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Online version
June 2020
 
The Heat Is On!Summer is officially here, says the calendar – as if those of us in the desert southwest didn’t know that already! The good news is that means the days are now getting shorter and fall is on the way. Have patience. Will summer have a different look to it this year? In the wake of sheltering at home and travel restrictions, will more people be “stay-cationing”? Perhaps your vacation plans have been cancelled or modified and you’re going to find yourself spending more time at home. This might be the year to make your back yard that resort you’ve been wanting to venture to for years. The drive will be a lot shorter now! Many Americans are hitting the “reset” button, staying home and investing in their homes, gardens, and outdoor living spaces. Perhaps this is a good thing coming out of the COVID confusion. The arrival of summer also means that the monsoon season is just around the corner, bringing with it much needed rainfall to the state. Whether it means anything or not, you may have heard the first buzzing sounds of cicadas around your neighborhood. It seems the surge of tropical moisture is not far behind those first buzzing sounds. What does this all mean for our gardens, landscapes, farms, and golf courses? Home landscapes may look a little stressed with higher temperatures and low humidity. The “dry heat” that keeps us more comfortable is not so great for plants. Lawns are in the middle of transition from winter to summer lawns, and they can look a little brown. Sub-tropicals like citrus may have some sunburned leaves, and tomato plants are beginning to tire a bit and will soon succumb to the less than cool temperatures at night. A great way to help alleviate the heat stress is by mulching and or adding compost. A layer of organic material around fruit trees, roses, vegetable or flower gardens and bare spots in lawns will allow moisture to remain more constant and will keep roots cooler so they can recover more quickly in the evenings. Covering bare spots in lawns will allow regrowth to occur from roots, stolens, or rhizomes of Bermuda grasses more quickly. The Farms Choice Premium Poultry Compost is a great product to address these situations. A well-nourished lawn, landscape, or garden is also able to withstand periods of heat stress or drought more efficiently as well. Adding our Premium Poultry Compost and or 4-2-2 Fertilizer Pellets on a regular basis throughout the summer months will give your plants a constant supply of nutrients and beneficial microorganisms to keep them healthy and more stress resistant all season. Good growin’! |
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Goin’ CountryIf you happen to drive out to “farm country” these days, you’ll see changes going on. Our wheat – in many cases highly sought-after Desert Durham -- has been harvested. Much of it is going to Italy for pasta! Wheat may be replaced by cotton in some cases, and we know Arizona is well known for that. It’s one of our 5 Cs. (Can you name the other four? -- the answer is at end of newsletter)
Sudan grass and other small grains as well as melons are thriving in the summer heat. We appreciate the many farmers who rely on The Farm’s Choice for their fertilizer programs. It is an honor to feed the plants that feed us all!
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Golf Courses Are Getting TLCGolf courses are in the middle of “transition.” This season sees winter or cool season grasses giving way to Bermuda grasses. It can be unpredictable in timing and duration and hard to manage as nearly every year is different. Methods that can be used to help smooth out this process include the following.
(2) De-thatching or removing a good portion, if not all, of the built-up layer of old grass between the canopy and the soil. This will allow more sunlight, moisture, and air to get to the Bermuda grass and will also help stress out the cool season grasses and hopefully terminate them so the Bermuda can take over. Either or both of these methods can and should be done in early summer when the warm season grass has begun to grow actively.
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Garden To Dos
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Where to Find UsThe Hickman’s and The Farms Choice family of fertilizer would like to thank the following nursery and gardening outlets for carrying our products. These folks will also be able to provide you with great and timely gardening information, and the plants and other necessary products to make your garden and landscape a success! ARIZONAA&P Nursery Arcadia Color Garden Nursery Berridge Nurseries Black Mountain Nursery Desert Horizon Nursery Elgin Nursery Harlow Gardens Jackrabbit Plant Nursery Mortimer Nursery and Landscape Olsen’s Feed Plant Fair Nursery Preach Building Supply and Landscape Rillito Nursery & Garden Center Sam’s Nursery Shamus O’Leary Tropical Fruit Trees Sprinkler World Stock Shop Treeland Nursery Urban Farm U & The Urban Farm Warner’s Nursery and Landscape Whitfill Nursery North Phoenix/Scottsdale East Valley Yuma Nursery Supply CALIFORNIACalifornia-Arcadia Garden (formerly known as Perla Nursery) NEW MEXICOPlant & Soil Organics, LLC |
Field corn is well on its way to being as high as an elephant’s eye by the 4th of July, sweet corn is being harvested and found at stands like The Freeman Corn Patch (945 N. Center Street) and The Orange Patch (2600 E Lehi Rd.) in Mesa; Rousseau Farmers Market (16156 W. Olive Avenue) in Waddell; and the Kerr Grandkids Farm Stand (8200 S. Dean Rd.) in Buckeye. 
(1) Aerification -- nearly every course does this at some time during the early summer. “Opening up” the ground to allow air, moisture, and nutrients added at the time of aerification to enter helps the dormant Bermuda recover at a faster pace.
The processes should also be accompanied by
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