[Image: Lawn]Lawn Fertilization. Time is here. Many of you got an early start this year. Many of you get an early start every year and fertilize weeds instead of your grass. The truth is that lawn grass will begin to “green up” in March, but will not begin to grow until April. Unfortunately, the peak time for lawn weeds is in March. Fertilizing before April stimulates an already active weed population. The weeds get the fertilizer that you intended for your turf grass. Even if you were too quick to fertilize this year, it only means that you will need to spend more time and money controlling weeds. Before you apply fertilizer, control the weeds by mowing. Most of those weeds present are cool-season plants that have bloomed and will not re-grow if cut down at this time. More on weed control later.
Apply all the phosphate and potash that the lawn will need for the year. These nutrients will stay in the soil solution and are needed for good root development and plant vigor from the beginning of the growing season. Always base the amount of phosphate and potash applied on a soil test. You want to apply a sufficient amount, but not more than is needed by the plant. This is better for the environment and your bank account. Nitrogen does not store as well in the soil. For this reason you should split the nitrogen fertilization into several applications per season. Apply 1 pound of actual nitrogen per 1000 square feet of lawn at this time on St. Augustine lawns. This may be accomplished in several ways: 3 pounds of ammonium nitrate (34-0-0) or 4.75 pounds of ammonium sulfate (21-0-0) or 2 pounds of urea (46-0-0) or 4 pounds of 24-6-12. Bermuda grass will also require 1 pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet; and centipede requires only ½ pound of nitrogen per thousand square feet. Larger amounts of nitrogen will not be as efficient and will predispose your lawn to certain diseases.
This nitrogen fertilizer application may be repeated in June and August for St. Augustine and centipede grass. Bermuda grass can be top-dressed with nitrogen fertilizer once per month from now until September. Don’t apply nitrogen fertilizer to St. Augustine or centipede after August. This will only make brown patch disease worse in the fall. We already have enough brown patch each fall under normal conditions.
Cucumbers in the Garden. Based on the number of calls that I receive, cucumbers are exceeded in popularity as a garden plant only by tomatoes. They also rank second in overall problems. This is probably due to the vast number of cucumbers grown (more plants-more problem plants).
Cucumbers can be planted now through out the growing season. Be aware that those planted from May onward yield less than the early plantings. They may be direct-seeded or transplanted. Space individual seeds or transplants about 12 inches apart. If you want to plant in “hills,” plant four seeds to the hill, 24 inches apart. When the plants become established, thin to two plants per hill. If you crowd them, they compete with each other. If you don’t have a soil test to base fertilization upon, about 12 pounds of 13-13-13 per 100 foot of row is usually sufficient for our soils. In addition to space between plants, cucumbers need space to produce vines. Cucumber yields can be doubled by using a trellis. To get the vines to climb the trellis, you might have to train and the first vines to the trellis.
There are several good varieties of cucumbers. Most of us are going to plant what the garden store has available that day. That’s OK. These usually will work. Recommended varieties for slicing or fresh cucumbers include: Taledega, Dasher II, Fanfare, Diva, General Lee, Speedway, Poinsett 76, Slice More, Thunder, Indy, Intimidator, Sweet Slice and Sweet Success. (Based on some of these names, cucumber breeders must be car racing fans.) For pickling: Calypso, Faucipak and Jackson are recommended. If you have had success with a variety not listed, stick with what works for you.
Potential cucumber problems
1. Seedling disease is common in young cucumber plants. It seems to be more common in direct-seeded plants than transplants. As I have stated in other articles, these seedling diseases are caused by fungi that live in the soil. They attack the roots of the seedling plant and kill them. The young plant will wilt and rot off at the soil line. If you can’t find seed that has been treated with a fungicide, your only solution is to replant. In the later season, as the soil warms and dries, the plant often grows faster than the fungus can kill it. Older, more mature plants are less susceptible to soil-borne fungi.
2. The plant vines and blooms, but no fruit are common in the early season. This is usually due to poor pollination. Cucumbers have male and female blooms. The male bloom produces the pollen. Male flowers are the first to be set, usually a week or 10 days before the female flowers. The female flower has the small cucumber at its base. The pollen must be carried to the female bloom for fertilization to produce the fruit. Bees are our best transport system for this. Therefore, encourage bees and other nectar feeding insects to visit your cucumber patch. Don’t use insecticides during the morning or early afternoon. This kills or at least discourages bees from visiting your cucumber vines. If necessary, apply insecticides in the late afternoon, when bee activity is at a minimum. To further complicate this issue, many newer cucumber varieties have been bred to have a much larger percentage of female flowers. This is good; if they receive pollen, you get more fruit. It does make good pollination more critical than ever. To help this situation, be sure to plant a few plants of a variety that have plenty of male flowers. These include General Lee, Thunder, Poinsett 76, Slice Master Select or Jackson.
3. Leaf spots on the vines are the most common call that I receive. These are caused by yet another fungus that attacks the leaves of the cucumber. Yellow or white spots appear on the bottom side to the leaf, the leaf wilts and falls off. The vine will often die when enough leaves fall. This disease is called Anthracnose. It is a major problem that can only be prevented by using a recommended fungicide. As soon as the vines begin to “run”, make weekly applications of a fungicide containing Chlorothalonil (there are several available in the garden stores). You must start these applications early and continue on a regular weekly schedule to prevent this disease.