It’s Spring! Tips to Get Growing By Crystal Robertson, UT Extension Agent
Crystal Robertson
“April showers bring May flowers”, the saying goes, and that means the beginning of gardening season. While Spring cleaning your lawn and garden this season, take some time to assess your land for potential problems and conservation opportunities. Your lawn and garden are probably the last places you’d expect to find pollution problems. After all, they’re part of nature, aren’t they? But behind the full foliage of your shade trees and generous bloom of your flowerbed, there may be dangers that can threaten your health and the environment.
On the average, homeowners use ten times more chemical pesticides and fertilizers per acre than farmers use on farmland. When these chemicals are applied improperly, they can find their way into drinking water wells or pollute nearby lakes and streams. Children are particularly vulnerable to chemicals that are stored or used without taking proper safety precautions. Exposed soil that washes away during a storm can harm wildlife habitats and choke waterways. Indiscriminate watering wastes large amounts of clean drinking water. It may seem that your contribution is minor, but the combined effects of thousands of homes can add up to be a major problem. While you’re getting geared up for another beautiful blooming season, here are a few tips to consider: 1.Soil Testing: Applying fertilizer without first testing your soil for its nutrient content is like taking medicine without knowing your symptoms. Your soil already has certain levels of the nutrients necessary for proper plant growth, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. If you apply the wrong amount of fertilizer to your soil, you can actually increase the incidence of insects and disease. Testing your soil to find out how much of each nutrient is present takes the guesswork out of applying fertilizer. It’s possible that some parts of your property need regular applications of fertilizer while other areas need little or none. Soil testing will give you the answer.
Viola’s Tips: Salt and Vinegar See if they work! Put some vinegar in bowls when you are having company and the vinegar will get rid of cigarette smoke. Keep salt near the stove in case of a grease fire. Before washing a very greasy pan pour salt in pan and wipe with a paper towel. Clean coffee stains from aluminum coffee pots and porcelain coffee cups by rubbing a little salt on stain. Pour salt on fabric with a new grease spot on the salt and it will soak up some of the grease. Then scrub new salt gently into fabric and rinse before laundering. Soak new pantyhose in a salt bath, they are less likely to run. When making potato salad with hard cooked eggs, boil the eggs in salted water and you won't have a problem peeling them. Clean your copper molds or pans with paste of vinegar and salt.
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2.Lawn testing: Many plant problems are caused by chemical overuse. Select the least toxic chemicals, or investigate encouraging beneficial insects and birds to feed on pests in your garden. Do not apply fertilizers or pesticides up to 24 hours before a rainfall. Runoff can wash the chemicals into storm sewers. Contrary to popular belief, water in storm sewers is not on its way to a treatment plant. Storm sewers form an underground network that empties directly into local bodies of water. www.HousekeepingHelpers.com
3.Water Conservation: Gardeners can take advantage of free water via the use of rain barrels, which capture free, soft, non-chlorinated rainwater and serve as a cost-effective alternative. These are inexpensive and easy to maintain, and they're simple to make. All it takes is a barrel, a hose, and some ingenuity. Typically, a resident directs a gutter downspout into a 50- to 60-gallon rain barrel. A hose can be attached to a faucet at the bottom of the barrel to release water by gravity. Mosquitoes can be prevented by covering the top of the barrel with a mesh material or window screen—or by adding a mosquito doughnut to the barrel. Conserving rainwater also reduces the amount of storm water runoff at home.
"Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush." - Doug Larson
The key is doing your homework before you start treatment and identifying problems correctly. If you would like additional information or to obtain a free soil testing kit, please contact your county UT Extension office, or call me at (423) 743-9584.
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