Many of you have asked: “What should I be doing in my garden in iMfarch?” Generally speaking? Get ready! Get set! Grow! Get ready by cleaning up the garden. A good cleanup entails more than raking up the last of the leave litter, picking up the dog deposits and get- tung. the kids’ tikes out of the front shrub bed. Ie means doing your best to remove all of the obstacles to good, healthy growth in the coming growing season. For instance, weeds; casy to tfemove now but a real pain larer in the year. They are casy 10 pull at this time because they are either immature and have yet to establish a roots or they are mature plants thar have lost much. of thei? root structure over the winter. Whatever the - reason, a quick and easy pull - now will eliminate hours of » relentless yanking during the "spring and summer. {It is also a good time to begin ‘cultivating the soil. Winter rains compact our soils and make them that much more prone to water-logging and souring. This condition ;. | also reduces the amount of air ~ flow through the soil; bad for SAVING. YOU MONEY | INCE 1969 "BEDDING. ‘AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR SIMMONS © Mattresses, Box Springs & Bed Frames . * Sofa Beds & Roll Away Cots © Quilts, Pillows & Pads © Most sizes in stock for . . immediate delivery © Ask about our FREE delivery, : set up and old bed removal service 70 “ QW ALL IN: STOCK: ‘1997 “MATTRESSES - + _ We Beat All Competitors Price CHECK US OUT v HUGE SELECTION . LOW. WAREHOUSE ai PRICES COLONY | 1075 Roosevelt Crescent HOME FURNISHINGS North Vancouver (2 blocks behind Avalon Hotel} _.. Mon - Thurs 9-6, Fri 9-9 Saturday 9-6, Sun 12-4 1 985-8738 24 — Sunday, April 5, 1998 - North Shore News plants good for mosses and mugworts, those slimy looking coverings that appear usually in shady, poorly ventilated beds. Careful cultivating around thododendrons, azaleas and other shallow rooted plants. Aggressive disruption of the soll under these plants will harm their delicate feeder roots and lead to weakened growth in the months ahead. Better to lightly scape off surface weeds and apply a thin layer of com- post dusted with some bone meal. Spring cleanups should also include a good look at prun- ing; a topic well covered in ~ these pages. If you haven’r completed vour pruning by now, then get busy! Some plants will already be leafing out and these you should only trim lightly. Ifa tree or shrub is actively producing leaves, it is best not to make cuts on branches any larger than the diameter of your little finger. And then there are the bugs. As with weeds, get rid of them now while the job is rel- atively easy. Lime sulphur and dormant oil can still be used on those plants that have yet to * develop leaves. This relatively north shore news GARDENIN G NEWS photo Brad Ledwidge BEFORE pianting spring flowers, like those bought by the Buffotot family at Walmart Garden Centre recently,” above, get your garden ready with a clean-up. harmless concoction will climi- nate many of the nastiest species of garden pests while they are sail in’ their larval stages. Once they have devel- oped into adults problems such as the many types of scale insects that inhabit our cherry trees, you will: have a much, much more difficult time erad- icating them. And the pest contrel products needed will "7 Audi Ad be far more dangerous and damaging to thé environment. From bugs to slugs. Yes, like the wailers for an upcom- ing horror movic, [ must warn you; “THEY. ARE COM- ING!” Big, fat, juicy ones too; like only we on the BlestCoast can grow. If you weren’t out there hunting their egg masses in the winter months, they will have. already hatched and dis- “persed in the garden. So what do you do naw? Well, ther always slug bait — yc! 1 would like. to: alternative. Cc Environment Inc. is Cate largest supplier of environmen- tally friendly pest control prod- vets. Their new introduction, Slug Guard slug and snail bar- rier is completely safe for birds, pets, peopic and even your gar- returns to the North Shore. Consider This Your Wake-up Call. ‘it’s a fast paced world and you want to keep up. But for you, luxury cars have had all the appeal of a big yawn: Until now. Audi's back on the North Shore with three of the hottest luxury models, Touring Sedans, Quattro, Tiptronic, Adrenaline. ~~ And they're here at your North Shore Audi Dealer. Been there and done that just don’t apply anymore. den. There are no dangerous’ chemicals nor additives. that” can cause harm to you or-your ~ ": environment — and yet it real ‘ ly works! Please send your questions to me, Geoff Tobiasson atthe North. Shore News, Lonsdale Ave. North. Vancouver, V7M-2H4 or tammy” eomail address, Seoffi@haida.com. oe N39!