Garden Plot
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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)
Ants, clover, bees and 'skeeters!
Sprays do not work against ants because the vast majority of the pests, and the all-important queen, are in hidden nests that the sprays never reach.
Mulch isn't bad, but mulch does not mean wood
The problem is that wood and bark mulches have been heavily marketed to homeowners ever since landfills stopped accepting wood waste.
Beware of Boy Scouts bearing mulch!
Anh in Germantown writes: "Is Boy Scout mulch safe for my garden or home? I recently purchased a few bags of 'recycled hardwood mulch' from a boy scout whom I could not turn away. But I recall hearing on WTOP that such mulch is not safe. What are the negative effects of using this mulch?"
Those stinky stink bugs!
Toni in Purcellville has had it. She writes: "I got home today and killed about 30 of those stinky stink bugs (because you said to kill them if you see them). I am sick of them! There has got to be something to get rid of these pests.
Four-step lawn feeding program: Worth it?
Mike McGrath, WTOP's Garden Plot editor
'I Got Your "4-Step program" Right Here, Pal!'
Donna in Woodbridge just lobbed me the ultimate softball. She writes: "I want to do my own lawn care this year. What do you think about the 4-Step Annual Feeding Program sold by Scotts? Or should I just stick with corn gluten and no chemicals?"
It's Time to Combat Crabgrass with Corn!
WTOP listeners are checking in from our southern reaches to report the first blooms on their forsythia and redbuds (Thanks guys. Such reports are a big help to yours truly!), and that means the application time for any pre-emergent herbicide is here or fast approaching.
Corn gluten, corn gluten: Where are you?
Lots of WTOP listeners have been emailing, asking where they can buy corn gluten meal to prevent crabgrass and give their lawn a perfect Spring feeding without killing frogs, toads, birds and the Bay.
Using corn gluten and kelp on your lawn
When should corn gluten be applied to lawns? Does liquid kelp help?
What you can do to prevent crabgrass when your forsythia blooms
Mike McGrath, WTOP's garden editor
Prevent crabgrass the natural way
Corn gluten is the perfect high nitrogen lawn food (right around 10 percent), and it contains natural compounds that inhibit the germination of weed seeds.
Are you ready for Valentine's Day?
WTOP's Garden Editor Mike McGrath reviews the meanings of different flowers. Guys, for true love, forget red roses.
Lawn care in winter
Although frigidly cold weather without any snow cover (like we experienced at the beginning of this wretched winter) can stress lawns new and old, there's really no way we humans can mimic the insulating protection of snow.
Don't let winter beat up your poor plants
As we cope with all this frozen misery, remember that our plants love a heavy cover of snow -- so feel free to move as much snow as possible onto garden beds and such.
Planting questions answered
Those trees are real bullies, with roots that steal every bit of food and water they can find, leaving little to nothing for other plants.
New Year's Resolutions that $ave You Money
Happy New Year! Time for our annual money saving, green-leaning resolutions for gardeners (and you normal people too).
Protecting spring bulbs, Christmas tree care
Although it's predicted to reach a blistering 36 Saturday, the nights have all been well below freezing, with no global warming in sight.
Gifts for Gardeners
Tick, tick, tick—just two weeks until Christmas Day -- time for my annual last minute gardener's gift list.
Really live trees are ho-ho-heavy!
Time to issue my annual warnings to those of you planning on buying a truly live Christmas tree.
Hi: 65 °F | Lo: 46 °F
