Field and Garden: Project Safe Send accepts lawn & garden pesticides

Foster County gardeners have a great opportunity this summer to get rid of pesticide bottles and packets that are lining the shelves of our garages and garden sheds.

Project Safe Send will be collecting unwanted pesticides free of charge in Carrington on Tuesday, July 11. Homeowners, farmers and ranchers are all eligible to participate in this program.

Herbicides, insecticides, rodenticides and fungicides will be accepted.

Project Safe Send will not accept fertilizer, paint or oil. Other means must be found to dispose of these chemicals.

Pesticides will be collected between 8 a.m. and noon on July 11 at the State Highway Shop, 6739 Highway 200.

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I know many gardeners have good success using wooden stakes or wire cages to hold their tomatoes off the ground.

I wanted to try something different this year, so I’m experimenting with the “Stake and Weave” method.

I drove a steel fence post into the ground at each end of the row and then planted my tomatoes in a straight line between the posts. The distance between plants was two feet.

I put additional posts between each second plant in the row.

When the plants reach 12 to 15 inches tall, I’ll tie string to an end post and then move down one side of the row, looping it around each post. At the end of the row, I’ll continue the process, going back the other way.

When I’m finished, each plant will be growing between and supported by two strings.

The first two strings will be eight to ten inches above the ground surface. As the plants grow, I’ll add additional lines of string approximately 18- and 24-inches off the ground.

The tension of the strings must be tight enough to hold the plants upright. Nylon baling twine is a good choice for string. Jute twine can also be used but it may stretch and become loose with time.

I’ll let you know the outcome of this experiment later this summer.

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Someone recently asked for advice about getting their cotoneaster hedge back into shape. There are two approaches that I can recommend.

The drastic approach is to cut all the branches down to two- to four-inches above the soil line. This approach is called rejuvenation pruning.

The drawback of this method is that you will need to wait two or more years to enjoy the full benefits of your hedge again.

A more gradual approach is called renewal pruning.

Homeowners begin by removing one third of the tallest and largest branches in the hedge. The process is repeated the next year and the year after that. By the third year, all the branches in the hedge are three years old or less.

The advantage of renewal pruning is that you can continue to enjoy the benefits of a windbreak and privacy screen while the hedge is being renewed.

Whichever method is adopted, the recommendation is to prune cotoneaster very early in the spring before new growth appears. This can reduce the incidence of fire blight, a bacterial disease to which cotoneaster is very susceptible.