Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 22, 1995 TAG: 9502010006
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: E2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN ARBOGAST
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
As many of us are anticipating the growing season, there may be some concern over the amount of pesticides that were sprayed last year around our garden, flowers or landscape. So, here are a few simple suggestions to address this issue at home for the season ahead.
Take steps this winter to encourage vigorous flower and vegetable growth in '95. You might want to search for shredded organic matter now and mix into the soil prior to planting to promote better root growth and moisture retention this summer. Also, look through gardening catalogs and magazines for ideas and devices for water-saving summer irrigation, such as drip irrigation kits. The objective of these two examples is to discourage pests that seem to be drawn to weak or stressed plants.
Look for disease and insect resistance in vegetable and flower varieties in gardening catalogs or garden center racks.
Take soil tests for vegetable and flower gardens now if not done in the last three years.
Take care of ``horticulture sanitation'' jobs now if not done last fall. This means removal of all rotten fruits, dead vines and stakes or cages. Prune fruit trees for better air movement.
Q: We have squirrels in our back yard and tulip poplar trees. We have many limbs that have been stripped of their bark and are dead. We wonder if the limbs die after the stripping or do the squirrels only strip dead limbs. Mrs. G.H.S., Roanoke
A: I would guess that the squirrels did not strip the bark from living limbs, thereby causing the death of those limbs. Even though squirrels do chew wood, such as the eaves of a house while trying to get into the attic, I could not find any information indicating that squirrels have been seen pulling tight bark off living branches. You might have observed gray or red squirrels using existing hollow tree cavaties as nesting sites or large nests made from leaves, not live bark, that gray squirrels have built in the forks of your trees.
Also, I don't believe that squirrels can be blamed for stripping bark to eat, since their usual diet consists of things such as nuts; most kinds of bird seed; and garden products including bulbs, fruits, vegetables, flowers, roots and stems.
It is true that any limb or trunk that has its bark removed all the way around will die, since moisture and nutrients cannot be carried nor new growth occur in the exposed parts. However, limbs or trunks that have died from any cause will eventually lose their bark once the dead wood becomes dry. So, bark loss is not always a clue to what caused the problem.
Send short questions about your lawn, garden, plants, or insects to Dear John, c/o the Roanoke Times & World-News, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010-2491. We need your mail, but this column can't reply to all letters. Those of wide appeal will be answered each week. Personal replies cannot be given. Please don't send stamps, stamped envelopes, samples, or pictures.
by CNB