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[Merged] Anyone need gardening advice???

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Dec 23, 2005
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sonic wrote: is it too late in the season to lay sod? i have an area 20ftX12 ft. i heard its best to lay sod in spring b/c it will root better,
i have no idea?

No it is not too late to lay sod. Yes it is better to do it in the spring or the fall but that is only because it needs less watering and tending to. Sod can be laid as soon as the ground can be leveled in the spring and up untill it freezes in the winter.


Dave
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Just bought a new irrigation control box. Never set up the schedule for the old one, it was with the house.
People suggest only running it once a week for as long as it takes 1 inch of water to accumulate.

Is this the best way? Before my irrigation went on every other day, for hours. (dont know how long exactly since it ran in the middle of the night.)

also, better to run in middle of the night or morning?
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Rembrandt100 wrote: There are more reasons for that to happen to a potted plant than I care to mention. It could be anything from an insect to the plant just decided to die. Or it could be you over fertilized it. Like I told you before people usually cut a hybiscus in the fall but leave enough to remember where it is. then in the spring you remove last years stalks and all new stalks appear. The greenery from the year before is dead and finished. My own plant that is new this season is not more than 3 ft tall and had its first flower openning this week. Give it time. I could see you worry if all the other homes had them in full bloom and you had no buds. It has a life span and it is doing its thing in your area in its own time.

Dave
Thanks...no one in our neighbourhood has this plant so really not sure when its normal for it to bloom. Guess we'll keep waiting.

Another question, a while ago you suggested I use a 25-5-10 formula fertilizer, I've called the local nurseries and no one carries anything with these specific formula. Only thing I found was Magic Carpet Lawn Fertilizer 25-5-10, but seems like they're all carried in the West end. Any suggestions on where I could be looking for the fertilizer in the east end? Thanks
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mmhassa2 wrote: Thanks...no one in our neighbourhood has this plant so really not sure when its normal for it to bloom. Guess we'll keep waiting.

Another question, a while ago you suggested I use a 25-5-10 formula fertilizer, I've called the local nurseries and no one carries anything with these specific formula. Only thing I found was Magic Carpet Lawn Fertilizer 25-5-10, but seems like they're all carried in the West end. Any suggestions on where I could be looking for the fertilizer in the east end? Thanks
doesn't need to be exactly the same formula....just ensure it's relatively similar....i buy from Fairgreed Sod Farms in Markham...
they have 4 types of fertilizer, but the one i use, is the one they use on the sod farms 20-5-5. $24 covers 11,000 sq ft (if i remember correctly)
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sienna owner wrote: doesn't need to be exactly the same formula....just ensure it's relatively similar....i buy from Fairgreed Sod Farms in Markham...
they have 4 types of fertilizer, but the one i use, is the one they use on the sod farms 20-5-5. $24 covers 11,000 sq ft (if i remember correctly)
Thanks...started looking up the Magic Carpet and it sounds interesting...Would love to give this specific fertilizer a try. Is this solely made/sold on the west end?
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mmhassa2 wrote: Thanks...started looking up the Magic Carpet and it sounds interesting...Would love to give this specific fertilizer a try. Is this solely made/sold on the west end?
All fertilizer is the same stuff... the last two numbers are rarely needed to be added to most soils for grass.
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Anyone else pull up their garlic?

Dug all mine out over the weekend and now hanging to dry.. the bulbs haven't split yet, but wondering if I should have given them another week or two
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sienna owner wrote: doesn't need to be exactly the same formula....just ensure it's relatively similar....i buy from Fairgreed Sod Farms in Markham...
they have 4 types of fertilizer, but the one i use, is the one they use on the sod farms 20-5-5. $24 covers 11,000 sq ft (if i remember correctly)
So after calling around all around Pickering/ajax/whitby the closest I came to a similar formula fertilizer is 20-3-3. My lawn is in need of a feeding since the color is fading especially since the neighbour accidentally cut both of our grass super short :(

Would this formula be better than most stuff sold at HD/Lowes??? Looking to pick some up asap.

Edit: Found this pro-grade fertilizer at HD: 28-4-8

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/profess ... 5kg/917277
[IMG]http://www.homedepot.ca/wcsstore/HomeDe ... 1123_4.jpg[/IMG]
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Tha DraGun wrote: Just bought a new irrigation control box. Never set up the schedule for the old one, it was with the house.
People suggest only running it once a week for as long as it takes 1 inch of water to accumulate.

Is this the best way? Before my irrigation went on every other day, for hours. (dont know how long exactly since it ran in the middle of the night.)

also, better to run in middle of the night or morning?

Look thru this reply that was posted a few years ago. Let me know if this helps you.



Originally Posted by speedyforme

so I watered the lawn this morning (by hand) and when I come home, the soil is kinda brown from the day so I hand water it again

I want to go buy the sprinklers, how long do I water the lawn for?

also, it seems like the soil is settling down and the grass seeds are popping up to the surface, so far no birds in sight but will the grass seed still grow if it's on the surface?


Yes the grass on the surface should still germinate and even if it would not you cannot go back and rerake it. There is no way that it is possable to cover every seed without burying it too deep.

As for the watering you can do this with whatever sprinkler that you buy. Since you are watering for new seeds you only have to wet it to the point that the water is not running. Five minutes should be fine. After that you will be watering a growing lawn and should water no more than an inch each watering say 2 times per week. Set your sprinkler so that it is watering the maximum area. When you first set it up take note of the time you turn the water on. Place a container on the lawn inside the reach of the sprinkler. This container should be deep enough to hold an inch of water if that is the amount that you want to put down. Turn on the water and as I said above note the time. Leave the water on until you look in the container that you used and there is the 1 inch of water inside it. Shut the water off and note the time. Assume that you started at 2pm and you turned off the water at 2:45 pm. You now know that the outlet that you used, puts out, using your sprinkler, 1 inch of water every 45 minutes. Each person would have to do this at thier own home to get a correct reading as some newer places may have a higher volume of water than older homes with older pipes. If someone in the home at the time of the test takes a shower or a load of laundry or runs water for any reason the volume will change. Now you could add to your arsenal of garden tools a sprinkler with a timer attachment and set it to come on at any time you want and stay on for 45 minutes then shut off. Most people who have this set it up to come on just before sunup and run the required time and shut down. This way the lawn a garden get the inch of water they need and the morning sun evaporates the exess.

This is probably more than you wanted to know right. Sometimes I talk too much but I like to make sure I am understood.


Dave


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mmhassa2 wrote: So after calling around all around Pickering/ajax/whitby the closest I came to a similar formula fertilizer is 20-3-3. My lawn is in need of a feeding since the color is fading especially since the neighbour accidentally cut both of our grass super short :(

Would this formula be better than most stuff sold at HD/Lowes??? Looking to pick some up asap.

Edit: Found this pro-grade fertilizer at HD: 28-4-8




http://www.homedepot.ca/product/profess ... 5kg/917277
[IMG]http://www.homedepot.ca/wcsstore/HomeDe ... 1123_4.jpg[/IMG]

Magic carpet is made in Maple Ont. I do not know how large an area it is shipped to but it is sold where I buy my supplies. In my opinion the cost of what you have in your post is expensive because I buy magic carpet 25-5-10 60% scu at less than $30per 20 kg bag. It may not be worth it for you to drive to the west end. The important part here is that you have the 60% scu so it will be a slow release fertilizer so you need to adjust your applications by about 2 weeks.


Dave
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Rembrandt100 wrote: Magic carpet is made in Maple Ont. I do not know how large an area it is shipped to but it is sold where I buy my supplies. In my opinion the cost of what you have in your post is expensive because I buy magic carpet 25-5-10 60% scu at less than $30per 20 kg bag. It may not be worth it for you to drive to the west end. The important part here is that you have the 60% scu so it will be a slow release fertilizer so you need to adjust your applications by about 2 weeks.


Dave
After calling around finally picked it up from a HD thats 20 mins away...you can tell I really want a green lawn lol

The bag was pretty old and faded, but fully closed. Do you think it's fine? At $65 with taxes it was quite a bit but I figured once we visit friends on the West side I'll pick up the Magic Carpet.

Now onto some application questions:

-I have scotts handheld spreader and use the # on it according to what the Scotts bag says (I believe #4). What # should I use for this fertilizer?
-Since you said to adjust my application by 2 weeks, does it mean instead of every 4 weeks I should apply every 6 weeks?
-When do I stop with this fertilizer in the fall? Like when should I stop so I can apply some winter fertilizer to put the grass to sleep for the winter? I guess there needs to be a good break between summer/winter fertilizer?
-Lastly, its showing it'll be sunny from tomorrow till the 12th atleast. Can I still apply it tomorrow and then just spray the area for 5 mins to wet the fertilizer? Since its sunny all day when would it be a good time to apply it?
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mmhassa2 wrote: After calling around finally picked it up from a HD thats 20 mins away...you can tell I really want a green lawn lol

The bag was pretty old and faded, but fully closed. Do you think it's fine? At $65 with taxes it was quite a bit but I figured once we visit friends on the West side I'll pick up the Magic Carpet.

Now onto some application questions:

-I have scotts handheld spreader and use the # on it according to what the Scotts bag says (I believe #4). What # should I use for this fertilizer?
-Since you said to adjust my application by 2 weeks, does it mean instead of every 4 weeks I should apply every 6 weeks?
-When do I stop with this fertilizer in the fall? Like when should I stop so I can apply some winter fertilizer to put the grass to sleep for the winter? I guess there needs to be a good break between summer/winter fertilizer?
-Lastly, its showing it'll be sunny from tomorrow till the 12th atleast. Can I still apply it tomorrow and then just spray the area for 5 mins to wet the fertilizer? Since its sunny all day when would it be a good time to apply it?

Treat this fertilizer the same as you did the Scotts. The nitrogen # are about the same. But this fertilizer releases it nitrogen slower than the Scotts. Because it releases slower you can move the next application aback a week or two. In your case I suggest 5 weeks between apps. Usually you can fertilize right up to the last week of Oct or first week of Nov. If you decide on five weeks then count backwards from there. You can make the application any time tomarrow and then water it in.


Dave
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Woah $65 for fertilizer ! !

I buy the one at the sod farm, about $30 bucks, 55 pound bag & has a high nitrogen 30 - 5 -5.
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Babypimpin wrote: Can anyone tell me what type of weed this is and how on earth do I get rid of them? They are all over my lawn.

[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b275/ ... ed94af.jpg[/IMG]
Those are dandelions...if you don't want to use a herbicide like 2,4D, then buy a notched dandelion weeder and dig them out. Make sure you don't let them flower and go to seed or else you will have even more to contend with...Looks like other miscellaneous lawn weeds in addition to the dandelion but I can't tell from the photo.
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Dave, so the fertilizer we purchased through HD was in such a bad condition that once we opened the bag it seems liked water had previously gone into the bag and it was just a sticky mess. Anyways since finding stock for it was hard to begin with Im getting my brother pick up the Magic Carpet from Mavis Garden. But the person there said the 25-5-10 would need to be pretty much watered EVERYDAY or it'll burn the lawn and suggested we use the Magic carpet 10-6-4 instead. What are you opinions on it?

Also next week I'll be going to Buffalo, what do you suggest I pickup to get the lawn ready in the winter? Im just a bit confused with all the different options. Our grass has the random 1 or 2 weed which I just remove manually. But what specifically do I pick up to apply right before winter so we dont get weeds growing in the spring? Also looking for suggestions on what do use on my parent's yard which is full of weeds. They recently just closed the home and the previous owners didnt care of the lawn...it has all sort of weeds (some purple as well).

Looking to pickup something from Scotts or Vigoro as they're easily found at the US HD.
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Lots of grasshoppers (or crickets) in our backyard; wondering if they're causing the brown spots or rabbits
Neighbor likes to leave bread in their yard; so the rabbits leave behind their pee/poo in our yard :(
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mmhassa2 wrote: Dave, so the fertilizer we purchased through HD was in such a bad condition that once we opened the bag it seems liked water had previously gone into the bag and it was just a sticky mess. Anyways since finding stock for it was hard to begin with Im getting my brother pick up the Magic Carpet from Mavis Garden. But the person there said the 25-5-10 would need to be pretty much watered EVERYDAY or it'll burn the lawn and suggested we use the Magic carpet 10-6-4 instead. What are you opinions on it?

Also next week I'll be going to Buffalo, what do you suggest I pickup to get the lawn ready in the winter? Im just a bit confused with all the different options. Our grass has the random 1 or 2 weed which I just remove manually. But what specifically do I pick up to apply right before winter so we dont get weeds growing in the spring? Also looking for suggestions on what do use on my parent's yard which is full of weeds. They recently just closed the home and the previous owners didnt care of the lawn...it has all sort of weeds (some purple as well).

Looking to pickup something from Scotts or Vigoro as they're easily found at the US HD.

Take the stuff that you bought at HD back and get you money returned. Once a bag of fertilizer has been wet it is useless. It will not go through the spreader properly and you can not spread it properly by hand without it clumping and then burning where ever it lands. The best possable use for that bag is to use it as a door stop. I do not know who your brother talked to at Mavis Garden Cte. but what he said makes no sense. Watering every day would release more nitrogen every day so what would be the point of there being a slow release in the fertilizer?

If you want anything from the states that you are not able to get here look for weed control products that have 2-4d on the label. Likely it will say 5% 2-4d plus Dicamba and ?. I do not remember the name of the last product used to bring the level up to a total 6%.


Dave
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Dec 17, 2003
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Any recos on a garden centre around Richmond Hill/Markham area? Want to plant some carrots, onions, beets and lettuce for a late fall harvest.
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Can I get some help with identifying this plant?

It's planted in our driveway area in kinda sandy soil that's not very well taken care of since it's just on the property line. Its been there for 10+ years, before we started living at this house.
The bush is about 4-5 ft tall, kind of leggy, and in the spring, there are deep pink flowers in little bundles. In the summer/fall, we get these little blue berries. In the winter, the leaves fall off.
I've looked around some online guides for berries of BC but I don't see anything that really matches. I just want to know if we can eat the berries, and if we try to take care of it, we might get better berry production if they're edible?

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/TCo1HGJ.jpg[/IMG]

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