The cooler weather in Seattle means it’s time to plant trees! Fall is a great time to do this, because the weather is much cooler and this allows trees and plants to establish new roots rather than withering in dry, summer conditions.

Planting a tree seems easy enough. Dig a hole, plop the tree in, cover with dirt, water, and voila!  That’s mostly right, but there are some steps that you can take to ensure that tree is planted properly and gets off to a great start.

1. Call before you dig! Check to make sure you’re not digging into underground lines. Call 1-800-424-5555 for utility location services. Do it at least 2 days prior to digging.

2. Dig the planting hole only as deep as the root system and at least twice as wide. It is important to make the hole wide, as new roots will expand more quickly into loose soil. If the tree is planted too deep, new roots may not develop due to lack of oxygen.

3. With balled or burlap-wrapped tree, remove all wire baskets, twine, and burlap from the root ball. Linda Chalker-Scott, Ph.D., a horticulturalist and associate professor with Washington State University argues that it’s much better for tree growth if you actually disturb the root ball. Read more of her explanation in this paper, which lists step-by-step instructions for planting a ball or burlapped tree. “The most important reason to disturb the root ball of a balled and burlapped tree is to inspect the root system,” she writes, adding: “The circling, girdling, kinked, and hooked root systems often found in containerized plants occur frequently with B&B materials, too.”

4. Make sure the tree is at the proper depth. Better to plant the tree slightly high, about 1-2 inches above the base of the trunk flare, than it plant it at or below the growing level. This allows for some settling.

5. Backfill with native soil (the soil you dug out of the hole). Don’t use any type of soil amendment, advises WSU professor Linda Chalker-Scott in this paper. She says adding soil amendments to the planting hole may help it grow vigorously in the first few years, but notes the organic matter eventually decomposes and you may be left with a sunken hole. She writes:

Amended backfill has markedly different characteristics than surrounding native soil; it is more porous and water will wick away to the finer-textured native soil. In the summer, moisture within the planting hole will be depleted by the plant but not replaced by water held more tightly in the native soil. This results in water stress to the plant unless the planting hole is kept irrigated, a costly and often unrealistic practice. During wet seasons water will move quickly through the
amended soil only to be held back by the more slowly draining native soil.

6. Mulch the planting area with organic mulch. Lay about 2-4 inches. This will help keep a buffer between the trunk and the mulch to prevent disease. Mulch also helps hold moisture and moderate soil temperatures.

7. Water. Keep it moist and well-watered for the first growing season, but don’t overdo it. Most likely, Seattle’s fall and winter rains will do your work for you.

Contact Ecoyards to setup a consolation if you want help choosing and installing new trees on your property.  

References:

The Myth of Soil Amendments: “When transplanting trees or shrubs into landscapes, amend the backfill soil with organic matter.”

New tree planting, city of Seattle website.

Shotweed

By far, shotweed is one of the most annoying weeds in Seattle area landscapes. It’s a delicate annual broadleaf that shoots seemingly hundreds of seeds everywhere when you pull or disturb it. The weed also goes by little western bittercress, snapweed, bitterweed, or cardamine hirsuta. Whatever you call it, it’s a menace for Northwest gardeners. This annual weed is most prolific from fall through early spring, but its seeds, which live in soil for a long time, can germinate throughout the growing season. Shotweed loves the cooler gardens and landscapes of the Puget Sound.

Shotweed is part of the mustard family. Its seed pods are called siliques. The plants are small, no taller than about 5-8 inches. It grows pretty little white flowers, and isn’t a bad looking plant. But don’t be fooled. Shotweed can quickly become a huge nuisance in your garden if allowed to go to seed. Annual weed seeds persist in the soil for years and can grow when turned and exposed to light.

The best way to get rid of shotweed is to pull them by hand before they develop seed pods. Generally, annual weeds are easy to pull, especially in loose soil. As with most weeds, pulling them often and early is the best  way to get rid of them. Also, make sure to mulch your beds with a thick layer of compost, bark or other mulch; eliminate bare soil by adding dense ground covers to your landscapes to keep out undesirables; and keep plants growing healthy so they can out-compete weeds. All those practices can help you improve your chances against annual weeds like shotweed.

A propane weed torch also can be an effective tool against shotweed, since you can instantly kill the plant without risking sending seeds flying everywhere. Please follow all safety precautions when using a weed torch, including having a fire extinguisher on hand and wearing proper gear. Weed torches work great for annual weeds, whose roots aren’t as deep or thick as, say, those of a dandelion. They’re also best for sidewalk cracks or gravel beds where you won’t run the risk of torching other plants.

One of the most frequent questions we get at Ecoyards is how to control weeds organically. The truth is, there’s no easy way to get rid of dandelions, shotweed, knotweed, and other nasties, especially if you don’t want to use herbicides. Our favorite tools are our hands and standard garden tools, like a hori hori, trowel or hoe. You also need a lot of persistence and a little knowledge about the type of weed you’re dealing with.

There are annual weeds that grow, flower, set and die each year, and perennial weeds that live and return for many years. Annual weeds spread only by seed, so the best way to kill them is to pull them before they produce even more seeds – and to continue pulling them several times. The reality is that you’re never going to completely eliminate them, but if you’re persistent you can stay on top of it. Pull them early, when they’re young and before they set seed: tackle winter annual weeds such as common chickweed when they germinate in late summer, and get spring annual weeds such as common lambsquarters when they germinate in the spring. Annual weeds tend to have short roots, so they’re easy to pull or hoe. The downside is that annual weeds produce thousands of seeds, and the seeds tend to persist for a very very long time in soil. Avoid deep hoeing or rototilling, as that can bring up seeds buried in the ground.

Canada thistle

Perennial weeds can spread by seed (dandelion) or through a creeping rooting system (such as Canada thistle or quackgrass). The best way to get rid of perennial weeds is to pull them early, typically in the first several weeks of germination. Get them before they’ve developed an extensive root system that can store energy. When you miss this window, it’s an uphill battle. In this case, you can try to exhaust them to death by depleting their energy; frequent mowing, for example, to cut the tops of dandelions can help exhaust the amount of energy stored below ground. For perennial weeds, you have to dig up the entire root system so rototilling only breaks up the plant and spread the weed; Canada thistle can produce a new plant with a root section as small as a quarter of an inch.

The best way to control weeds is to prevent them in the first place. Get them early, get them often. Try to weed, if possible, on a sunny dry day so that the weeds you pull will dry out and die. We also can’t stress enough the importance of having a good thick layer of mulch, whether bark, compost or a mixture of both, to suppress weeds. Mulches also conserve soil moisture and reduces soil erosion. A good mulch applied annually is about the easiest thing you can do to keep weeds at bay. Mulching and regular monthly maintenance are two ways we control weeds organically for our clients. Contact us to find out more about our maintenance services.

We’ve gotten a fair amount of rain and wind in the Puget Sound recently, and even some snow in the mountains. It may not seem like it, but there’s still plenty to do in the garden.

1. This month is a great time to mulch the vegetable garden. Mulch will help prevent erosion, keep weeds at bay and insulate your plants during the cold weather.

2. Divide perennials such as shasta daisies, asters and rudbeckia (black-eyed Susans).

rudbeckia

3. Fertilize lawns late in the month to keep it green through the winter.

4. There’s still time to plant spring bulbs, such as tulips, daffodils and hyacinths.

5. Cut raspberry canes.

6. Continue to plant or transplant perennials, shrubs and trees. Winter months provide ideal conditions for planting new shrubs and trees.

7. Rake leaves and add them to your compost pile, or use them to mulch your landscape beds. Leaves could be piled two to three inches high; over time, they’ll break down and add nutrients to the soil. Avoid using leaves of trees with diseases, or broadleaf evergreens such as rhododendron and laurel (since they take a long time to break down).

8. Avoid heavily pruning roses now. Wait until late February for major pruning. Protect roses by removing leaves, or letting the roses form seeds, or hips.

It’s officially autumn in the Northwest. The air is cooler. The sun is setting earlier. Rains are falling more frequently. There’s still much to do in the garden in the month of October.

1. Plant hardy spring bulbs, such as daffodils, tulips, crocuses and hyacinths. They need several months of winter chill to have good springtime blooms. Try to get them in the ground before Thanksgiving.

2. Time to clean up the summer vegetable garden. Discard dying tomato, squash and other vegetable plants. Clear the area of pots, plastic bags, stakes and other items that can harbor pests and other problems. Keep your garden plot sanitized to prevent diseases and other problems next year.

crimson clover

3. Consider planting a cover crop, like crimson clover (pictured left) or vetch. These green manures help suppress weeds and adds nitrogen and organic matter to the soil.

4. While you’re at it, it’s a good time for general yard maintenance. Clear yard debris such as fallen leaves and twigs to prevent them from smothering plants, grass, or clogging storm drains. Clear jammed gutters.

5. If you were able to hit some of the September plant sales at local nurseries, now is a good time to put those trees and shrubs in the ground. In fact, you can continue to add plants to your landscape all winter long.

6. Now’s a great time to pull weeds from your landscape beds and then cover the beds with a layer of nutrient-rich mulch/compost.

7. October is the best time of year to aerate, top-dress, and over-seed your lawn so that it will be in tip-top shape next spring.

In March, we wrote that the Woodland Park Zoo had to cancel the sale of the highly coveted popular Zoo Doo, or compost made from piles of poop from zoo animals, because tests found the piles were contaminated with an herbicide called chlorpyralid. Zoo officials traced the problem to some of the feeds they had been using and officials say they’ve curbed the problem by switching feeds and using a smaller supplier, according to this King 5 report. 

Gardeners who were disappointed by the lack of Zoo Doo earlier this year should be happy to learn that the zoo is making the prized poop available in a drawing this month. There’s less of it to go around, so the lottery will be even more competitive. The zoo is also making available “bedspread,” a composted mulch that’s much like Zoo Doo but contains higher amounts of wood and sawdust. Zoo officials say bedspread is an excellent fertile mulch for perennial beds and woody landscapes such as native gardens, rose beds, shrubs, tree rings or pathways.

To enter the drawing, send an entry card to the zoo from Sept. 11 to 25. The cards will be drawn at random and selected until supplies run out. If you’re selected, the zoo will contact you to pick up your compost piles between Oct. 9 and 25. Here’s how to enter: send one postcard per person (no phone calls) to Zoo Doo, Woodland Park Zoo, 601 N. 59th St., Seattle, WA  98103.  Include your name, day & evening phone numbers, whether you want Zoo Doo or Bedspread, how much you want (from a garbage bag to a pick-up truck load) and when you would like to pick it up. For more information, call the poop line at 206-625-POOP or visit at www.zoo.org.

If you live in the Seattle area, it’s inevitable that you’ll run into a patch of heavy clay soil somewhere on your property. The parking strip on the south side of our West Seattle house is mostly clay, and the sole plant that we have out there, a dogwood, doesn’t thrive as well as other plants and trees on our property.

So what do you do if you have clay soil? Whatever you do, don’t add sand to your clay thinking that it will improve the soil. It’s a big no-no and one of the biggest myths.  Sand + clay = cement.

Adding organic matter — such as grass clippings, shredded leaves, composted manure and compost — is one of the best things you can do to improve clay soil conditions. Remaking a landscaping bed is a good time to do it. Dig it into the soil down about 6 to 8 inches deep. Tilling the soil and adding organic matter makes soil more permeable, allowing water to drain. The organic amendments will decompose over time, and help improve the soil structure.

If you’ve got clay soil under your lawn, try aerating the lawn, which pulls core plugs of soil about three inches long and then plug the holes back in with compost.

Some trees and shrubs, however, will do well in clay soils, such as gingko, witch hazel, burning bush, honeysuckle, potentilla, spirea and lilac. When you plant in heavy clay soils, try to plant the trees and shrubs a few inches above the grade of the surrounding soil.

To read more about improving clay soils, click here.

February is  a tough month for gardeners in the Northwest. We have our share of sunny, blue-sky days, but rain, snow and perpetual dreariness can sometimes make getting out in the yard difficult. February is a good month to get started on some yard chores that will make the rest of the year easier, especially weed pulling.

Here are 8 things you can do in your yard this month.

1. Pull winter weeds. The Ecoyards motto is to pull weeds early and pull them often. That seems to be the only way to keep on top of weeds if you want to take a natural approach to weed control. In February most weeds are babies, so they are much easier to pull.

2. Mulch landscape areas where soil has become bare.

3. Inspect trees and shrubs for damage after storms.

4. Prune evergreen and deciduous shrubs.

5. Cut back or rake out ornamental grasses.

6. Cut back dead fronds on sword ferns.

7. Prune roses when buds appear.

8. Time to conduct major cut back on hedges.

If you are coffee-addicted like me and the Ecoyards crew, you probably end up with a lot of coffee grounds left over. You could toss it in with yard waste, but why not add coffee grounds to your compost pile or mulch acid-loving plants?

Mulching helps keep weeds down and retain moisture. Coffee grounds are very acidic, so use it judiciously and only on acid-loving plants such as azaleas, rhododendrons and blueberries. Don’t lay it on too thick, and mix it in with the soil.

Better yet, add coffee grounds to your compost pile and let it help break down other yard waste and turn it into rich organic matter that you can then use in your yard. Composting requires a balance of nitrogen-rich “greens” and carbon-rich “browns.” Coffee grounds are, despite common logic, a “green,” like vegetable waste, fresh leaves, alfalfa pellets, or fresh grass clippings. “Browns” provide carbon and include fallen leaves, newspaper, wood chips or straw. The city of Seattle offers good tips for how to backyard compost.

At Ecoyards, we practice mulch-mowing, or “grasscyling,” when we mow lawns, so we’re always a little short of “greens” to add to our home compost pile. That’s where coffee grounds come in handy.