Lowcountry Weather

 

Horticulture Hotline 01/08/24

By Bill Lamson-Scribner

 

I have always said the Lowcountry is the hardest place in the world to grow grass (insects, fungus, reseeding is not usually an option, long windows of opportunity for weeds to germinate, many types of weeds, weather), and after this year I might have to add that it has the craziest weather.

 

The beginning of 2023 it was the cool, low humidity, little rain, and windy weather. I was looking at areas that looked dead and all they needed was some water and wetting agent. In some cases, the customer had irrigation and the grass was green right by the head, but brown out in the lawn. Low humidity and windy days dry things out quickly and the cool nights kept the grass from coming out of dormancy (especially zoysia). Our phones were ringing off the hook at Possum’s and all we needed was some rain and some warm nights.

 

The summer is hurricane season – enough said. We got off lucky in 2023.

 

The fall and winter have been crazy! Several inches of rain at a time, high tides, extremely high tides, and wind. Major salt water damage to many landscapes. If your landscape was flooded, bring us (Possum’s) a soil sample and we can test the soil for sodium and give suggestions on how to get rid of the salt.

 

Depending on where you live in the Lowcountry, the temperatures have been in the low thirties at night in the high fifties during the day. My hibiscus is still blooming! Usually, our temperatures yoyo up and down more, dipping into the twenties (killing my hibiscus), then climb into the seventies and eighties.

 

We have had an exceptional amount of rain this winter. I see puddles that never dry! It is not good to play sports on wet grass. When the ground is wet, it compacts easier and the grass gets damaged. Managing water is very important for the health of your house and landscape.

 

Starting with gutters, do you have them? Do you need them? Are they clean and functioning properly? Are your gutters a breeding ground for mosquitoes? If water is running off your roof and draining under your house (crawl space), you may want to consider gutters. Moisture underneath a house can led to mold, fungus, moisture damage and termites. Homes without gutters often get rot around windows when the water runs off the roof and splashes off the plants back onto the house.

 

If you have gutters, are the plants near the downspouts drowning? Do you need to put a piece of flexible pipe on the end of the downspout and direct the water to a place in the yard where it is not a problem? Could you collect this water in a rain barrel and store it for future use?

 

A large low area in the yard could be dealt with in many ways. Find the lowest point and put a drain and run the water elsewhere. If there are not any tree roots in the area, you could fill in the area with topsoil a little at a time so you do not kill the grass. If the area is small enough, consider using bagged topsoil, so you do not bring a bunch of weeds in the soil to your yard. If the area is big, you could remove the grass with a sod cutter and re-grade the area – adding drains if needed.

 

If you would like to drain an area very effectively and without having to do a lot of digging, then Turface is the way to go. All you need to do is aerate the area then apply Turface. If you do not have an aerator, you can just spread the Turface along the surface. We have worked with many customers using this product in many different situations with great results. Turface will help drain large areas and small areas. Some areas that are bigger and wetter you can dig columns with a post hole digger or auger and backfill with Turface. You will also save on the water and fungicide bill with this product. Turface also helps with compaction. Turface will also help you in drought conditions by releasing water that it has held in its capillaries.

 

Using wetting agents can also help get water from the surface and into the ground.

 

Hot topics at Possum’s – pruning (what / when / how), moles, fungus, rats, preemergent products and timing, weeds (kill them now before they produce seeds for next year), custom soil tests…

 

Always read and follow product label. It is the law.

 

Bill Lamson-Scribner can be reached during the week at Possum’s Landscape and Pest Control Supply. Possum’s has three locations 481 Long Point Rd in Mt. Pleasant (971-9601), 3325 Business Circle in North Charleston (760-2600), or 606 Dupont Rd, in Charleston (766-1511). Bring your questions to a Possum’s location, or visit us at possumsupply.com. You can also call in your questions to “The Garden Clinic”, Saturdays from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM, or listen to the replay of Saturday’s show, Sundays from 11:00 to noon on 1250 WTMA  (The Big Talker). The Horticulture Hotline is available 24 / 7 at possumsupply.com. 

 

 

Happy New Year 2024

 

                                                      2023 Possum Tail Winners

Horticulture Hotline 01/01/24

By Bill Lamson-Scribner

 

The time slot for “The Garden Clinic” on 1250 WTMA has been changed to 10:00 am – 11:00 am on Saturday mornings. Saturday’s show is replayed on Sunday from 11:00 to noon. If you have any gardening or pest control questions, give us a call! Chances are if you have a question several other people have the same situation in their yard (or fighting the same pest), so do not be shy and give us a call (843 556 1250). Since 1989 “The Garden Clinic” has helped a lot of people in the Lowcountry, hopefully, you will be next!

 

Here are a few Top Performers:

 

This one I love. It hits you right between the eyes. This is so good I do not see how it will ever be removed from the top. This article should be located near your product mixing area as a reminder for anytime you want to bypass reading the label.

The tag is added to the neck of the Wet & Forget bottle. This tag is very red and states:

Failure!

This product is only

 effective if you read the

 instructions thoroughly.

Failure to do so will result in

 you moaning and groaning

that the product doesn’t

work and generally being

a pain in the bottom. Make a

positive change in your life

will you, and read the

instructions

This tag makes my, “Always read, understand, and follow product label. The product label is a Federal Law,” seem tame. Products must adhere to EPA guidelines. To get the “label” for a product the manufacturer must do extensive research on the formulation and on the efficacy of the product. The manufactures spend millions of dollars to get the product approved by the EPA. I have been selling control products since 1991and using them for longer than that and I cannot remember the product ever not working when used according to the label (maybe because I am so old, wet and forgot).

 

Wet & Forget is a super product for cleaning houses, sidewalks, driveways and many other things (check the label). Wet & Forget takes the chlorine out of cleaning outside and you do not need a pressure washer – just a pump-up sprayer. As the name implies just wet the surface and a few weeks later it will be clean.

 

 

Soil Test and Custom Programs probably should top the list, but someone with bed bugs in an apartment would not need these services. I was handed this testimonial from Greg Lienert. “I started using Possum’s recipe for my lawn 3 years ago and I have never had a better lawn in the 35 years that I have been trying to grow the perfect lawn. Possum’s is awesome! I have the best lawn in the neighborhood.”  That is what I’m talking about proactive lawn care!

 

SeaHume G has produced spectacular results for a few years. A humic acid and seaweed combination product really does some amazing things to the soil helping the plant. The comments I get the most are that the plant is stronger and has a better root system, requires less water, see far less disease, and less insect damage. SeaHume is a natural organic product, so people feel comfortable using it around pets, people, and fish.

 

There are many other great products out there, but I am thinking too much about Hopp’n John (team field peas)!

 

Happy New Year!

 

2024

 

                                                     Wetting Agent and Biostimulants - Easy

                                             Milkweed

                                            Grass on a Program

Horticulture Hotline 12/26/23

  Bill Lamson-Scribner

 

We seem to be getting some much-needed rain that will hopefully mitigate some of the salt damage that many of our yards suffered during the recent extreme high tides and flooding. A good free leaching of salt by mother nature is hard to beat and easy on the water bill! These rains also give you the perfect opportunity to identify low areas and areas with drainage issues.

 

Here are a few New Year’s Resolutions for the Gardener:

 

Take a soil test so you know what your soil needs are and amend the soil accordingly. I have been doing this for myself on landscape jobs since the late 1970’s and for other people since the early 1980’s. When people return to Possum’s Landscape and Pest Control after following our prescription for their lawn, they are happy, happy, happy. It is amazing how your grass will respond with a little tweaking of nutrients. A custom program is the best way to go, so you have a yearly calendar of what to apply and when to apply it. What is the old saying, “if you write down a goal, your chances to achieve it go way up.” A custom program will give you a step-by-step formula for an awesome yard in 2024. 

 

Go through all the old products you have in your garage and identify why you purchased them to begin with and if they are products that can still be used.  This will save you money and make room for new and improved products.

 

Manage winter weeds now while they are young. The bigger they get the harder they are to control. If you kill them now, you will not have to pull out the mower to mow the weeds.

 

Treat fungus proactively – you will save money. There is a lot of disease out there waiting for conditions to get right for another attack. Our ground stays warm enough for grass to absorb nutrients or systemic fungicides. Keep your eyes out for the next warm spell because the large patch / brown patch we had in the fall will explode again.

 

Use wetting agents this year.  Wetting agents have been shown to save approximately 30-60% of water consumption for a yard.  This would be a huge savings on your water bill.  By watering less, you will have less fungus problems and save money by not having to buy as much fungicides or water. At Possum’s we have noticed that a lot of people that use wetting agents save even more water because they are more in tune to their watering and their water bill. They are saving more like 80%, so if their water bill was $100.00 per month now the bill is only $20.00. A huge savings and water bills are usually more than $100.00. There are many other benefits to using wetting agents, and I was finally able to develop an easy RTS (connect straight to your hose) applicator. Your roots will grow deeper and you will be able to capture more nutrients, so you will get more out of your fertilizer.

 

To conserve water, it is time to get that hose that leaks at the faucet a new gasket. Check your irrigation. Are all the zones necessary or can you turn some off? Shrubs and trees should be established after one year or before. Are the heads spraying the way they were intended to spray?  If you need help, get the irrigation person over now before the spring rush.

 

In 2024 try to remove fertilizer and other control products from hard surfaces like driveways, sidewalks, pool decks, and streets before these products are washed into the storm water.  This will help protect the beautiful area in which we live.  Since a lot of storm water ends up in our marshes and waterways, this will also help protect our natural resources that we use for recreation (oysters, crabs, shrimp, and fish), food (oysters, crabs, shrimp, and fish), and jobs (oysters, crabs, shrimp, and fish). You will also avoid that nasty staining.

 

 

Buy a 100 pack of disposable nitrile gloves.  These things are great!  You can use them when handling control products and fertilizers, when changing the oil in your lawn mower, while taking down your Christmas tree to keep sap off your hands, while painting or taking out the trash, cleaning, picking up after your dog and yard work….  These gloves are very inexpensive and can save you lots of hot water while trying to remove things from your hands.  These gloves are also good at keeping the human scent away from mole, mice, and rat bait.

 

In 2024, add organic matter to your lawn and beds.  Organic matter will also help you lower your water bill while adding many other benefits to your soil.  Cotton Burr compost has been improving Lowcountry soils with great results for the past 20 years.  If you want to see for yourself the benefits of cotton burr compost, measure a 100 square foot area in your turf (10 feet x 10 feet) and spread one 2 cubic foot bag. Check out the progress over a month. Many people feel their fungicide use has gone down after using cotton burr compost.

 

To combat weeds, plan to put out preemergents in your lawns and beds according to product label.  This will make your life a lot less stressful and your yard will be looking a lot better without weeds.  If time is a big issue, consider buying a year’s supply of product now, so you will have the product handy when it is time to apply. 

 

In 2024, always apply product according to the label’s directions.  No more, “if one ounce is good….two ounces will be real good”. Many of our fire ant products, less is better. On the pest control side of our business, roaches and rats can be repelled with too much product. Follow the label that has cost the manufacturer millions of dollars to get approval from the EPA and you will have better results. This will also save you money - not to mention the product label is a Federal Law. 

 

For those pet owners out there, whose animals have a history of flea problems, be proactive by applying growth regulators. Nyguard, D-Fense NXT, or Precor 2000 applied every three months, should keep your pet free of fleas. Rotate products with different active ingredients.

 

Always mow the grass with a sharp mower blade and prune the bushes with sharp pruning blades.  You will have cleaner cuts and less chance of disease. Take your mower to the shop for a tune-up before the spring rush.

 

Read a good book about gardening.  Reading is how we learn and it will motivate you as a bonus.  Picture books are fine.

 

Plant a plant for a pollinator – like milkweed, butterfly bush, bottlebrush, bee balm, salvia …

 

Happy New Year!

 

Bill Lamson-Scribner can be reached during the week at Possum’s Landscape and Pest Control Supply. Possum’s has three locations 481 Long Point Rd in Mt. Pleasant (971-9601), 3325 Business Circle in North Charleston (760-2600), or 606 Dupont Rd, in Charleston (766-1511). Bring your questions to a Possum’s location, or visit us at possumsupply.com. You can also call in your questions to “The Garden Clinic”, Saturdays from noon to 1:00, or listen to the replay of Saturday’s show, Sundays from 11:00 to noon on 1250 WTMA (The Big Talker). The Horticulture Hotline is available 24 / 7 at possumsupply.com.