October 2009 Newsletter

Viola's News

Fall is here and we have everything to cover your fall planting needs. That's right, we have pansies, violas, asters, mums, bulbs, ornamental cabbage and kale. We are keeping up with our facebook and twitter updates to warn you if we are expecting a freeze. If you haven't signed up yet you need to do that. We also have a winter watering guide at the store for you to pick up. This guide will help you if we don't get our rain and snow.

Critter Corner

This cute and adorable mammal is not a nuisanse to anybody. Yea Right! Raccoons will eat just about anything. These nocturnal animals like everything from vegetables in the garden, fish in your pond, crawfish, mice, eggs, to food in a trash can. They do most of their foraging in the night time and they are famed for their little bandit masks. They usually leave a trail of destruction.

They do have sharp claws and and lightning fast paws that resemble the human hand. These paws make it easier for them to get into things that they shouldn't otherwise be able to. Raccoons are very smart and can be hard to get rid of.

The best and easiest way to get rid of them is to cut off their food source. Other methods can be putting up an electric fence. You can also trap them and relocate them, you will want to check the local laws before you try to relocate. We carry a repellent that will also help in the fight. Repel All will work when it is not a huge area that you are trying to protect. It effects them by touch, smell, and taste. You will need to retreat every 2 months. Good luck with this little critter your gonna need it.

Petal Pushing

Fall is here. Time to plant pansies, violas, asters, mums, cabbage, and kale and don't forget your bulbs for spring. Pansies and violas when planted now will come back in the spring, when they receive the right amount of moisture. When planted with bulbs you have the recipe for spring fun.

Cabbage and kale are a great fall plants for the garden. They can take the cold up to 5 degrees which should take you up to Thanksgiving at least. The colder it gets the more intense their colors get. They are a great stand alone plant. Plant them in a block, or mix and match. This duo is a great accent plant for pansies, violas, mums, and asters. Don't be afraid to put them into your fall display, they go great with hay.

Bulbs are in the store again. There is nothing like the show that bulbs put out in the spring. Bulbs fill in that gap when everything is bare and we need a little color for spring. Depending on the bulb the show is short but oh so sweet. A must for every yard, give them a try this fall.

Winter Wise

We are at the point that most of us are blowing out our sprinkler systems and we are finding some hobbies to do in the house. Don't forget to water in the winter. This is the time of year that if we don't get rain or snow we do need to water. The middle of Oct- DEC we need to be watering at least once a week. DEC -March if no precipitation once a month. If we get descent rain and snow you will not have to worry about it. Remember that light fluffy snow has hardly any moisture in it. So don't be fooled.

Don't forget to use Winterizer Fertilizer this fall. Using Winterizer in November and January (weather permitting) will promote a strong and vigorous root system. It can be used on the lawn, perennials, trees and shrubs. It works really well.

Dormant Spray will give you a head start to controlling you bug problems. Apply to trees, shrubs, and perennials to kill pests that winter over. It actually smoothers the eggs of wintering over bugs. A great start on next years garden.

Lime Sulfur Spray is used for those problem areas that seem to suffer for fungi every year. Apply to trees, shrubs, and perennials to eliminate the spores of troublesome fungi.

A Word Of Praise

We were a vendor and sponsor of the Arizona Highlands Garden Conference that took place on the campus of NAU. We would like to say that the master gardeners that were on the committee did a great job. I think they ended up with around 250 people and they had a waiting list to get in. They made us feel welcome and the speakers were all great. Good Job.