Hopefully, temperatures will finally begin to cool down in October, and (maybe) rains will diminish. By the end of August this year, we already had more than doubled last August’s total rainfall.
October’s Checklist:
• Once summer’s rains diminish, supplemental watering will be required for new plantings.
• Check your irrigation system’s coverage. Whether from Mother Nature or from irrigation, the total amount of water in a 7-day period should be 1-1.5 inches. Watering twice a week is optimum.
• Temperature-wise, it’s a great time to plant annuals, perennials, herbs, shrubs and trees; but rainfall is not reliable. Be sure to ask your nursery for plants that are highly salt tolerant. For those living east of the “T” Intersection of Cape Cole and Islamorada Blvds., selection of plants should also include those that are cold tolerant – more suitable for zone 9 than 10. The coldest winter temperatures are always closest to the main entry at Burnt Store Road.
To find an appropriate plant for your yard, read the “Burnt Store Marina: Landscaping Plants” document on the http://www.bsm22.org website. Click on Community Information > Documents & Forms > Committee Documents and Forms > Landscape Committee > BSM Landscaping Plants.
• Apply a high quality slow-release fertilizer to your turf, trees (including fruit-bearing and palms), shrubs, herbaceous-perennials and annuals.
• When the temperature is below 80-85 degrees, apply herbicide to your turf to kill weeds. Look for sod webworm infestations and treat accordingly.
• Time to mulch! Organic mulch breaks down to enrich our crummy soil with nutrients, adding fiber to retain moisture and texture for roots to grab onto and aerate the soil. Rocks are also natural, but they do nothing to make better soil and can increase the soil temperature 5-7 degrees. You decide – there is a definite trend to use more rock to set off a garden area. The optimum depth for either is 2-3 inches. Be certain your organic mulch isn’t building up, year after year. If you find that’s happening, rake it to break it up and redistribute it.
• Palm Demise – A soil-borne fungus that kills a variety of palms is ganoderma butt rot. Older fronds will droop and hang parallel to the trunk, new growth will be smaller and pale and the new spear will die before opening up. Look at the base of the tree for the shelf-like conk or fungus. There is nothing that can be done to turn this around. Eventually, the palm will die. It should not be replaced with a palm of any type. Ganoderma will attack queen, cabbage, areca, foxtail and triangle palms.
