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GARDENING NEWS AND VIEWS
ACIDIFY YOUR SOIL THE NATURAL WAY
If your water and soil are alkaline, use oak leaf tea to help acidify it. Make a tea of shredded oak leaves and water, and allow it to stand for about 1 week. It will be the color of dark tea. Use this to fertilize rhododendrons, azaleas, heathers and blueberries that need acid soil. After the tea is used up, use the remaining leaves to mulch the plants. Source: National Gardening Association, August 4, 2005.
MAKE A SPEEDY SEED HARVESTER
Fashion a simple sunflower harvesting device from wire mesh with ½” openings. Cut the mesh large enough to span the mouth of a metal tub that is about 3’ in diameter. To hold the mesh rigid, make a wooden frame of 1” x 2” lumber and use a staple gun to fasten the mesh to the frame. Place the mesh frame over the tub. Press a sunflower head against the mesh and vigorously rub it back and forth. The seeds will come loose and fall through the mesh into the tub. Source: Organic Gardening Magazine, September-October 2002.
Although not brand new, a product that is fast becoming the organic fruit grower’s champion is kaolin clay. This clay product (commercially available as “Surround”) forms a barrier film that irritates insects and disguised the fruit to keep them from infesting it. You can monitor for pests such as apple maggots by using sticky cards and then spraying as soon as you see them or you can begin spraying the film over the whole tree before flying activity begins. It is best to apply every 7-10 days, and although this may seem frequent, it really does stop the pests in a non-chemical way. It can be applied right up until harvest since it is simply fine clay that can be washed off with a brush or power sprayer. Source: National Gardening Association, date unknown.
Many trees suffer from transplant shock after being dug from the nursery and put into containers to be sold at the garden center. Often less than 5% of the original roots survive the move. The shoots can’t get enough water from the diminished root system and consequently a mortality rate of 30-50% is common the first year after transplanting.
In order to accelerate new root growth on transplanted trees (and hopefully reduce mortality rates), researchers at the Bartlett Tree Research Laboratory in England have tried adding sugar water to the tree root system. In trees that have a low survival rate, such as birch, watering with a sugar-water solution increased root growth and survival rates.
Researchers found the best root growth rates were achieved when they applied 10 oz. of sucrose (table sugar) per gallon of water and drenched the newly transplanted trees at a rate of 0.4 gallons per tree each week for 4 weeks, starting 2 weeks after bud break. The trees in the study were less than 2” in diameter. Further research is planned to see if sugar water will also increase survival rates of larger diameter trees as well. Source: National Gardening Association, May 12, 2005.
Visit their website to subscribe to their free quarterly online newsletter, ‘In Leaf’—recipes, landscape design features and garden tips by going to www.thecopperleaf.com. The Copper Leaf is located in Jordan, Ontario.
Is a good substitute for those that struggle to grow lupines. A bushy substantial plant for the mid-back of the garden border, this perennial produces long spikes of blue pea-like flowers in early summer which are followed by seed pods that dry by autumn. Native to North America, it is hardy to zone 2, likes full sun and well drained soil and demands little attention beyond a yearly cut back.
Conquering Zone Envy - A 5-Step Recovery Program
Jim Kohut, offers some tips to those gardeners who suffer from ‘zone envy’, the insatiable and consuming desire to grow in your yards and gardens what won’t grow there. Here are his five secrets to overcoming zone envy that have worked for him.
1. Know that you are not alone. Zone envy is a tie that binds all of us no matter where we live. 2. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Fiddle with microclimates and discover what you need to do to successfully overwinter out-of-zone plants in our Northern climates. 3. Learn to maximize the plants that will grow in your zone. 4. Appreciate what you have. Don’t lose sight of the beauty around you. 5. Feed your envy every once in a while. Travel to a zone south of you and walk or drive through the neighborhoods to enjoy their gardens. Tour an arboretum or botanical garden, perhaps even some public gardens.
Source: www.northscaping.com.
Curing Those Extra Gourds
Step One Choose your gourds well. Make sure they are solid and have no nicks or soft spots and not sprayed with varnish.
Step Two Clean them well with soap and water, dry them and then clean them well one last time with rubbing alcohol. Place the cleaned gourds in an open box, single layer and not touching and place that box in a dark, well-ventilated area. Check them every 2-3 days for decay and pitch out any gourds that begin to soften. This step of surface curing usually takes1-2 weeks.
Step Two This is the internal drying which will take anywhere from 4 weeks to several months. Keep the gourds in the same box and keep them in a dark, well-ventilated room that is warm. Warmth discourages decay. Keep checking the gourds for mould and if mould appears, wipe it off with rubbing alcohol. Periodically turn the gourds to promote even curing. You will know when your gourds are ready because they will feel light in weight and the seeds will rattle inside. Then they are ready to be waxed, shellacked or even painted, and used as decorations.
Source: Natorp’s “In the Garden”, www.rwilson@natorp.com.
This solution is excellent for killing grass that grows in the driveway.
Source: Anna Mogg, November News in Bloom, 2005
De-icing salt (sodium chloride) used on the streets and driveways often injures or kills grass, flowers and shrubs. It is also harmful to some evergreens and several deciduous trees such as sugar maples. Gypsum counteracts the damage from salt and salt runoff in addition to other functions that can improve your lawn, trees and shrubs.
Chemically, agricultural gypsum is known as hydrated calcium sulfate. It is non-acidifying, nontoxic to plants, pets and people, relatively inexpensive and commercially available at garden centers and feed mills. Gypsum’s most important effect on salt-contaminated soils is to reduce soil sodium levels. Because it works for some time after application, it need not be applied to your yard every year.
Gypsum also improves soil structure by allowing better air and water movement through the soil which makes it perfect for reducing compaction in clay soils. A natural mineral, it helps “loosen” heavy clay soils to a depth of 3”-6” if spread on the surface twice (2x) a year and watered in. To get greater depth and faster loosening action, it can be mixed in with a good quality organic material and cultivated in to the top layer of soil. For heavy clay, a three year program may be necessary. Gypsum can be applied any time but spring and fall are best because it allows for you to take advantage of seasonal moisture.
ORGANIC Orchid Care Tips
Along with my orchid fascination that developed a couple of years ago came frustration. Every place that sold me an orchid also recommended synthetic fertilizers and fungicides with which to treat them. As a mostly organic gardener, this caused me some consternation. Surely there were organic remedies for my epiphytic friends? As it turns out, alfalfa meal –a common organic treat for roses—also works great as a tea for orchids. What’s even better is that you can use it as both a drench and a foliar spray. Alfalfa meal is rich in all kinds of vitamins and minerals and is a benefit to all flowering plants. Use it every other watering for great blooms and then toss the used alfalfa meal in the compost pile (minus the pantyhose, of course). Now, how about those pesky bacterial spots that sometimes infect orchid leaves? If you’ve ruled out insect infestation and sunscald, then reach for your spice rack. That’s right: ground cinnamon is a common fungus fighter for orchids. Simply sprinkle a small amount directly on the leaf spot and rub it in slightly. It won’t eliminate the spot itself, but will usually prevent disease from spreading further on the plant. If you need to trim off entire leaves or spent spikes, seal off the open cut with cinnamon as well.
Source: Sunflower Farms Gazette, Tamara Galbraith, January 12, 2006.
Forcing bulbs in only 12-15 weeks, the daffodil bulbs you plant now can be blooming on your windowsill. Begin with dense, heavy bulbs. Fill a pot with soil mix, testing the depth by making sure the tops of the bulbs will sit just below the rim of the pot. Place as many bulbs as you can fit into the pot, positioning them with the larger part down. It’s okay if the bulbs touch each other. Cover with soil. Put the pot into the refrigerator for 12-15 weeks, removing it every 2 weeks to check that the soil is still moist. As soon as the first shoots appear, take the pot out of the fridge and set it in direct sunlight, but not where it will get too hot. A temperature of 60 degrees F is optimal the first week. Once the shoots turn green, transfer the pot to a sunny window where the temperature doesn’t exceed 68 degrees F. Water on a regular basis to keep the soil moist.
Source: Country Living magazine, November 2005, p. 164.
Oops! How to Avoid Damaging Bulbs When Digging
Here’s a tip Diane Jeffrey clipped from an old issue of Fine Gardening:
“After digging up one lily bulb 3x last spring while planting new perennials, I came up with an idea to prevent this in the future. I took a clear, liter-sized, plastic pop bottle and cut the top and bottom off. Then I cut the tube into circles about 1” wide. Now, after planting bulbs, I sink one of the clear plastic circles into the ground in the spot where the bulbs are planted, pushing it down so that it is level with the ground. Next spring, when I’m ready to plant or move my perennials, I’ll dig up the plastic ring rather than a lily bulb.”
Source: Friends of Old Bulbs Gazette, October 26, 2005.
Divide your clumps of Iris every 3-4 years when they crowd each other or when you notice that they are blooming less than previous years. You can divide and transplant after they bloom until August.
Important: Remember, if the rhizome feels soft or mushy in places it needs to be thrown away.
They should be firm and not planted too deep or they will rot. Iris rhizomes should be planted JUST deep enough to barely cover the rhizomes' tops. Source: I Can Garden website, August 2005.
To store geraniums over the winter, prune them right back to a few inches. Do this before the frost hits. Make your cuts just above the joints on the stems. Look for a little half-moon leafy bit on each stem. Above that is the spot to cut.
Store geraniums in brown paper bags and put these bags in the coolest part of your basement, preferably on a rack where the air can circulate underneath. You can also simply cut the plants back in their pots and leave them in the basement as is. In the spring, you give them a good soak, repot with fresh soil and fertilize with 20-20-20 mixed into water.
PLANTING PUSSY WILLOWS
Propagating pussy willow trees is easy. They root so easily that cut branches can simply be inserted into moist soil in summer. Roots will develop within a few weeks. A few planting tips for pussy willow trees to remember: 1. Take cuttings from the new growth on male pussy willows (they are showier than female ones), not the older, gray- colored branches. 2. There is a right and a wrong end of the cutting to stick in the ground. The end you want to insert in the ground is the end that you cut—in other words, the bottom of the stem as it was growing in the wild. 3. Take a cutting that is about as thick as a pencil and at least 1’ long. It needs to be long enough for a few inches to be underground (for stability) while a couple of nodes should still be showing above ground. 4. If you don’t want to wait until summer, bring your pussy willow cuttings inside and root them in water, then transplant outside when danger of frost is past. 5. Pussy willow trees have invasive roots. Consequently, plant your cuttings far away from septic tank fields, sewer lines or water lines.
Source: David Beaulieu’s article, “Planting Pussy Willow Trees for Spring Pussy Willows”. www.landscaping.about.com.
Containers are available in more shapes and sizes than ever before, but they can take up a lot of floor space on your deck or patio. Now there is a Wall Garden that attaches to a wall to create a waterfall-like garden effect. You can make your own hanging gardens of Babylon on your back balcony without taking over the sitting area.
The Wall Garden containers are only 10” thick, so they are easy to secure to a wall. They have “pots” embedded in the front side where up to 30 plans can be grown, and the top can be planted as well. Made from terra cotta-colored, UV-resistant polyethylene, they can be left outdoors all season without cracking or fading. The containers come in 2 sizes: 2’ tall by 2’ wide, and 2’ tall by 3 1/3’ wide; but they can be stacked to create an even larger wall planting. For more info on these space-saving wall containers, go to Lee Valley - http://leevalley.com.
This simple concoction is an old favorite of gardeners trying to encourage moss growth and provides an excellent alternative to spray paint. 1 can/bottle beer ½ tsp. sugar Several clumps of garden moss (found in moist, shady areas) You will also need: a plastic container with lid, a blender and a paint brush. Gather clumps of moss and crumble them into a blender. Then add beer and sugar and blend just long enough to create a smooth, creamy consistency. Now pour mixture into a plastic container. Find a suitable damp and shady wall on to which you can apply your moss milkshake. Paint your chosen design or saying onto the wall, either free hand or with a stencil. If possible, try to return to the area over the following weeks to ensure that the mixture is kept moist. Soon the bits of blended moss should begin to recuperate into a whole rooted plant, thus maintaining your chosen design before eventually colonizing the whole area. Source: www.storiesfromspace.co.uk/data/html/mossgraffiti.html.
15 Drought-Tolerant Perennials for Your Garden
One of the easiest ways to conserve water in your garden is to plant as many drought-resistant plants as you can. Drought-resistant plants need regular watering while they are getting established for their first year in your garden. After that, they will live happily on nothing more than the rain that Ma Nature provides. Of course, you can do a few things to help these plants get off to a great start: amend your soil with compost at planting time, mulch well once everything is planted, and keep weeds (which will compete with your plants for moisture) under control. My front yard garden is made up entirely of drought-tolerant perennials. I’ve been removing my lawn and replacing it with gardens. I don’t water anything in my front yard other than the containers of mesclun and herbs on my front porch — and my yard looks great (if I do say so myself!) With that in mind, here are 15 of my favorite drought-resistant perennial plants.
Source: By Colleen Vanderlinden, Planet Green
Colorful blooms in our gardens renew the spirit every time we see them. But to have a garden that blooms all the time requires choosing plants for a sequence of bloom, and including some long-bloomers in each bed or grouping of containers to sustain interest during lulls in seasonal blooming.
Here are five suggestions for all-the-time bloom you may not have thought of:
1. Tulips and daffodils are dependable sources of bloom in spring gardens, but for color don’t plant them alone. Pair early-blooming tulips of any color–red, pink, or white–with an underplanting of blue grape hyacinths. 2. Dainty fern-leaf pink bleeding heart is a great partner for late-blooming pink tulips. The bleeding heart foliage provides a lovely green backdrop for the bold tulip blossoms. 3. Later in the growing season, combinations of perennials, or perennials mixed with annuals, are the ticket for stunning effects. 4. Colorful or variegated foliage can be as exciting as flowers! For example, try miniature hostas with “Burgundy Glow” ajuga and alpine lady’s mantle in a partly shaded bed. Showy herbs work well in flower gardens. Try “Snow Bank” sweet alyssum with “Tricolor” sage. 5. Garden mums tend to dominate fall gardens, but there are other great fall combinations, too. For a combination of the familiar with the unusual, try “Autumn Joy” sedum with ornamental pink ribbon grass and dwarf purple asters.
Source: Adapted from Lasagna Gardening for Small Spaces, by Patricia Lanza (Rodale Press, 2002).
In The Night Garden: Create a Moon Garden
What is
a night garden?
Are
night gardens new?
Why
plant a night garden?
Where to
plant a night garden?
What
plants to plant in a night garden?
Do you have a night garden? Add some plants that you enjoy in the evening hours to the list above.
Source: posted by Ronnie Citron-Fink, care2, Jul 18, 2010
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