March is the time of the year when two significant events occur – the dead of winter officially makes a quiet retreat, giving way to the start of new life on earth.
It marks the time when avid gardeners begin their serious stirrings in the garden. And for most green thumbs, the first order of the new season is snail control and soil preparation.
“Right now is the time to go looking for snails when they are coming out of the ground. They bury themselves in winter,” said retired engineer and avid gardener Hank Wiegel who is a member of the Manteca Garden Club.
When it comes to snail extermination, different gardeners apply different tricks and techniques.
Wiegel’s techniques include commercial granule applications such as Durham and Deadline which he buys at Salida Ag. But he is more partial to the use of Deadline.
“I like that in my vegetable and that’s what I use because that’s safer on the vegetables,” Wiegel said.
He also uses Ortho Bug, Snails and Insects which is also in granule form. “I scatter them like fertilizer,” he said.
He’s already done that a couple of times. “It’s effective, but you got to do it every couple of weeks because snails lay their eggs in the plants,” said Wiegel.
Professional landscape designer and another avid gardener Eric Teberg, also of the Manteca Garden Club, also uses Deadline. If you have pets around, it’s the safer treatment to use, he said. “It’s really effective. You can squirt them into nooks and crannies and under boards” where pets are less likely to get in contact with the chemical, he said.
For organic snail control, two that he uses are iron phosphate and copper tape which are both available in garden centers and other commercial outlets. Copper can be used especially around pots because snails and slugs will not cross the tape line, he said.
Besides being nontoxic to animals, iron phosphate is good snail eradicator because it breaks down into fertilizer providing nutrients for the soil. “So that’s what’s nice about that,” Teberg said of iron phosphate.
Two other organic snail controls that gardeners can use are beer and salt. However, both have their own negative effects. You can put beer in a shallow pan in the garden, Teberg said. But if it’s raining, the rain will dilute the beer so that defeats the purpose. Otherwise, it’s very effective, Teberg said.
Salt is also a good thing to put around the plant to prevent a snail attack. But the downside of salt is that it’s toxic to the plant, Teberg said.
Wiegel and Teberg also use, and recommend, the time-tested sole-power snail eradication process.
“Just step on them and smash them,” was Wiegel’s no-nonsense, straightforward answer.
Put a flat board down in an area where you know there are snails, Teberg said, and that’s guaranteed to transform snails into garden fertilizer by just one sole-smashing blow.
Teberg said that one thing he has observed about garden snails is that they tend to “all come back to one area.” When that happens, he puts a flat board down “and I just smash them,” he said.
Patrolling the garden in the early morning or late afternoon especially after a rain shower is “a great time to catch snails,” Teberg said. Just pick them up and then put them in a bottle of beer, he said matter-of-factly.
Other garden tasks to do now from Teberg, Wiegel and the San Joaquin County Master Gardeners:
•Last-minute fertilization so winter rain can help percolate the nutrition to the ground.
•Insect control. Because of all the new growth in spring, aphids become rampant in the garden. “I’m inclined not to use any insect control because if you spray insects like aphids, then you’re also going to kill the predator that control the aphids,” thereby inadvertently knocking down the population of the predators, Teberg said. Predators include the aphid-eating praying mantis. “So you may end up with more problems,” he said.
•While it’s still too early to plant your vegetables, it’s the perfect time to prepare the vegetable garden, Teberg said. If you plant now in this weather, “you’re putting your plants into the cold ground and they just sit there and drown. So it’s better to wait until we get some warmth.” Watch for the forsythia to start blooming, and when all the pear trees have leafed out. Those will be your signs that spring is truly here and to start planting, Teberg said. Actually, spring is here. “It’s just that we’re having 40 mph winds every day,” he said with a chuckle. But if you do choose to plant your vegetables now, just remember to place them under protective covering such as glass or tent.
•Now is a good time to apply BEST Turf Supreme on your lawn, Wiegel said. “You want to put that now because it’s high in nitrogen, and your lawn will turn nice and green.”
•On Valentine’s Day, Wiegel “put down pre-emergents” on his lawn “to get rid of weeds. I also put pre-emergents in my flower garden every three months to keep the weeds out. I use it in the rose garden too.” His preferred application is a brand called Corral which he also buys at Salida Ag.
From Master Gardener Lee Miller with the San Joaquin County Master Gardeners in the Jan.-March 2011 Garden Notes, comes this timely reminder:
“March is a good time to start getting ready for full-time gardening. Check for snails in their hiding places: look beneath green leaves of low-growing plants or under rocks and wood. March is the time to walk around the yard and determine which plants survived any early winter freezes. A shrub branch that bends indicates it may still be alive. If it snaps, that portion of the plant may be dead. Begin spring feeding of trees and shrubs.”
Another bit of advice from Master Gardener Miller: now is a good time for potato planting. “Try some Russian Banana fingerlings, Carola, Rose Finn Apple, Yellow Finn, German Butterball or other potatoes for excellent flavor and texture,” Miller wrote. “Potatoes do well here when planted early in March and they mature in June before hot weather sets in.”
For more gardening helpful hints and information, check the San Joaquin UC Master Gardeners at http://sjmastergardeners.ucdavis.edu or call (209) 953-6112. Or call Master Gardeners coordinator Marcy Hachman at (209) 953-6100. You may also stop by at, or send snail mail to, the UC Master Gardeners at 2101 E. Earhart Avenue, Suite 200, Stockton, CA 95206. The facility is located in the Robert Cabral Agricultural Center off Arch Road just east of the Stockton Metro Airport.
It marks the time when avid gardeners begin their serious stirrings in the garden. And for most green thumbs, the first order of the new season is snail control and soil preparation.
“Right now is the time to go looking for snails when they are coming out of the ground. They bury themselves in winter,” said retired engineer and avid gardener Hank Wiegel who is a member of the Manteca Garden Club.
When it comes to snail extermination, different gardeners apply different tricks and techniques.
Wiegel’s techniques include commercial granule applications such as Durham and Deadline which he buys at Salida Ag. But he is more partial to the use of Deadline.
“I like that in my vegetable and that’s what I use because that’s safer on the vegetables,” Wiegel said.
He also uses Ortho Bug, Snails and Insects which is also in granule form. “I scatter them like fertilizer,” he said.
He’s already done that a couple of times. “It’s effective, but you got to do it every couple of weeks because snails lay their eggs in the plants,” said Wiegel.
Professional landscape designer and another avid gardener Eric Teberg, also of the Manteca Garden Club, also uses Deadline. If you have pets around, it’s the safer treatment to use, he said. “It’s really effective. You can squirt them into nooks and crannies and under boards” where pets are less likely to get in contact with the chemical, he said.
For organic snail control, two that he uses are iron phosphate and copper tape which are both available in garden centers and other commercial outlets. Copper can be used especially around pots because snails and slugs will not cross the tape line, he said.
Besides being nontoxic to animals, iron phosphate is good snail eradicator because it breaks down into fertilizer providing nutrients for the soil. “So that’s what’s nice about that,” Teberg said of iron phosphate.
Two other organic snail controls that gardeners can use are beer and salt. However, both have their own negative effects. You can put beer in a shallow pan in the garden, Teberg said. But if it’s raining, the rain will dilute the beer so that defeats the purpose. Otherwise, it’s very effective, Teberg said.
Salt is also a good thing to put around the plant to prevent a snail attack. But the downside of salt is that it’s toxic to the plant, Teberg said.
Wiegel and Teberg also use, and recommend, the time-tested sole-power snail eradication process.
“Just step on them and smash them,” was Wiegel’s no-nonsense, straightforward answer.
Put a flat board down in an area where you know there are snails, Teberg said, and that’s guaranteed to transform snails into garden fertilizer by just one sole-smashing blow.
Teberg said that one thing he has observed about garden snails is that they tend to “all come back to one area.” When that happens, he puts a flat board down “and I just smash them,” he said.
Patrolling the garden in the early morning or late afternoon especially after a rain shower is “a great time to catch snails,” Teberg said. Just pick them up and then put them in a bottle of beer, he said matter-of-factly.
Other garden tasks to do now from Teberg, Wiegel and the San Joaquin County Master Gardeners:
•Last-minute fertilization so winter rain can help percolate the nutrition to the ground.
•Insect control. Because of all the new growth in spring, aphids become rampant in the garden. “I’m inclined not to use any insect control because if you spray insects like aphids, then you’re also going to kill the predator that control the aphids,” thereby inadvertently knocking down the population of the predators, Teberg said. Predators include the aphid-eating praying mantis. “So you may end up with more problems,” he said.
•While it’s still too early to plant your vegetables, it’s the perfect time to prepare the vegetable garden, Teberg said. If you plant now in this weather, “you’re putting your plants into the cold ground and they just sit there and drown. So it’s better to wait until we get some warmth.” Watch for the forsythia to start blooming, and when all the pear trees have leafed out. Those will be your signs that spring is truly here and to start planting, Teberg said. Actually, spring is here. “It’s just that we’re having 40 mph winds every day,” he said with a chuckle. But if you do choose to plant your vegetables now, just remember to place them under protective covering such as glass or tent.
•Now is a good time to apply BEST Turf Supreme on your lawn, Wiegel said. “You want to put that now because it’s high in nitrogen, and your lawn will turn nice and green.”
•On Valentine’s Day, Wiegel “put down pre-emergents” on his lawn “to get rid of weeds. I also put pre-emergents in my flower garden every three months to keep the weeds out. I use it in the rose garden too.” His preferred application is a brand called Corral which he also buys at Salida Ag.
From Master Gardener Lee Miller with the San Joaquin County Master Gardeners in the Jan.-March 2011 Garden Notes, comes this timely reminder:
“March is a good time to start getting ready for full-time gardening. Check for snails in their hiding places: look beneath green leaves of low-growing plants or under rocks and wood. March is the time to walk around the yard and determine which plants survived any early winter freezes. A shrub branch that bends indicates it may still be alive. If it snaps, that portion of the plant may be dead. Begin spring feeding of trees and shrubs.”
Another bit of advice from Master Gardener Miller: now is a good time for potato planting. “Try some Russian Banana fingerlings, Carola, Rose Finn Apple, Yellow Finn, German Butterball or other potatoes for excellent flavor and texture,” Miller wrote. “Potatoes do well here when planted early in March and they mature in June before hot weather sets in.”
For more gardening helpful hints and information, check the San Joaquin UC Master Gardeners at http://sjmastergardeners.ucdavis.edu or call (209) 953-6112. Or call Master Gardeners coordinator Marcy Hachman at (209) 953-6100. You may also stop by at, or send snail mail to, the UC Master Gardeners at 2101 E. Earhart Avenue, Suite 200, Stockton, CA 95206. The facility is located in the Robert Cabral Agricultural Center off Arch Road just east of the Stockton Metro Airport.
