From The Soil with Sollecito

What's white and black and red all over? A sunburned polar bear in a black bikini?  Okay, not so funny.  Global warming is no laughing matter.  But for all its negative effects, the extended growing season in this region may not be one.  Jim has some startling news.

Have the stars in your landscape turned from evergreen to everbrown?  Here are some ways to determine whether the condition is permanent, and a few suggestions about what to do if it is.

It's fall, the time of year we start thinking about closing up the garden shed and moving inside.  Before you put away that shovel, plant a tree.  Fall is the ideal planting season for trees, shrubs and other hardy plants.  Their roots will respond well to the head-start on spring. 

Are you developing a chemical dependency as you manage your landscape?  After killing weeds with herbicides, do you try to kill them AGAIN with a second application?  Friend, it is time to enter rehab.  Jim has some tips to help you avoid putting your plantings in harms way in the first place.

When a breeze blows through the trees is the wind talking - or are the trees chit-chatting? Trees are tribal.  They protect one another from dings and nicks of lawnmowers, and, working together, manage the soil around their roots much more effectively than do man-made lawn chemicals.

Knowledge may be power, but wisdom is the real deal.  Wise weekend warriors read the label - and follow the directions.  In this commentary Jim talks about how we sometimes get in the way of Mother Nature and, that when we need to nudge her a bit, we should do so wisely.

If you think Weeping Louisa is a character from the board game 'Clue,' think again.  Think ornamental flowering apple tree.  Think pink buds, yellow fruit.  Think how great such a tree would look in your landscape in relief against winter snow.  In this commentary learn how a little planning - and a little tree - can add interest and value to your little piece of heaven through four seasons.

In this commentary, Jim's daughter Rachel describes lots of uses for disposable coffee filters in addition to filtering what she calls her vitamin 'C.'  Rachel will have you asking yourself 'Why didn't I think of that!"  She's a chip off the old block, and serious about taking care of the only planet we have.

Question: Name a woodland creature that will leap a six foot chain link fence in a single bound to get to that luscious-looking vegetable garden on the other side but will not leap a four-foot slat-sided fence through which it cannot see.  If you said 'hippopotamus,' please review your field notes more thoroughly before attempting our next quiz.  If you answered 'deer,' you are correct.  Deer are smart - but you can outsmart them.  Here's how.

As the summer roles on, landscape and garden soil becomes drier from constant sun at its most intense.  Many plants go dormant, but that does not mean they are dead.  They are very much alive and will appreciate your occasional offer of liquid refreshment.  Water your plants during the cool part of the day to keep them happy.