Moss in a lawn is not necessarily a bad thing. Usually moss becomes established in lawn areas where turf is thin or nonexistent. This may be a shady or full-sun site that remains wet for long periods of time. Areas with poor surface drainage, like low spots that collect water, or poor air circulation found next to buildings or wooded lots may also have moss. In these cases, it is not so much that the moss is crowding out the grass but rather the moss is filling in as the grass thins out.
Continue readingCategory Archives: Pests
What’s Eating Your Evergreens?
Is something devouring your evergreens? Look closely, the culprit may be camouflaged and right in front of you! Bagworms are caterpillars that make distinctive spindle-shaped bags on a variety of trees and shrubs throughout Kentucky. They attack both deciduous trees and evergreens, but are especially damaging to juniper, arborvitae, spruce, pine and cedar.
Continue readingPlant Disease Resistant Cultivars
Do you have problems with fire blight, black spot, powdery mildew, Fusarium wilt, early blight, and late blight? If this is the case, plant disease resistant varieties this year! Sure old time favorites are what you are used to but try something different with them this year. Mail order catalogues promise a bountiful harvest of fruits and vegetables without much work, but we all know that isn’t how it works. However, there is one thing that we can do easily that will save us a lot of hassle this summer, variety selection.
Continue readingSpring Lawn Tips
Fescue lawns in Kentucky can struggle by the end of the summer with drought, disease, and even insect problems. Often our fescue lawns are thin and needing some nitrogen by the time fall arrives. September and October are the best times to overseed and fertilize your lawn but some maintenance practices can be done in the spring.
Continue readingTermite Season
Springtime brings warmer temperatures and more abundant rainfall, and it’s typically when many winged termites emerge inside homes and other structures. Termites swarm from their colony to disburse, fall to the ground, find mates and start new colonies in the soil.
Continue readingLearning Science from the Garden
All the mechanisms of life are represented in a garden: respiration, nutrition, circulation, reproduction and maturation. As such, it’s a perfect science laboratory where students can hone their math and observational skills and creativity.
Continue readingHouseplant Woes
So, your houseplants are yellow…
Continue readingWhat’s that goo?
You may have noticed greenish/brown jelly like blobs appearing in your drive way or lawn. That is called Nostoc. It is a type of bacteria that gets its energy from photosynthesis like plants do. Following a period of rain, it may appear suddenly in lawns, pastures, paved surfaces, roofs or stones. Nostoc has many colorful names including witches’ butter, mare’s eggs and meadow ears, among others. In fact, one of the earliest names for it was star jelly, based on the belief that it was a remnant of shooting stars fallen to earth. Continue reading
Butterfly Gardens
This summer, many families plan to travel for vacation. Maybe a trip to the beach or out west to the mountains. Some of these trips require a day or two of driving long distances. One species of butterfly could be considered the ultimate trip planner. Continue reading
Wheel Bugs
When one studies insects he or she will quickly discover there are several beneficial insects. Yes, we all have heard of the praying mantis, but does the name wheel bug ring a bell? Continue reading
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