The key to magnificent lawns and gardens rests in picking the proper plants and in the proper location with the correct amount of water and nutrition. Almost any bag of fertilizer will give you the basics. But if want the most from the fruits of your labor, you need to know what, if anything is lacking in the soil. This is why Wells Brothers started doing soil tests. The test will give you a complete nutritional analysis and costs $50.00.
If you are looking for one fertilizer for the garden you might consider Espoma’s Garden Tone. This 3-4-4 is an ideal fertilizer for spring gardens. Garden Tone also contains a blend of Bio-tone® Microbes. The 4# bag sells for $8.49.
Garden-tone® 3-4-4
For Naturally Delicious Vegetables
Available in 4 lb. bags;
1 pound equals approx. 3 cups.
Garden-tone is an all natural plant food formulated specifically for vegetable gardens. It is safe, long lasting, and will provide the nutrients necessary for vigorous and productive plants. Garden-tone’s all natural formula contains Bio-tone®, our proprietary blend of beneficial microbes. Bio-tone biologically enhances our natural plant food to ensure superior plant growth. Click here for additional product information.
When is the best time to spray my fruit trees? We hear this question a lot. The generic answer is when the blooms appear in the spring. If you have fruit trees you should be spraying on a schedule. Click here for help setting up a schedule.
Decision time comes when choosing an insecticide to spray. There is a wide selection of products to choose from but Malathion has been the go-to fruit tree insecticide for years and rightly so. It works well, doesn’t stay in the environment as long as some other synthetic insecticides and is inexpensive. The bad news is that it is toxic to fish, bees and us humans. So read and follow the label directions.
This bring us to Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) and Spinosad. Both are all-natural alternatives to Malathion. Just because they are all-natural does not mean that they will not have an effect on non-targeted species. Malathion doesn’t need a sticking agent, Bt and Spinosad do. I find that liquid molasses works well as a sticker for both products. Liquid molasses will gum up a sprayer so keep an eye on it. When I spray any of these products I do it in the late evening. By the way, Wells Brothers sells these products.
The good news is that we don’t have a lot of folks that have root maggots. Just the thought of them gives people the heebie-jeebies. They mainly show up in vegetable gardens. The main cause of root maggot infestation is adding animal manure that has not has not been fully composted. If you have access to raw/un-composted manure, you should look into installing manure tubes, also called worm tube and composting tubes. They are 4 to 6 inch PVC pipe that are 4 to 6 foot long. Drill several .5 to 1 inch holes in the bottom 18 inches. Burry the pipe(s) about 2 to 3 feet. Mix some soil with the raw manure and put it in the pipe. These can also be used for other composting operations. The manure composts and releases slowly. This will somewhat isolate any root maggot larva.
Unfortunately there just isn’t a good way to get rid of root maggots in a timely manner. Beneficial nematodes show good promise but they are a long term solution to a root maggot problem.
Wells Brothers Pet, Lawn & Garden Supply is pleased to offer monthly specials and coupons.
Click here for the coupons. Wells Bros_Aprl 2023 Coupon Specials_Flyer