Fertilize Inground Sprinklers

'Let's give the guy a break' but, ladies, don't forget the lilacs, lupines ...

Good morning! I hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine, warmth and buzz of the bumbles – they are everywhere this spring. I also hope this lovely weather holds today so you can celebrate Dad. The one who coached all those sports teams, drove everyone around and took you fishing or skiing at some horribly early hour of the morning. The one who was always there to pick up the pieces when things didn’t go quite as planned. The man who grounded you and showed you the difference between right and wrong, the camper, the lawn-mower and the lover of books.

In keeping with “let’s give the guy a break,” here's a list of gentle reminders for spring garden chores most of which, if not all, can be accomplished by the ladies of the garden.

* The lilacs have just gone by so now is the time to prune and fertilize them. You want to prune as soon as possible because once they are done blooming, they begin forming next year’s blossoms. If your plants are young, the only pruning needed is perhaps some suckers that have come up or some limbs in the middle that are crossing over and rubbing other limbs. If the plants are bigger and well-established, you should try to prune the oldest canes by two-thirds, the middle-agers by one-third. And if you did not cut the flowers, cut all spent blooms. You can use a regular garden fertilizer or buy special lilac fertilizer. The only place where I have found special lilac fertilizer is McLaughlin Garden in South Paris.

* This has been a terrific year for rhododendrons. They are everywhere and blazing with color. As soon as the blooms are spent, do any pruning you want. Rhodies usually require no pruning, except for shape. If your rhodie lives in part shade, the branches will be reaching for the sun and they can get a little “leggy.” By cutting the branches back, you will get fuller foliage. They are also forming next year’s blooms now, so do the pruning soon. Both rhodies and azaleas like acid and Mir-Acid works great for them. It is a specialty fertilizer made by Miracle Gro. Remember, they have a very shallow root system, so do NOT try to dig the fertilizer into the soil. Scratch it in gently with your hand. Because of their shallow roots, they tend to dry out in summer’s heat, so give them a couple inches of compost for mulch and spread it out as far as the drip line of the bush, keeping it back at least 2 inches from the trunk.

* I just took a little break to move some sprinklers around and was reminded of another little nugget of gardening advice for novice gardeners. In the heat of summer, it is always best to water early in the morning before it gets hot. However, schedules often don’t allow for that so the evening is OK as long as you aren't watering roses or garden phlox. Both plants will develop nasty stuff if left overnight with wet foliage. When you water, wetting the ground is not the thing to do. Plants need deep watering in hot weather and that can only be accomplished with lots of water. Now, I know everyone says you shouldn’t water gardens overhead and you should have in-ground watering systems or use soaker hoses. Well, I also know that not everyone can afford or wants irrigation systems nor do Maine landscapes always accommodate them. So for the sake of argument, let’s just go with regular old sprinklers. Make sure they arch over the flowers and not through them and let them go until you get about ½ to 1 inch on the garden. This is easy to gauge. Set a rain gauge somewhere in the sprinkler’s path and time when you turn it on. When the gauge reaches the mark, that’s about how long it takes. Plant roots go to the water. If you water lightly, only the very top of the soil has moisture and you end up with shallow-rooted plants. This can lead to winter kill. If you water deeply, the roots will grow deeper and be stronger.

Lawn Care Accessory Invented To Automatically Dispense Fertilizer ...

Fresno, CA (PRWEB) August 13, 2004

Invention Submission Corporation, America’s leading inventor service company, announces that one of its clients, an inventor from Fresno, Calif., has designed a lawn fertilizing system that works with an in-ground sprinkler. This invention is patented.

The “Inline Automatic Fertilization System” is designed to save time and effort by enabling fertilization to take place along with sprinkler-watering. Created to be less messy than conventional fertilization methods, the invention would be easy to use in preventing brown spots on a lawn. The inline Automatic Fertilization would eliminate the need for a separate federalization operation.        

A plastic housing positioned above and below ground would contain a fertilizer disc or pellet, along with air and water vents. As water flows through the unit, it is directed through channels and would flow past the fertilizer disc, dissolving it into a solution. The fertilizer would then dispense though the sprinkler heads and onto a lawn or flowerbed.

Invention Submission Corporation is attempting to submit the invention to companies for review. If substantial interest is expressed, the company will attempt to negotiate for a sale or royalties for the inventor. For more information, telephone Dept. 02-DNF-624 at (800) 851-6030 or visit http://www.inventhelp.

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