ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 26, 1997 TAG: 9701290002
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Dear John
SOURCE: JOHN ARBOGAST
Q: We just bought a house in August 1996. By October, the back yard was being invaded by moles. At this writing, 70 percent of the back yard has been tunneled and feels like a sponge. I was planning to kill the grass come spring and reseed it. Will this get rid of the moles? If not, what do you suggest? How can I go about repairing the damage already done?
A: Reseeding will not get rid of the moles, but in early spring you will likely need to work on repairing damage done to the lawn. This work will include closing mole tunnels - probably using a lawn roller, dethatching, reseeding to fill bare spots and watering as needed. Robert Henderson, extension specialist in animal damage control at Kansas State University, has written that packing the soil with a roller may reduce a habitat's attractiveness to moles. Please keep in mind, though, that soil that is wet when rolled might become compacted and difficult for turf to take root.
The best time to establish grass in our area is late summer. You may find that spring seeding will not be permanent and that some of the reseeding will need to be repeated in late summer.
Trapping remains the most effective control method for moles.
Please keep in mind, though, that mole traps must be set above regularly used mole paths and not just over tunnels. In order for the traps to work, it is necessary for the mole to come down the same paths. Tunnels made when the mole is searching for food are used only one time. Directions for locating paths should be available at the store where you purchase a trap.
Q: Can ashes from a wood stove be added to a compost pile?
Also, why has my 3-year-old Nandina (not the dwarf variety) never had berries?
A: Ashes work the same as adding lime. If you want alkaline compost, adding a small amount of wood ashes to your pile would be all right. Most compost made from yard wastes has a neutral pH and lime is not usually a compost ingredient.
The problem with your Nandina could be (A.) a lack of vigor and thus no new growth capable of blooming, which could be caused by compacted or dry soil; or (B.) removal of any young flower buds that might have been started if all stalks of your Nandina have been pruned in summer or fall.
Q: We recently moved to Roanoke and built a home. Approximately two to three months after the construction was completed, a number of trees, mainly poplars, began to die. All these trees were in the improved area of the lot. During construction, a bulldozer graded the lot on several occasions and, at final grade, the dozer piled approximately 4 to 8 feet of fill soil around the base of the trees to increase the elevation of the lot. Within a year, all the trees in the improved area died. We believe that the trees died because of the scraping of the bulldozer and/or the piling of soil around them. How can we confirm this?
A: My opinion would be that the soil that was placed over the existing grade around your trees caused the trees' root systems to suffocate. It has been noted in horticulture literature that an addition of more than 6 inches of soil over the existing grade in which tree roots are living will cause decline and possibly eventual death of roots.
Because there was a lot more than 6 inches of soil added around your trees, injury caused by cutting off the air supply to the roots, as well as the crushing of the small roots from the soil weight, occurred immediately. If you need someone to come to your site to verify this information, look in the phone book or other advertisements to hire a tree worker who has earned and maintains the individual credential of certified arborist.
Send short questions about your lawn, garden, plants or insects to Dear John, c/o 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 January or early February:
Take soil tests as soon as the garden or flower bed soil is workable, if you didn't do so last fall. Follow any recommendations that come for soil pH adjustments as soon as possible.
Begin the slow indoor process of sprouting tubers of tuberous begonias to be grown outdoors this summer.
Cut, pull and remove honeysuckle and any other weedy vines that have grown into your deciduous landscape plants while those ornamental plants are still leafless.
LENGTH: Medium: 84 linesby CNB