is easier to keep the soil around a group of plants moist than if the same plants are spread out over a large area. Plant your flowers in a group or ‘oasis’ setting which will make watering easier.
Another deduction I can make from expecting a warm spring and because of our mild winter, is that we will have high pest populations this year. Since we had minimal killing cold many insect eggs and weed seeds should have survived the winter. Scout your spring plantings, lawn and landscape plants often for signs of insect activity and weed seedlings. It should be a good year for chinch bugs so scout areas where you had them last year for often damage will appear in the same spot the following one. Generally chinch bug activity does not appear until April but this year we will probably see it earlier.
For lawn weeds, be aware that once we get above 85 degrees most selective herbicides cannot be applied to the lawn. If they are predicting a warm spring we will probably have an early summer which will shorten the ‘window of opportunity’ for using herbicides for lawn weed control.
By learning to use new technologies we can conserve water, alter normal gardening practices for anticipated climatic patterns, use ‘Florida-Friendly’ garden products, and stay more comfortable when we are working in the yard.
