Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 24, 1993 TAG: 9310250335
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: John Arbogast
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Next year you may need some "brown material" because of the abundance of compostable, nutrient-rich "green material" you have, such as grass clippings or garden plants that have been pulled up or cut off but are still green.
Compost is a low-cost yet very effective way to add both organic matter and nutrients to the soil, which many Roanoke-area flower and vegetable gardeners can verify is sorely needed.
The basic layers for successful composting are:
A several-inch thickness of the so-called "brown material," which could include old leaves or shredded woody prunings, things that are from plants, generally brown in color, and contain carbon but little of the other nutrients.
The "green layer" to be added on top of or mixed with the "brown materials," which will contain a plentiful amount of nitrogen and other nutrients and is generally moist, and could include fresh green leaves, grass clippings, or even fresh manure, which is full of natural nutrients (though it's not green, necessarily).
A thin layer of garden or flower bed soil, which contains the tiny micro-organisms that do the composting work, thus doing away with the need for any store-bought compost activator. Dampen this basic course so that the materials to compost are moist like a wrung-out sponge. Then repeat the basic course of layers to use the amount of compostables available.
Whether you start composting now or wait until spring, the pile should be at least 3 feet wide by 3 feet deep so that there is enough area of "stuff" to compost.
The height of the compost pile should be manageable, since compost ingredients need to be stirred occasionally with a pitch fork to mix the outer cool ingredients into the hotter center of the pile. Also, a compost pile that is too tall may be so heavy than the upper layers compact the lower layers, thus preventing natural decomposition.
Q: I brought my amaryllis in for the winter months. Should I water it now or at any other time during the winter while it is at rest? C.T., Rocky Mount A: If your amaryllis has not already begun to lose foliage to get ready for its resting period, you should force the bulb into rest by gradually withholding water. Then, once the bulb is resting and leafless, give it only enough water to keep the soil just slightly damp and prevent soil shrinking.
Q: Please tell me how to care for my bonsai plants during the winter months. I understand it is not a "house plant," so I am at a loss as to what to do or how to care for it. M.G., Collinsville
A: First, bonsai plants must receive proper care during the fall to prepare them for winter. Basically, the growth of the plants must be slowed down now by way of less-frequent waterings and no more fertilization.
If your bonsai plants have been outside for the summer, leave them there until freezing weather occurs so that the plants will be cooled off and will go dormant.
Then, the difficult part for some of us comes when the bonsai plants must be given winter protection before the temperature drops to 28 degrees F. This involves placing the bonsai in a cool greenhouse, pit or coldframe; the bonsai must be kept cool in order to stay dormant.
The other winter bonsai requirement will be to provide some, but not much, watering. Winter watering for a typical bonsai may be only necessary every other day. Keep in mind, though, that more bonsai are killed by overwatering than by other forms of winter injury.
Gardeners' checklist
(Jobs to be done in late October or early November)
When peach or nectarine trees have become dormant but before hard freezing weather, spray the trees thoroughly with the fungicide Ferbam to kill the fungus that causes peach leaf curl disease in the spring. It will be too late to kill the fungus then when the disease has occurred.
Send short questions about your lawn, garden, plants, or insects to Dear John, c/o the Roanoke Times & World-News, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010-2491. We need your mail, but this column can't reply to all letters. Those of wide appeal will be answered each week. Personal replies cannot be given. Please don't send stamps, stamped envelopes, samples or pictures.
John Arbogast is the agricultural extension agent for Roanoke.