Imporve Gardening Habits With Easy Steps

From The Fresno Bee, December 30, 1009, by Elinor Teague:

Every New Year's Eve, I vow to change my procrastinating gardening habits--to fertilize on a strict schedule, to cultivate and weed the planting beds weekly, to replace mulch as soon as there is less than a 3-inch layer. This is because in midwinter I'm looking out at a weedy vegetable patch with dead tomato plants still tied to the stakes and bare dirt, completely mulchless, under the roses that have yet to be deadheaded.

Improvement and change seem to come slowly, but they do come. I thought I'd pass along some suggestions on ways to make some important changes in gardening habits without a lot of extra effort. These are simple rather obvious things that are easy to do.

1. Find out where the control box for the automatic sprinkler system is located in your garage, and read the instructions. Learn which cycle controls which stations and then, most important of all, adjust the timers according to the season. Turn sprinklers off in rainy, cool weather. Increase watering time weekly as temperatures rise in spring and summer and decrease watering times in fall. Post the handy sticker giving the mandated city watering schedule inside the control box cover and learn to set the days and times accordingly.

2. Find an expert (nursery or garden center staff, the Fresno County Master Gardeners, etc.) to help identify the insects you assume are a problem or the plant that you assume is a weed. Then read the label on the pesticide or herbicide carefully, before you buy.

Make sure that the insect or weed you hope to control is listed on the label. Ask the expert for the least-toxic product possible and use it as directed.

Dispose of the more-toxic products stored in the shed as directed on their labels.

3. Plant a wide variety of plants that are suitable for our climate zones, 8 and 9 in the Central Valley and 7 in the foothills.

Try a variety that includes native plants, perennial and annual flowering plants as well as small shrubs that will provide nectar, food and shelter through he seasons. These will attract native bees and other pollinators as well as many types of birds.

As you reduce or eliminate the use of pesticides and herbicides in your garden and provide suitable habitats for beneficial insects and birds that can control pest insects, you will help restore a natural balance that leads to fewer problems and more bird-songs. A very pleasant result.