Fighting the Emerald Ash Borer Attacks

A Gahanna subdivision (Academy Ridge) took the initiative to react to the ongoing Emerald Ash Borer attack on our native Ash tree. All 88 counties in Ohio are now infected with the pest. Treatments have some success but it is a yearly or bi-annual procedure/pesticide application to protect the tree.

With the help of a few of our clients living in the Academy Ridge subdivision, we were able to get involved with the design of a Street Tree Master Plan to replace their street trees. A couple streets in the neighborhood were lined with mature Ash trees. Most of them were showing signs of the Borer and some dead as a result. Rather than waiting for the eventual look of dead trees lining the streets, the homeowners association went ahead, with the City’s approval, and removed and replaced the trees. We followed up with planting, staking, seeding and clean-up. As you can imagine the soil was not very good along the road. We removed all excavated soils, roots, and wood chips from the stumps and backfilled with Kurtz Bros. Inc.’s growers blend topsoil. The project was a great success for all:

“In my 38 years of home ownership, I have had the occasion to use arborists and landscaping firms on numerous occasions. I have never been more satisfied with a project than I have with what M.J. Design Associates completed at Academy Ridge. As a board member, I recall M.J.’s honest recommendation to replace the trees rather than treat them; and I am glad we took that road. I'm afraid we would have continued to watch our trees die even after the expense of trying to save them with treatments.

On at least a half dozen occasions over the years I have had stumps "removed" from my property. In each case I came home to a hole in the ground piled high with wood chips. I fully anticipated that same scenario with this removal. Not so. M.J.’s crew removed all the chips, filled the whole with topsoil, seeded it with grass seed, and cleaned up the area. Those four steps used to take a half day of my time and effort. Thank you for doing all of those things. I sincerely appreciate it.

Being retired, I drove slowly through the neighborhood numerous times while the M.J. crew was working this project. I was impressed at how diligently everyone was working. Perhaps I am used to seeing highway crews with one guy working and the rest of the team leaning against shovels, watching. In spite of the weather, it appeared that everyone in the group knew his job and worked hard at it. I was, indeed, impressed. M.J. had the right equipment and professional workers who knew their jobs. At the end of each day, M.J.’s men cleaned the streets; and when the entire project was completed, the streets were cleaner than before!

It's wonderful in this day and age to have any organization meet all its goals and promises and to complete a project on time. M.J. Design Associates had a big undertaking here in Academy Ridge, and I just wanted you to know that I am extremely well pleased with the extraordinary job that was done.  Thank you.”
– Ronald L. Albers, Col - USAF, Retired 

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Eco-friendly Snow & Ice Removal

De-icer products are the common way to eliminate slickness, but too often we don’t use de-icers properly. Their job is to loosen ice from below making it easier to shovel or plow, not remove ice completely. As with many lawn and garden chemicals, homeowners use too much chemical de-icer. You need to use just enough to get the melting started. Wait until it dissolves to add more. Add it a little at a time and make sure to clear the snow off before applying.

Improper or over use of de-icers is detrimental to plant life and the environment. Most de-icers contain high concentrations of salt. Excess salt can build up in the soil—impeding the uptake of moisture and nutrients. Other products can cause leaching of heavy metals which eventually make their way to water supplies.

Although you may not see the damage to plants under a blanket of snow, you will by spring. Symptoms include stunted growth, wilting, desiccation, and burned leaf tips or margins. It can also cause permanent root damage.

Some of the most common ingredients to battle ice and snow are sodium chloride (rock salt), calcium chloride and potassium chloride. These common chloride salts present their own set of problems. As a group they are corrosive to metal and concrete, damaging to plant material, a harmful skin irritant and potentially lethal to pets. Be sure to read the label before purchasing. Some people broadcast common household fertilizers like 10-10-10 onto the ice, thinking they are feeding their plants and lawn while providing a more benign solution. Unfortunately it is not. Synthetic fertilizers can have a lot of salt plus nitrogen and phosphorus. The excessive run-off of these materials is capable of harming lakes and streams.

For some eco-friendly solutions and helpful tips on protecting our plants and environment, read more at:

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1193742/ecofriendly_alternatives_to_salt/

http://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai=725&bhcd2=1291391847

Be Aware of Water Waste