Spring on my mind

Whoops! It's been a while. I got a little lazy toward the end of last year - actually more like busy. I don't quite have the time that I used to, but I'll try to make time this year.

I was going to title this post "Spring is in the air", but that'd just be a flat out lie because it's not. It is, however, just around the corner and I know it'll be here before I know it. I'm excited! All recharged from the always much needed winter season break.

Things I'm looking forward to this year:

1. Seeing how the Kentucky bluegrass that I planted last fall does this spring
2. Seeing how vigorously the Supina bluegrass grows in the backyard. Will it recover from the near devastation last year or will I need to replant this fall?
3. Seeing if some weeds in the front lawn that I sprayed way late in the season last year (unblogged until now) will die despite not having much time for the herbicide to set in before the colder weather set in, or will I need to respray them?
4. Seeing if the lawn will remain tall fescue and orchardgrass-free (I'm hopeful which is why it's in this list and not the list below)
5. Perhaps finally finishing the landscaping project

What I'm not looking forward to:

1. Replanting a blue holly bush that died during the drought last year (oops, the other two next to it survived just fine, however).
2. Fighting the moles. They invaded the front lawn toward the end of last year (also unblogged). They frustrate me so much.
3. Fighting bristly rose slugs and black spot disease (inevitably)
4. Figuring out how to fight the new turf invader that seems to be happily spreading.

2 out of 50

Well, of the 50 tulip bulbs I planted last year only 2 survived and grew.

Sad.

I'm not sure what happened, but I think it might have been an animal that ate them. I noticed what looked like mole tunnels around it not long after I planted them. I haven't checked to see if any of the bulbs are still down there and just didn't come up.

The University of Illinois Extension has this to say about animals eating bulbs:

How can I keep squirrels or moles from eating bulbs?

Bulbs are not usually a preferred food of squirrels, moles, mice or other rodents, but they can take a liking to them. Moles are often unfairly blamed when bulbs disappear. More often, the culprit is field mice that also use mole tunnels. They most often attack tulips, crocus and gladioli and rarely eat daffodils, alliums or colchicums.

The mouse problem is a difficult one. Sprinkling dried blood, tobacco or a similar repellent on the ground is effective only until the next rain washes it away. Owning a cat that enjoys walking through your flower beds is a very effective deterrent to rodents.

Where you are determined to try bulbs, make a small "cage" of 1/2-inch mesh screen. Place several bulbs inside, root plate down and bury the entire cage at the proper depth. Rodents won't be able to chew through, but roots and stems can grow out.

Oh well.

(Note: this is a back-post, posted on 5/22/12)

I spoke way too soon

I spoke way too soon on two accounts:

1) The mole. Wouldn't you know it, I noticed a new mole tunnel in the backyard just yesterday, albeit a short one, but one nonetheless. So much for the cat theory - I was rooting for that one!

But of far more concern to me...

2) The bristly rose slugs are back with a vengeance and on all THREE rose bushes, including and especially the newly planted one:

Damage from young bristly rose slugs on our new rose bush.

Needless to say, THIS MEANS WAR! (again). I overturned just about every single leaf on the new bush and killed over 40 of them by hand (yes, I counted). Most of them were very small. On the other bushes I found less, but still plenty (10 or less on each).  I'm more tempted now to use a insecticidal soap (or maybe try the flour approach), although, in turning over every leaf, I saw just how many other little critters have made the bush their home and I'd prefer not to kill everything on the plant. For now, my battle plan is to have several waves of slug hunts for the next couple of days to see if I can get them all by hand.

Mole update

Long ago I posted about a mole I was battling with in the backyard. I never ended up taking any action other than stomping down their tunnels which lasted for several days and then on and off for a few weeks after that. It never because a huge problem, thankfully. We have several stray cats that meander around our neighborhood and sometimes I wonder if one of them may have taken care of business - just a guess as I have no idea. I did notice this publication on moles on the Purdue Turfgrass Program publications page that I hadn't seen before. It's an interesting read. In it I learned that moles aren't rodents, and that the most effective way to control them is by using a trap such as a harpoon trap. It also states that most other methods aren't very effective, particularly the electronic "ultrasonic" devices, which it says are completely ineffective. It does say that dogs and cats may also keep them at bay.

Moles!

The last few days I have been fighting with a mole.

Mole tunnel. Kinda hard to see, but it goes from the stake in the
upper left to the lower right (then further on into the yard - grr!)

This has been the battle sequence:

1. Mole digs tunnels in the yard
2. Later on Peter sees the tunnels in the yard, gets very angry, and stomps them down

The next day it begins back at #1. This has been going on for the last several days; I'm sure we're both getting tired of it. In years past, we've had moles and I've witnessed the damage they can do to a yard. So far, it's not too big of a deal because there is hardly any grass back there, but once the new seeds start growing it's going to get personal. I'll be researching battle techniques and formulating my plan of attack.

In other news, it looks like the Cooper's hawks are here to stay (there are two). They have been working  on their nest and it's getting bigger.