Garden Plot
Watercooler
- Naval Academy celebrates slippery tradition
- Ferris wheel ride world record broken in Chicago
- Funeral home has bicycle hearse for 1 last ride
- Birth of anteater has Conn. zoo staff puzzled
- Alaska man runs onto frozen lake to avoid jail
- Aussie minister sorry he 'liked' exposed teen pic
- Denmark's de Forest wins Eurovision song contest
- Greek beach evacuated after artillery discovery
- Canadian singer botches American national anthem (Video)
- Exhibition of secretly shot photos upsets NYers
Mike McGrath
WTOP's Garden Editor Mike McGrath is:
* Host of the nationally syndicated Public Radio show, You Bet Your Garden
* Contributing Editor and columnist for Greenprints magazine
* Former Editor-in-Chief of ORGANIC GARDENING magazine
* Author of books on Tomatoes, Compost, Seed saving and Kitchen Gardening
* Mike makes several appearances around town. Click for more.
* Do you have a question for Mike? Email him at mikemcg@ptd.net. (Please include your name, location and the topic in the subject line)
Garden Plot: Bamboo lawyers and bare spots
Wayne in Charlotte Hall has a question that's frequently asked this time of year over how low to trim his lawn before winter.
Don't prune anything now - especially spring bloomers
This is the worst time of year to prune anything. Doing so will stimulate new growth and interfere with the plants successfully going dormant for the winter.
How dog urine can kill city trees
The next time a dog is tugging on its leash, headed for a solid-looking pine to "water," WTOP's Garden Editor Mike McGrath says that small territorial claim could kill the tree.
Garden Plot: Thatch, new lawn, bamboo
Tips for taking care of a neglected lawn and dealing with bamboo.
Fall lawn care, the order of the chores
Without a doubt the No. 1 chore for those of you with cool season lawns is a big fall feeding. Cool season lawns like fescue, rye and bluegrass need their biggest feeding of the season right now to help them recover from that brutal summer we all endured.
Garden Plot: Keeping dogs from damaging outdoor decor
Jim in Alexandria has an all-too common problem. He writes, "I have several Boxwoods along the walkway at the front of my house, and neighborhood dogs love to urinate on them (and it doesn't appear that their owners care.) This is slowly killing the Boxwoods. Almost half of the leaves are brown and dying. Any recommendations on how to keep the dogs away?"
Garden Plot: To stave off stink bugs, act now
Now that the nasty bugs are getting bored with violating our late season tomatoes, the stinkers are looking for ways to get into our houses to hibernate for the winter. But as we told you last year, Jody Williams, an amateur inventor from New Jersey, created a simple way to intercept them.
Garden Plot: Perfect time to plant a good lawn
This is the time to take a bad yard and turn it into the yard you want.
Save on spring bulbs
Find out how to save by buying now for next spring.
Get ready to sow grass seed and feed your poor lawn
When is the best time to apply corn gluten for fall weed prevention?
Plants behaving badly? Rethink your technique
Hastings in Woodbridge writes: "My squash and cucumber plants have developed a white mold on the leaves. It's so bad that my squash plants have all died. What causes this and is there anything I can do to save my cucumber plants?"
Garden Plot: Saving tomatoes, avoiding white bugs and what to harvest now
What's the silky material showing up on azaleas and roses? And tips to help tomato growers.
Moles, voles, squirrels and groundhogs ... be gone!
Evil squirrels (sorry, that's redundant) would laugh at cat hair the way they laugh at my actual cats.
Heat wave warnings and dog day dos and don'ts
Hang in there, cats and kittens, this heat wave should break by Monday. In the meantime, and during future heat waves, remember the following tips.
Tips for heat wave grass care, fending off wasps and rabbits
WTOP's Garden Editor Mike McGrath has tips for what not to do when it's really hot.
Garden Plot: Hot weather lawn care rules
The first heat wave of the season was pretty brutal. And it won't be the last, so let's review hot weather turfgrass rules.
Lawn grubs of spring now beetles of summer
Beneficial nematodes are the safe and effective grub control of choice.
Garden Plot: More tips on grass and garlic
Unless you plant the starter plugs densely, zoysia typically takes a couple seasons to fully establish, while Bermuda starts (or seed) planted in the Spring will fully cover the intended area edge to edge by the end of summer.
The time has come to make peace with Bermuda grass
As the weather warms up, the Bermuda in your lawn (which isn't killed by herbicides like Roundup which only kills frogs and toads) gets stronger, while cool-season turfs like fescue and bluegrass get weaker. Like it or not, your lawn will probably be all Bermuda by late August.
The best mulch and where to get pine staw
Jim in D.C. writes: "I know you're a fan of using an inch of compost to mulch tomato plants, ,ut how about zukes, cukes, peppers and eggplant? What's the best mulch for them?"
Hi: 81 °F | Lo: 65 °F
