Weed Grasses in Your Lawn

Here’s the bad news.

Completely eliminating weed grasses in your lawn is unrealistic. There is no easy way to prevent weed grasses from establishing in the lawn.

And once weed grasses are established, there is no easy way to remove them. With broadleaf weeds, there are selective herbicides that can be used to kill the offending weeds without killing the surrounding grass. Unfortunately, there are no chemical controls that distinguish between desirable turf grasses and weed grasses.

What you can do

• Remove invasive grasses early before they get established. A good lawn can be preserved with just a few minutes a week of hand pulling small new seedlings.
• Shade the root zone by mowing higher. This will help reduce weed seed germination (weeds need sunlight to germinate).
• Be realistic: lawns won’t grow well in areas that are overly wet, dry or shady. If you don’t want weeds to establish, plant a groundcover that will do well in those areas.
• If weed grasses have become large, you can dig them out, fill in the holes and reseed the area.
• A last resort for lawns with very large patches or numbers of weed grasses: treat with a non-selective herbicide. This will kill all grasses, not just weed grasses. It will then be necessary to reseed the entire area.
• Call In Harmony for assistance. Our technicians can suggest cultural practices to improve the health of your lawn and increase its resistance to invasion by weed grasses.

What In Harmony can do

• Apply an organic fertilizer. A good fertilization program helps keep colors even so weed grasses are not as apparent.
• Aerate your lawn to help keep it healthy.
• Overseed as necessary to fill in weak spots and help lawn color.

References

• Common-Sense Pest Control: Least-toxic Solutions for Your Home, Garden, Pets and Community. Olkowski, W., Daar, S., and Olkowski, H. The Taunton Press, Newtown, Connecticut. 1996.
• Ortho’s All About Lawns. Meredith Books. Des Moines, Iowa. 1999.

Sea Kelp

In Harmony often uses natural sea kelp or sea kelp extract to supplement our liquid product applications.

Sea kelp improves growth and color of plants and enhances flowering. It does this by providing:

• Trace elements, often deficient in our garden soils
• Potassium, an essential plant nutrient
• Plant growth regulators

Kelp contains an exceptional concentration of plant growth regulators, the plant equivalent of animal hormones. Plant growth regulators influence all aspects of plant growth, including seed germination, cell division and cell growth.

One plant growth regulator found in sea kelp, cytokinin, is particularly beneficial. Cytokinins stimulate cell division and elongation, which play a number of crucial roles in promoting plant health:

• Promote healthier leaves
• Help repair plant wounds quickly, limiting the entry of pests and disease
• Create stronger, more extensive root systems
• Retard plant aging
• Stimulate the formation of energy capturing structures
• Enhance flowering in some species

Sea kelp is our best concentrated source of cytokinins. In our landscapes, plants are often struggling because of stressful growing conditions. Plant growth regulators such as cytokinin will help your plants to thrive.

References

• Kelp Studies—Scientifi c and Technical Support: Biostimulants. Wallace, A. Wallace Laboratories. http://www.organa. cc/Studies/Kelp_Studies-Biostimulants.html. December 7, 2000.
• Plant Nutrition from the Sea: Marine Products Can Be Used to Supplement Soil Nutrients. Baker, B. Farmer to Farmer. http://www.namkelp.com/nutrition.html
• Plant Physiology, 4th Ed. Devlin, R.M. and Witham, F.H. Wadsworth Publishing Company. Belmont, California. 1983.

Moles Creating Holes in your Lawn?

Moles are part of a healthy ecological system.

They indicate that the soil is strong, and that beneficial insects and organisms are present. But if you’re like most home owners, you’d rather not have them burrowing under your yard or garden.

There’s a lot of debate about the best methods to get rid of these clever, persistent pests. Ideas in vogue range from castor-oil/liquid detergent solutions and trapping to using the noise of a lawn mower to scare them away.

There are seven varieties of moles in the Pacific Northwest. Moles, which eat worms, slugs and soil insects, play an important ecological role. They dig tunnels underground, which create channels for air and water to move through the soil. The problem is that the tunnels create weak spots and holes in a lawn. The moles also push mounds of soil to the surface.

What you can do

• We think the best solution is to tolerate moles when possible, since they play such a beneficial role in the ecology.
• You can stamp down the mounds moles make in your lawn and reseed them.
• If you must get rid of moles, the most effective way we know is trapping. We don’t offer this service ourselves, but there some companies in the area that specialize in trapping moles. A few good companies are Mole In One (425.823.4094), Mole Patrol (425.483.8894) and The Mole Guy (425.483.1775).
• If you want to do trapping yourself, the best time is in the early spring when the first burrows are seen, or after the first fall rains. Trapping in the early spring can eliminate pregnant females, thus reducing the possibility of having to contend with a family of moles.
• Traps should be set in active burrows (you can tell by rolling or tramping down the ridges and then observing which ones are raised again). If a trap is not sprung in two days, move it to another location.
• Don’t use pesticides, which can harm other wildlife, pets and children as well.
• Use a physical barrier. If you know the moles are coming from a certain area, dig a trench and insert bamboo cloth or flattened metal trenches. The barrier should be at least 6-12 inches deep.

Mycorrhizal Fungi

In Harmony uses mycorrhizal fungi, in combination with growth-promoting bacteria, to promote soil health.

Soils in natural settings contain large numbers of beneficial organisms, such as bacteria and fungi. In many city landscapes, however, soils are disturbed and compacted, and these beneficial organisms have been reduced or eliminated.

Recent research has shown that a beneficial fungus, mycorrhiza, is invaluable when it forms a symbiotic relationship with plant roots in the soil. These fungi colonize the plant roots and extend the root system into the surrounding soil. In healthy soil, there may be several miles of mycorrhizal filaments in a teaspoon of soil. As the mycorrhizae grow within the soil profile, they will help protect your plants and promote plant health.

The plant’s ability to take in water and nutrients rises dramatically when mycorrhizal fungi are present in the soil. Mycorrhizae also suppress diseases and pathogens in the soil, and they improve soil structure.

Problems with Fruit Trees

Growing fruit trees in western Washington can be tough.

Fruit grows and ripens best when exposed to warmth and sun. Our summers are often cool and cloudy, making it difficult for fruit to ripen properly and increasing the chance of disease. Several insects also prey on fruit trees in our area. Fruit trees need to be maintained correctly. They require regular pruning for health, strength and yield.

What you can do

• Buy resistant varieties. WSU Extension and others have tested fruit trees and found varieties that are less prone to disease. Visit our web site for sources.
• Save yourself a headache! Remove plants that are prone to problems.
• Hire a certified arborist, or visit Plant Amnesty’s web site to learn about proper pruning techniques. Our web site has a link.
• Sanitation is very important to reduce disease problems. Rake up and dispose of fallen leaves. Do not compost leaves from diseased trees.

What In Harmony can do

• Apply pyrethrins, natural insecticides produced by certain species of chrysanthemums.
• Apply neem oil. Neem is a botanical insecticide, miticide and fungicide treatment derived from the seeds of the neem tree.
• Apply horticultural oil, a highly refined petroleum oil which is safe and has limited effects on beneficial insects.
• Apply lime sulphur, a safe, least toxic control for a variety of diseases.
• Apply a fungicide. We do this only if absolutely necessary and only in very limited amounts.

Diseases	Identification
Powdery mildew	Leaves and stems erupt in a fuzzy, whitish coating that esembles white powder.
Fire blight/brown rot	Look for sudden wilting and browning of flower parts. Fruit shows soft, brown spots.
Shot hole	Fruit lesions are light brown with dark purple margins.
Peach leaf curl	New leaves have a puckered texture with reddish spots.
Apple scab	Fruit has brown, velvety or corky surface lesions. Leaves have similar spots.
Insects	Identification
Apple maggot	Look for larva tunnels in fruit. Adult flies are about ¼ inch long, with a black abdomen and white bands.
Codling moth	Larvae make entry holes on the side of apples. Adult moths are speckled gray-brown and slightly larger than a house fly.
Cherry bark tortrix	Reddish-brown frass tubes protrude from tree bark. Adult moths are colorful, with light orange, gray and black forewings.
Scale	Adults live under a protective coating, which appear as raised bumps on bark. Bumps may be oval, circular or white masses.

Compost Tea

For as long as people have recognized the benefit of using compost, people have made compost tea.

Traditionally, compost tea has been produced by putting finished compost into a barrel with water and letting it sit for many days until the liquid turns a dark brown. The finished product is then poured on and around the garden plants, adding valuable humic acid.

Over the past several years, researchers have found that aerating the compost tea while it is brewing increases its benefits to plants and soil. Adding air dramatically increases the number of beneficial microbes present in the tea, growing billions of microbes within hours. In Harmony uses a state-of-the-art machine to produce our compost tea.

When these microbes are applied to soils, their benefits are many. They improve plant growth and vigor by helping it take in nutrients and store food. Healthy plants are better able to resist diseases. They help break down compacted soils, allowing more air and root spaces for plants.

Some research has shown compost tea to be effective at suppressing plant diseases such as Phytophthora, Pithium and Fusarium. Compost tea microbes can suppress diseases by increasing resistance to pathogens, antagonizing and competing with pathogens on leaf surfaces, and inhibiting pathogen spores.

What In Harmony can do

• Do a foliar and/or soil soak with compost tea to improve plant health and vitality.

What you can do

• There is no extra care needed for this application. Sit back and relax in your garden with a cool drink and enjoy your healthy plants.

References

• Benefi ts of organic teas: A review of the research literature. Organic Farming Research Foundation Information Bulletin, Winter 2001, Number 9.
• Evaluating the benefi ts of compost teas to the small market grower. Greenbook 2001, Energy and Sustainable Agriculture Program, Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

Plant Nutrients

Plants require 16 nutrients to grow.

They get carbon, hydrogen and oxygen from air and water. Healthy soils provide the other 13 essential nutrients. However, some soils are deficient or cannot supply enough nutrients for plants, such as turf grasses, with high nutrient requirements. In these cases, fertilizers are needed to maintain optimum plant health. Plant nutrients are divided into categories according to the amounts needed.

What In Harmony does

For our tree and shrub customers, we follow a balanced fertilizer program that delivers all of the essential nutrients. We observe plants to determine which nutrients may be deficient and will apply extra fertilizer as needed. When symptoms do not pinpoint a particular nutrient deficiency, we may suggest a tissue or soil sample.

We monitor plant health so we can supply only the fertilizer necessary, thus keeping excess nutrients out of our water supply. We use a complete array of organic fertilizers to meet your plantsí nutritional needs while protecting our environment.

Here are some of the fertilizers we use:

• Organic plant fertilizer with mycorrhizae.
• Azomite, an organic product, contains all the essential minerals and micronutrients in a balanced ratio. It will replenish the soil, correct mineral defi ciencies and boost plantsí immune system.
• Supertrace, a multi-mineral liquid organic fertilizer containing essential micronutrients.

Primary Nutrients	Needed in largest amounts.
Nitrogen (N)	Promotes rapid growth, increases leaf size and quality, promotes seed and fruit development.
Phosphorus (P)	Enhances germination and growth of seeds, stimulates blooming and root growth.
Potassium (K)	Promotes vigor, disease resistance and sturdy growth.
Secondary Nutrients	Needed in somewhat smaller amounts than primary nutrients.
Calcium (Ca)	Major constituent of cell walls. Important for root growth.
Magnesium (Mg)	Vital to chlorophyll production. Aids enzyme reactions needed for growth.
Sulfur (S)	Improves root growth and plant growth and seed production.
Micronutrients	Needed in relatively small (trace) amounts.
Boron (B)	Aids production and transport of sugars and water intake by cells.
Chlorine (Cl)	Aids plant metabolism and photosynthesis.
Copper (Cu)	Necessary for the production of proteins, important for vreproduction.
Iron (Fe)	Essential for formation of chlorophyll and for oxygen transfer.
Manganese (Mn)	Helps nitrogen assimilation and breakdown of carbohydrates.
Molybdenum (Mo)	Helps in the use of nitrogen and formation of root nodules.
Zinc (Zn)	Activates enzymes which regulate plant growth, helps protein production.

References

How Fertilizers and Plant Nutrients Affect Groundwater Quality. Stevens, R.G., Sullivan, D.M., and Cogger, C.G. Washington State University Cooperative Extension. http://www.cahe.wsu. edu/infopub/eb1722/ebg1722.html.

Time to Think About Garden Fertilizers. Robson, M. Washington State University Cooperative Extension. http://gardening.wsu. edu/column/02-28-99.html. December 7, 2000.

Plant Nutrients. Smith, Rod. http://www.rodsgarden.50megs. com/plantnutrients.htm.

Essential Plant Nutrients: Their Presence in North Carolina Soils and Role in Plant Nutrition. Tucker, M. Ray. http://www.ncagr. com/agronomi/essential.htm