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As
a Colorado native, I must say this has been one of the warmest winters –
it is such a guilty pleasure! We need the moisture but I love being
outside in this wonderful weather!
I want to share some quick tips for warm winters before I
get to my topic – considering dogs when using soil amendments for
gardens. This year is a perfect example to winter water your sod and
plantings, whether they’re established or not. Although it takes at
least two years for a plant to be established, if plants do not get
winter moisture, they can be stressed in the spring and be prone to
diseases or even die. If sod remains dry, at any stage of its life, it
can also die due to lack of water or be destroyed by mites. Once mite
damage is done, the sod must be replaced, it cannot be repaired. Ways
to prevent mite damage is either using dormant oil in October or winter
watering when needed.
All plantings need winter water to help them establish.
Many people install xeric plants and feel since they’re xeric, they do
not need water. Nothing is further from the truth. The first two years
are critical. To get them established, they need to be watered, all
year round if necessary. My company warranties our work and material
for two years; however, if a client does not have irrigation, we can not
warranty plant material because consistent watering is key. Plants are
fickle and thrive when they receive the same amount of water during the
same time of day. If you’ve practiced winter watering this winter, your
plants will reward you with a beautiful spring. Remember, watering is
necessary to getting plants established but soil amendments also must be
considered.
In Colorado, we have clay or sandy soils. They need lots of
amendments (organics) to help plants thrive. Soil amendments can be
the leaves from your trees in the fall (as long as they’re disease
free), compost from kitchen waste such as vegetables, coffee filters,
coffee grinds, etc. or spagham peat moss. Peat moss can be purchased at
your local nursery or hardware store. All of the aforementioned
amendments are not nutrients for your plants; rather they work the soil
and break down the clay so roots can receive water, food and air.
Nutrients are manures or fertilizers. Manures can be used
in your compost pile but they need to be aged – hot manures have too
much salt and will burn roots. Certain plant fertilizers, such as
Miracle Gro, Peters, etc. can be used to feed your plants during the
growing season.
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When installing new plants, such as perennials, trees and
shrubs, amendments must be used to help them get established. However
it’s best to avoid manures and use only peat moss or compost. Often
times, manures will burn the roots of new plants. Once they are
installed, you can fertilize them with Miracle Gro, Peters, etc.
However, for sod, vegetable gardens or annual/bulb beds, it’s best to
use manures, such as sheep and peat or cow and peat since their roots
need the extra nutrients to thrive. All nutrients and amendments should
be tilled into the soil about 2-3” down. Tilling is not the same as
excavating. If you are creating a new garden and need to remove sod or
a native area, be sure to scrape or excavate the area with a sod cutter,
do not till it to remove it. Tilling will work the existing material
back into the soil and promote weeds. Tilling is only used to
incorporate new amendments or nutrients into the garden area
If you’re a dog owner and share his or her backyard with new
plantings, it’s best to know a few tricks about amending soil. Shy away
from high odor fertilizers, such as potent manures, fish emulsions or
compost that has enticing smells for dogs such as egg shells, foods,
etc. Over twenty years ago when I first started, I learned this trick
the hard way. I remember planting numerous containers and annual beds
for a client. I amended the soil with fish emulsion. When my client
got home that night, she called me in horror to tell me her dog had dug
up all the containers and gardens due to the fish emulsion I used. Her
dog used the pet door when I left and “had a lot of fun” with the new
plantings. From this experience, I use only aged manure (the odor is
less significant) found at landscape bulk stores, peat moss (no odor) or
composted garden material, such as leaves. If installing sod, vegetable
gardens or annual beds and manures are needed, it’s best to fence the
area off with a temporary fence (like construction or silt fences from
Home Depot) until the odor has subsided.
My company’s philosophy is to trick dogs visually since they
have poor vision and are scent animals. Keeping this in mind, it’s best
to avoid “yummy” fragrances in the garden for dogs, such as new manure,
fish, eggs, etc. Take it from my trial and error of gardening with
dogs, if you understand this and plan accordingly, you and your dog can
have a beautiful garden.
My next topic is: Healthy Fences………have fun and get dirty!
For
more information please go to
www.pawfriendlylandscapes.com
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