This spring lawn can use a little rejuvenating by overseeding.
Spring is the second-best time—autumn being the first–to either plant a new lawn or rejuvenate your existing one. For those of us in shorter-season areas in the northern latitudes, choosing varieties of grass seed that are suitable for our climate is essential to successfully grow a lush, green lawn. Read on to find out about the four types of lawn grass that are best suited to growing in cool northern climates.
Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) is a fast-growing perennial grass that spreads by underground runners. It is best planted in full sun or light shade. One of the most widely planted cool season grasses, Kentucky bluegrass is rugged and tough enough for sports fields when combined with perennial ryegrass. It requires a lot of water and will go dormant and turn brown during minor summer droughts. Once rainfall or irrigation resumes, Kentucky bluegrass will regrow from its roots if the drought was not prolonged.
Fine fescue (Festuca spp.) is a grass that is well-adapted to shady sites. It blends well with other grasses, particularly bluegrass. Tolerant of low moisture and drought, fine fescue continues to grow when other types of lawn grasses are brown and dormant. Because it also tolerates low soil fertility, it is a good choice for a low-maintenance lawn. Plant fine fescue mixed with Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass because a pure stand of fine fescue is difficult to mow well.
Tall fescue (Festuca spp.) is a coarse, clump-forming grass with a deep and extensive root system that is excellent for soils with poor drainage or high salt content. It will also perform well in shade and in areas that receive little artificial watering in summer. Tolerant of drought and insects, it stays green all summer in most northern areas. Because the seedlings of tall fescue are less hardy than established tall fescue grass plants, it should only be seeded in spring to early summer. Tall fescue is a fast-germinating grass that quickly becomes established in your lawn.
Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perrene) is a cool season bunch-type of grass that is not tolerant of extreme cold. During severely cold winters with little or no snowcover, perennial ryegrass will often die out. It requires a lot of maintenance to maintain a lush, full lawn of perennial ryegrass. It prefers full sun and will germinate and mature rapidly. Because of this, perennial ryegrass is part of grass seed mixes that include the fescues and Kentucky bluegrass where it functions as a “nurse crop,” crowding out lawn weeds until the other grasses in the mix can germinate and become established. It is also widely used to revamp and overseed existing lawns. Plant perennial ryegrass in your backyard for a tough turf that will withstand children and pets quite well.
All of these types of grass seed are available in a wide range of cultivated and hybridized varieties. Contact your local County Extension Agent for recommendations as to which varieties to plant that will produce the best lawn in your particular micro-climate.
Juniper berries can take up to two years to fully ripen.
Found on every continent except Antarctica, junipers (Juniperus spp.) are a species with over 200 varieties and growth habits ranging from small prostrate shrubs to small trees with a mature height of 10 to 25 feet, depending on growing conditions.
Although they require full sun in order to grow, juniper varieties are suitable for nearly every type of soil condition, from hot and dry to moist. They all have in common the trio of needle-like leaves that are arranged in whorls on their stems. Their dark blue berries ripen slowly, often taking up to two years. It is not uncommon to find berries in various stages of growth on a single specimen. The juniper in the photograph at left, which was taken today, shows dark blue berries that have fully ripened.
They are at their best when allowed to assume their natural growth habit without pruning. The tree varieties form the trademark juniper pyramidal shape. Prostrate juniper forms a thick mat that can grow three feet high. The trunk of juniper trees is often twisted and contorted.
Junipers grow slowly and rarely survive forest fires. However, it is not uncommon for a juniper tree to live up to 2000 years if it escapes drought, disease, predators and fires.
Historically, juniper has been used medicinally for digestion problems and as an antiseptic. Its leaves were burned in French hospitals to purify the air. During the flu pandemic of 1918, juniper oil was misted into hospital wards to prevent the spread of the flu virus, with a considerable amount of success.
The astringent berries are used in cooking, primarily in southern Europe, and have an affinity to lamb and mutton. Of course, the most widely-known use of juniper berries is as a seasoning for gin.
On this Veteran’s Day, think back to the Victory Gardens planted all over the United States during World War II. Gardeners and non-gardeners alike dug up their front yards and planted vegetables. By planting and growing their own vegetables, Americans were able to provide more fresh fruits and vegetables to the troops overseas.
The idea of saving money by growing some of your own produce has again become popular, thanks to the economy. And while most people aren’t digging up their front yards like their World War II era grandparents did, many are digging up a plot in their backyards and planting vegetables.
Fall is the time to dig up and prepare the ground for planting garden vegetables next spring. It’s also the best time to add soil amendments to your garden plot. Many additives, such as potassium and potash in the form of lime or sulfur are not immediately available for the plants to use. Adding them to the soil in autumn gives the soil time to incorporate them and change the composition of the soil. Seeds and transplants sown the following spring can immediately benefit from the soil improvements made the previous fall.
Contact your local County Agricultural Extension Office and request a kit to take soil samples. Follow the instructions and send in soil samples from different areas of your yard or garden. The Extension Office will test your soil and send you a report with the results. They will also offer recommendations for amendments that your soil needs to produce optimum growth of garden fruits and vegetables.
When adding the recommended amounts of potassium or sulfur to correct the pH of your soil, incorporate organic matter to improve the texture of your soil.
Add as much compost as you can get your hands on. Buy large bales of peat moss at the garden center. Incorporate one cubic yard of peat moss for every 50 to 100 square feet of garden bed.
Finally, plant a cover crop of clover or winter rye. Leave it until very early spring and then incorporate it into the soil with a rototiller or by turning the soil over with a garden spade. The remains of the cover crop will add more organic matter to your soil as it breaks down. By the time you’re ready to plant in mid to late spring, the cover crop will have turned into organic compost in your vegetable garden.
Sunflowers are native to the Americas and have been cultivated for over 4,000 years. They were a major food source for the indigenous population and were even used medicinally.
Botanically called Helianthus from the Greek helios, meaning sun and anthus, meaning flower, sunflowers were adopted as a major crop by the Russians. Sunflower oil stays liquid at lower temperatures than animal fats, which was advantageous in their cold climate.
Victorians fell madly for sunflowers and used their likeness in art and architecture. Early American pioneers pounded the stalks to extract the fibers. The stalks were also used as kindling and the seedless hulls were compressed into fire logs.
Plant sunflowers in mid spring about 1 to 2 weeks before the date of your average last frost. They need full sun and aren’t overly fussy about soil fertility, although they benefit from a side dressing of compost.
Thin the seedlings so the plants stand 12 to 18 inches apart, depending on the size of the variety at maturity. Many varieties will first produce a large basal flower and then branch out to produce many smaller blooms after the basal flower is cut. Some varieties naturally branch out, producing many smaller flowers.
Hybridizers have been busy and sunflowers now come in a wide variety of sizes and many colors in the yellow/gold/orange/rust family. They are spectacular planted in various heights and colors as a theme garden.
Sunflowers reseed themselves prolifically and will come up every year, even if you don’t want them to. It goes without saying that small wildlife, such as birds and squirrels, find them irresistible.
If you want to harvest the seeds for snacks or for planting next year, cover the flowers with a paper lunch bag when the seeds begin to ripen. Otherwise the local livestock will completely devour your sunflower crop.
The blooms of sunflowers turn to follow the path of the sun, beginning in the east in the morning and continuing throughout the day. They are one of the few flowers that follow this peculiar practice.
By all means cut them and use them in bouquets. Their bright, cheery colors look good in any decor.
Rainbow Swiss chard adds bright color to stir-fries and vegetable side dishes.
Swiss chard is a green that grows well during the hot summer months, usually without turning bitter. Any bitterness will only be in the mature outer leaves and disappears when they are cooked. When sweltering summer weather passes, the large outer leaves will loose their bitterness and they’ll begin to grow sweet and succulent again.
Thought to originate in Sicily, the original varieties of Swiss chard had white stems, but in recent years new varieties have been developed with stems of bright colors, such as the rainbow Swiss chard in the photo at right. Even the leaves can have a slight purple tinge.
Swiss chard was originally called “Swiss” because seed catalogs in the 19th century wanted to distinguish it from French spinach. Botanically it is called Beta vulgaris flavescens and is a member of the same family as beets. Essentially it’s a beet without a root.
Plant Swiss chard, rainbow or otherwise, in mid to late spring. Plant seeds 1/4 inch deep and an inch apart in rows 12 to 18 inches apart. When the young plants are about three inches high, thin to stand about 4 to 6 inches apart. For intensive spacing plant them 6 to 8 inches apart in all directions. It’s not overly fussy about the fertility of the soil.
If you’re a lazy gardener (like me), Swiss chard will be a good friend to your garden. It withstands neglect and will even grow during droughts.
You can start harvesting the leaves at any size. Tender young leaves can be added to salads or stir-fries. Larger more mature leaves should be cut from the outside of the plant and the new leaves at the center of the plant should be left to mature.
Swiss chard will even grow in partial shade and still produce a respectable crop. It survives temperatures down into the 20’s. Even if the leaves on the outside of the plant freeze the inner leaves will still be intact and edible.
The entire plant is edible, but the stems need a longer cooking time than the leaves. Interestingly, American cooks primarily use the leaves and European cooks primarily use the stems. I use the entire plant. The stems have the texture of cooked celery and should in fact be cooked similarly. The leaves can be substituted in virtually any recipe calling for spinach, with a slightly longer cooking time.
A blossom on a snow pea vine. Toss them into salads for color and flavor.
Late summer is the time to start planting for fall harvests. Now is the time to plant vegetables that prefer to mature during cool weather.
Plant Pisum sativum—the English garden type along with edible podded snow and snap varieties—in early to mid August for harvesting in mid to late September.
Plant peas in between the rows of corn in your garden. The corn will mature and be harvested long before the peas need the room. Another good place to plant fall peas is where lettuce or other greens were growing. These leafy crops deplete supplies of available nitrogen in the soil and the roots of peas “fix” nitrogen into the soil.
This is a complicated scientific process that I’m not qualified to explain. Suffice it to say that it works. Once the plants are finished producing, leave their roots in the ground and they will release the captured nitrogen into the soil where it can be used by other plants that you subsequently grow in the same area.
When planting peas for fall, plant them almost twice as deep as spring-planted peas. This will help keep the seeds cool and also from drying out before they germinate. In any case, keep them well-watered to avoid over stressing them and also mulch the soil to keep it cool.
Space the seeds about two inches apart and thin the seedlings to about four inches apart when they’re three inches high.
Snap peas and Oriental snow peas grow tall enough to require some type of support for them to climb upon. English garden peas only grow about 12 to 18 inches high and do not need such support.
The blossoms and new growth shoots of pea vines are also edible. In fact, the seedlings that you thin are completely edible. Simply pinch off the roots and toss them into a salad or stir-fry.
Check your pea vines daily once they start producing. Edible podded peas are best eaten when the peas inside are just starting to swell. English garden peas, traditionally eaten when plump and succulent, can quickly become tough and woody if left too long on the vines.
When freezing weather kills off the vines, leave the roots in the soil. By spring they will be nearly completely decomposed and ready to plant a crop that likes rich, well-fertilized soil, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, or melons.
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