GARDENING TIPS FOR JUNE

This is weeding, planting, growing, feeding, and cutting time - and time to smell the roses.

●If you had planted the old fashioned musk roses, enjoy the exquisite perfume before it is gone, for these roses only bloom once during spring time.

●If you did not treat your lawn with corn gluten meal a month or two ago to discourage weed seeds from germinating, then you have to contend with other ways of fixing your weed problems. The simplest way is to pull it out, root and all. I usually refrain from using herbicides because these products are proven carcinogens and are toxic to your children and pets. Only use herbicides as a last resort.

●Corn gluten meal is a totally environmentally safe product. It is a byproduct from corn starch manufacture and is also used as farm animal feed. Corn gluten meal is sold under many different trade names. Check for the product under the active ingredient list. Corn gluten meal inhibits weed and grass seeds (including vegetable and flower seeds from germinating). It also kills the fine feeder roots when the seed germinates. Timing is important. Apply in early spring before the weeds germinate. Do not apply in your vegetable plot if you are seeding. Do it after the seeds have germinated and are at the first or second leaf stage. Corn gluten meal also is a slow release nitrogen fertilizer, so that is an added benefit.

●Keep the grass mowing height higher up to 3" to preserve moisture at the root zone.

●Take your house plants outside and water profusely to leach out all the salts that had accumulated in the soil. If possible, repot with fresh new soil mix.

●Watch out for the black spot of roses. If you had this disease on your roses last year, you will get it again this year. But if you had been diligent in pruning out all infected canes and remove all infected leaves, you may get a less severe infection this time. There are fungicides to control this disease but disease control depends on prevention, the fungicide does not cure. So you spray in anticipation of getting the disease.

●A non toxic fungicide is the Cornell University non-toxic formula based on baking soda. As usual, spray to get good coverage on both surfaces of the leaves before the disease pathogen attacks.

●As the weather warms up, bug activities increase. If you have several prized roses bushes around, you will find yourself fighting the Japanese beetles. It is a constant battle to control these beetles. To control the adults, other than manually pick them off (a better way to use a hand-held vacuum and suck them off the plant). There are insecticides that can help because you need to spray constantly and would not be effective if there is rain in the forecast.

●Other ways of controlling the beetles involves attacking the beetle in the larval stage when it is developing in the soil. Milky bacterial spores may or may not be effective depending on where you are; and soil conditions. Two species of parasitic nematodes sold commercially are quite effective but these have to be applied before the adults emerge from the soil.