By Cindy Poore
According to a recent article in the Los Angeles times, El Niño is a sure thing. Los Angeles area is supposed to get 60% above average rainfall during the months of January, February and March. That statistic was confirmed by Bill Patzert, climatologist with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge who said in the article, “I’m quite optimistic that the entire state is going to get hosed”. ( Hosed being a very technical term for WET!)
This is going to make things difficult for lots of us. We have been conserving on our water all year. Now, it is going to be wet, very wet!
New challenges come with too much water versus too little. The first thing that you will notice is the ground will get saturated early on and continued rainfall just rolls off into puddles, lakes and actual new streams all across your property!
Not sure if you are good in the drainage department? Prepare by buying straw wattles and sand bags. Store them in a dry location so you can get to them when needed.
If you are lucky, your lot is properly graded and you (or previous owners) haven’t added anything that prevents the natural run off of excess water. If you are unsure, ask us to check the grade on your property and help you spot problems before they happen.
Before it gets too late, lets look at a few other things you can do to prevent problems.
Check your gutters and valleys on your roof. Blown leaves and dirt can accumulate in these areas, causing back up which will make water back up and get under your roof and cause water damage inside.
Clear piles, equipment and debris away from the house foundation. This will help water move away from your home and reduce the chances of flooding.
Check your outdoor lighting. Longer night hours mean we will be coming and going in the dark. Maybe you need some additional lighting outdoors to make that easier?
With rain, comes weeds. Call us to apply a weed killer and preventer now to keep your yard nearly weed-free all spring and summer! Before weeds show up is the best time to apply a pre-emergent weed control.
Several years ago, we had a very wet winter and even though people wanted us to spray their weeds, we couldn’t because it was too wet or windy and the weeds went wild! Early is better in this case.
We finally got some cool weather along with a bit of rain. Not much, but a good start and just enough to start up a fire. Rain and a good fire reminds me of the restaurant scene in Harry met Sally. Yes, yes, yes!
With the cooler weather and shorter days, you need to be adjusting your sprinkler system like crazy to allow for the reduced water needs of your landscape.
If you haven’t already, fertilize your trees and shrubs soon for a healthier sleep through winter and an quick start in spring.
We just changed back to standard time. Some of you have battery operated sprinkler timers and now is a good time to change the batteries in those if we haven’t already done it for you recently.
Want a fall adventure but can’t get away for a trip? Take an afternoon and drive up to Wrightwood. The road is short and uncomplicated and the drive is worth it! Beautiful pines and fall trees and crisp air. Lots of cute little shops and tasty restaurants to temp you. Go up on a Friday afternoon and stop by the Farmer’s market. I got some terrific organic apples there and made some amazing no sugar apple butter with them.
CRAFTY? While you are there, pick up some pretty fall leaves. Spray one side of the leaves with some spray adhesive and stick to the inside of a quart Mason jar. Place a battery votive candle inside and voila! Instant Thanksgiving table decoration.
“Every leaf speaks bliss to me
Falling from an autumn tree”
Emily Bronte
By Cindy Poore
My youngest granddaughter (so far) is 5. This is the perfect time to teach her where our food comes from. I have plans to plant some actual food you can eat! I want her to know what real food is and where it comes from. I want her to experience the wonderful flavors of food fresh from the garden.
I’m so excited about this. Last year we planted sunflowers from seed. It was fun and we got to see them jump up high and bloom before winter even though we planted them late. I will keep you posted.
Got Weeds?
Even though we have had almost no rain, we still got weeds. Understanding that for the weed preventer to work, it has to be watered in once; most people want to wait until a predicted rain to have us spray. Which I understand completely because the effort to drag the hoses around to water that stuff in is a major pain and in cold weather too.
The water needed to water it in should not be a big issue for you. It takes between $0.75 and $1.50 (depending on rates and tier) per 1,000 square feet in
water costs to water in your pre-emergent equal to half an inch of rain. For a job of say…10,000 square feet that amounts to $7.50 to $15.00 in water costs.
What the main problem is, I can’t know when it is going to rain. And how much. And rain usually comes in right after or with wind. That limits us in when we can spray safely.
So give us a call to have your weeds sprayed right away. Just getting rid of your existing weeds before they get too numerous, or too big, or set seeds will be a prevention tactic all on it’s own. And if you need someone to help you water in your pre-emergent, we will be able to help you with that for an additional charge.
Now offering watering services for your pre-emergent application.
Call us today at (760) 868-6104
March Tasks
¤Now is the time to tidy up your garden by removing dead leaves from your perennials and cutting back your grasses.
¤Just FYI. The Crepe Myrtles and Russian sage will still look dead for another month or so. Don’t go off thinking they are dead. Patience.
¤If you got tulip bulbs, fertilize after blooming with a balanced fertilizer like 10-10-10 or 12-10-18. This is when the new bulbs are forming and the best time to fertilize.
¤Feed all your plants and lawns now, and you will be rewarded with lots of great new green growth and blooms.
Why does my rose bush
look wet?
Spring has sprung. Well, we really did not have much of a winter. What? It rained like twice? The plants have been gearing up for a long growing season this year and the roses are no exception. They are putting out new leaves like crazy. Pretty soon you will see flower buds and beautiful blooms. And sometimes, their leaves will look wet.
The lush new growth of spring plants and the warm weather will bring out the aphids. The aphids secrete honeydew a sticky (and I’m told sweet) which makes the leaves look wet. The honeydew also attracts ants. Ants love aphids and often take care of them just to harvest their honeydew. Sorta like us and cows, ha ha.
If you see ants on or near your plants, look for aphids. Aphids come in all colors and their size can vary a lot depending on their growth stage.
Aphids are usually more annoying than dangerous to your plants. A good strong spray from a garden hose a few days in a row should take care of most of the little guys.
If that doesn’t work, give us a call. Now it the best time for us to apply a season long control for your plants that will kill and repel insects that feed on your plants.
We can kill and prevent bug damage to your plants, trees and shrubs for months with one application.
Call us at (760) 868-6104
The magic of deadheading flowers
Most people have heard of deadheading flowers, but don’t really know why it is so important. Consider that the flower plant is trying to reproduce by flowering. When you cut off the blooms, the plant will respond with more flowers!
My Favorite Recipes
Dinner for One (or two)
I have a lot of friends who are singles or couples who don’t want to fix complex meals but still want to eat good food. Since I share that same situation, I look for things to cook that are yummy, but don’t take a lot of time and ingredients. One of my favorite go-to meals is a game hen. Since they are about 1 ½ lbs each, one hen is enough for two. If there is just you, then you have some wonderful bird left for a salad the next day. Try this recipe and its variations for a great meal.
1 1 ½ to 2 lb game hen, rinsed and pat dry
Salt and pepper to taste.
That’s pretty much it. Wrap the hen in a large piece of aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Unwrap foil from the hen ( push to sides) and roast for 15 more minutes to brown.
Then try one of these great variations for the last 15 minutes after unwrapping foil from top of hen.
Baste hen with BBQ sauce.
Baste hen with your favorite flavor of jam.
Mix 2 tbls. Apricot jam mixed with 1 Tbls. Dijon mustard and ½ tsp cracked pepper and baste hen during last 15 minutes of roasting.
But wait! There’s more.
2 small red potatoes, quartered
2 large mushrooms, quartered
4 stalks fresh asparagus, cut in half
1 small zucchini, sliced in coins
¼ red bell pepper sliced
2 Tbls. Italian salad dressing
Place all veggies in a bowl and toss to coat. Place veggies in a large piece of aluminum foil and wrap. Bake veggies in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Serve with the game hen.
“The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not smashing it.” Arnold H. Glasow
Ok, with fall upon us and winter not far behind, most of us are just grateful at getting through the spring and summer weed season. So you are not probably thinking about weeds right now.
But really, getting rid of spring weeds starts right now! Fall and winter, before most weeds begin is the best time to solve your weed problem.
If you wait until spring, winter rains will give the weeds a head start. Once they are above the soil, they have to be killed AND removed. No easy task in planted or gravel areas. Because we are licensed by the state to spray, we have access to the best professional quality products to do the job and the training and experience to do the job correctly the first time.
Most people don’t know that weeds can be prevented before they pop up! We also can apply professional-strength weed preventers ( called pre-emergents) to your problem areas and keep those weeds from ever showing up at all. Be prepared this year. It will be less hassle and cost.
- Staying Home May 31, 2020Staying home has new meaning since the tragic and crazy world of COVID-19. While most are keeping a low profile at home, Perfection Landscape knows that we are essential for helping our clients care for their home environments. We continue to do maintenance for our regular and new clients keeping with social distancing guidelines for […]
- Weeds are Back! March 10, 2018Is your yard Exploding with weeds ? You may think a few weeds here or there aren’t much to worry about, but did you know most weeds are capable of producing over a thousand seeds each? Rain and the warmer weather that will follow will make conditions just right for hose little land mines […]