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Now’s The Time

This week’s weather, cold nights, warm days is exactly what allows the spring maple syrup run to produce high quality syrup. Later after the buds open, the sap will turn darker and a lower grade syrup is produced.
Get out and help support your local producers!
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“…On the subject of trees”

I am amazed and find it so magnificent, trees have the ability to transport thousands of gallons of moisture from the soil, upwards, hundreds of feet to its outermost branches using just a few millimeters of tubes, tucked just behind its bark.
What a magnificent plan He has created for us to revel in~
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Do You Rotate Your Vegetables in Your Garden?

Many of us may remember the term crop rotation from our school days lessons. But do you practice it in your own garden? Do you plant the same vegetables where you just always do it every year?
If so, consider this simple LFRN initialism, Let Fruits Ripen Naturally
 
L= leaf vegetables you use for food: Lettuce, Swiss chard, spinach;
F= fruit vegetables: Tomatoes, peppers, squash, corn;
R= root vegetables: Beets, parsnips, potatoes, radishes;
N= nitrogen fixing vegetables: Peas, beans, peanuts
 
Each year rotate Leaf vegetables to Fruit, Fruit to Roots, Roots to Nitrogen and Nitrogen to Leaf vegetables.
Simple, right?
Give it a try when you plant your garden this year.
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When to Apply Dormant Oil?

Many gardeners know dormant oil is extremely useful in controlling scale and mites effectively BUT timing is essential.

Wait until the daily temperature is at least 40 degrees F. (4 C.), and will stay that way for at least 24 hours and when in  a 24-hour period,  no rain or high winds are predicted.

You can use a commercial product or a 2-3% solution of Canola Oil with a squirt of Dawn Dishwasher soap.  (2-3 tablespoons per gallon). Bottle end sprayers are helpful if you  have a lot of bushes to do.

Drench the branches and trunks. Start at top and move around the bush to soak it down.
Yews, magnolia, apples, crabapples, plums, quince and pears all benefit from dormant oil treatment, as do gooseberry and currant bushes. Know blue junipers will lose their blueness afterwards.  Do not spray japanese maples.
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Is Your Property In Code?

Early Springtime walk arounds are a great time to scout for problems regarding your property’s clearances for pedestrians and vehicles.

Check tree branch heights. Are there branches that are low and cause pedestrians to walk around them or to duck to avoid hitting them? How about on the street side. Can vehicles or delivery trucks pass without hitting the top of their vehicles? For trees in lawns not in beds, can a lawnmower crew get by without having to duck?

What about bushes… Do you have branches that are crowding sidewalks so pedestrians have to duck or walk around them? Are there bushes  or tree branches that block the view or make you walk around them as you use your driveway or walk to the front door, or have grown so tall they block your windows?

If you live on a corner lot, are there bushes in island beds that are taller than 24 inches that block the vision of oncoming traffic?

These are just some of the things Jacrist looks at when we complete your Spring Cleanup review of your property. If you haven’t yet, please contact us today as I only have a few slots left.

“Call Us and Consider It Done!”

 

 

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How To Prune Hedges

Early spring is a great time to review your hedge shape as leaves are off. Here’s a visual to help guide you to properly shape it now.

The most common mistake is to cut the bottom tighter than the top. I think this is because when you bend down, you naturally cut in. Instead, stand on the side of the hedge, looking down the hedgerow and guide your clippers from the widest spot on the bottom you want to be and then tilt inward as you go upward slowly. Let the clippers work at their speed, don’t rush it.

To form nicely rounded evergreens, cut the middle of the bush first, going around it completely. Keep the clippers as vertical as you can. I let my clippers hang straight down from the handle as I cut. If you’re using hand hedge shears, turn the clippers ‘upside down’ to get a nice even cut. Next, top the bush as flat as you can, then tilt the edge to blend the side into the top. Do the same for the bottom.

If you use a kid’s plastic pool cut into a semicircle with a little notch cut out in the middle, you can use it to catch the clippings so they don’t fall on the mulch. Then lift it up and dump the clippings into a wheelbarrow or onto a tarp.

 

If you haven’t yet contact Jacrist for your Spring Cleanup, please do so now. We only have a few slots left~