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A lush lawn and gar- den is a part of many homeowners' dreamhome. A lawn that em-

anates green and a gar-den that's home to suc-culent vegetables is de-sirable to homeownersacross the country.

Of course, such lawnsand gardens take timeand effort, and a host of factors will determine if a lawn and garden issomething homeownersshould be proud orashamed of. One suchfactor is soil health.Healthy soil helps deliv-er food and water toplants, allowing them tothrive and add aestheticappeal to homes. To

maintain healthy soil,homeowners should

consider the followingtips.* Get the soil tested.

When addressing soilhealth, it's best to firstget the soil tested. A soiltest will show which typeof soil you have as wellas its makeup and struc-ture, and just how goodor bad it currently is.Such tests can also re- veal if the soil is missingany essential nutrients.Some soil tests can be

conducted by novicegreen-thumbers, while

others are best left to thelocal agricultural bu-

reau. These tests are a good investment, as they will remove the guess- work from fertilizing. Without a soil test, many homeowners end upoverdoing it when fertil-izing, which can prove a costly mistake. Take a soil sample a few months before you planto plant or landscape togive yourself enoughtime to apply the test'srecommendations to your lawn and garden.

* Avoid wet soil. Whensoil is wet, don't walk ordrive over it and keepthe kids out of the yard. When wet soil is walkedon or driven over, thesoil gets packed down,pushing out air andmaking it more difficultand sometimes impossi- ble for water to passthrough the soil. Thatmakes it hard for rootsto grow. Gardeners whoplan to plant this gar-dening season should wait for the soil to dry before planting.

* Use well-drainedsoil. Well-drained soil will dry fast and enableoxygen to reach the rootzone, helping buildstronger roots as a re-sult. Plants with strongroots are more likely tosurvive severe weather.

* Use compost. Com-post can prove very ben-eficial to soil health. Or-ganic compost is typical-ly loaded with nutrientsthat, upon maturity, feedthe soil and promote soil

health. Biodegradableitems like grass clip-pings, leaves and evenexcess food like applecores can strengthen thecompost. Even worms, which break down com-post quickly and add nu-trients, can be a valuableaddition to organic com-post.

* Don't bash bacteria.Bacteria is often seen asa formidable foe, butsome bacteria can actu-ally promote healthy soil. Bacteria decomposeplant matter, releasingthe nutritive value intothe soil, and can also break down chemicalpesticides. So while bac-teria is bad more oftenthan it's beneficial, some bacteria are quite useful,particularly when itcomes to healthy soil.

* Don't be scared off by slime. Like bacteria,slime has a bad reputa-tion. However, veterangardeners understandthat reputation isn't

warranted. Slime moldis ugly, and many new gardeners see it and in-stantly assume it's badfor their garden. How-ever, slime molds aregood for the soil, help-ing break down dead wood and leaves. They might not add aesthet-ic appeal, but slimemolds do serve a prac-tical and importantpurpose in maintaininghealthy soil.

* Pests can be an ally to healthy soil. Some

garden pests like mites,millipedes and cen-tipedes are incorrectly assumed to be enemiesof healthy soil. In fact,such pests can vastly improve soil health.Mites consume deadleaves and additionalplant matter, enabling bacteria to more effec-tively release nutrientsinto the soil. Millipedesand centipedes are also beneficial to soil, astheir droppings im-prove both the soil'stexture and fer tility.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 Chronicle-Express.com The Chronicle-ExpressB8

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Soil Solutions

aintain Healthy Soil Through the Season

Gardeners can take sev-eral steps to maintainsoil health.

8/7/2019 Lawn and Garden 3

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Homeowners movetrees around their prop-erty for a number of rea-sons. Some might beadding on to their prop-erty and need to makeroom for their new addi-tion, while others mightsimply want to move a tree for aesthetic rea-sons. Whatever the rea-son, transplanting treescan be risky. Trees thatare not fully healthy, forinstance, might find a transplant too stressful.If the stress proves over- whelming, the tree coulddie or lose some its phys-ical appeal. Thoughthere are no guarantees when transplantingtrees, there are a few guidelines homeownerscan follow to increasethe likelihood of a suc-cessful transplant.

* Transplant at theright time. It's best totransplant trees whenthe ground is not frozen. When transplanting inthe spring, do so right

after the ground hasthawed and before thetree or shrub's buds be-gin to swell. Whentransplanting in the fall,do so soon after leaf drop to allow time forroot development beforethe soil freezes.

* Re-locate to the cor-rect spot. Before trans-planting a tree or shrub,test the new location inmind. Make sure theplace to where the treeor shrub will be movedcan provide sufficientlight for the givenspecies to thrive. In ad-dition, check the new lo-cation's soil pH, mois-ture and wind exposure.Not all areas of a proper-ty are ideal for trees andshrubs, so inspect thearea before moving.Such an inspectionshould include examin-ing a layout of the prop-erty's utility lines.

* Avoid drying out.Trees and shrubs shouldnot dry out during thetransplanting process. Water the plants for 2 to3 days prior to trans-planting the tree if thesurrounding soil is dry. When it comes time totransplant, cover theroot ball with a dampmaterial, such as burlap

or canvas, that will helpretain moisture the treeor shrub needs.

* Let the professionalsmove larger trees. Mov-ing larger trees is an un-dertaking best left toprofessionals. Trans-planting larger treescould prove a difficult

undertaking for many homeowners, and thetree could suffer greatly

if that's the case.* Plant as soon as pos-

sible. It's possible tostore a tree and not im-mediately plant it, butit's ideal to plant a treeor shrub that is being

transplanted as soon aspossible. If storing, avoidcovering the root ball with plastic. That cansuffocate the plant'sroots, putting its life insignificant jeopardy.Protect stored plantsfrom extreme tempera-tures, wind and directsunlight.

* Plant properly.Planting holes should betwo to three times as wide as the root ball. If planting in dry soil, pre- water the holes beforeplanting begins, and besure to plant the tree or

shrub at the same depthit was originally growingin. Also, plant the tree so

it is in the same direc-tion, relative to the sun,that it was previously in.

LAWN & GARDEN QUESTIONS? Call (315) 536-4422, or email ChronicleNews1@rochester.rr.com.

Chronicle-Express.com The Chronicle-Express Wednesday, April 20, 2011 B9

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