Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 7, 1995 TAG: 9505080035
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN ARBOGAST
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
This means that it is now time to plant this usually productive vegetable. We shouldn't wait too much longer, though, since a destructive insect pest known as the squash vine borer often cuts short the life of the squash plants in midsummer.
Let's look at how gardeners can enjoy summer squash and still protect our environment and water quality:
Summer squash is considered a heavy feeder, so work in two pounds of 10-10-10 garden fertilizer per 100 square feet of garden area before planting seeds or transplants. Later sprinkle a light amount of fertilizer, three tablespoons of 33-0-0 per 10 feet of squash row one week after blossoming begins and again three weeks later.
Squash growers know that the first flowers produced by squash bushes will be the male blooms, which are showy flowers on the end of long stalks that drop off but don't produce fruit. When the plumper female squash blooms form, pollen must be transferred to them by bees from the male flowers in order for squash fruit to form. This is important, since it tells us to use insecticides carefully. Once squash blooms appear, all necessary insecticide spraying should be done late in the evening to prevent killing bees.
Extension office Green Line
Green Line hours during May for consumer horticulture assistance from Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners and staff from the Roanoke City Extension Office are 9 a.m. -4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Q: Please help me decide what to do regarding our poor lawn. The grass has become thin over the recent years, and we've had various weeds. The grass area gets plenty of sun. I believe that this is a fescue lawn.
A: The old rule of thumb that would be a good guide here is to eradicate the current lawn and completely establish new grass if over 50 percent of the current lawn is objectionable, which would include both bare spots and weeds, but to keep and improve the existing lawn if over 50 percent of it is OK. The ultimate goal will be to have a dense stand of turf made up of new grass varieties, since a thick vigorous turf will not give opportunities for weeds. The preferred time of year to establish grass, either as a complete new seeding or as an overseeding to thicken up thin turf, is in late summer. So, you have the rest of spring and then summer to prepare for your lawn improvements. Regardless of your choice of options, start preparations now by taking soil tests from your lawn so that slow pH adjustments can be started if needed by the late summer seeding time. Investigate all other possible causes that might have led to your current lawn's problems, including: soil problems of drought, compaction, or low organic matter content; poor mowing; improper fertilization in both the time of time or year and amount; and any competition, which could be from tree roots, shade, or other plants.
Since space for this column is limited, get details on lawn renewal by calling your local Virginia Cooperative Extension office, 857-7915 for Roanoke or 772- 7524 for Roanoke County . 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.
Gypsy moth seminar
An information session on the gypsy moth, which is a tree insect pest heading toward the Roanoke Valley, will be Monday, May 22, from 10 a.m. to noon in the large auditorium in the Business Science Building of Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke. Mark your calendar now and look for details in the next Dear John.
by CNB