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News & Notes
Hewson Landscape, Inc. January 2012 |
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| Message From The President, | |
 Welcome to 2012! Hope your holidays were enjoyable. Our holiday office luncheon was held at the Spanish Tavern in Mountainside-the food and ambiance were excellent, not to mention the company. Now is the time to start planning any landscape projects you want to accomplish this spring, this way you can avoid any delays with weather or scheduling. This will also put you in front of the "pack"and make it less stressful for whatever event is coming up, so you can prepare for that birthday-anniversary-or graduation party. This month we are back in the shop, maintaining equipment and reorganizing. At the end of January, I will be attending a two day business management workshop at Foley Catapillar. February I'll be traveling to San Diego to a national LICA conference for a week. March I will be in Baltimore for an overnight WBENC summit and salute. So the next couple of months will prove to be busy. Stay warm this winter, as we haven't seen much snow yet.
Until February,
Shelly Hewson |
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| Top Ten Things You Should Know About Deer Ticks |  The deer tick crawls up and under clothes and latches on to a host. Once attached to people or pets, they are hard to find, due to their small size, similar to that of a poppy seed. These ticks are loaded with disease causing pathogens and can be avoided. Here are ten things you should know about deer ticks: - 10. Ticks Crawl Up. They don't jump, fly or drop from trees. Ticks feed on skin where its thinner, such as your head, neck and ears.
- 9. Ticks come in three sizes-small, medium, and large. Stage one, larvae are the size of sand grains. Stage two, nymphs are the size of poppy seeds and stage three, adults are the size of apple seeds.
- 8. Ticks can be active in winter. Adult ticks are not killed by freezing temperatures, and become active after the first frost. They can be active any winter day that the ground is not frozen or snow covered.
- 7. Ticks carry disease. The spread of deer ticks are caused by the increase in deer populations. Lyme disease bacteria and other rickettsia including encephalitis are being transmitted by these tiny critters.
- 6. Only deer ticks transmit lyme disease bacteria. The only way to get lyme disease is to be bitten by a deer tick. It's important to identify the tick when you remove it, so the proper treatment can be prescribed.
- 5. 24 hours to find and remove. If you know you've been exposed to a tick habitat (outdoor gardening, golfing, hiking, etc.) a tick check at shower time can be helpful at identifying and removing them before an infection sets in.
- 4. Poppy Seed. The nymphs look like a poppy seed with one out of four carrying the lyme disease spirochete.
- 3. Pointy Tweezer. Pull the balloon filled tick out by its head with a pointy tweezer, similar to pulling out a splinter. As long as you have it by its head, that the most important part.
- 2. Built in tick repellent clothing. Great for kids when playing outdoors. Clothing treated with permethrin will last approximately 65 washes, while using a spray tends to last through about 5 washes.
- 1. Tick bites are preventable. Reduce the tick population in your yard. Treat pets monthly with tick repellent. Get into the habit of doing a body scan and removing any ticks immediately when found. One bite can make you sick, so take action quickly.
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| Ornamental Cabbage |  Ornamental cabbage looks like giant flowers; they are a mixture of flowering plant that harvests red, pink, and white blooms in cooler weather. They can tolerate heavy frost and remain colorful throughout most of the winter. They survive to temperatures as low as five degrees Fahrenheit. They are edible, although they are not as tasty as regular cabbage, and are mainly planted for decoration. Since they are low growers, they are often planted as border plants. They must be started in the late summer to early fall to get the best blooming. They are often used as replacement plants in gardens and flower boxes for summer plants that are gone or dormant in the colder weather. Start seeding outdoors six to eight weeks before the first frost is expected. Use eight inch pots and fill them with commercial potting soil. Use a soil that retains water. Space the seeds five inches apart and do not cover them with soil as they require light to germinate. They should begin growing in just ten days. Wait for night temperatures to fall in to the range of forty to fifty degrees. The blooms will not turn colors until temperatures are consistently below sixty degrees. Transplants are also commonly available at nurseries when ready for fall planting. If you purchase the plants from a nursery, transplant them into your garden in September. If you plant too early, they will grow leggy and will not change color. Buy the larger plants as the cabbages will become root bound and the top portion becomes stunted and won't give you the growth you expect. Plant them in the ground about twelve to eighteen inches apart in a sunny area with nutrient rich soil that will remain moist but also well drained. The bottom leaves should actually touch the soil. Water well and cover the soil with mulch to retain moisture. Use water soluble 20-10-20 fertilizer after the cabbage is planted or a slow release fertilizer before planting. Use two pounds per hundred square feet of plantings. They bring joyful color while the rest of your garden fades into gray. |
| Quote of the Month | |
Happy 70th Birthday, Muhammad Ali!
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.
Muhammad Ali
He who is not courageous enough to take risks,
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Hewson Landscape Inc.
601 North Ave., Plainfield, NJ 07060
908-222-3616
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Shelly Hewson
President, Hewson Landscape Inc. |
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