You should fertilize now to keep plants healthy through to fall

By SUSAN RICHARDS

Although you may be like me, not through the spring garden list yet, now is a good time to help prepare your lawn, gardens, containers, etc ... for the stress of summer heat. Plants that are well nourished have a much easier time performing right through to fall. Here are a few tips.

* Feed your lawn with a good quality organic fertilizer. Water it in well so moisture goes deep into the soil. We've had plenty of rain this spring, so lawns should be healthy and grass roots should be deep into the soil. Make sure you water well when we get a dry spell. A deep thorough soaking once a week is much better for all plants than frequent, shallow watering. Consider raising your lawn mower up so that more of the grass blade is left. This will prevent burning when days do get hot.
* If you like to use granular fertilizer in your shrub and perennial beds, now is the time for a second application. Choose a good quality organic food, spread it according to package directions and water well. The extra nutrients will help plants thrive this summer.
* If you prefer using water soluble fertilizer, make an application now and repeat in four weeks. Fertilizer dissolved in water is instantly taken in by the roots. The disadvantage is that the fertilizer not absorbed immediately can often get washed away with the next rain. Be sure to choose a type appropriate for the plants you plan to feed.
* If you have a tree that is struggling, consider doing a deep root feed. Shallow grass roots quickly grab nutrients. There may not be much reaching the deeper tree roots. There is a tool for this job called a Ross Root Feeder. It attaches to the garden hose and has a section that holds a fertilizer cartridge. You push the spike deep into the ground, turn on the hose and water flows through, dissolving the fertilizer and delivering it to the roots. The feeding roots for a mature tree start about 18" out from the trunk and extend to the drip line of the farthest branches. Concentrate your effort in this area.
* Keep containers and hanging baskets fed often. I like to use water-soluble fertilizer 20-20-20 one-quarter strength every week. This balanced formula feeds all parts of the plant: leaves, roots and flowers. If I have company coming, I will give plants a hit of 15-30-15 a week ahead of time. This will stimulate the plant to put out lots of blooms.
* An easy care option for flowers is slow release pellet-type food. Use according to package directions, sprinkling pellets directly on the soil sur- face in pots, baskets and gardens. Every time you water, a bit of food is released.
* We've had a cold start for the vegetable garden. Now that some heat has arrived, plants will need a good boost of fertilizer to get them growing. I use a specially formulated tomato food to get the best performance from my tomato plants. It has all the micro-nutrients they need as well as calcium to help prevent blossom end rot. The rest of my garden gets a top-dress of compost. This helps hold moisture in the soil and slowly feeds the veggies.
* My roses have developed big fat buds that will burst into bloom soon. To keep them blooming, I use an organic roses food. Once again, I trust the experts who have developed the right nutrient balance to keep the roses healthy. I have a beautiful hybrid lily beside a shrub rose bush in my sunniest garden. The lily doesn't mind sharing food with the rose. Its buds are developing well too. Just like humans, all plants need regular fuel to stay healthy. Just be sure to read package directs carefully. Twice the food doesn't produce twice the growth. Too much fertilizer can damage plant stems and roots.

June gardening calendar

First week

Don't fertilize tomatoes until the first fruit has set. Too much nitrogen will cause leafy growth at the expense of flowers and fruit. Most other plants benefit from a starter fertilizer when transplanted.
If you fertilized earlier this spring, wait until Labor Day or Halloween to do it again. However, if you collect your clippings all summer long, another light application may be needed in early July.
It is too late for broadleaf weed-control products or combination weed and feeds. Summer's heat will cause the weed killer to vaporize and drift, damaging other flowers and vegetables. Total vegetation killers such as glyphosate can be used all season but will kill everything, so don't use them in your lawn or allow overspray onto desirable plants.
Fertilize bulbs and most perennial flowers now. Bulbs are forming next year's flowers inside, and perennials are actively growing and producing flowers.
Prune, transplant and up-pot houseplants, since they will be growing most vigorously now because of the longer days, higher light and higher temperatures. Move up to a pot only 1 or 2 inches larger at a time. Fertilize monthly.
Prune out and destroy webs of Eastern tent caterpillar found wrapped around branches of fruit trees including crabapples. The biological control sold as Dipel, Bactur or Thuricide is only effective while the caterpillars are still small. Soon they will move off the trees to pupate. Destroy these pale yellow, loosely constructed cocoons. In August, look for shiny brown egg masses on tree branches. Prune them out or scrape them off.
Examine honey locust and ash foliage for plant bugs. Control with insecticidal soap sprays as needed.
Preventive insect control for fruit-bearing trees should have been started at petal fall. Continue every 10 to14 days until autumn leaf drop.
Preventive treatment for apple scab and rust diseases should have been started before bloom started. For crabapples, collecting and destroying fallen leaves all season combined with proper watering and a fall fertilizer application may be all that is really necessary, since these diseases are not life-threatening.
There are many insect pests to watch for in the vegetable garden now. The flea beetle chews many small holes in the leaves of a wide range of vegetable crops, especially young transplants of the cole crops (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and brussels sprouts). Cover with floating row cover to exclude these tiny hopping bugs before they begin feeding. This covering can be left in place day and night since it is permeable to light and moisture. It also "breathes" so that heat does not build up underneath. Be sure to seal the lower edges with soil or stones. Allow ample room underneath for plant growth.
Covering cole crop plants with floating row cover will also exclude egg laying by the cabbage moths.
Potato leafhoppers are wedge-shaped, bright green insects that cause "hopperburn" on plant leaves beginning in early June. Spray once with carbaryl or malathion and cover the entire crop with row cover to prevent invasion.
Colorado potato beetle adults and larvae can be hand-picked to remove or sprayed with M-Trak, a biological control product. Adults are yellow-and-black-striped beetles, and the larvae are humpbacked and red. Look for them on the stem tips. They are present almost all season.
Striped and spotted cucumber beetles transmit a bacterial wilt to cucumbers, squashes and melons. Adults and eggs can be hand-picked throughout the season, or begin preventive sprays or dusts with rotenone or carbaryl as soon as seedlings emerge. Leaves of infected plants wilt only during the day, but the leaf stems remain erect. Eventually the entire plant wilts and dies.
Watch for the Mexican bean beetle, which descended on vegetable gardens a couple of years ago but has since subsided. To be on the safe side, you can cover the entire crop with floating row cover as soon as seedlings emerge. Spray with carbaryl or rotenone at the first sign of beetles or their distinctive feeding damage.
No further pruning should be done on trees or shrubs, since the new growth this stimulates will not mature sufficiently before the cold days of winter are again upon us.