ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, September 22, 1996 TAG: 9609240091
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: D2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: DEAR JOHN
SOURCE: JOHN K. ARBOGAST
Now that fall is officially here, a common question from many area residents in a few weeks will be what to do with all those leaves. The answer is "make compost," or save the leaves for compost to cook next spring and summer. This is an excellent answer because the clay soils that seem to be predominant around here will really benefit from compost; also, think of how much better our streets will look without those big piles or plastic bags of leaves on the curb.
Once again, the Roanoke Extension Office is working with the Clean Valley Council to offer basic, how-to backyard compost demonstration programs at the compost demonstration site behind the Fine Arts Building at Virginia Western Community College on Colonial Avenue in Roanoke at these times in mid-October: Oct. 17 at 5:30 p.m., Oct. 18 at 10 a.m. and Oct. 19 at 9:30 a.m. Class size is limited to 30. Preregistration is required by calling the Clean Valley Council at 345-5523. The $10 class fee, payable at the program, will be used to defray the cost of a starter composter with information booklet per participant.
Appropriate, environmentally sound uses for fallen leaves include:
* Make leaf mold, which can be used as an excellent peat-like mulch next year but will supply no nutrients; shredded leaves work best for this, and moisture from fall and winter rains and snows will help those leaves slowly decompose into leaf mold by spring.
* Use leaves as the excellent carbon source that they are to mix with nutrient-full "green stuff" available now such as weed-free grass clippings or healthy green plants pulled out of flower beds and gardens to start a compost pile this fall.
* Save leaves to be used next year in composting or to place around plants. Folks concerned about the volume of leaves they'll have in the not-too-distant future should know that this volume is reduced over a short time as the leaves sit in a pile.
Q: I want to seed some grass soon, but I won't be ready to do this right away. How late in the fall can I expect good results from seeding to cover bare areas and thicken up a lawn that has become thin? Roanoke
A: With average weather conditions, fall turf seeding should be completed by mid- to late-September in our area. Turf seedings done in October are likely questionable, although different weather from year to year can sometimes allow a midfall seeding to work.
Q: We were looking forward to harvesting an excellent crop of white potatoes this year, because the vines looked so good. But, when we dug the potatoes, we found that most of them had rough blemishes on the skin; the few that we cut open had brown areas in the white part just inside the skin blemishes. What went wrong and what should we do to prevent this from happening next year? Roanoke
A: The problem you described sounds like the potato disease called "scab," which is caused by a fungus that persists in the soil for long periods of time and can be spread by using animal manure (the real stuff, not the processed kind) in the garden.
No chemical control is available for potato scab. Here's what you should do: Be sure to remove ALL the tubers from the garden soil; plan a four-year rotation for your potato area; take a soil test from your garden but do not use lime or wood ashes on the section for potatoes; apply sulfur or aluminum sulfate to lower the pH of the potato area if necessary; do not use real manure on the potato section; next spring, follow your soil test recommendations for fertilizer needed plus be sure to use certified seed pieces that are resistant to scab.
Send short questions about your lawn, garden, plants or insects to Dear John, in care of The Roanoke Times, 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 during the weeks that the subject is timely. Personal replies cannot be given. Please don't send stamps, stamped envelopes, samples, or pictures.
Gardener's checklist
Jobs for late September: * Plant new or dig, divide and replant existing garden peonies.
* Begin the process of inspecting, washing, and moving house plants that have spent the summer outside back indoors.
* Improve your garden or flower bed soil by mixing in organic matter as the garden crops or flowers are finished.
* Remove insect-infested and diseased plants and fruits as part of horticultural sanitation mentioned previously.
* Continue to mow the grass at your regular height as late as it is growing.
LENGTH: Medium: 87 linesby CNB