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June 2024 Hello June! June being the start of hurricane season reminds me to do some pruning to increase the wind resistance of the trees in the landscape. You can selectively prune, removing excessive limb growth. When performing this type of pruning, make cuts at the base of the shoots/limbs you wish to remove. Step back and view the plant from different angles between pruning cuts to make sure you keep the plant’s overall structure and symmetry. Also, while performing this pruning, remove dead wood and branches rubbing & crossing the canopy. Last month, I went to a local garden center to purchase some fertilizer and boy did I get sticker shock. I usually buy enough to last a year or two when it is on sale. That being said, I have not bought any in a couple of years. I was surprised at the price of fertilizers. The very basic fertilizer that I usually purchase was 3 times what it was the last time I bought it. Fertilizers with an insecticide or herbicide was 3 to 5 times more than that. Wow! There are a few ways to cope with this. Option 1: reduce the amount of product you apply. You can reduce the rate by ½ to ¾. Option 2: reduce the number of applications you make during the growing season. Option 3: if you have been fertilizing regularly for the past 3 plus years, you can skip fertilizing this year. Another observation I made while in the garden center is the absence of fire ant baits. I made visits to several garden centers in the area. I did find some fire ant bait, and the selection was very limited. The stores that did have it only had small quantities and only one brand. If you have or plan to purchase fire ant bait, pay attention to the label of what is on the shelf. The majority of the products on shelves now are fire ant killers. There is a difference. The fire ant killer products are fast action compared to the fire ant baits. I reached out to some of my former Extension coworkers to see if they knew what was going on in the industry that would result in this change in product availability. None of them had heard or read anything that supported the change. Some of them did say that fire ant baits can still be purchased online. As much as I like to support, and buy locally, that will have to suffice. What’s in store for us in June? I have been asked several times since May, “when will local melons be available?”. Some local melons will be available mid-month, but the majority of the melons will be available late June through the 4th of July. Local cantaloupes should be available the first week of the month. The above-average temperatures have slowed my tomato harvest down to a crawl. When the night temperatures are 78° and above the pollen of tomatoes becomes sterile and will not be as productive. My peppers on the other hand are looking great and are in full production. Historically, I have not been very successful growing bell peppers. This year, I have the best bell pepper plants and crop I’ve ever had. I purchased all my plants from the horticulture programs of local high schools. One of my simple pleasures in life is to sit in the landscape in the morning and listen to the birds sing and watch the bees travel from bloom to bloom on my squash plants. It is fascinating to watch how they interact with each other and on misty mornings how they hide out in the blooms until the weather clears. June is the month of Father’s Day. In addition to all the gift ideas I’ve shared in the past, gift cards are a great option. Not just any generic gift card. Gift cards to local garden centers and equipment dealers are good for those who like very specific items. Enjoy the outdoors! May 2024 The last rain of April really encouraged the fire ant mounds in my yard to expand and enlarge. If you are like me and missed the April fire ant bait treatment, you can apply the bait this month. As with any pesticide, always follow the label directions. In mid-April, I noticed mole cricket activity in some sandy areas of my yard. At this point they are adults and not feeding much if at all. They are focused on mating. What does this mean? Insecticide treatments are not very effective on them at this stage of the life cycle. The time to target them with a treatment is the end of June/First of July through September. Here is a link to a more detailed article on them: https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/lawn- garden/biology-and-control-of-mole-crickets/ The last week of April I picked army worms off my vegetable plants. The bad news is they were there and fairly large. The good news is they were parasitized by something. When I picked them up, they didn’t move, and they were very dark, almost black. I removed them from the plant and set them to the side so as to not destroy whatever beneficial took care of them for me. The moral of the story is that not every insect sighting warrants an insecticide treatment. I encourage you to pay attention to the activity of the insect and investigate the life cycle and the natural enemies. Current weather trends are drier than we usually are this time of year. According to NOAA’s website, we should not be in a drought between May and July. The long-term forecast states we will have a hotter than normal summer. The key to gardening success during a time of climatic stress is to plan ahead. Develop a watering plan and maybe in extreme conditions provide temporary shade. Shade cloths can be purchased in small sheets or rolls to fit every landscape need. Being a self-proclaimed momma’s boy, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge this month is Mother’s Day month. If your special lady is a gardener, consider giving her one or more of her favorite plants. If she has enough of those, ask your garden center what would be a great companion plant for it. You can even take a few photos of her landscape to show the garden center worker for a more accurate plant selection. This year the free fishing date for Alabama is June 8th. You have time to plan a trip to any of the many bodies of water we are blessed with to enjoy fishing without the expense of the license. Here is a link for more information: https://www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/free-fishing- day Enjoy the outdoors! April 2024 Ready, Set, Garden! Gardening activities are in full swing. On Good Friday, I visited a couple of garden centers and the owners of both shared the same sentiment, Good Friday, and the Saturday immediately after it are the 2 busiest days of the year for them. Well, I along with most gardeners in the area purchased some of my favorite plants to attract butterflies and hummingbirds along with some vegetable transplants. One of the chores for this transition period is to pull weeds out of my raised beds to prep for planting. I will also apply an herbicide to some areas to kill the existing weeds. When planting plants for color, plant them in fairly large numbers to create a mass of color to maximize the wow effect. I have also learned to use the same theory for pollinator plants, for a more attractive draw for your target pollinator(s). I have also spoken to several local produce farmers in the area, and they are excited about a successful growing season this year, especially following a very tough 2023 that consisted of a devastating frost/freeze in March of that year and a severe drought during the summer and fall. This year the peach, plum, and citrus crops look great so far. This may even be a year when gardeners and growers may need to thin fruit to allow them to produce larger fruit and reduce the stress of carrying more fruit than the tree can support. What should we be doing in the landscape? • Fertilize your St. Augustine, Bermuda, Zoysia, and Bahia. • Put out fire ant bait. • Plant your warm-season vegetables, herbs, etc. • Apply herbicide to actively growing weeds. • Scout for insects and treat once identified. I would like to encourage you to share seeds and plants with your family, friends, and neighbors. This can be done by purchasing more seeds/transplants than you can use and/or sharing cutting. Enjoy the outdoors! March 2024 For those of you who grow citrus, unless you protected the tree(s) a few weeks back when we had a major freeze event, the trees suffered some damage ranging from defoliation to stem dieback to total tree mortality. Now is the time to really assess the damage. I examined mine the last week of February and noticed some bud swell on some and new leaves developing on others. That was a welcomed site. I did not have a crop this past season due to the March frost/freeze last year. I don’t expect a crop this year either. I will fertilize them in April and June and make sure they are irrigated during dry periods. I know the warm weather is encouraging gardeners to get active in the landscape. Garden centers are getting new plants in, and advertising is compounding the desire to get out in the yard. If you select and plant sensitive warm-season plants now, have a plan for cold protection in mind. I like to get a jump start on squash plants as soon as the soil temperatures are close to suitable. This allows me to get a head start on squash vine borers. Sometimes I have to replant them due to cold injury. The last week of February, I mowed my lawn. I was mowing weeds and not the turf. The weeds that have become large enough to mow are winter weeds and are approaching or in the reproductive stage of their lifecycle. It is important to keep the weeds from flowing and developing seeds. Using an herbicide now will be a waste, as the weeds will die as the weather continues to warm, but the herbicide will not prevent the production of seeds at this point. Another benefit to mowing the weed is reducing the habitat of the cranefly. Craneflies can be a nuisance, but they are harmless. The larva stage feeds on organic matter in the soil. The adults don’t feed, their sole purpose is to mate and reproduce. They do serve as a food source for other insects, spiders, and birds. No treatment is recommended, just manage the habitat. Remember there are local schools with horticulture programs that need your support, and they have great plants to choose from. They usually have a good selection of ornamental plants and vegetables. Enjoy the outdoors. February 2024 If you have not sat and dreamed up a plan for your landscape, I highly recommend that you take the time to sit and dream. You can even visit some public gardens and landscapes for inspiration. Let’s talk about hydrangeas. You can manipulate the color of the hydrangea flowers by changing the soil pH. Blue hydrangeas need a pH between 5 and 5.5, while soil with a pH of 6 to 6.5 produces pink flowers. Lowering the soil pH is only part of the story. Aluminum is also required to produce blue flowers. To make pink flowers turn blue, dissolve 1 tablespoon of aluminum sulfate in a gallon of water and drench the soil around the plant in March, April, and May. To make blue flowers turn pink, dissolve 1 tablespoon of hydrated lime in a gallon of water and drench the soil around the plant in March, April, and May. A word of caution, do not increase the amounts of the color change additives. Aluminum in high doses will harm hydrangea plants. You can learn more from this Extension publication: http://extension.msstate.edu/.../hydrangeas-for... The middle of this month is the time to start pruning most of our woody plants. Start by pruning out the damaged material, then start thinning cuts. In some instances, you may need to do a renewal prune, cutting plants back close to the ground and retraining the new growth to replace the dead material. As of January 30th, the chill hours are: Brewton, AL – 651 hours Old Model; 575 hours Modified Model Fairhope, AL – 435 hours Old Model; 410 hours Modified Model Moss Point, MS – 500 hours Old Model; 434 hours Modified Model February is the month to apply pre-emergent herbicides for warm-season weeds. Make sure the product you select is labeled for the type of turfgrass you have. Also, avoid “Weed & Feed” type products as it is too early to fertilize. Enjoy the outdoors! January 2024 Happy New Year! It appears that we are on course to match the long- range weather forecast. From December through February, NOAA predicts wetter-than-average conditions for northern Alaska, portions of the West, the southern Plains, Southeast, Gulf Coast, and lower mid-Atlantic and drier-than- average conditions across the northern tier of the U.S., especially in the northern Rockies, High Plains and near the Great Lakes. “An enhanced southern jet stream and associated moisture often present during strong El Nino events supports high odds for above-average precipitation for the Gulf Coast, lower Mississippi Valley and Southeast states this winter,” said Jon Gottschalck, chief of the Operational Prediction Branch of the Climate Prediction Center. NOAA forecasters, in collaboration with the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), continue to monitor extreme, ongoing drought conditions that have persisted through the southern and central U.S. and worsening drought in Hawaii. Temperature • Equal chances for below-, near-, or above- average seasonal mean temperatures. Precipitation • Wetter-than-average conditions are most likely along the Gulf Coast and the Southeast. Drought • Drought conditions are expected to improve across the Southeast and the Gulf Coast (including the lower Mississippi Valley due to the expected wetter-than-average forecast. As of Dec. 30th, our local chill hour numbers are: Pascagoula: Old Model - 210 Modified Model - 201 Fairhope: Old Model - 172 Modified Model - 147 Brewton: Old Model - 343 Modified Model – 267 If you plan to plant Irish potatoes and sugar snap peas, you have all of January to prep the area you intend to plant. Rough out existing plants, add the desired soil amendments, etc. February is the month to plant them, but you must plan and prep the area ahead of time. Potatoes and other root crops need a loose high organic matter soil for the best production. Sugar snap peas need the same, but they do not need as much nitrogen as other vegetables, so limit the amount of nitrogen in the fertilizer you use on them. As I drove through town the last couple of weeks of December, I noticed several landscapes where folks have started pruning. It is still too early to prune. Pruning now will reduce the cold tolerance of your plants and possibly result in cold damage during the next frost or freeze. Hold off until mid-February. In the meantime, stock up on alcohol to sterilize your pruners, sharpen, and oil your pruners so you will be ready when the time comes. Start looking for new varieties to try in your landscape. I like to try something new every year. That something new can be a totally new to you plant, category, or new varieties of plants you’ve planted in the past. One suggestion is to keep good notes on how they perform and pest problems. Apply lime according to your soil test results now. Here’s to a prosperous gardening New Year! Enjoy the outdoors!