3 hours later.... I may have figured it out!

Hello,
WALP is gearing up for a hopefully bright and colorful garden in the 2013 Northwest Flower & Garden Show.

WALP Annual Planning Retreat

Jeff and Linda have spent the last two days with their peers at the Kiana Lodge.  The future of the Green Industry is about new technologies  Water conservation and Alternative fuel for a cleaner and heathier environment.  Jefferson Landscaping will convert all gas running mowers to propane by Janurary 2013.

What’s Growing On? New & Noteworthy

What’s Growing On? New & Noteworthy

• On 09/19 we will attend our first workshop at the Washington State Convention Center in preparation for the upcoming NW Flower and Garden Show. It is really exciting, and we will keep you posted!

• On 10/16 Jeff will be presenting at the Green Gardening IPM Workshop at South Seattle Community College. His topic is alternative-fuel equipment. We are one of the first companies in the Pacific Northwest to offer a carbon neutral maintenance solution which includes natural gas mowers and battery operated hand-held equipment.

Fall Garden Tips

Fall Garden Tips

• It’s not too late to visit your local farmers’ markets before they close for the season. Support your local growers and stock up on supplies to spruce up your beds.

• Mums are a colorful perennial that can continue to give color to your garden even after your annuals are spent.

• Many of your outside herbs can be transplanted and brought inside as houseplants: oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme… just to name a few.

Preparing for Autumn: Tips for getting your plants, soil, and tools ready for cooler weather

Preparing for Autumn:

Tips for getting your plants, soil, and tools ready for cooler weather

Fall is just around the corner… Trees give us a spectacular show of colors, just before the leaves fall, carpeting the sidewalks and streets. The air grows crisper, our breath coming out like plumes of smoke. The air smells faintly of nutmeg and spice as we add mittens and scarves to our attire. We are ready for autumn! But are our gardens as prepared as we are?

As the temperatures drop, it’s time to consider putting most of our gardens to bed for the winter. Now is the time to remove any debris and seeds that have the potential to last through winter and encourage pests, disease, and weeds. Get rid of the old compost and start fresh. Additionally, spreading compost over veggie beds will help protect them over the winter. It’s also a good idea to remove spent plants and vegetables as well as any dead or diseased plants and fruits. Don’t give in to the urge to prune, because the fragile plant that is left behind may not be able to harden before the winter arrives. And don’t abandon your garden just because it’s stopped yielding crop.

Be sure to take care of your tools and hardware. Clean metal and wooden tools properly so they will be ready to use again in the spring.  Remove, clean, and store stakes and trellises until the weather warms and dries a bit. Winterize your water features and lawn furniture. Don’t forget to clean out your garden shed, properly disposing of any chemicals that are past their shelf life.

Just because summer is over doesn’t mean that you can’t continue to both plant and harvest plants that will thrive in the colder seasons. There are many veggies that can flourish up to the first freeze, such as cabbage, garlic, peas, spinach, and many others. Flowers can thrive during fall as well: pansies, marigolds, snapdragons, goldenrods… just to name a few.  Nurseries stock covers and frames to protect cool weather gardens. Autumn is also the best time to seed new grass; conditions are ripe for growing: more rain, warm days, and cool nights.

Tending to your garden in fall will not only keep it healthy for spring, but can continue to return bountiful harvests throughout the season!

What’s Growing On? New & Noteworthy

Through Aug, 7th, Jefferson Landscaping is collecting non-perishable food and monetary donations for the Northwest Harvest’s 2nd annual food drive. If you would like to help us fight hunger, just leave your donation on your doorstep in a bag marked NW Harvest, and our crews will pick it up on their service days.

We do outdoor lighting! If you’re hosting a summer party, give us a call for a free demonstration. We will leave the lights with you for up to a week.

Rainwater Collection Tips

Don’t drink the rainwater! Water collected and stored is non-potable and should never be used as drinking water unless treated.

Keep tight, locking lids on rain barrels to keep out kids, pets, and algae.

If you’re purchasing used barrels, make sure to find out what they were previously used for. Do not use barrels that were used to store toxic or poisonous substances.

Conserving Water: Recycling Rain for Your Garden

In last month’s newsletter, we talked briefly about the thirsty lawns and plants of summertime. This is the time of year with the least amount of rainfall, and yet our gardens need the most water. For many of us, water conservation is an issue both ecologically and financially.

As mentioned last month, one way to conserve water is to cut the amount of water used in half. This may quicken summer dormancy, though. Invest in a timer and measurement system to keep track of water usage. Another way to conserve is to water in the early morning, when the temperatures are cooler. This will give your plants and soil a chance to absorb more of the moisture before the heat of the day causes it to evaporate.

Another method of conserving and recycling water is to use a rain-catching system. During the rainy times of year, we can channel the water that normally flows from the roof, through the gutters and back into our lawns and driveways, diverting it into storage tanks called cisterns or rain barrels. During the dry summer months, we can recycle the water back into our gardens. To get an idea of just how much water can be collected, one inch of rain falling on 1000 square feet of roof accumulates 623 gallons of rainwater.

There are methods of building your own rainwater collection system, or you can purchase rain barrels from local sources. The King County website (www.kingcounty.gov) lists tips and resources for installing a rainwater collection system.

Other simple methods of conserving water can really make a difference if practiced daily. Turn off faucets while brushing teeth, make sure you have a full load of laundry before washing, fix leaky taps and pipes, and install low flow fixtures.

Let’s all do our part!

What’s Growing On?

New & Noteworthy 

Business is growing! To accommodate new routes, Jefferson Landscaping has added a new truck.

And when you see some new faces among our crews, be sure to welcome our newest team members.

We wouldn’t be where we are today without our amazing crews. Most of your irrigation systems have been manually turned on already. Please be sure to turn the clock.

Water Saving Tips

Water early in the morning when the air is cool. If you water during the warm part of the day, your water will evaporate before the soil absorbs it.

1. Applying mulch can help save water by cooling the soil and helping to prevent evaporation.

2. Since lawns are one of the biggest consumers of water, reducing the size of the lawn can save water.

3. Check your sprinklers and hoses for timers and shut-off valves.

4. Invest in a rainwater collection system to recycle rain to feed your plants.

What’s Growing On?

New & Noteworthy

We are really excited to be a garden creator for one of the elaborate gardens at the 2013 Northwest Flower and Garden show, Feb. 20-24. This year’s theme is “The Silver Screen Takes Root… Gardens Go Hollywood.” We’re starting the design process now.

This month we are raising our lawn mowers. We cut the grass higher to allow it to stay green longer. Higher grass won’t go dormant as quickly.

We do outdoor lighting! If you’re hosting a summer party, give us a call for a free demonstration. We will leave the lights with you for up to a week.

Midsummer Dreams:

Celebrating longer, warmer days in your garden

June 20 marks Summer Solstice in the Northern hemisphere: the longest day of the year. The word solstice is made up of sol, the Latin word for “sun,” and stice, the Latin word for “to stand still.” For thousands of years, people have been celebrating the beginning of summer with gratitude for a bountiful harvest, longer days, and warmer weather. In the Northwest, where plentiful rains have fed our planted seeds and bulbs, n ow is the time to enjoy the fruits of our labor. Lawns need the most water in July, as this is the time of year with the least rain. In order to keep lawns green, an inch of water per week is needed. If you want to conserve water, cut this amount in half. The lawn will fade to a light brown; this is summer dormancy, and the lawn will spring back to its lush color when the rains and shorter days return. One great way we help to postpone dormancy is to mow the lawn higher. Higher grass in the summer will remain green longer. There is still time to plant vegetables for a harvest this year. Make sure you choose veggies (as well as any other flowers and plants) that are suited to the climate this time of year. Some pests will make their appearance in your garden this month. Be on the lookout for crawling bugs like cockroaches and ants, as well as aphids, mites, and other insects. Pay special attention to fruit trees, which can attract a greater volume of bugs. Look into organic methods of pest control for greater protection to yourself, your loved ones, and the environment. As always, keep an eye out for weeds, pulling them before they get out of hand. Pull spent blooms on flowers to keep them healthy and keep away pests and disease. Now’s the time to enjoy your garden in the sunshine and celebrate the life growing all around us.

"Good" Bugs

Be sure to make these beneficial insects feel welcome in your garden. 
They will pollinate your plants while eating up the bad bugs that hurt your garden.

• Spiders (actually are NOT insects! They are arachnids.)
• Honey bees, bumble bees, bald-faced hornets, mason bees, and yellow jackets
• Soldier beetles, rove beetles, lady beetles (or lady bugs)
• Dragonflies
• Assassin bugs 
• Centipedes

Organic Alternatives:

Natural ways to fight unwanted weeds and insects in your garden

In addition to the northwest’s often fickle weather, two of the biggest obstacles to a beautiful, healthy garden are weeds and insects. Weeds are unwanted plants that grow wild, often encroaching on your cultivated garden, damaging the root systems and the plants themselves. Many weeds are labeled noxious, meaning they are damaging and non-native, spreading aggressively and harming our pastures, ecosystems, and human / animal health. The damaging potential of such weeds is serious enough that Washington state passed a noxious weed law to control them. Some insects, like weeds, invade and feed off your garden, also damaging roots and plants. It’s important to note that in addition to insect pests, there are many “good” insects that are natural pesticides.

Chemical pesticides can produce immediate results; however, there are several drawbacks to this method that can be harmful and even fatal. Pesticide poisoning in humans causes illness, cancer, and sometimes death. Children and pets can track pesticide into your home putting everyone at risk. Pesticides can also seep into the soil and water supply, increasing the risk of harm to the ecosystem. In addition, pesticides can kill your healthy plants as well as “good” insects that pollinate your plants and eat the “bad” bugs. There are several alternatives to chemical pesticides that can keep weeds and bugs at bay while minimizing risk of harm to people and damage to healthy plants and animals.

To minimize weed growth: Planting healthy plants will crowd out weeds. If you plant native plants, they will thrive and crowd out noxious weeds. Use good soil and mulch to make weeds easier to pull and prevent them from germinating. Cardboard sheets / newspaper, covered with compost, chips, or stones, will smother weeds. Plant a variety of different sizes to shade the ground; fewer weeds grow in the shade.

To minimize insect damage: Choose pest-resistant plants (many native plants are pest-resistant). Keep plants healthy, and clean out rotten and diseased plants, as insects are attracted to unhealthy material. Attract pest-eating birds and bugs to your garden (many native plants do this), as they will not only consume the bugs, but they will pollinate your healthy plants. Welcome good bugs by planting nectar-producing flowers.

Nature supplies us with countless ways of dealing with unwanted pests and insects. If you decide to use a chemical pesticide, be sure to carefully research its potential side effects. If you have any questions about this, be sure to give us a call.

The Dirt on Garden Terms

Soil Amendment: Mixing material into soil to improve such physical qualities as water retention, permeability, water infiltration, drainage, aeration, structure.

Compost: Organic matter that has been decomposed and recycled as a fertilizer and soil amendment.

Mulching: Material added to soil surface for the purpose of reducing evaporation & runoff, inhibiting weed growth, creating an attractive appearance.

Rototiller: A machine with rotating blades that aerates and breaks up the soil, and kills fully grown weeds.

What’s Growing On? New & Noteworthy

We have a new look! You can find our teams tending to your landscaping needs in crisp, new uniforms: baby blue shirts, gray pants, and blue jackets. Of course, the Jefferson Landscaping logo and our quality, personalized service remain the same.

The Secret’s in the Soil: How to Maximize the Potential of Your Vegetable Garden

Growing season is finally here! You gaze upon your garden beds with excitement, imagining how, in a short time, you will be harvesting juicy tomatoes, succulent cucumbers, and crisp peppers. The secret behind a successful veggie garden begins before the first seeds are sown, when you prepare the soil for planting. The first step is soil amendment, which is the process of improving the physical properties of your soil.

It’s a good idea to know what kind of soil you have (sand, clay, loam) when choosing an amendment. But no matter what the type, amending with compost will help any kind of soil. Compost is organic matter that has been decomposed and recycled as a fertilizer and soil amendment. It improves the soil structure, balances pH, adds organic matter, and improves drainage. In order to work effectively, soil amendment must be thoroughly mixed into the soil. (Note that amending is not the same as mulching, which is left on the soil surface instead of mixed in, and serves a different purpose.)

There are several methods of mixing the soil amendment with the soil. Tools such as the garden hoe, steel rake, spading fork, and shovel will get the job done, but require time and energy. Amending soil with a rototiller makes soil preparation a lot easier. The rototiller is a machine with rotating blades that aerates and breaks up the soil, and kills fully grown weeds. It saves time and effort on soil preparation, especially if it’s a large piece of ground.

Before proceeding with the rototiller, however, you should be aware of the drawbacks. Rototilling kills adult weeds, but it also exposes weed seeds to sunlight, encouraging them to sprout. It’s also very easy to till too deeply, which kills worms and fungi (important to plant growth), destroys the shallow root systems of many vegetables and flowers, and causes the soil to dry out more rapidly.

If you use the rototiller to mix your soil amendment, be aware of the proper tilling depths for your garden. Tilling slower will grind the soil more effectively and help ensure proper depth. After the initial amendment for the season, do not use the rototiller again, as it will break up the soil structure and destroy the food web that insects have created.

If you have any questions about how to proceed with your garden, we are more than happy to help!

Issue 3 of Peonies VII

What satisfied Jefferson Landscaping customers have to say about us!

Here is a sample of what happy Jefferson Landscaping customers have to say about us!

Woot! Check out the premier issue of our newsletter: Peonies VII. Click the newsletter link on our website: http://www.jeffersonlandscaping.com.

Greetings! As of today, Jefferson Landscaping is live and operational on blogger.com. We welcome you to read about us and join our growing community. We look forward to hearing from you!