
Fall Flowers Decorate Watters
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Ornamental grasses, thyme lawns, and fall flowers all love a good monsoonal rain. Gardeners do, too, as anyone working a garden knows that a shovel goes through soaked ground “like a knife though warm butter”. Well, maybe not quite like butter, but undoubtedly more easily than the holes dug during the crusty, dry months. Trust me on this; during this monsoon season many new plants have gone into the soft ground at the Lains’ casa. Rain definitely is a gardener’s best friend.~ * ~
September is the month to harvest most mountain vegetables and herbs. Although summer rains have increased the harvest, increased rainfall brings the chance of blossom end rot. Watch fruits for black spots showing up where the blossom was. The slightest calcium deficiency causes this phenomenon, but it is easily corrected.
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Garden Alert – Spittlebugs have landed and are sucking plants dry! White slimy globs ooze from the outer new growth of plants as this tiny brown bug drains the life out of our plants. Just run a hand through a plant’s foliage and if it comes out slimed, there is a problem. Not only is the slime ugly, it also is dangerous to plants. Locally, recent damage has been found on grapes, autumn sage, and Virginia creeper. This is a great time lapse video of spittle bugs in action:~ * ~
Only family and closest friends are allowed into my private gardens. This is because my gardens give me an escape from life’s pressures and guarantee some alone time. Fellow gardeners will concur that our gardens truly are our private sanctuaries. However, I don’t mind sharing my gardens through video. All the recent new plantings that went into my gardens provided the perfect opportunity to shoot another local video. My latest YouTube production is “How to Plant for Local Success”, and it shares the steps needed for new plantings to thrive. The six-minute garden tutorial virtually guarantees successful landscaping. Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD-QfKs82_A . If helpful, give it “a thumbs up” and share with family and friends who are interested in gardening.~ * ~
Free Gardening Class - The season’s first fall garden class will be next Saturday at 9:30 a.m. in Watters’ back greenhouse. The topic is “Wildlife & Bug Prevention – What’s Eatin’ Your Garden?”. The fall schedule of classes is available at WattersGardenCenter.com. Until next week, I'll see you at Watters Garden Center. Ken Lain can be found throughout the week at Watters Garden Center, 1815 W. Iron Springs Rd in Prescott, or contacted through his website, Watters Garden Center, or Watters FaceBook page.