June THINGS TO DO Seattle Area (PNW) revised with Denver notes 060826 ____________________ SHRUBS AND TREE'S Inspect for: * cankers and swollen area's * damaged and crossing branches * dead, off-color, leaves and twigs * guy wires that need to be loosened or removed ---------- * routine pruning & thinning * prune/thin flowering shrubs as blooms die off *identify the plants you intend to prune * follow your local county extension pruning guidelines ____________________ Lawns: mow-edge-trim * Some lawns will need weekly mowing this month - otherwise a 10-14 day cycle should work My niece and s/o keep their lawn quite long and i think this is an interesting idea. The cats provide the evening entertainment hunting bugs in the yard, half-hidden by the grass. It still needs to be regularly mowed, nipping off as much as the mower can handle easily with each cut. I do not know all the pro's and cons, but i used to have pastures and i did regularly mow them and achieved good quality grass pasture for the cows. I have seen lawns with moss, clover, buttercup, lawn daisies which contibute to healthier bio-diversity in urban settings, and are attractive when they are meadowlike in appearance. Such successful plantings are somewhat rare. I had a neighbor who allowed crocus to proliferate in spring and it was very pretty to see.
A customer of mine who was an economics professor tried replacing his lawn with drought tolerant plantings but found overall maintenance costs to be about the same as a lawn.

Plantings which replace a lawn can be more interesting, and biologically diverse.

However, lawns can nicely frame a home and add useful living and recreation space.

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fertilizer: if not already done this year - apply high quality slow release fertilizer at the recommended rate, usually 1# nitrogen per 1000 square feet of lawn. Ace hardware has a good organic based fertilizer, last time checked.

Ideally it should be 3-1-2 NPK ratio, with micronutrients. Its unlikely you will find the perfect all-in-one fertilizer. Using micro-nutrient, iron, sulfur, or potassium supplements, may be helpful if needed.

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Weed Control

*weed & feed is never recommended.

* try to identify the weeds you want to control

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* Spot treatments of household vinegar can control some weeds.

* apply using a spray bottle or hand pump
* for non-selective control of dandelions, many other weeds, and weedlike grasses.

* it does not work on buttercup or ground ivy
* DO NOT USE OVER ROOT ZONES OF TREES AND SHRUBS
* additional applications may be needed, or ineffective
* target the weed
* apply with moderation as you would on a garden salad
* palm-sized spots of grasskill will recover

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* safe products based on cinnamin, orange oil, etc -
are available, & approved by the epa and
many states.
* read the label carefully and follow the instructions

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Moss control

* If your lawn has heavily moss infested areas, you may want to apply moss killer -. lilly miller no-worry liquid moss killer for lawns is a good product. Follow the label instructions and try to target moss using a spray bottle or hand pump.

Here is a way you might avoid having to rake the dead moss out, and conserve excellent topsoil often found beneath the moss: seed and topdress over the blackened moss within the next few days. But the problem in Denver is water restrictions. How do you get seed to germinate if you can only water twice a week?? On the other hand, I have yet to see a moss infested lawn in Denver.

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Aeration: aerate only if the soil beneath the grass is not getting wet after a good rain

most Seattle lawns don't need aerating

To be effective, several passes (4 or 5) of the aerator is needed to remove sufficient soil surface

leave the plugs on the ground

Cranefly control: Not recommended unless high numbers are confirmed present in the soil

- may not be effective this month anyway

Watering: Plan to water this month. weather patterns are very unpredictable now likely due to climate change. Denver water restrictions are between 10 am and 6pm; Even numbered addresses can be watered thurs and sun, odd addresses wed and sat; commercial and multi-unit (3 or more) residences tue and fri. Perennials and shrubs / tree's can be watered by hose any day but not after 10am or before 6 pm. Some lawns seem to have greened up notably after a warm, dry winter in Denver and water restriction recommended until mid-may. Other lawns look pretty trashed, which is sad to see. Cheesman park was very dry looking until recently, and sprung back to life with a vengeance.

For lawn renovation, moss, or cranefly problems, see:
Lawn Care Tips

For monitoring shrub and tree pest problems, see:
IPM for June - Seattle Area / PNW

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Planting Bed Maintenance

* Routine weeding and cleanup.

Japanese Beetle may begin to appear in great numbers, creating swaths of dead area's in lawns and attacking a large number of different species of plants. Check my links page for info on this pest.

Many warm weather plants can be seeded or planted -. radish, peppers, squash, tomato, basil, sweet corn, cucumber, eggplant, cilantro, catnip, marigold, snapdragon

plant perennial herbs and flowers from seed

bulbs - dahlia, canna, gladiola

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MULCH

- helps suppress weeds and makes them easier to remove

- protects soil from compaction and erosion due to rain

- protects sensitive plants against cold damage

* Add mulch to beds if needed. More than 2" total depth of mulch is not recommended

* Compost is a mulch containing significant amounts of decomposed organic matter

* Compost, leaves, and moss, are effective soil builders

* Leaves provide good cover for bare-dirt beds and slopes

* Leaves left in beds can be raked up if they become unacceptably unsightly after at least some of the mass breaks down; or, till them back into the bed in the spring, or add more mulch later over the leaves.

* Keep mulch away from trunks of shrubs and trees.

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Compost

* For garden area's and closely planted beds, Compost is a good mulch to improve soil quality and provide organic nutrients.

* top soil/compost mix generally seems like a good product. i like the product available at Ace Hardware.

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* For open bed area's, play area's, trails;

* Arbor chips work well - they can be applied more thickly than other mulches, but will be more time consuming to apply, and variable in quality.

* play chips can also be used as mulch but it will have a different appearance and color you may not prefer

* Coarse bark mulch will last quite a bit longer than finer bark

* Dyed wood chip mulch if used should be certified not to contain shredded pallets before using it.