Q. Last year, we had a problem with raccoons as they tore up the lawn to feast on the grubs. I want to discourage the raccoons early on this year. Is there an easy way to tell if the lawn grubs have returned?
A. Grubs are immature beetles found in the ground and are usually and white. As the grubs mature, they begin to feed on the grassroots, killing the lawn patches in the process. The damage is visible from late summer through the fall. The damage starts typically next to cement or a hot concrete edge and quickly spreads outwards toward the lawn’s center. The dead grass easily peels off the soil surface, exposing the grubs. Grubs can still be present in undamaged grass; hence the raccoons return. There is a simple test for the presence of grubs using detergent and water. With stakes and string, mark off two by two-foot squares. Mix two tablespoons of liquid soap or detergent in a bucket of water and evenly pour the solution over the areas. I’d set up several test sites. The sites can be in any area where the turf has turn brown and a normal area. Keep a close eye on the surface for the next ten to fifteen minutes. The detergent agitates the grubs forcing them to the soil surface. Typically, more than five grub per quarter-square foot warrants treatment. The organic solution for grubs is to apply Beneficial Nematodes. Beneficial Nematodes kill all the soil insects except earthworms. They’re applied with a tank sprayer. Beneficial Nematodes done early on will rid the area of all the soil insects and force the raccoons to look elsewhere for a food source. Another solution is Bayer Season Long Grub Control. It can be applied as early as May or June and provides grub control over an extended period. These products do not provide immediate results, as they take seven to ten days or longer to be effective.
Unfortunately, the raccoons continue to be destructive, so be proactive and start your controls early.
Q. Why does my lawn have a brown cast to it after it’s mowed. It was a newly sodded lawn last fall.
A. There is a simple solution to this problem; raise the mowing height on your lawnmower. When mowing grass, you only want to remove one-third of the grass’s blade to keep it green. There are two parts to a grass leaf. The upper part is called the blade, and the lower part, is called the sheath. The sheath is not green but a light tan or beige color. Hence when you mow the blade off, you get this off-color look.
The following website will give you much more detailed information, https://www.thelawninstitute.org/pages/education/grass-plant-physiology/plant-physiology Now, you probably installed a type of tall Fescue as it’s the predominant variety used in today’s sod lawns. Tall Fescue is mowed high around three inches. If you cut it short, it has an unattractive appearance.
Q. My daughter planted some zucchini seeds a couple of months ago, and I bought four regular zucchini plants and one “eight ball” zucchini from our local hardware store. While the store-purchased plants flowered over a month ago, there have been no zucchini produced. The seeded plants have been flowering the past fortnight but also have produced no zucchini. A few small bees are buzzing around the lawn clover, and none seem to be interested in the vegetables. For the past six weeks or so, I have fastidiously been trying to fertilize them using a small paintbrush but no luck. What else should I be doing?
A. This is a head-scratcher. It sure sounds like pollination, not a fertilization problem. There could be other reasons no fruit set like water stress, Blossom End Rot, Mildew, and nutrient deficiencies. But, I’m assuming that the plants are growing and having no other issues. Zucchini and other squash plants are monoecious, meaning they produce separate male and female flowers on the same plant. Be sure you are moving the pollen from a male flower to a female flower. Earlier, the plants produce an abundance of male flowers. Now it’s more females. Only the female plants’ bare fruit. The best time of the day to pollinate is in the morning. I try to be more selective with the flowers you pollinate.
Q. I recently bought several blooming Vinca plants. On the containers, it said they grow in full sun and don’t overwater. However, when I looked it up in my gardening book, I got a conflicting story. Here it says they do best in the shade and like moisture. I’m now baffled; can you help me figure this out?
A. There are several different types of plants called Vinca. You purchased the summer annual, known as Vinca rosea. It like the sun and a minimal amount of water. Its botanical name is Catharanthus roseus. The other Vinca is Vinca major or minor, also known as Periwinkle. It’s a perennial ground cover planted in moist semi-shady areas.
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