Looks like I lucked out this year (had them bad last year). Keep the grass short (especially in the late fall) and raked and you might lucky out.
I leave poison and traps out 24/7/365 now and I still catch the odd one. Once you get them you're pretty much screwed.
I figured so. I have some poison traps in the garage in case mice or a stray vole make their way in there.
Anything I should we weary of when raking up the grass since there is droppings in a bunch of places? Wear some gloves and a mask, or am I fine since I'm outside?
Anyone ever spray dormant oil for leaf hoppers? What is the proper time to do so in Calgary? I've got a brutal white fly or leaf hopper problem on my Virginia Creepers.
Looks like I lucked out this year (had them bad last year). Keep the grass short (especially in the late fall) and raked and you might lucky out.
I leave poison and traps out 24/7/365 now and I still catch the odd one. Once you get them you're pretty much screwed.
Looks like I have them in my backyard for the first time this year. Any suggestions for the poison / traps? We don't have a dog or cat, so I'm not too worried about just leaving poison out in the right places.
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Looks like I have them in my backyard for the first time this year. Any suggestions for the poison / traps? We don't have a dog or cat, so I'm not too worried about just leaving poison out in the right places.
I bought the multi pack of black poison dispensers. Think its 6 total and scattered them around the perimeter of the yard.
And then as many of the cheap wooden traps that your comfortable buying and monitoring. The more the better! haha
I was finding cheese slices mushed around the trigger thing work the best.
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Just wondering if anybody knows the going rate for fences per linear foot. What would be a fair price in Calgary when quoted? I can do it on my own for about $25/foot and am wondering if it's worth it to just have a contractor do it.
Have decided that this will be the summer I will try to get my irrigation system working. I bought this house five years ago, not even realizing that it has irrigation. In the course of cleaning up the disaster the previous owner had left in the yard I have discovered heads all over the place. Cleaned out an overgrown bed last summer and found a valve box.
Today after clearing out an overgrown shrub I set to work on the valve box as a starting point. I have walked the piping back to the source in the house and have confirmed that the system is shut off and dry. Pop the top off the valve box and it is full to the top with dirt. Scooped out all the loose stuff on top but the ground is still frozen a foot or so down. Did manage to expose all the wiring and grease caps. And one of the solenoids seems to be pulled off. Will let the ground thaw and I think I am going to excavate everything in the area around the valve box as soon as I can to see where I am at.
Does anyone know if you're supposed to trim karl foerster grass in the spring? Or do you just let it be?
I only planted it last fall, so it hasn't really had a chance to grow, so I'm wondering if it would be good to trim them all down so they can grow at the same rate.
Anyone know where to get lots of free mulch? I need around 46 cubic yards worth. I'm going to take a look at the landfill this weekend and see what its like. Anyone know if they would load a dump truck if I hired one to haul it away?
Does anyone know if you're supposed to trim karl foerster grass in the spring? Or do you just let it be?
I only planted it last fall, so it hasn't really had a chance to grow, so I'm wondering if it would be good to trim them all down so they can grow at the same rate.
I have some of this too and just planted last fall. I recall something on the card about cutting it before growing season.
Found this: "'Karl Foerster' is usually free of serious disease or insect problems although a foliar rust disease may appear in particularly wet summers and in situations with poor air circulation. Browsing deer don't bother it. Little maintenance is required except to cut back the stems to about 6 inches in late winter or early spring. In areas with mild winters the foliage may remain evergreen."
Does anyone know if you're supposed to trim karl foerster grass in the spring? Or do you just let it be?
I only planted it last fall, so it hasn't really had a chance to grow, so I'm wondering if it would be good to trim them all down so they can grow at the same rate.
Cut the grass to a foot or 1.5 feet from the ground. Cutting it down will "encourage" it to grow and increase the root ball and they will grow at the same rate.
Good luck and have fun gardening!
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Bump - I'm sure this already been asked in this thread but wanted if anyone has a recommendation for a good landscaper? I want to remove an old rock garden and resod my front yard and am hoping to get a few quotes.
These guys helped me prep my yard for my retaining wall that I did myself. Good price, anyway. I can't comment on their other work but they showed up when they said they would, and got the job done.
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Looks like the perfect thing for me. I might just buy it and report back.
Bought one today and gave it a try. Worked really well, much better than I was expecting. Certainly helped that it's been rainy lately, from what I read they work a lot better if the soil is moist. For $30 I'd say it's worth it.
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Anyone have experience with planting cedars? I'd like to build a privacy forest along both sides of my fence. I want them to grow tall, 8-10 feet, to block my neighbours decks from my deck.
How far apart should they be placed? Everywhere I google just wants to give me directions to build a tight hedge, I don't want a hedge, just cedars that will grow into each other and be fairly tight.
Costco has them on right now I want to go stock up on them tonight.
__________________ "In brightest day, in blackest night / No evil shall escape my sight / Let those who worship evil's might / Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!"
Cedars are generally considered one of the less reliable trees for Calgary. I think it's our chinook winter cycles that are hard on them, and they typically thrive in more moist conditions than what Calgary provides. They also do best in a location where they're sheltered from the wind, so they'll do better on the east side of a house than the west, typically. That's not to say that you can't plant them here - obviously lots of them do survive, but if you're doing a privacy hedge you might find yourself replacing a bunch of them within a couple years. Which species you plant is important, too. A quick google suggests 'Brandon' does poorly here, Techny or Holmstrup do better. Juniper is generally a much more reliable option.
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I planted 2 cedars in front of my house about 7 years ago. They were 2 feet tall. Now they are 10. I wasn't sure how they would do as they were about 3 feet form the north side of the house in perpetual shade, but they are fantastic. Width at the base is maybe 3 or 4 feet.
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A couple of quick questions (hopefully) - I have a large shrub bed in my yard and I'm eventually going to put down some landscape fabric and some rock (most likely). Right I have quite a bit of green moss covering the topsoil, do I need to remove it before putting down the fabric and rock? Is it considered dangerous to animals or people? Can I just break up the topsoil and then put the fabric and rock down over it?