As We Approach Father’s Day…

By: Eddie Ayers, County Extension Agent

We are getting close to Father’s Day, so I would like to take this opportunity to pass along a few ideas that you might want to use for your Dad on his special day. First of all I am very fortunate that I still have my Dad. At the end of this month, he will turn 85 and I enjoy doing things with him, even though he still has to remind me how to do it!

One thing that most dads have in common is that they are usually thinking about others before themselves. For example, he has probably told you to put on sunscreen before you go to the lake, but has he taken time to put on sunscreen before he goes to work in the garden? Probably not. More than likely he has his favorite cap that he wears most of the time, but does he wear a wide brim hat to keep the sun off of him while he is outside? Probably not. He might insist that you drink plenty of water when you are outside, but does he drink enough water or have a water bottle for himself? Probably not. Perhaps he works on your car to keep it running and he does that with his tiller, but has he taken time to sharpen his favorite hoe? Probably not.

Can you see the pattern I’m laying out when it comes to our dads? I hope you can see the possible gifts that will benefit the one that does so much for us, but doesn’t want to be a bother.

For example, there are several brands of sunscreen that are in a convenient spray bottle which are easy to apply without an oily lotion base yet have a high enough SPF to protect him while he is outside. Get him one and he will surely use it. Looking around the stores in town, there are several types of wide brim hats that he would enjoy and wear simply because you gave it to him. He is probably frugal and feels that an old water bottle is ok, but what about getting one with a top that he can clip to his belt? And better yet, personalize it! He will not only enjoy the water, but appreciate the effort that went into decorating it. Sharpening tools can be a little tricky, but sharp tools work better. There are a lot of gardening gadgets on the market, but most Dads like practical things, so don’t go overboard on the fancy gadgets.

As you get a chance to visit with him, make sure that he does not have places where water is collecting and mosquitoes can breed. If he does, find a way to dry them up or pour the water out. Check with him to see if he has taken a soil sample lately for his vegetable or flower garden. If he has not taken one or if his gardens aren’t producing like he’d like them to, offer to take a soil sample for him to see what his soil might be missing. Just dig down about 3 inches in about 6 different areas, mix it altogether and put it in a pint size plastic baggie and bring it to the UGA Extension office. The cost of the sample is $9 and that is a small price to pay to help your dad out.

The bottom line to this week’s “Father’s Day” message is to enjoy doing things with your Father no matter how simple they may seem. Sometimes the more simple, the better. Sometimes it’s just a visit or a shared ice cream cone, and if you have lost your Dad, take some time to reflect on things you learned from him or used to do together. I hope all the Dads have a wonderful Father’s Day and I hope to be able to spend some time with mine. He continues to have some heart problems and I am not sure how much longer I will be able to have him around to tell me how to drive.

Voles or Moles?

Are some of your plants suddenly dying? Did the tulips forget to bloom this spring? After you hunted for some bulbs, did you find little tunnels in and around your flowerbeds? If so, you may be a victim of the pine vole.

Often confused with moles, pine voles can be found in underground tunnels. In fact, they may use mole runs just to make it easier to move around. Pine voles are usually 4 to 6 inches in length and are covered with brown, dense fur with a bicolored tail. Their under parts are gray.

Pine voles prefer areas with a heavy ground cover of grasses. They like living in deciduous and pine forested areas, abandoned fields and orchards. They will eat grasses, seeds, tubers, bulbs and any underground growing part.

Moles, on the other hand, are found throughout a lawn or garden. They have runs and push up soil just like the voles, but they do not come out of the ground. They stick to a diet of grubs and other crawly creatures found in the soil, and they will sometimes kill plants as their tunnels will create air pockets that roots cannot live in, so proper identification of the mammal is important.

There are 23 vole species across the country. They can cause extensive damage to orchards, ornamentals and trees due to their girdling of seedlings and trees. Girdling usually occurs in fall and winter. The easily identifiable sign of voles is numerous burrow openings of about an inch around shrubs and flowers. Voles are active day and night, year round, and they do not hibernate during the winter. Their “home” range is usually ¼ acre or less.

After identifying the culprit, controlling these rodents can be challenging. Keeping grass in an area short helps with control because they do not like to move across open areas because of flying enemies. Frightening devices or repellents generally do not work and although owls, snakes and hawks are predators of voles, they seldom control vole populations. However, trapping, using a mouse snap trap, is effective along an active run during the winter. Favorite baits are peanut butter-oatmeal mixtures or apple slices. Place several traps around a hole and cover it with a box to fool them with shelter and prevent pets from getting in the traps and if by chance one gets into a home, setting a snap or live trap as you would for house mice results in successful control.

If you are seeing the pushed up soil runs made by moles there are two basic types of control. There are harpoon traps that can be placed over an active run, but these are very tricky to use. The most effective control has been to apply granular insecticides labeled to kill grubs. These will limit the moles food source and they will leave the area if they don’t have anything to eat. The down side to this method is that the granules will also kill the beneficial critters that live in the ground. Remember when using any insecticide read and follow the label directions.

For more information, contact me at the Gilmer UGA Extension office.

Fertilizing Your Landscape

Most ornamental plants in the landscape can be fertilized with general-purpose fertilizers. Use specialty type fertilizers on specimen or highly valued plants like roses where optimum growth and performance are required. Slow release type products work well for seasonal color beds and container plantings where even supplies of optimum nutrients are required for continuous flowering. Then use composted animal manures and liquid fertilizer to supplement fertilizers applied to seasonal color beds and container plantings. Certain annuals, like salvia and geraniums, have a high nutrient requirement and benefit from supplemental applications of liquid fertilizer periodically throughout the season.

You might be asking how much to apply. When applying slow release, water soluble or specialty fertilizers, follow the application listed on the container. Application rates for general-purpose type fertilizers depend on whether you simply want to maintain established plants or to promote optimum growth.

Maintenance fertilization would be 1 to 3 lbs. nitrogen/1,000 square feet per season, split into three applications (March – June – September). This is sufficient for most established shrubs and trees.

Optimum growth fertilization would be 3 to 6 lbs. nitrogen/1,000 square feet per season, also in three applications (March – June – September). Use this rate on newly established shrubs, newly planted ground cover plants, annuals, roses, and other plants where optimum growth is required.

Unfortunately, many gardeners fertilize the entire landscape for optimum growth, only to increase maintenance requirements and the amount of time they must spend in the landscape pruning, watering, and weeding. If low maintenance is your goal, low rates of fertilizer are recommended. Regardless of which type fertilizer you apply, using too much can cause problems such as increased disease pressure and leggy growth.

For more information on fertilizing your landscape, contact me at the Gilmer UGA Extension office.

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