Last Leaves 2008

Now that all the leaves are gone I thought I would throw up the last picture of leaves in my yard. The Dogwood is many years old and one of my spring favorites.

Also, our local 224th unit is coming home so, this was the last color here just before your return.

Welcome home 224th!

Preparation for Winter

In November your plants, both indoor and outdoor, will need your focused attention.

Cool temperatures in the soil may cause your bulbs to take root and start growing. Make sure that you get your tulips and daffodils now too.

You might want to consider cutting back your perennials although there is no real rush as they can be left to spring. An expectation to this rule is the iris. You must cut them back and dispose of the leaves. This will avoid the iris borer from laying its eggs.

Transplant boxwood, roses, etc. Water them once a week as long as weather permits.

Now is a good time to add some more mulch. Spread around plants at the base to protect its roots from a drop in temperature.

Weather permitting you can stop cutting your grass in November. You do want to keep cutting it if it’s continuing to grow but that will likely happened cease them month. Do leave it at 3” for the winter.

You want to make sure you remove your leafs and be sure to rake or vacuum at least one time per week

November is going to be your last time to fertilize. Make sure you use one that is mostly nitrogen. Also, do a weed and feed application to control weeds.

Take a look at the stacks of firewood around your property. Firewood can attract roaches and other critters. Make sure they are stored far enough away so that the pests can’t get inside your home.

Mulch or Bag?

For years I have heard that leaves from Oak are high in acid and that you need to bag and remove them off your lawn so the PH stays good in your lawn. Until recently I had no formal education into the matter.
The truth is that leaves get their nutrients from the ground and that by mulching them back into the ground you're actually putting a lot of those nutrients back into the ground. Then again if you have a large amount of leaves you might want to think about using them in more than one way. Leaves make a good base for mulch in your flower and garden beds.
Start yourself a compost bed this year. Mulched leaves can make a good base for your compost beds. Always mulch first and then use what you can where you can. If at the end of the day you just have to have that pristine no leave lawn and don't have any other room for them, bag the rest.

Fall Colors :-)

This time of the year the Ozarks are full of trees changing color and those cool nights. For many years I thought the intense color of the leaves had to do with just the sap moving down in the trees but, really it has a lot to do with the temperatures.
I am currently attending Master Gardener classes in Baxter County. For any of you who have thought you might be interested in this sort of thing and just haven't made the step to apply and attend the classes, you're missing out. I have been going for two weeks now and I have learned more than I ever imagined. We only have a couple more day long classes but I really doubt that the learning will stop there.
Now, back to the trees; What causes the fall colors to intensify? Well, one of the biggest factors is the temperature, warm days with real cool nights will cause more intensity. We are well into the fall and the conditions are great for a spectacular fall. The current speculation is that the fall colors in the Ozarks will not reach there height in colors till late this month so, keep a camera close and let me know what you see.

bye for now
-Ed

Pay as you go Vs. Monthly Contract

We offer two forms of payment for any services we offer.

Pay as you go - Simply as it is stated, you pay for services as they are completed - you pay for what services were completed. Some of our regular customers that are "pay as you go" would rather only pay monthly.

Yearly Contract - On a yearly contract you are contracting us for management of your lawn and landscape for the same price each month. The services are done during the growing season but the bill is leavelized out over a years time. For example if your lawn is a $60 lawn and needs to be mowed every week for a month with five weeks, you would only pay $120 and the balance of $180 would be forwarded to the months where no services are needed. Also under the yearly contract we will do minor bush trimming and limb removal as a way of saying thank you for your business.

Simply, if you want the best service for the least cost to you the yearly contract is by far the way to go.

New Sod Hopper Blog

Well, as many of you know by now we have not been able to get our news letters out as quick as we had planned. Well, we are going to try working our news and events into this blog format to get the information out to all interested. Thank you for your comments and I hope you enjoy.