Lawn & Garden

Lawns can be one of our most expensive and time consuming home items. Between mowing and fertilizing and weed preventatives, there goes a lot of time and money. But that’s not the whole story. Not often considered is the cost to the environment. Fertilizers and herbicides can be detrimental to the ecology and water quality of the county with their associated hidden costs. For most of us, we also pay the extra cost of cleaning these chemicals out of our drinking water.

The Marion County Soil & Water Conservation District is actively helping landowners make better choices for their lawns and gardens. Soil has historically been a main focus for the district and we are involved in protecting the soil from erosion and improving the health of the soil in ecologically wise ways.

person's hands planting trees

Garden problems solved by the Plant Doctor

Purdue Extension specialists can guide home gardeners in the proper care of their plants with the help of treatment methods based on proven research.  The Plant Doctor can help home gardeners with dozens of problems for more than 200 plants.

“Every year, homeowners invest millions of dollars in their landscaping materials, and due to insect diseases and sometimes a lack of experience, problems come up. This is an affordable and efficient way to fix those problems,” said Janna Beckerman, a Purdue Extension plant disease specialist.

Visit The Plant Doctor

Lawn & Garden Care in Winter Months

Winter Calendar:

Don’t let the snow and cold weather keep you from your lawn and garden!  Getting outside and making plans for spring will help fight cabin fever and give you a great start on your spring planting.

January is the time for perusing through all of the wonderful seed catalogues!  Order early to be sure you can get the varieties you want most.  If you’re not already on their mailing list, contact a number of seed companies.  Some of my favorites include Seed Savers Exchange, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, R.H. Shumway’s, and Territorial Seed Company. Gardens Alive is an Indiana company that specializes in natural lawn and garden products.

Take a cruise through your garden area and make a sketch to help you plan for this year.  Rotate where you plant (i.e. plant corn where the peas were last fall) to benefit from soil nutrients and minimize disease and insect problems. Plan what to grow, spacing, arrangement (study up on companion planting) and number of plants needed. If you have young trees, check them for signs of rodent injury on lower trunks. Protect them if needed with hardware cloth or protective collars. Protect plants from road and sidewalk salt.

If you have any of those pesky invasives growing along the edges of your yard you can still work on some of those during the winter months.  Check out SICIM’s Calendar of Control and our Invasives Page to see what & how to treat during the winter.

Hopefully you had your soil tested this fall in order to plan for soil amendment needs this spring. If your pH is low you can add wood ash from the fireplace to your garden area. Soil testing will save you money as you won’t be putting down unnecessary amounts of fertilizer and will also be better for water quality and the environment. If you haven’t gotten your soil tested, it’s still not too late by taking advantage of a January thaw.

Early spring flowering trees & shrubs can be forced into bloom indoors by putting cut branches in water in a warm location.  Early spring crop seed such as broccoli, cauliflower & cabbage can be started indoors in February.  Seeds should be started 5 to 7 weeks before transplanting.

If you have bare areas in your yard, frost seeding can give you an opportunity to use the freeze/thaw action of the soil to prepare grass seed for early germination as soon as the soil temperatures rise enough. Make plans to incorporate natural, ecologically friendly lawn methods by checking out more pages on our website. We have a plethora of articles and helpful information for all of your land use needs.

Don’t throw that away! Compost It!

Composting has many benefits including decreasing the amount of trash taken to the landfill, improving the health of the soil, and providing needed nutritional benefits to our lawns and gardens.  The EPA has created a guide to composting to help get your started.  Download their guide HERE.

Also, check out more information below under Additional Resources.

Soil Testing Links

Below are links to websites with information on soil testing and lists of soil testing labs:

Marion SWCD Soil Testing fact sheet

Purdue Extension – Marion County

Certified Soil Testing Labs

Products

Local garden centers may or may not carry organic lawn care products such as corn gluten and fertilizers. Products are available from the following catalog sources (not an exhaustive list):

Gardens Alive!
812-537-8650
gardensalive.com
Offers corn gluten, organic fertilizers, and grass seed mixtures (including those with endophytes) This is an Indiana company!

Gardener’s Supply
1-800-427-3363
gardeners.com
Offers corn gluten, biological pest controls, composting equipment

Extremely Green Gardening Co.
603-427-0299
extremelygreen.com
Offers fertilizers, corn gluten, nematodes, grass seed

Planet Natural
1-800-289-6656
planetnatural.com

Offers corn gluten, fertilizers, organic and low-toxicity herbicides, and weeding implements

Peaceful Valley Farm Supply
888-784-1722
groworganic.com
Offers fertilizers, weed and pest controls, composting supplies, soil testing supplies

Sunday Lawn Care

www.getsunday.com

Offers lawn plans based on your soil, climate & lawn.  Includes soil testing.

Additional Resources

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