Ramsey County

April 14, 2008

Howdy!!!!

Man doesn’t this feel like spring is here?  I do not remember the year but one year in the 80’s, I can remember watching snow fall on our newborn calves three different times in May.  The snow was very wet and I am sure I can find pictures of that dreadful time.  I just remember treating sick calves for eternity.  Luckily we did not lose any but then you would need to know more about my wife.  She is the kind of person that worries more than she should so she would be checking those little guys about every minute, throughout the day.  One day I came from planting and found her chasing a little calf around for a long period of time, as she was out of breath and very red faced.  Oh well, the calf did live and so did I. 

As we get ready for our annual cleanup and garden preparation we do need to remember don’t start too early.  I do have my yard raked and mowed already but my yard was without snow for two weeks and is very firm and actually could use a drink of water.  I need to be careful what I ask for because an inch would be great but no more.  This would clean up things and even the ground out for our annual tradition of spring planting.  If you walk out on your grass and leave a foot imprint you are likely too early to start your cleanup.  I had a young lady call one Sunday and asked why her garden tractor was leaving tracks about an inch deep in her yard.  Needless to say her lawn was still to wet and the bad thing is the tracks will not disappear unless she would tear up her yard and start over again. 

One of the more common spring problems is snow mold.  This typically comes from a heavy snow pack on the lawn.  If you have found small patches of mold in certain areas of your lawn you do need to rake those areas out as snow mold can and will either kill the grass in that area or at least hurt that area for the rest of the summer.  This white mold creates an atmosphere that does not allow the grass to dry out further compounding the diseased area.

There are so many things we need to get talking about and do not have time in this column but keep reading and listening to KDLR for the weekly Horticulture shows.  I will keep you posted on things you should be looking for and do for the up coming growing season.  We have things like needle cast and when to start spraying, grass planting, tree insecticides to only mention a few.

I am also planning a bus trip, again this summer, to visit some of those gardeners along the Sheyenne River.  This is designed to give you a different look at gardening and how they have developed a plan for their yard.  These yards are fabulous and I bet they might even share some secrets.  Look for this trip sometime the middle to the end of May. 

524 4th Ave NE #5, 2nd Floor Ramsey County Courthouse
Devils Lake  ND  58301
701-662-7027
email - ramsey@ndsuext.nodak.edu

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