Fertilizing hosta
bkay2000
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
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When to fertilize new hostas?
Comments (16)Ken knows so much so I am going to take his advice. ==>> ken also says to throw them on the driveway.. or hoik them around the yard while dividing ..... you going to follow that also??? crikey.. you have me talking in the third person ... steve does it to perfection.. dont ignore him.. i try to break it down to fundamentals ... and everyone else is in between .... but start easy .... and complicate your life later.. when you get some experience under your belt .... so i say.. in any decent soil.. including my sand.. just plant them.. and let them settle in.. and then in july.. do a LITTLE fert .. IF YOU WANT ... and think about steves system next year ... trust me.. i used to kill a lot of stuff.. treating them like babies.. thinking they NEEDED to be fed... BTW.. schmid can barely grow them in GA ... by what i recall as his own admission.. i wouldn't rely on him for cultural info .... but lordy .. you want science .. he's your man .... your humble servant ... ken...See MoreWhat I learned today; ammonia fertilizes hosta
Comments (19)April 2007 SLUGS IN PAPOU�S YARD in 2004: � In the Spring 2004 I noted one slug on one of the leaf of Sun Power in Garden 5. It was the first time ever that I became aware that there were slugs in my gardens. � After a day of heavy rain on July 16, 2004, I noted dozen of slugs all over the Sun Power and quit after removing and killing about 10 slugs. The Sun Power is infested with slugs. � Following hints by BigGuy and Gayle, I found hundred of slugs on the lawn after a rainfall. The rain has forced the slugs to come out of the ground, and they travel over the grass. � To destroy slugs, you can hand pick them and put them in a glass bottle containing about 2 inches of vinegar (acetic acid). The slugs die instantly. Liquid ammonia also is effective and even better because it creates nitrogen which plants love. � You create "slugs baits" where slugs will be attracted to. Examples: 1) a carpet left on the ground near your compost pile; 2) a thick layer of wet newspaper again left on the ground in the vicinity of the compost pile (which is away from your hosta beds); 3) use Sluggo around each hosta and slugs that make it into the garden will be attracted to the Sluggo and when they eat it they die; 4) you sink a container filled with beer level with the ground. Slugs will enter the container and will drown. This beer setup can be also near the compost pile. � After a rainfall, slugs are forced out of the ground and you can see them all over the lawn; they travel over the grass at whatever attracts them first�or the most. Eliminate these loose slugs by spot spraying the lawn with diluted ammonia. Attach a container filled with ammonia to the end of the hose and adjust the outlet so that water will mix with the ammonia in a 1 to 10 ratio approximately. This method is fast and efficient and provides nutrient to the lawn. � After a rainfall is the best time to cut the grass. Keep it short. The new lawnmower picks up the grass clippings and may also suck in the slugs that were travelling on the grass. USING AMMONIA AS A TREATMENT (Best method) Irene, here is part of an article by Bob Olsen of the American Hosta society. This was in the Hosta Journal a few years back. Larry Clemmons, an accomplished hosta grower from Dubuque, had an almost slug-free gorgeous garden last year while many of his friends from nearby towns were being overrun. Unlike the beer and lightweight chemicals they were using, Larry was spraying the hosta once a week or so with a dilute solution of plain old ammonia. The slugs hate the ammonia and the plants love the nitrogen. He uses a regular inexpensive tank and nozzle sprayer and went over and down into each plant-and he has a lot of them. He sprays the hostas with a dilute (4:1 or even weaker) solution of water and household ammonia in the evening once a week-more often in the spring or with a lot of rain. It would take him no more than two hours a week and there were almost no slug holes. The folks visiting from Iowa City which was being inundated by mollusks were astounded by his lush foliage just a few miles away and many have adopted his system. Don' Well, that should settle it. No one in their right mind would try to argue with the late hosta legend Papou. Jon...See MoreFertilizer
Comments (5)Waste of money. If you want to use an organic fert use something like Plant Tone 5-2-2 or Soybean meal 6-1-1. If you want to use a synthetic fert use regular 10-10-10. At this time of year you should not use a slow release synthetic fert, just the regular cheap kind. Do the 10-10-10 about every two weeks if you use that. Plant Tone would be good for the remainder of the season. Steve...See MoreFertilizer
Comments (16)Sally, take a look at Squash Casserole by Tony Avent. I knew I'd added it for a reason but it slipped my mind. Until this week and I ran across Tony's comments about SC. It can take the heat as long as it gets adequate moisture. Perhaps that is why my SC is gone crazy this year, and it gets a good deal of sun while staying in good leaf and quite solid gold. I'm pleased how so many golds with more sun than I've ever given any of them, are holding the gold look.. Those in less demanding spots where shade is present much of the day, they are already green. For you I'll upload my camera shots just taken this afternoon. Don't have them tagged yet. Looking over the open bloom of a fragrant hosta at all the golds catching last of the late afternoon sun. It was a hot one today but I watered....See Moregardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
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