Got Weeds?

The only difference between a weed and a flower is your judgement. ~ Unknown

Weeds — Every gardener’s worst enemy! They can be frustrating to handle and even those who are trying their very best to be organic or eco-friendly sometimes find themselves reaching for a chemical to help out. Deciding between the different choices available and their impact can be complicated. The following are some of the common ones out there and some pros/cons for each to help you decide.

Sometimes, despite our best efforts, the yard work gets away from us. Although the BEST method you can possibly do for the environment in regards to weed control is manually pulling them out by hand or with a variety of available tools — this isn’t always a possibility. Maybe they have grown too big, maybe you are sick or otherwise incapable. Whatever the reason, even the best-intentioned gardener sometimes needs some help to catch up.

A note from Dandy Lion

Pullers come in all shapes and sizes. There are hand-held versions or standing stick-tool versions. And are designed to be pushed into the soil next to the tap-root of the weed to loosen it and “pop” it out of the ground

Favourite Manual Pulling Weeding Tool:

There are multiple tools you can use to make this task easier and everyone has their own favourite. My personal favourite is a Hori-Hori Knife which is a Japanese digging and weeding tool made of strong steel and with a serrated edge. This tool makes digging down next to roots to pop-out troublesome weeds super simple, root-intact. It also comes in handy transplanting, dividing plants, and general garden activities.

Chemical Weeding Tools

Herbicides

While there are a lot of options out there, there are a few different kinds of herbicides you will commonly find.

• 1) Non-Selective — Kill any and all vegetation they come into contact with. Often these contain Glyphosate, Pelargonic Acid, and Diquat.
• 2) Selective — Designed to only target specific plants, they will leave your grass alone while targeting your dandelions. These often contain 2,4-D, Dicamba, or Triclopyr.

Deciding between the two is up to your individual needs and situation, but if you are going to choose one, please be sure to use a strong mulching system after to reduce the likelihood of regrowth. Also, ALWAYS follow package instructions for use to avoid run-off into other areas and unintended killing of your other plants and trees.

Favourite Selective Chemical Weeding Tool:

My personal favourite selective chemical weed control is the Scotts® EcoSense® Weed B Gon® Weed Control Concentrate. It is made of 98% Iron (FeHDTA) which controls dandelions and other broadleaf weeds while being safe for your lawn. It is also a great choice if you are trying to avoid stronger chemicals in your yard and garden.

I hope this helps in your gardening journey.

Happy Gardening,
Dandy Lion

Having Problems Growing? Maybe There’s Something Missing.

Many things can happen in the soil to create deficiencies or even surpluses that cause issues for our green ‘friends’. It can be hard to determine whether its environmental, watering related or truly a nutrient deficiency causing us grief! Here’s a few tips to help you determine what is going on with your garden space and some solutions to give a try at sorting them out!

The Importance of Proper Watering!

Both UNDER or OVER watering your garden can be a cause of problem. While it’s obvious to most people that under watering will cause a plant to drought and die — it is often not as commonly understood why over watering can be just as bad or worse.

Obviously, if the plant in question is being UNDER-watered and is drying out then this is a major problem. Plants require water to create their food/fuel and without it they cannot eat and they cannot grow. If your plant is not getting enough water, you will often see what I call the “sad-drought-droop” where the leaves of the plant hang limp and ‘sad’ off the stems or main plant, possibly curling and twisting from dehydration.

The other characteristic feature of this issue is that the leaves/needles will feel crunchy and dry and might show discolouration like yellowing or other colour variations depending on individual plant biology. The solution here is of course, get this plant on a more regular watering schedule or do seasonal adjustments on an irrigation timer to add more time to zones if the weather has recently changed to drier/hotter/windier conditions. Adding mulch to reduce evaporation is also helpful where possible and where adding more water isn’t an option.

On the flip side, OVER-watering or creating a water-logged environment happens when water fills all the spaces between the soil particles around roots for a long duration of time. Plants breathe through their roots. They breathe through their leaves too, but they also need oxygen access at the root level in order to properly respire and complete the process of photosynthesis and resist disease.

Water logging can be caused by clay soil that is a fine particle in a mineral rock category and not a ‘true’ soil for growing in. The solution to this issue is to increase the air flow through the soil by creating a series of ‘pipes’ for drainage or to replant the plants in an alternative spot in the garden with a soil type that allows for more permeability. Many things can happen in the soil to create deficiencies or even surpluses that cause issues for our green ‘friends’. It can be hard to determine whether its environmental, watering related or truly a nutrient deficiency causing us grief!

It’s time to enjoy your garden!

It’s August so you get to take a break and enjoy your beautiful flower and veggie gardens ! Annual flowers are at their peak, perennials are putting on a great show and your home grown veggies are feeding your family. What could be better?

But there are still a few small things you can do to make your garden the best it can be, including planting some veggies now for a fall harvest. Scroll down for easy tips and tricks that will help make your outdoor space thrive.

Roses love having their old flowers clipped so new ones can grow in their place. If you’ve been picking stems for bouquets, then you’ve been helping them all along. But even so, you likely still have a few spent blooms that could use deadheading. Cut off old heads an inch or so below the flower — that’s all they need to start blooming again.

Annual flowers, like petunias in your hanging baskets or snapdragons in your garden, prefer a slightly harder prune. Cut those ones back 6” or so from the spent flower heads. That way, they’ll branch out and give you even more stems for lots of flowers right up until it frosts.

Pick herbs in the early morning before the heat kicks in for the freshest flavour. If you’re storing them for winter recipes, lay your cut herbs on a screen and leave them in a shady corner of your home. Once they’re fully dry, store them in a cool, dark place — they’ll take care of you until your new herbs are growing next summer!

More veggies! Plant now for a fall crop — there’s still time to put beets, carrots, kohlrabi and more into the ground for a fall harvest. Lettuce can be planted up to two weeks before the first frost date — keep those garden fresh salads coming!

Those are just a few of the activities to get keep you going in the garden and to keep your flower and veggie beds looking great!

They can be a sense of pride or a sense of embarrassment but it doesn’t seem like lawns are going away for good any time soon. Despite the recent popularity of rock gardens/xeriscape, many people still look for that perfect green lawn as part of their personal green-space at home. But it can be difficult to maintain a perfect lawn and, in our climate here in Kamloops (and surrounding), it’s definitely not an easy task.

The following are my tips for checking in on your lawn-care routine to see where the problem may land if you find yourself having a struggle with your lawn this season.

Food and Water!

Watering is best done in the morning vs at night. This is because watering at night means that the unused water will stay there all night and can cause rot or fungus. Watering during the morning means it is used up in the process of photosynthesis for the grass and by nightfall the lawn is (or should be) fairly dry leading to less risk of disease or rot. Also, it is best to water a lawn with more volume (i.e., for a longer soak) less often (every other day) than to do a light watering every day.

The first thing to check when talking about lawn issues in a semi-arid desert is the watering schedule and nutritional needs.

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Watering Tips:

• Water AM vs PM to avoid risk of disease
• More water/Less often is best vs shallow watering everyday
• Even Coverage / use sprinklers or ensure areas aren’t missed
• Measure the time so it can be adjusted as needed
• Consider simple house-hose water timers to help with consistency
• Adjust seasonally, depending on seasonal rain/drought so lawn is not too wet/dry

During very dry spells cut lawn at HIGHER height to conserve water

“Homeowners should also always keep an eye on the soil condition of the lawn. It is also a good idea to put grass clippings back on your lawn. This will bring nutrients back into the ground (and not just leaves and other unneeded materials to your lawn). More and more people are calling organic fertilizers for their lawn now than ever before” said Greg Lyons, an arborist.

Aeration

For heavy clay or sandy soils it is best to get the lawns and other plants in the yard some food. Which was nice because as mentioned, they are at a disadvantage. If all of the focus is on another website and the bigger this great way to see what it is important that people have a great way of understanding what is going on with your lawn. The first thing to check in on your lawn-care routine to see where the problem may land if you find yourself having a struggle with your lawn this season. Aeration is a good way of keeping your lawn looking healthy, and is a good way of keeping your lawn looking healthy.

For heavy clay or sandy soils it is best to get the lawns and other plants in the yard some food. Which was nice because as mentioned, they are at a disadvantage. If all of the focus is on another website and the bigger this great way to see what it is important that people have a great way of understanding what is going on with your lawn. The first thing to check in on your lawn-care routine to see where the problem may land if you find yourself having a struggle with your lawn this season. Aeration is a good way of keeping your lawn looking healthy, and is a good way of keeping your lawn looking healthy.  —

Two ways to ensure your plants stay healthy & happy

Tired of seeing your plants droop and wither in the blistering heat? Save your garden from heat waves this summer with soaker hoses and mulch!

Soaker hoses are an efficient way of getting moisture to your plants as they lose very little water due to soil run off or evaporation. Meanwhile, mulch helps keep moisture in! Combine these two to help your plants outlast the summer sun.

Lyons sells mulch in bags and in bulk, and Dramm soaker hoses — all excellent products for your plants to survive from extreme summer in Kamloops!

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