KeepSaralandBeautiful
Meetings are held on the 2nd Thursday of every other
month at 12 noon at the Saraland Chamber Offices.
KSB GARDENING NEWS FROM JAMES MILES
Join Keep Saraland Beautiful
Business Membership
Your business can join KSB for as little as $120 per
year. Your dues are used for beautification of the
city. When available, Business Members are
entitled to the use of a custom-built garbage
receptacle to be used at your business' location as
long as you are a member. We need to build
partnerships with the business community and you
can help!
Individual Membership
Join Keep Saraland Beautiful as an Individual
Member for as little as $12 or join as a family for
$25. Your dues are used for beautification of the
city. We need volunteers to join our organization for
the betterment of Saraland!
Mayor Dr. Howard Rubenstein,
Council Chair Joe McDonald,
Council Members: Newton Cromer, Wayne Biggs,
Natalie Moye and Veronica Hudson
March 2024
For those of you who grow citrus, unless you
protected the tree(s) a few weeks back when we had
a major freeze event, the trees suffered some
damage ranging from defoliation to stem dieback to
total tree mortality. Now is the time to really assess
the damage. I examined mine the last week of
February and noticed some bud swell on some and
new leaves developing on others. That was a
welcomed site. I did not have a crop this past
season due to the March frost/freeze last year. I
don’t expect a crop this year either. I will fertilize
them in April and June and make sure they are
irrigated during dry periods.
I know the warm weather is encouraging gardeners
to get active in the landscape. Garden centers are
getting new plants in, and advertising is
compounding the desire to get out in the yard. If you
select and plant sensitive warm-season plants now,
have a plan for cold protection in mind. I like to get a
jump start on squash plants as soon as the soil
temperatures are close to suitable. This allows me
to get a head start on squash vine borers.
Sometimes I have to replant them due to cold injury.
The last week of February, I mowed my lawn. I was
mowing weeds and not the turf. The weeds that
have become large enough to mow are winter weeds
and are approaching or in the reproductive stage of
their lifecycle. It is important to keep the weeds from
flowing and developing seeds. Using an herbicide
now will be a waste, as the weeds will die as the
weather continues to warm, but the herbicide will not
prevent the production of seeds at this point.
Another benefit to mowing the weed is reducing the
habitat of the cranefly. Craneflies can be a nuisance,
but they are harmless. The larva stage feeds on
organic matter in the soil. The adults don’t feed,
their sole purpose is to mate and reproduce. They
do serve as a food source for other insects, spiders,
and birds. No treatment is recommended, just
manage the habitat.
Remember there are local schools with horticulture
programs that need your support, and they have
great plants to choose from. They usually have a
good selection of ornamental plants and vegetables.
Enjoy the outdoors.
February 2024
If you have not sat and dreamed up a plan for your
landscape, I highly recommend that you take the
time to sit and dream. You can even visit some
public gardens and landscapes for inspiration.
Let’s talk about hydrangeas. You can manipulate the
color of the hydrangea flowers by changing the soil
pH. Blue hydrangeas need a pH between 5 and 5.5,
while soil with a pH of 6 to 6.5 produces pink flowers.
Lowering the soil pH is only part of the story.
Aluminum is also required to produce blue flowers.
To make pink flowers turn blue, dissolve 1
tablespoon of aluminum sulfate in a gallon of water
and drench the soil around the plant in March, April,
and May. To make blue flowers turn pink, dissolve 1
tablespoon of hydrated lime in a gallon of water and
drench the soil around the plant in March, April, and
May.
A word of caution, do not increase the amounts of
the color change additives. Aluminum in high doses
will harm hydrangea plants. You can learn more
from this Extension publication:
http://extension.msstate.edu/.../hydrangeas-for...
The middle of this month is the time to start pruning
most of our woody plants. Start by pruning out the
damaged material, then start thinning cuts. In some
instances, you may need to do a renewal prune,
cutting plants back close to the ground and retraining
the new growth to replace the dead material.
As of January 30th, the chill hours are:
Brewton, AL – 651 hours Old Model; 575 hours
Modified Model
Fairhope, AL – 435 hours Old Model; 410 hours
Modified Model
Moss Point, MS – 500 hours Old Model; 434 hours
Modified Model
February is the month to apply pre-emergent
herbicides for warm-season weeds. Make sure the
product you select is labeled for the type of turfgrass
you have. Also, avoid “Weed & Feed” type products
as it is too early to fertilize.
Enjoy the outdoors!
January 2024
Happy New Year!
It appears that we are on course to match the long-
range weather forecast.
From December through February, NOAA predicts
wetter-than-average conditions for northern Alaska,
portions of the West, the southern Plains, Southeast,
Gulf Coast, and lower mid-Atlantic and drier-than-
average conditions across the northern tier of the
U.S., especially in the northern Rockies, High Plains
and near the Great Lakes.
“An enhanced southern jet stream and associated
moisture often present during strong El Nino events
supports high odds for above-average precipitation
for the Gulf Coast, lower Mississippi Valley and
Southeast states this winter,” said Jon Gottschalck,
chief of the Operational Prediction Branch of the
Climate Prediction Center.
NOAA forecasters, in collaboration with the National
Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS),
continue to monitor extreme, ongoing drought
conditions that have persisted through the southern
and central U.S. and worsening drought in Hawaii.
Temperature
•
Equal chances for below-, near-, or above-
average seasonal mean temperatures.
Precipitation
•
Wetter-than-average conditions are most likely
along the Gulf Coast and the Southeast.
Drought
•
Drought conditions are expected to improve
across the Southeast and the Gulf Coast (including
the lower Mississippi Valley due to the expected
wetter-than-average forecast.
As of Dec. 30th, our local chill hour numbers are:
Pascagoula:
Old Model - 210
Modified Model -
201
Fairhope:
Old Model - 172
Modified Model -
147
Brewton:
Old Model - 343
Modified Model – 267
If you plan to plant Irish potatoes and sugar snap
peas, you have all of January to prep the area you
intend to plant. Rough out existing plants, add the
desired soil amendments, etc. February is the
month to plant them, but you must plan and prep the
area ahead of time. Potatoes and other root crops
need a loose high organic matter soil for the best
production. Sugar snap peas need the same, but
they do not need as much nitrogen as other
vegetables, so limit the amount of nitrogen in the
fertilizer you use on them.
As I drove through town the last couple of weeks of
December, I noticed several landscapes where folks
have started pruning. It is still too early to prune.
Pruning now will reduce the cold tolerance of your
plants and possibly result in cold damage during the
next frost or freeze. Hold off until mid-February. In
the meantime, stock up on alcohol to sterilize your
pruners, sharpen, and oil your pruners so you will be
ready when the time comes.
Start looking for new varieties to try in your
landscape. I like to try something new every year.
That something new can be a totally new to you
plant, category, or new varieties of plants you’ve
planted in the past. One suggestion is to keep good
notes on how they perform and pest problems.
Apply lime according to your soil test results now.
Here’s to a prosperous gardening New Year!
Enjoy the outdoors!