This is your ProGardenBiz Newsletter! Issue 3

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Just to keep it interesting we've added some additional
articles to this issue. Enjoy!

____________________________________________

ProGardenBiz Landscape & Garden Magazine for the
Green Industry

ProGardenBiz is an online landscape & garden magazine for
professional gardeners and landscape contractors doing
maintenance, irrigation, installation, planting, and
waterscapes.

Quote for today: "If at first you don't succeed, you're running
about average."
- M.H. Alderson

Life's Quips...
'Some people bring happiness wherever they go, others whenever
they go.' - Oscar Wilde

____________________________________________

In this Issue:

- The Magic of Annual Vines
- How Does Your Garden Grow? The Startup Garden
- Questions from our readers... and answers!
- Factoid
- Your Edible Landscape: More Than Just Apples!
- Starting a Landscape or Gardening Business
- Contents Of the Current Issue of ProGardenBiz

____________________________________________

Article by Jackie Carroll
Editor of GardenGuides.com

For the cost of a packet of seeds, you can quickly
create a show stopping garden accent or a living
hideaway for children, hide a rusty chain link fence
or an unsightly garage wall, and turn an ordinary
balcony into a private garden. Started from seeds,
annual vines will scramble to heights of 20 feet or
more, highlighting features you want to show off and
covering eyesores.

Here are just a few of the many uses for annual vines:

Add a little magic to your garden by planting a
trellis or pole with brightly colored morning glories
and moonflowers. You'll have a burst of brightly
colored flowers during the day, and luminescent white
blossoms at night.

Add shade and privacy to your balcony with annual
vines. Because their root systems are limited, they
can be grown in large planters on a trellis, or
allowed to trail from window boxes and big hanging
baskets. The vertical growing habit will make a small
area seem larger.

Annual vines are ideal for introducing your children
to the magic of gardening. Build a teepee of bamboo or
fallen tree branches, and plant with scarlet runner
beans or tall nasturtiums. Your children will enjoy
their colorful (and edible) hideaway while learning
about the wonders of nature.

Plant climbing vines along chain link fences and light
poles to soften the look of your landscape.

Annual vines will quickly blanket a problem slope or
other area that is difficult to mow with colorful
flowers. If your slope is difficult to plant, use a
vine that will reseed itself such as morning glories
or cardinal climbers.

Plant vines along a southern wall to keep the house
cooler in summer.
Annual vines are easy to grow. They like a sunny
location with good quality, well drained soil. Plant
your seeds according to the package directions, and
keep them evenly moist until they germinate. After
germination, you'll only need to water when the
weather has been extremely hot or dry. Use fertilizers
sparingly. An abundance of nitrogen will encourage
your vines to produce an abundance of dark green
foliage and few flowers.

Have your trellises or other support in place when you
plant your seeds. If you can't plant right next to the
support, insert twigs into the soil next to the seeds
to lead the vines to their intended support. If the
vine can't find its support right away, it will waste
time searching and reaching for something to grab on
to.

Recommended Annual Vines
To see photos of these beautiful vines see:

http://www.progardenbiz.com/ezine/magic-annual-vines-ezine-3.html

Black Eyed Susan Vine
Unlike many climbing vines, this one isn't invasive so
it can be incorporated into existing gardens without
fear of crowding out existing plants. It's a great
choice for hanging baskets and window boxes.
Height: 5' to 10' trailing vine

Cardinal Climber Vine
The deep red flowers with white or yellow throats are
sure to draw attention to your trellises, fences and
poles.
Height: 6' to 20' vine

Cypress Vine
This vine can add a tropical texture to your landscape
with its interesting foliage and mix of bright red,
pink and white flowers. With the right conditions, it
grows to 20 feet.
Height: 8' to 10' vine

Hyacinth Bean Vine
This striking vine will have your visitors asking if
it's real! The flowers are followed by velvety purple
bean pods.
Height: 6' - 20' vine

Mina Lobata
'Firecracker Vine' or 'Exotic Love,' this unusual,
exciting, interesting annual vine has up to 12
beautiful 2" tubular flowers on each spike. Performs
well on trellises and in hanging baskets.
Height: 6' to 10' vine

Moonflower
Plant this fast-growing vine on a porch, near an
entrance, or under a window where you can enjoy the
evening performance and heady fragrance. The flowers
bloom only at night, and unfold in 2-3 minutes, and
event worth waiting for!
Height: 10' to 20' vine

Morning Glories
In the summer, flowers open in the morning, and in the
fall they stay open all day. Morning glories are grown
as a groundcover in difficult areas.
Height: 8' - 10' vine

Sweet Peas
Sweet peas are shorter than most of the other annual
vines mentioned here, but their outstanding fragrance
make them worthwhile when height isn't important. They
make a wonderful cut flower.
Height: 3' to 5' vine

About the Author:
Jackie Carroll is the editor of GardenGuides.com, a
leading internet destination for gardening information
and ideas. For hundreds of gardening articles and
expert gardening advice visit:
http://www.gardenguides.com
Come see what's on sale at GardenGuides Shops:
http://store.yahoo.com/gardenguides-store/


------------------------------------------


How Does Your Garden Grow?
Chapter One (Part One) from Tom Ehrenfeld's book,
The Startup Garden

Article by Tom Ehrenfeld

Finding Your Calling
Startup Garden Business Advice for Gardeners & Landscapers
Part One

You learn to Recognize, Articulate—and—Capitalize on Your
Passions and Strengths
One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began

--Mary Oliver, The Journey

When Tom Scott and Tom First launched Nantucket Allserve in
1988, they had no great plans to build a world-class beverage
company that many people recognize today as Nantucket Nectars.
The two had both recently graduated from nearby Brown University,
and they just wanted to run their own business. This urge, of
course, was synonymous with a desire to run their own lives. Tom
First always considered himself a “staircase person.” When
confronted with the choice between an elevator and a staircase,
“I will always take the stairs over the elevator,” he says,
“because the elevator will stop anywhere—and on the stairs I can
control my own destiny.”

For the rest of this article see:
http://www.progardenbiz.com/issues/v1issue2/Startup-Garden-Business-12.html

________________________________________________

Q&A
Questions from our readers...

Q. You ran a great article on CAD using the Macintosh computer,
but I don't do design work. What computer is best for
accounting, scheduling, estimating, etc.?

G.B.
Santee, CA

A. It is not the computer, but the software you should be
looking at. First you find the software that is best suited for
your needs. Then you pick the best hardware to run it on. Of
course there are significant differences between different
hardware systems and this translates into differences in the
software. My personal recommendation is the Macintosh computer.
The majority of users have a Windows based system.

Make sure you like and understand the system. Even if your
secretary or someone else will be using the system you should
understand it better than anyone in your company (you do not
want to be left hanging if you lose a key person). Lastly, do
not buy on price alone. Compare apples to apples. Look at what
kind of after the sale service you will receive. How much
training are you going to get? What kind of facilities do they
have for training? Do they install the system in your office?
What does extra consultation cost? Is it available?

Q. What cartoon character said, "The trouble with the rat race
is there is never a finish line"?

A. Is this a joke? Or is there a deep hidden meaning here? The
answer is Dagwood in the "Blondie" comic strip. We play
trivia too!

Q. Is there any site on the web that has landscape software
(freeware or shareware) for use?  Just wondering, as I have
over an acre to fill with trees and plants, and don't quite know
where to start.  It makes it doubly hard as I live in an area of
rocks rocks rocks!  If softball or baked potato sized rocks were
worth anything, I would be the Bill Gates of rocks!

Nani

A. If you are looking for landscape software for design here
are some sources:

http://www.taoherbfarm.com/
http://www.gardencomposer.com/
http://www.broderbund.com/SubCategory.asp?CID=467

For information on plants and planting see these sites:

http://davesgarden.com/welcome.php
http://clearwaterlandscapes.com

Those sites should help.

Q. I am looking for sources of information regarding the safety
of children and water features (do's and don't s of a design,
inspirational designers, academic or professional debate on the
subject).

Do you know of any legislation or approved codes of practice
for pond/water feature design?

Thanks for your time,
oneill69uk

A. In general, if children can get into it, it can be a hazard.
No water feature will be completely safe without adult
supervision. One idea on reducing the hazard would be to raise
the water feature as in a sitting height border. This would not
stop children, but at least slow them down. You can also place
decorative landscaping around features to prevent actually
approaching them.

Codes and legislation will vary widely from area to area.

Have questions? We have answers. Send your questions to
editor@progardenbiz. Your questions are welcome and will be
answered by email and appear in our "Letters" or "Ask?"
columns.

____________________________________________

Factoid: A hornworm can eat an entire tomato plant by
itself in one day.

____________________________________________

Your Edible Landscape: More Than Just Apples!

Article by Steve Jones, The Plant Man
www.landsteward.org

In a previous column, I discussed the enjoyment you can derive
from planting "edible landscape" or trees and bushes that
produce fruit. The emphasis then was on apples and the benefits
of some of my favorite varieties. However, there's no need to
stop at apples! Today, I'll turn the spotlight onto some other
trees and bushes that are pleasing to your tastebuds as well
as your eyes!

Let's start with a fruit that's almost as popular as the apple.
Yes, you guessed right: the pear.

I like to think of pears as being great trees for the
horticulturally-challenged. Why? Because they can tolerate many
different soil conditions, they don't require much care or
fertilizing once established and they rarely need pruning. And,
yes, they can produce fairly sizable crops of fruit for decades,
with little care.

Pears are an excellent food for people watching their diet, too.
Of course, pears contain no fat and are a good source of
B-complex vitamins. They taste good too. Here are some popular
pear varieties you might consider:

Bartlett Pear. Arguably the most popular pear variety in America
because it's ideal for both eating fresh or canning. Bartletts
look lovely on the tree with their yellow-green skin, long neck
and smooth shape. Although they're somewhat self-fruitful, I
recommend cross pollinating with another pear variety for best
results. I like to begin picking them in September then allow
them to ripen in the refrigerator to bring out the full flavor.

Pineapple Pear. As you might guess, this pear has a taste
reminiscent of pineapple that I happen to find very appealing.
The fruit is large and russet colored with a long "keeping"
life. If you enjoy pear preserves, this would be a good choice.

Kieffer Pear. This hybrid might not be a familiar name, but has
a major benefit over some of the better-known varieties: it is
resistant to fireblight, a major disease of European pears grown
in humid regions. It bears fruit at an early age and ripens in
September.

If your landscape isn't suitable for standard-sized fruit
trees, you might want to consider fruit bushes. Here are some
idea starters:

Thornless Blackberry (Rubus ulmifrolius) could be a very good
choice! In addition to being thornless, they do not need a
trellis, and I find that they have a particularly sweet flavor.
I like two varieties, Arapaho Thornless and Navaho Thornless.
Both produce sucker plants that help them co-mingle quickly and
produce an appealing blackberry hedgerow that can be very
attractive in various different landscape designs. By the
way, Arapaho is the earliest thornless blackberry of any
variety. Both are hardy in zones 3 - 8.

Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa). "Doubtless God could have
made a better berry, but doubtless God never did." That's a
quote from William Butler (1535-1618) that I found at a web
site that tells you just about everything you could ever want
to know about strawberries. You can find it at
http://www.jamm.com/strawberry/facts.html and you can click
on a direct link from this column at my web site,
www.landsteward.org

I have been able to harvest more than 50 pounds of fruit from
as few as 25 strawberry plants just one year after planting.
You'll need to find a site that is open to direct sunlight most
of the day, and it's a good idea to avoid very low-lying areas
that are prone to spring frosts. I also suggest that you invest
in a white spunbonded row cover to protect open strawberry
blossoms from spring frosts and freezes. The same cover comes in
handy for bird control during harvest, too.

There are a number of very good varieties of strawberry
available. If you have questions about which varieties might be
best in your area, you can drop me an e-mail at
steve@landsteward.org One variety that I frequently recommend
is the Ozark Beauty because of its exceptional hardiness and
because it's one of the heaviest producing plants I've ever
tested.

If you'd like to find a strawberry that's also an effective and
attractive groundcover for your landscape, take a look at
Honeoye. Yes, it's a weird name, but it produces runners
freely, making for good groundcover, and it produces large,
juicy fruits with a tart, distinct flavor.

Here's a pleasant mental image for you: It's a Saturday morning,
and the weekend is stretching lazily in front of you. How about
a plate of home made pancakes? Step outside in you pajamas and
pick a handful of your own fresh blueberries and you're all set.
I love the distinctive taste of blueberries, and the plants are
an attractive element in your landscape, too. Bear in mind that
you will need to plant at least two different varieties for
proper cross-fertilization.

Some of the varieties of blueberry I often recommend are
Blueray, Bluejay and Patriot. A comparative newcomer is a
variety known as Duke. I've noticed that Duke ripens early and
seems to have consistent high-yields. It has an excellent flavor
and produces nicely colored firm fruit.

Well, there you have it. Just a few ideas that should get you
thinking about landscape that tastes as good as it looks! I
invite you to tell me about any topics you'd like me to address
in future columns.

The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees,
shrubs and landscaping to steve@landsteward.org and for
resources and additional information, including archived
columns, visit www.landsteward.org
____________________________________________

Starting a Landscape or Gardening Business:
ProGardenBiz, a landscape and garden magazine for the Green
Industry is your online resource for starting and operating a
business as a landscape contractor or landscape and lawn
maintenance gardener. Related fields covered by ProGardenBiz
are irrigation installation and maintenance, sprinklers -
repair and maintenance, waterscapes, water features, and ponds.
You will also find information on plants, plant identification,
trees and tree maintenance, and many other topics that span the
Green Industry.

If the answers you seek are not readily found, then drop us an
email at: editor@progardenbiz. Your questions are welcome and
will be answered by email and appear in our "Letters" or "Ask?"
columns.
_______________________________________

Contents Of the Current Issue of ProGardenBiz
http://www.progardenbiz.com
Volume 1, Issue 2
Feature Articles

-Irrigation Time Savers
-Install a Water Garden
-Don't Get Ripped Off
-Creative Railroad Ties
-Innovative Irrigation Tool: The Chain Saw!
-I Survived the Landscape Industry Trade Show

Just added this week:

• Equipment Maintenance
http://www.progardenbiz.com/issues/v1issue2/Lawn-Mower-Sharp-Blades-EM.html

Special Features:
ProGardenBiz Ezine

• Issue 1
http://www.progardenbiz.com/ezine/roundup-landscape-ezine-1.html

• Issue 2
http://www.progardenbiz.com/ezine/landscape-customer-service.html

_______________________________________

You can post questions, comments, thoughts, ideas and more to
this email discussion group at: progardenbiz@yahoogroups.com

I look forward to hearing from you!

Thank you,

Steve Fleming
Publisher
ProGardenBiz

The Pocket Gopher
Article by Matt Oliver
Copyright © 2003 by ProGardenBiz
ProGardenBiz, an online magazine
http://www.progardenbiz.com

Pocket gophers (Tomomys spp.), so named for their fur lined
cheek pouches located outside the mouth on each side of the
face, are burrowing rodents. They are a serious and difficult
to control pest for both the Agricultural and Landscape
Industries, as well as the homeowner. They destroy vegetation,
damage machinery (such as mowers), damage irrigation systems
and underground wiring, and lower the aesthetic value of the
landscape. In addition, their burrowing activity on slopes
causes erosion and can be a major factor in slope weakening
and instability that may ultimately lead to a slope failure.
Pocket gophers were identified as a major contributing factor
to slope failure in a number of recent litigation cases in
California.

Biology

A thorough understanding of gopher biology and habits is
helpful, if not necessary, to a successful control program.
They are medium sized rodents with the head and body ranging
in size from 6-8 inches (15-20 cm) long. They have a powerfully
built upper body, short neck and legs, long clawed forefeet,
and two pairs of large incisors protruding beyond the mouth.
These fossorial features are tremendous adaptations for their
underground existence. They have a keen sense of touch, thanks
to their tail (short and sparsely haired) and vibrissae
(whiskers), which serve as sensory organs helping to guide the
gopher throughout its burrow system. Fur color is highly
variable, ranging from dark brown to very light tan.

-
Pocket gophers do not hibernate and are thought to be active
year round even with snow on the ground, but do noticeably
decrease surface feeding and mounding in very hot weather.
Females produce 1-3 litters per year with an average size
surviving brood of 5-6. In unirrigated natural areas breeding
season is after the rains begin -- which may mean only one
litter per year. In irrigated, landscaped areas the continual
source of green foliage allows the female to raise 3 litters
per year.

They are territorial, anti-social, and live solitary except
during breeding periods and when the young are being raised.
Gophers live almost exclusively underground, venturing above
only to push excavated dirt from the burrow system, graze on
vegetation near burrow openings, or for the purpose of
migrating into new territory. Migration occurs both by adults
-- usually as a result of unfavorable environmental conditions
and/or habitat destruction (e.g. construction projects), and
young which the mother expels from her burrow system when they
are about half grown.

Burrow systems consist of a main tunnel, lateral runs, pop
holes, and various other functional tunnels and enlargements
which are used for nesting, storage (food caches), resting,
eating, etc. The main burrow is usually 2-4 inches in diameter
(averaging 2 1/2") and is 2-18 inches below and parallel to
the ground surface. Burrows of young may be small, covering
only one or two hundred square feet while those of older pocket
gophers may cover an area as large as three thousand square
feet. Lateral runs branch off the main run and are used
primarily to push excavated soil to the surface. The mounds
from these laterals are crescent shaped because the soil is
pushed with the forefeet out of the angled lateral to the front
and sides of the opening. Pop holes usually lead straight from
the surface to the main run and are used as an access for
feeding on nearby vegetation. All runs leading to the surface
end in a soil mound or plug which keeps the system completely
enclosed -- allowing no light to enter, and stabilizing burrow
temperature and humidity as much as possible. If a gopher dies,
irrigation or rain washes the loose soil plugs from lateral runs
and pop holes leaving open tunnels. Drainage tunnels are used
for water run-off, thus making it difficult to drown a gopher in
a well established system.

The rate of mound building varies with the season, tempurature,
and soil condition, but averages 1-3 mounds per day, during
active periods. The depth of active burrows is usually deeper
under hot conditions, especially in non-irrigated or
infrequently irrigated areas. Mounding often sharply decreases
in the heat of Summer followed by intensive mounding in the
Fall. This renewed Fall activity has often been blamed on
reinvasion of areas thought to have been controlled in the
early Summer.

Control

Although many different techniques have been used in gopher
control the most successful programs usually utilize one or
more of the following methods: trapping, fumigation, and
poison baits.

Trapping is an effective method in small areas such as a
homeowner situation, or as a follow up to fumigation or
baiting, but is time consuming and thus not very cost effective
in a large scale program. The most commonly used traps are the
Macabee trap and the box trap. Traps should always be placed in
the main burrow.

To locate the main burrow, look for the freshest mounds since
they indicate an area of recent gopher activity. You will
usually see a small circle or depression representing the
plugged lateral tunnel. This plug is generally surrounded on
one side by soil, making the mound form a crescent shape. The
main tunnel is usually found 3-1/2 inches from the plug side of
the mound, and is most often between two mounds. Locating the
main burrow usually requires practice, but your skill will
improve with experience.

After locating the main tunnel, open it with a shovel or garden
trowel and set the traps in pairs facing the opposite
directions. This is necessary in order to intercept the gopher
coming from either end of the burrow. The box type is easier
for most inexperienced trappers to set, but requires more
excavation. Box traps are useful when the diameter of the
gopher's main burrow is small (less than 2 1/2 inches) since
small burrows will need to be enlarged to accomodate the box
traps. All traps should be wired to stakes to prevent loss.
After setting the traps, exclude light from the burrow by
covering the opening with dirt clods, sod, cardboard, or some
other material. Fine soil can be sifted through the edges to
ensure a tight seal. If light enters, the gopher may plug the
burrow with soil, filling the traps in and making them
ineffective. Check traps often and reset when necessary. If no
gopher is caught within 3 days, reset the traps in a different
location.

Poison baits offer the quickest and most effective method of
controlling a large gopher infestation. The most commonly used
toxicants are chloraphacinone, strychnine, and zinc phosphide
pelleted bait. Chloraphacinone, the lesser used of the
toxicants, is a multiple dose anti-coagulant that prevents the
normal process of blood coagulation ultimately causing death
from internal bleeding. It has limited field use because of the
necessity of making multiple applications in the same burrow
system, but may be useful where an extra margin of safety is
desired. The acute toxicants, strychnine and zinc phosphide,
are the most used and most effective. Most baits are prepared on
hulled wheat, barley, or milo grains, with wheat seeming to be
the most preferred by the common Battae (T. bottae) gopher. Zinc
phosphide baits are only accepted adequately in blended pelleted
bait. Strychnine alkaloid bait comes in various formulations
ranging from .25% to 3.0%. In instances where a tractor pulled
mechanical bait applicator is used, formulations from 1.8% to as
high as 3.0% can be utilized. The burrower building mechanical
bait applicator is seldom used in urban situations. Zinc
phosphide can be obtained in 1.0% to 2.0% formulations.

One registered burrow fumigant, aluminum phosphide, is very
effective when used under ideal conditions. Soil should be moist
to accomodate gas formation and to provide a good soil seal.
Even though the gopher often detects burrow fumigation efforts
and trys to plug the system, the use of aluminum phosphide can
still be very effective if at least 2 points within the burrow
system are treated at the same time. The material is used in
pellet form with the pellets being placed into the runway using
a 5/8 to 3/4 inch probe to open the system and a gloved hand to
drop them in. A dirt clod, rock, or plant material is then
placed over the probe hole. This product can be very hazardous
and must be used according to label directions, as with all
pesticides, and requires a restricted materials permit.

Note: Use of strychnine and zinc phophide baits and the fumigant
aluminum phosphide require restricted material permits and user certification.

Many factors influence the success of a baiting program; proper
bait placement within the gopher system, environmental factors
such as soil type, soil moisture, and availablity of green
forage. All can enhance or hinder bait acceptance, and control
results. For instance, dry sandy soils often will collapse when
probed, preventing any bait application, while overly wet soils
may cause the bait to become soggy, muddy, and quickly mold,
thus making it unacceptable to the gopher.

The types of available plants affect how quickly gophers accept
bait. For example, gophers are controlled more easily in turf
than in O'Connor's Legume as the latter is the preferred host.

Finally, gophers may become "bait shy" if they ingest sublethal
amounts of a bait and become sick. Because the animal
associates the sickness with the taste of the bait, it will no
longer feed on it. Once this occurs, another type of bait or
alternative control method should be used.

Any gopher population can be controlled and in many situations
even eliminated. Succesful programs in large scale situations
generally require an initial clean-out of intensified treatment
to bring the existing population to a maintainable level (90%
or better). Once control is achieved a continuous maintenance
program will most often be required to prevent reinfestation
problems from developing as a result of migration from heavily
infested surrounding areas.
__________________________________________

About the Author:

Matt Oliver is General Manager at Agricultural Pest Control
Services, Inc., a company that specializes in controlling
vertebrate pest problems. Matt is a Contributing Editor for
ProGardenBiz Magazine, an online magazine for professional
gardeners and landscape contractors. Visit ProGardenBiz to
find out how you can get a free subscription, start-up
guidance, business ideas and inspiration at
http://www.progardenbiz.com.
__________________________________________

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