Gardening
Post Winter Care for Your Lawn
Snow mold appears as circular areas of matted brown grass sometimes found with gray or pink cobweb-like growth over these areas.
Photo credit: MelindaMyers.com
As winter gives way to spring take a walk around the yard. Check the lawn for damage and provide a bit of early season care to help it recover from winter.
Use a leaf rake to lightly lift and separate the matted grass blades. This helps speed drying, increase airflow, and reduce the risk of pink and gray snow mold developing and damaging your lawn.
These fungal diseases are most common when heavy snowfalls or ice covers non-frozen turf or after late winter snowstorms. The damage is usually seen where snow lingers late in the season.
Symptoms appear as circular areas of matted brown grass. You may even see a gray or pink cobweb-like growth over these areas. Fortunately, lawns eventually recover. Reduce the risk of future problems with proper timing of lawn fertilization.
Remove any leaves or debris that ended up on the lawn. Large leaves on the grass capture moisture and prevent sunlight from reaching the plants below. Use leaves you collect as mulch in the garden or add to the compost pile.
Look for vole trails in the lawn. These small rodents travel beneath the snow and over the grass in search of food all winter long. Their travels create trails of bare or dead grass. The surrounding grass will eventually fill in the damaged areas. Speed recovery by sprinkling grass seed over the trails. Just mix a handful of grass seed in a mop bucket of topsoil to make a lawn patch. Sprinkle the mixture in the trails, gently tamp and water.
Check areas along walks, drives and the street for deicing salt damage. Even if you don't apply deicing salts, passing cars can spray it onto your lawn. Your car also brings home salt as it travels along salted roadways, depositing salty snow onto the drive.
Make sure these areas receive sufficient water this spring. Regular spring showers often do the job. Thoroughly water these areas during dry springtime weather to help wash the salt past the grass roots into the soil below. Consider shoveling first and using plant-friendly deicing salts in the future. This will reduce the need for deicing salts and reduce the time and money spent repairing salt-damaged plants.
Use this time to sharpen your mower blades. Using sharp blades to cut the grass results in a healthier and better-looking lawn. The clean cut made by a sharp blade closes quickly, reducing the risk of disease problems. Sharp blades also save time as you can cut the grass more efficiently. And speaking of savings, your mower will consume 22% less fuel and the lawn will use up to 30% less water when using sharp blades.
Soon it will be time to mow the lawn. Mow high and often, leaving grass clippings on the lawn to add organic matter, moisture, and nutrients to the soil. Always sweep clippings off walks and the drive to keep this valuable organic matter out of waterways.
Take care of winter damage now before the even busier garden season begins. Investing time now helps improve your lawn's health and beauty, allowing you more time to enjoy the summer.
Melinda Myers is the author of more than 20 gardening books, including Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses "How to Grow Anything" DVD series and the Melinda's Garden Moment TV & radio segments. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine. Her web site is www.MelindaMyers.com.
Antiques
Latest Antique and Auction News
There has been a considerable amount of antique, collectibles, and auction news since my last update. A bowl purchased at a Connecticut yard sale made news across the globe when it was recently sold at auction.
An unnamed man purchased the white and blue Chinese bowl for $35 at a yard sale in the New Haven, CT area. The Smithsonian Magazine reported that "the ornately decorated dish, which features depictions of lotuses, peonies, chrysanthemums and pomegranate blossoms, dates back to the reign of the Yongle Emperor (1403–1424)." The auction house claimed that there are only 6 similar pieces known to exist. The Smithsonian reported that "these specimens are housed in such prominent cultural institutions as Taipei’s Palace Museum, the National Museum of Iran, the British Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum." The "Lotus bowl" had a pre-auction estimate of $300,000 to $500,000. An unknown buyer purchased the bowl for nearly $722,000.
An ArtFix daily report stated that a rare Charlie Chaplin poster was also headed to auction recently. "Produced in 1913, when Chaplin was still a vaudeville performer and aspiring comedian, the 42 inch long by 14 inch wide, broadside advertises Fred Karno’s London Comedy Company and a show called "The Wow Wows", starring Chaplin and other comedy performers. The show was held at the Empress Theatre in San Diego, with performances on February 17th, 1913," according to ArtFix. The poster had a pre-auction estimate of $300 to $3,500. A search of auction results shows that it sold for $10,500.
Tom Brady's move to Tampa Bay is a sore subject for many local sports fans, but it hasn’t hurt the value of his sports memorabilia. One of Brady's rookie cards recently set an auction record and another rookie card currently being auctioned online has already surpassed that record. A 2000 Playoff Contenders Championship Ticket Tom Brady card sold earlier this month. Fox 19 Cincinnati News reported that James Park, who is the CEO of Fitbit, purchased the card. Park explained to USA Today why he wanted the card. "I lived in Boston for 10 years and so am a huge fan of Brady. I’ve also had a love of collecting cards since I was a kid. Given Brady's uncontested status as GOAT in football, this card is an important piece of sports history and of any collection." The card was graded 8 out of 10 and was one of only one hundred produced, according to USA Today. It sold for $1.32 million, making it the most valuable football card ever sold. A higher-grade version of the same card is currently being offered in an online auction now. This card graded 8.5 and the signature was graded at 9.0. The card is numbered 99/100 (99 of 100). The auction description notes that the consignor purchased it on eBay over a decade ago. Bidding ends on April 2nd. As of March 20th, the current bid is over $1.7 million. The card is expected to break the $2.0 million mark, which is more than 10 times Tom Brady's rookie salary of $193,000.
We will soon be offering an important collection of sports and non-sports cards all from one estate, with some dating back over 70 years ago. Our May auction with paintings, jewelry, sterling silver, antique Asian pieces, Larry Bird and Wayne Gretzky rookie cards, and other quality pieces will go online in early May. Deadline for consigning for that auction ends in April. We will also be running our next online auction of antique, vintage, and contemporary toys soon. You can join our email list on our website to keep updated on upcoming events.
Contact us at: Wayne Tuiskula Auctioneer/Appraiser Central Mass Auctions for Antique Auctions, Estate Sales and Appraisal Services www.centralmassauctions.com (508-612- 6111) info@centralmassauctions.com