Water Features

Bill and Barbara Bradshaw recently made some landscape changes at their home. I really admired the water feature in the background.
Its form, simplicity and color all appeal to my eye.

Barnyard - Good For All Plants?

With today’s interest in being organic, may folks seem to think “Barnyard Is Best”. Following is an excerpt from the July Pecan Press in which Dr. George Ray McEarchern discussed nitrogen sources for pecan orchards.

“Barnyard manure can be ruled out. In 1949 A.O Alben at the USDA Pecan Station in Shreveport learned manure from the Fort Worth Stockyards caused zinc rosette to the extent that it was discontinued. F. R. Brison called it the barnyard effect when trees failed to grow in soil containing manure. I learned pecan trees can actually die from barnyard manure at a sheep show lot in Lamesa and at a dairy feedlot in El Paso. So manure, even if it is free is not a workable source of nitrogen for pecans."

Phosphorus and Flowering

It is not likely that your plants will have more flowers if you use a fertilizer with higher amounts of phosphorus.

Phosphorus for Blooming Plants

Mitchell, C.C.; Pinkston, C.B.; and Wheeler, E.J.

Garden centers and retail fertilizer companies often promote high P fertilizers for blooming plants with no regard to soil test P levels. Master Gardeners in Cullman and Marshall Counties in northern Alabama wanted to determine if applying a high P fertilizer to a soil that was high in P would actually improve flowering for summer annual flowers. Identical experiments were conducted in 2006 at two locations in North Alabama. Soil test prior to establishment indicated that both sites tested very high in extractable P; no additional P was recommended. Ten treatments replicated 4 times were applied that included various N: P ratios, two commercial fertilizers for blooming plants and poultry broiler litter (a 3-3-2 grade fertilizer). The highest N and P rate applied was equivalent to 120 lb. N and 120 lb. P2O5 per acre applied twice during the growing season. Annual blooming plants were planted in each plot and monitored during the growing season. Additional P fertilization had no effect on number of blooms, bloom quality or vegetative quality. Nitrogen fertilization alone up to 120 lb. N per acre produced healthier plants and more blooms at both locations. This applied research activity provided local Master Gardeners with an opportunity to contribute to agricultural experiment station research.