Horticulture Hotline 03/02/20
By Bill Lamson-Scribner
When I see those buds on my bald cypress swelling, I think
of one thing – ORGANICS!
Cotton Burr Compost, Flower Bed Amendment, Nature’s Blend, 09-00-00
Corn Gluten, Blood Meal, Bone Meal, Feather Meal, Cotton Seed Meal, 08-02-04
Sustane, 06-04-00 and / or SeaHume are great products to use now on your
ornamental plants and turf. If you plan to use just one product, I would go
with SeaHume now. After the oaks lose their leaves, use Cotton Burr Compost,
Flower Bed Amendment or Nature’s Blend as a mulch instead of pine straw (low
nutrition) or bark (nutrition not available). If you use Cotton Burr Compost,
Flower Bed Amendment or Nature’s Blend as a mulch, every time it rains your
plants will get a drink of compost tea, and you know how we like our tea around
here!
For best results spread over the whole bed; however, you can
spread the products around individual plants. If you plan to do individual
plants, be sure to cover where the roots are and out a little past where you
think they are. Remember to keep compost or mulch off the trunk of trees and
shrubs.
As microorganisms break the organics down into a usable form
to the plants, organic products feed the soil. When the soil is cold, these
microorganisms are inactive. As the temperatures warm up, the microorganisms
begin to break down the organic material and make the nutrients available to
the plant. The plant is beginning to grow and put on new leaves as the
temperature warms up, so like magic there is food available to the plant right
when it needs it most. The forest with its leaves, twigs, limbs, and
microorganism population is fertilized in this manner.
Cotton Burr Compost, Flower Bed Amendment, Nature’s Blend,
composted chicken manure, and composted cow manure are all composted to the
point that they do not tie up nitrogen. Some organics can actually steal
nutrients away from the plants while they decompose fully. Wood chips, fresh
raked leaves, or grass clippings are best put into a compost pile until you are
unable to tell what they were originally, and they are fully composted.
Flower Bed Amendment not only contains Cotton Burrs, but
also composted cattle manure, feather meal, cotton seed meal and alfalfa
meal. Alfalfa meal is high in nitrogen
and contains Triacantanol, a natural growth enhancer, and may help in the
suppression and control of certain fungal diseases.
SeaHume is a combination of cold water kelp (Ascophyllum
nodosum) and humates.
The seaweed is full of sixty major and minor nutrients,
amino acids, carbohydrates and natural occurring plant growth promoting
substances (bio stimulants, gibberellins) that increase plant vigor, quality
and yield. Humates increase the availability of nutrients in the soil, increase
root growth, keeps nutrients in area that roots can reach (increase CEC), make
the soil more friable and many other benefits.
Since SeaHume and Flower Bed Amendment have a cocktail of
good organics, I’m starting with them this year. I’m hoping to bring my cold
damage plants back and have them healthy to repair themselves from the severe
pruning back some of them will get.
Control summer annual weeds before they emerge with
preemergent herbicides. Crabgrass will be germinating soon, so get your
preemerge of choice out now! Kill winter weeds that are up now before they
produce viable seed for next year. Try not to prune azaleas now or you will be
removing their flower buds and their spring flowers.
