The burrowing vermin. I loathe them with the heat of a thousand suns. At our old residence, we had them, but they rather limited themselves to the side yard where no one gardened and no one ever went, except the dog who would participate in epic excavation efforts. We figured it kept her out of trouble and gave her some exercise.
Now, though, I’m finding what I suspect are pocket gophers burrowing everywhere. Along the front pad of our front patio one evening, I could see the ground undulating with the creature’s progress. Attempts to capture and dispatch this particular little troll were brutally rebuffed and we were left with an empty shovel and no furry sojourner.
Seriously, they’re driving me mad! While I’m not near the point of blasting craters in my yard with a shotgun (yet), I have reached the point of pondering my mental health (no comments from the peanut gallery or my family, please) as a result of my attempts to rid my yard of burrowing vermin.
I’ve been told about and tried a lot of different things. Flooding the runs with water. Perhaps I should offer soap as well, since they seem to enjoy this. Gopher bombs? Hmph. Insert your favorite 420 joke here. I think they like it. It’s probably a big ol’ gopher party down there every time I set one off. Sonic gopher spikes. Well, yesterday morning there was a gopher mound literally RIGHT NEXT TO the fancy solar spike that was brought to me with pride, since it was on sale and didn’t require batteries. RIGHT NEXT TO IT. Yaaaaah!
I even forced a friend to drive me out to Gold Hill in search of Euphorbia lathyris, commonly known as Caper Spurge or Mole Plant. Truth be told, I actually thought I was looking for Castor Bean Plant (ricinus communis), and had to drive back and forth several time before I found “a weedy looking plant that had just set seed pods”. What I found was Mole Plant, when I was looking for the large, distinct leaves of the Castor Bean. Sigh. So, I leaped out of the truck, whacked off several hands-full and stuffed them in a bucket. Thus far, my attempts to root them are not working so well, but I suspect that I will – at least – get some seeds with which I can infest my yard.
Euphorbia lathyris, commonly known as Mole Plant, is an annual with opposite, lance shaped leaves which is often grown as an ornamental plant. It’s not really “weedy” looking, as I stated above. It’s somewhat attractive and interesting looking. Caper Spurge, as it is also known (and spurge is so much more fun to say) does occasionally occur as a weed on roadsides (like the ones I was directed to – Thank YOU, Russell!) and pastures. I’m finding that this is not all that common. Toward the top of the plant the leaves change into a triangular shape and have a conspicuous white vein in the center. When you break one of these plants, a sticky, white sap comes out. The flowers are fairly inconspicuous and will occur on the upper portions of the plant, yellow in color. The seed pods are roundish and appear to be in three sections, put together. It’s those seeds that I’m really after! Supposedly, it’s the roots and the seeds that are noxious to gophers. Mole Plant doesn’t kill them – They just go away. At this point, I’d be OK with dead gophers, but disappearing gophers would be cause for celebration. Careful with this plant – it is said to be poisonous.
Unlike the Castor Bean, these plants grow about four feet tall, but take up the space of about one foot in diameter, like a tower. They self seed when the plant falls over from drying out in the fall. I’ve heard that folks have been successful growing it with soil that is hard, high clay content, with minimal watering even through hot, dry summers.
With regard to Castor Bean, which I personally am going to try in my quest to rid my yard of varmints, it is a big, attractive, fast growing plant with huge exotic looking leaves. I found seeds from my favorite online shopping source and got three different colors. I have LOTS of varmints.
Castor Bean can be sown directly outdoors or started 6 to 8 weeks before the last average frost date indoors. They can also be planted just about any other time when frost isn’t an issue. Soak your seeds for 24 hours in warm water, then plant about an inch deep. Plant them outdoors in full sun. Castor Beans like rich, well drained soil, so dig in a few spades full of compost into the soil where you’ll be planting. Keep the soil evenly moist and mulch well. As your Castor Bean blooms, you can deadhead unless you are thinking to gather beans for future planting. In that case, you’ll want to let the seed pods form and gather them up. Fertilize with a good organic fertilizer every four to six weeks. Castor Bean gets big, fast. You may need to stake your plants. They’ll need plenty of space, so keep this in mind when planting or plan on doing lots of pruning otherwise. Tear out and discard the plants when frost gets them in the fall. If you’re in one of the warmer areas, you could treat it as a perennial, cutting it back and mulching heavily for over-wintering.
Both the Mole Plant and Castor Bean are said to be poisonous. I researched this and found a wide range of opinion on toxicity. I have also found it said that poinsettia is poisonous, but have been unable to locate any reports of death to humans or animals. Best to err on the side of caution and keep small children and livestock away from your Castor Beans. Deer do not eat Castor Bean.
Getting back to the varmints…
The other methods for getting rid of moles and gophers include traps with such medieval monikers as “scissor” traps, “choker” traps and “harpoon” traps. Nice. There are also live traps, but that begs the question of what to do with the varmint once you catch it.
I’ve read of a method, with no testimony to back it up, of opening a number of varmint tunnels, pouring in a baby food jar full of gasoline into each, waiting a bit for the fumes to flood the tunnels and then lighting the tunnels. Definitely not ecologically sound and rather brings to mind crowds of adolescent boys having a lark.
Daffodils, squill, anything in the allium (onion/garlic family), Mexican marigolds and fritillaria are all said to repel varmints. My varmints actually like squill, I think. Probably with a nice vinaigrette. Your mileage may vary. And you may wind up growing ONLY those things, if you’re really infested with a subterranean invasion.
I’ve heard that gum of the Juicy Fruit variety will kill varmints. Now that we’ve spent something equaling the National deficit on gum and fumigator bombs, I think I can categorically state that somewhere there’s a gopher who could be the world bubble blowing champion if only they’d let him into the contest. As for the bombs, again, insert your favorite 420 joke here. I bought castor oil, thinking that if they didn’t like the plant, how could they like the oil? Aside from the fact that it does not come in the convenient 50 gallon drum, I suspect that the varmints are moisturizing with it.
Hair clippings from the salon? Um, don’t think so. They may have taken up weaving rugs and blanket for their dens, because it sure isn’t killing them or driving them away. Used cat litter? My dog is having a field day with that one. M-80’s? I heard my neighbor using them, but they still have moles. And craters.
Of course, with the number of Dachshunds in Rogue River, you could probably find someone who would bring the little rodent-wieners to your house to excavate the vermin, but do you really want you yard dug up like that? I don’t.
So, with great sighing, eye rolling and the wringing of hands, I’m closing this week with the request for any suggestions for gopher removal, destruction or repellant. I’d love to hear it. In the meantime, I’m waiting on my Castor Bean seeds…
20 June 2009
13 June 2009
Flower Pots, Washtubs, Wooden Boxes...Oh My!
Container gardening is a really easy way to bring some color up close and personal as well as getting some fresh produce into your diet. One of the things I love about container gardening is that anyone can do it. For seniors, it puts your garden more within reach. Pull up a chair and garden in a variety of containers from a half barrel to an old wagon to a collection of old metal pails. For kids, a larger container can produce both some lovely flowers as well as a small crop of baby carrots or Easter egg radishes.
What you can grow in a container is limited pretty much only by the size of the container and possibly by your imagination. I read about a house warming gift of a Summer Salad Container - a cherry tomato, some basil, parsley and chives, a dwarf cucumber and summer salad greens. Truth be told, by late summer, they won’t be the prettiest, but this arrangement should produce into the fall, provided you’ve planted it in a 24” to 30” container.
Your choices in containers ranges from the practical (think large, black, plastic) to the attractive (think wooden half barrels) to the whimsical (antique pails, bushel baskets, Radio Flyer wagons). No matter what kind of container you choose for veggie gardening, it will need holes in the base or bottom for drainage of excess water.
While we see lots of black plastic containers, and you probably have a few in your yard or garage, bear in mind that the darker colored containers absorb heat. There is a possibility that the root systems of plants in these types of containers could be damaged to heat. If you do opt for the dark colored pots, try painting them a lighter color or shading just the container.
The size of the container and what you plant in it is a consideration. For larger veggies, like tomatoes and eggplants, you should use a five gallon container for each plant. You can grow these plants in 2 or 3 gallon containers, but they will require considerably more attention.
You can use the soil from your garden for your containers. If you do, you should plan on amending it with compost. There are many fine mixes available that are excellent as well. Mixing one part compost to two parts planting mix will aid in fertility. Using a complete organic fertilizer and giving your plants a sip of fish emulsion mixed with water will keep your veggies fed for the whole growing season.
Containers require more frequent watering than plants in the ground. As the season progresses and your plants grow larger, their root system will expand. This will require even more water. Don’t wait until you see your plants wilting. Check your containers daily to determine is more water is needed.
When choosing what to put in your containers, be on the lookout for buzz words like bush, compact and dwarf.
Here are some varieties that you might consider for your container garden:
Tomatoes: Patio, Pixie, Saladette, Tumbling Tom and Small Fry
Leaf Lettuce: Buttercrunch, Bibb and Salad Bowl
Green Beans: Pole beans actually have a higher yield for a smaller area. Blue Lake, Kentucky Wonder and French Dwarf are excellent choices.
Peppers: Red Cherry, Jalapeno, Sweet Banana and Cubanelle
Eggplant: Bambino and Slim Jim
Looking ahead: It’s not too early to think ahead to the fall and winter vegetable garden. Planning should start now. Fall and winter gardening is an old practice that is a great solution for maintaining the fertility of your garden’s soil at peak levels. It also yields crops of delicious veggies at a fraction of the cost of the grocery store.
The climate patters of the lower elevation areas west of the Cascades, right where we are, are very suitable for fall and winter gardening. Careful mulching can ensure the usual winter frosts will not be severe enough to cause significant damage. Further extension of the growing season can be affected with cold frames and tunnels.
The main factor with winter gardening is knowing the average date of the first killing frost in our area. This is usually around the end of October. Plant your winter crops early enough to let them reach full maturity before that first killing frost. The Master Gardeners have loads of helpful information about the timing of first frosts, hardiness of various crops for our area as well as being just the coolest people you’d ever want to chat with about gardening.
Here are some suggestions, with maturity times and planting guidelines:
Beets, Brussels’ sprouts, cabbages, cauliflower, fava beans, carrots, parsnips and globe onions mature in about 90 days. Plant them by mid-July for fall harvest.
Early carrots, leeks, turnips, collards and Swiss chard mature in around 60 days and should be planted by mid-August.
Chives, green onions, radishes, broccoli, leaf lettuces and spinach mature in about 30 days and should be in the ground no later than the first week of September.
You can add ten to fifteen degrees to your fall and winter garden by planting near windbreaks and walls. Take a look at any south facing wall of your home, shed or barn and see if it is ideally situation for utilizing that free solar energy.
Make a cloche out of clear pop bottles or gallon milk jugs. Cover your smaller plants, remove the lids and you have an instant little greenhouse.
If you have the means to have raised beds, the soil in a well made and maintained raised bed can be between 8 and 12 degrees warmer than the same soil in the surrounding garden areas. Raised beds also mean less bending to work in or harvest from.
Mulching serves many purposes in the winter garden. In addition to insulating the plants with a blanket of protection over the root system, it helps deter winter growth of weeks and grasses. Mulch also aids in reducing evaporation of moisture from the soil during dry times as well as preventing erosion from heavier winter rainstorms. Two inches of mulch material is best.
Remember that, with fall and winter veggies, rotation is vital. Don’t plant the same veggie crops in the same location as the previous year or the summer season. The soil will be weakened through continual loss of the same nutrients, but the plants will also lend themselves to insect pests and disease.
If you have a portion of your garden that will be laying idle for a time, you can build up your soil by growing a cover crop. These are fast growing, green plants that can be chopped up, spaded or tilled in and will add green matter that compost into hummus. Alfalfa, various varieties of clover, vetch, oats and lupines are all common cover crops that will benefit your soil.
In closing, try successive plantings of quick growing veggies like leaf lettuce, beets, spinach and radishes. Don’t be afraid to try planting some crops later than recommended. It’s a bit risky, but the reward is definitely worth the risk. Keep a record of what you planted, when and what worked and what didn’t.
Share your successes with your friends and neighbors. And don’t forget to plant a little extra for those in our community that are struggling.
What you can grow in a container is limited pretty much only by the size of the container and possibly by your imagination. I read about a house warming gift of a Summer Salad Container - a cherry tomato, some basil, parsley and chives, a dwarf cucumber and summer salad greens. Truth be told, by late summer, they won’t be the prettiest, but this arrangement should produce into the fall, provided you’ve planted it in a 24” to 30” container.
Your choices in containers ranges from the practical (think large, black, plastic) to the attractive (think wooden half barrels) to the whimsical (antique pails, bushel baskets, Radio Flyer wagons). No matter what kind of container you choose for veggie gardening, it will need holes in the base or bottom for drainage of excess water.
While we see lots of black plastic containers, and you probably have a few in your yard or garage, bear in mind that the darker colored containers absorb heat. There is a possibility that the root systems of plants in these types of containers could be damaged to heat. If you do opt for the dark colored pots, try painting them a lighter color or shading just the container.
The size of the container and what you plant in it is a consideration. For larger veggies, like tomatoes and eggplants, you should use a five gallon container for each plant. You can grow these plants in 2 or 3 gallon containers, but they will require considerably more attention.
You can use the soil from your garden for your containers. If you do, you should plan on amending it with compost. There are many fine mixes available that are excellent as well. Mixing one part compost to two parts planting mix will aid in fertility. Using a complete organic fertilizer and giving your plants a sip of fish emulsion mixed with water will keep your veggies fed for the whole growing season.
Containers require more frequent watering than plants in the ground. As the season progresses and your plants grow larger, their root system will expand. This will require even more water. Don’t wait until you see your plants wilting. Check your containers daily to determine is more water is needed.
When choosing what to put in your containers, be on the lookout for buzz words like bush, compact and dwarf.
Here are some varieties that you might consider for your container garden:
Tomatoes: Patio, Pixie, Saladette, Tumbling Tom and Small Fry
Leaf Lettuce: Buttercrunch, Bibb and Salad Bowl
Green Beans: Pole beans actually have a higher yield for a smaller area. Blue Lake, Kentucky Wonder and French Dwarf are excellent choices.
Peppers: Red Cherry, Jalapeno, Sweet Banana and Cubanelle
Eggplant: Bambino and Slim Jim
Looking ahead: It’s not too early to think ahead to the fall and winter vegetable garden. Planning should start now. Fall and winter gardening is an old practice that is a great solution for maintaining the fertility of your garden’s soil at peak levels. It also yields crops of delicious veggies at a fraction of the cost of the grocery store.
The climate patters of the lower elevation areas west of the Cascades, right where we are, are very suitable for fall and winter gardening. Careful mulching can ensure the usual winter frosts will not be severe enough to cause significant damage. Further extension of the growing season can be affected with cold frames and tunnels.
The main factor with winter gardening is knowing the average date of the first killing frost in our area. This is usually around the end of October. Plant your winter crops early enough to let them reach full maturity before that first killing frost. The Master Gardeners have loads of helpful information about the timing of first frosts, hardiness of various crops for our area as well as being just the coolest people you’d ever want to chat with about gardening.
Here are some suggestions, with maturity times and planting guidelines:
Beets, Brussels’ sprouts, cabbages, cauliflower, fava beans, carrots, parsnips and globe onions mature in about 90 days. Plant them by mid-July for fall harvest.
Early carrots, leeks, turnips, collards and Swiss chard mature in around 60 days and should be planted by mid-August.
Chives, green onions, radishes, broccoli, leaf lettuces and spinach mature in about 30 days and should be in the ground no later than the first week of September.
You can add ten to fifteen degrees to your fall and winter garden by planting near windbreaks and walls. Take a look at any south facing wall of your home, shed or barn and see if it is ideally situation for utilizing that free solar energy.
Make a cloche out of clear pop bottles or gallon milk jugs. Cover your smaller plants, remove the lids and you have an instant little greenhouse.
If you have the means to have raised beds, the soil in a well made and maintained raised bed can be between 8 and 12 degrees warmer than the same soil in the surrounding garden areas. Raised beds also mean less bending to work in or harvest from.
Mulching serves many purposes in the winter garden. In addition to insulating the plants with a blanket of protection over the root system, it helps deter winter growth of weeks and grasses. Mulch also aids in reducing evaporation of moisture from the soil during dry times as well as preventing erosion from heavier winter rainstorms. Two inches of mulch material is best.
Remember that, with fall and winter veggies, rotation is vital. Don’t plant the same veggie crops in the same location as the previous year or the summer season. The soil will be weakened through continual loss of the same nutrients, but the plants will also lend themselves to insect pests and disease.
If you have a portion of your garden that will be laying idle for a time, you can build up your soil by growing a cover crop. These are fast growing, green plants that can be chopped up, spaded or tilled in and will add green matter that compost into hummus. Alfalfa, various varieties of clover, vetch, oats and lupines are all common cover crops that will benefit your soil.
In closing, try successive plantings of quick growing veggies like leaf lettuce, beets, spinach and radishes. Don’t be afraid to try planting some crops later than recommended. It’s a bit risky, but the reward is definitely worth the risk. Keep a record of what you planted, when and what worked and what didn’t.
Share your successes with your friends and neighbors. And don’t forget to plant a little extra for those in our community that are struggling.
07 June 2009
Flower of the Month for June: The Rose
Everywhere you look around town and driving out towards Wimer, you see roses in glorious bloom. I wonder if any of those plants got any pruning earlier this spring. There is one in particular in town that is simply gorgeous; it looks like a Hawaiian sunset. Every spring for the last three springs, I’ve watched that rose bloom, while the canes get thinner and sparser. The blooms are still fabulous, but that plant is going to need some help in the next couple of seasons before it starts to break from lack of stoutness.
If you pruned your roses earlier this year, you may have erred on the side of caution and not pruned enough. Or your roses may have had other ideas and are now working toward doing their own thing. “Their Own Thing” is not always the best thing for the bush as a whole.
Pruning is primarily an early spring activity, although a certain amount of it is frequently required during the course of the growing season. June here in the Valley often brings a flush of growth in our roses.
Now is the time to check on the pruning you did earlier this spring. You’ll want to check for die-back. Check the canes you cut earlier and see if there has been further die-back. If there is, you’ll want to top off that cane by cutting down to an outside bud or leaf growth. If you are seeing a lot of growth in the center of the bush, you’ll want to remedy that by correcting the pruning at the center. Watch for suckers, too, as they will sap the energy from the plant and its blooms.
Local rose experts advise cleaning up the bud union by trimming off the old canes and stubs. A nice, clean bud union will reward you with many more basal canes and eventually more rose bush and better blooms.
Don’t forget deadheading at this time of the year, with the flush of the season’s first blooms. You’ll want your plant to stay strong and deadheading encourages further and more blooms for the rest of the summer. If you’re growing hybrid tea roses, you’ll want to deadhead by removing the spent flower at a point on the cane where five or seven leaflets are growing. The cut should be made ¼ inch above the leaf axial of an outward growing bud and should slope downward into the center of the bush.
Floribundas and Grandifloras are deadheaded much the same way, although removing the center bloom from a Floribunda plant will produce much more uniform bloom sprays. Some experts recommend removing the spent blooms from Floribundas and Grandifloras as they complete their bloom cycle without disturbing the rest of the blooms on the spray. Once a bloom cycle is complete, these two types of roses are pruned exactly as the Hybrid Tea. Olde Roses can also profit from deadheading, because reoccurring blooms are encouraged in those types that are intermittent or repeat bloomers.
Be mindful of unproductive growth that will crowd the middle of the plant and restrict sunlight and the flow of air. Remove this growth and any blind shoots which are twiggy in appearance and do not end in a bloom bud. A good resource is the book,”Growing Good Roses” by Rayford Reddell. He recommends pruning basal breaks at a bud eye when the cane is twelve to fifteen inches tall so to encourage a sturdy branched cane that will produce more and better blooms.
For the suckers that will inevitably emerge through this season, you should dig down beneath the soil and prune that sucker off at the point where it grows.
Let’s talk about the really fun part of growing roses – cuttings. Growing new rose plants from cuttings is one of the most enjoyable facets of growing roses. Cuttings can be taken at any time, but following the first bloom of the season is the best time because of the amount of good weather remaining for the cutting to get established and gain strength.
There are many ways to prepare cuttings and once you find one that works for you, stick with it. The easiest and most convenient way, in my opinion, is cutting the fading bloom of the variety I want to grow at a point on the stem which will provide four (or more) bud eyes and placing that cutting immediately in water.
The cutting is prepared by removing the bloom and the leaves from the lower two sets of leaflets. The end of the cutting, to be placed in the growing material, is stripped on several places of bark and the stripped areas and the end are generously coated with Rootone (a rooting hormone). The prepared cutting is then placed in a pot filled with a growing medium of equal parts soil, sand and peat moss. Make a hole in the medium, place your cutting, being careful not to knock off the Rootone and tamp the medium firmly around the stem.
Record what kind of rose you’ve gotten your cutting from (if you can) and the date on the pot. Enclose your cutting in plastic that is supported by a couple of lengths of stout wire (coat hangers are great for this) bent into a U. Make sure you make a hole in the top for ventilation. The bag acts like a mini-greenhouse. Place your cuttings in a shady place and wait for them to mature. Watch for new leaves to appear, remove the plastic bag and feed with a water soluble fertilizer. Some folks like Ra-Pid-Grow. Fox Organics makes several good water solubles. Any of the Fox products, liquid kelp or fish emulsion are good choices. Don’t put your cuttings out into the full sun immediately. Do this gradually and watch it grow. Once your cutting is ready to move to the full sun, it is ready to be planted at its permanent location.
Ordinarily, June is also the month that gardeners start to wonder about how much water they should be giving their roses. If the spring has been especially dry, this will understandably generate some concern. This year, though, we seem to be having a somewhat wonky weather pattern. Roses in the height of their growth cycle are very thirsty and require about an inch of water a week. Less water stresses the plants and will result in poor growth and less bloom. Putting a rain gauge in your rose garden is a good idea since it’s pretty easy to overestimate the amount of rainfall we are actually getting.
There are two schools of thought on the method of watering. Some say that wet rose foliage is to be avoided and deliberately spraying roses is inviting disease into your rose garden. Others will say that roses enjoy and benefit from the occasional cleansing shower. After all, we don’t live in the Sahara and rains often wash our roses. A strong stream of water from a water wand is a good way to rid the roses of aphids and spider mites. It’s generally a good idea after a rain or a bath to respray for blackspot as it requires moisture to infect our plants. Use the baking soda and water formula or the fungicide of your choice.
Other Thoughts…
Remember, just because you don’t have a plot of land on which to grow fresh veggies, doesn’t mean you can’t. Many veggies lend themselves well to container gardening. Selecting a dwarf or bush variety and give you a plant well adapted to growing in a pot. Veggies that take up little space, such as carrots, radishes and lettuces work well in a lower, shallower container. Carrots come in shorter and rounder varieties these days and do nicely in the barrel sections one sees this time of the year at the garden centers. Crops that bear fruits over a longer period, such as tomatoes and peppers, are perfect for container gardens.
If you pruned your roses earlier this year, you may have erred on the side of caution and not pruned enough. Or your roses may have had other ideas and are now working toward doing their own thing. “Their Own Thing” is not always the best thing for the bush as a whole.
Pruning is primarily an early spring activity, although a certain amount of it is frequently required during the course of the growing season. June here in the Valley often brings a flush of growth in our roses.
Now is the time to check on the pruning you did earlier this spring. You’ll want to check for die-back. Check the canes you cut earlier and see if there has been further die-back. If there is, you’ll want to top off that cane by cutting down to an outside bud or leaf growth. If you are seeing a lot of growth in the center of the bush, you’ll want to remedy that by correcting the pruning at the center. Watch for suckers, too, as they will sap the energy from the plant and its blooms.
Local rose experts advise cleaning up the bud union by trimming off the old canes and stubs. A nice, clean bud union will reward you with many more basal canes and eventually more rose bush and better blooms.
Don’t forget deadheading at this time of the year, with the flush of the season’s first blooms. You’ll want your plant to stay strong and deadheading encourages further and more blooms for the rest of the summer. If you’re growing hybrid tea roses, you’ll want to deadhead by removing the spent flower at a point on the cane where five or seven leaflets are growing. The cut should be made ¼ inch above the leaf axial of an outward growing bud and should slope downward into the center of the bush.
Floribundas and Grandifloras are deadheaded much the same way, although removing the center bloom from a Floribunda plant will produce much more uniform bloom sprays. Some experts recommend removing the spent blooms from Floribundas and Grandifloras as they complete their bloom cycle without disturbing the rest of the blooms on the spray. Once a bloom cycle is complete, these two types of roses are pruned exactly as the Hybrid Tea. Olde Roses can also profit from deadheading, because reoccurring blooms are encouraged in those types that are intermittent or repeat bloomers.
Be mindful of unproductive growth that will crowd the middle of the plant and restrict sunlight and the flow of air. Remove this growth and any blind shoots which are twiggy in appearance and do not end in a bloom bud. A good resource is the book,”Growing Good Roses” by Rayford Reddell. He recommends pruning basal breaks at a bud eye when the cane is twelve to fifteen inches tall so to encourage a sturdy branched cane that will produce more and better blooms.
For the suckers that will inevitably emerge through this season, you should dig down beneath the soil and prune that sucker off at the point where it grows.
Let’s talk about the really fun part of growing roses – cuttings. Growing new rose plants from cuttings is one of the most enjoyable facets of growing roses. Cuttings can be taken at any time, but following the first bloom of the season is the best time because of the amount of good weather remaining for the cutting to get established and gain strength.
There are many ways to prepare cuttings and once you find one that works for you, stick with it. The easiest and most convenient way, in my opinion, is cutting the fading bloom of the variety I want to grow at a point on the stem which will provide four (or more) bud eyes and placing that cutting immediately in water.
The cutting is prepared by removing the bloom and the leaves from the lower two sets of leaflets. The end of the cutting, to be placed in the growing material, is stripped on several places of bark and the stripped areas and the end are generously coated with Rootone (a rooting hormone). The prepared cutting is then placed in a pot filled with a growing medium of equal parts soil, sand and peat moss. Make a hole in the medium, place your cutting, being careful not to knock off the Rootone and tamp the medium firmly around the stem.
Record what kind of rose you’ve gotten your cutting from (if you can) and the date on the pot. Enclose your cutting in plastic that is supported by a couple of lengths of stout wire (coat hangers are great for this) bent into a U. Make sure you make a hole in the top for ventilation. The bag acts like a mini-greenhouse. Place your cuttings in a shady place and wait for them to mature. Watch for new leaves to appear, remove the plastic bag and feed with a water soluble fertilizer. Some folks like Ra-Pid-Grow. Fox Organics makes several good water solubles. Any of the Fox products, liquid kelp or fish emulsion are good choices. Don’t put your cuttings out into the full sun immediately. Do this gradually and watch it grow. Once your cutting is ready to move to the full sun, it is ready to be planted at its permanent location.
Ordinarily, June is also the month that gardeners start to wonder about how much water they should be giving their roses. If the spring has been especially dry, this will understandably generate some concern. This year, though, we seem to be having a somewhat wonky weather pattern. Roses in the height of their growth cycle are very thirsty and require about an inch of water a week. Less water stresses the plants and will result in poor growth and less bloom. Putting a rain gauge in your rose garden is a good idea since it’s pretty easy to overestimate the amount of rainfall we are actually getting.
There are two schools of thought on the method of watering. Some say that wet rose foliage is to be avoided and deliberately spraying roses is inviting disease into your rose garden. Others will say that roses enjoy and benefit from the occasional cleansing shower. After all, we don’t live in the Sahara and rains often wash our roses. A strong stream of water from a water wand is a good way to rid the roses of aphids and spider mites. It’s generally a good idea after a rain or a bath to respray for blackspot as it requires moisture to infect our plants. Use the baking soda and water formula or the fungicide of your choice.
Other Thoughts…
Remember, just because you don’t have a plot of land on which to grow fresh veggies, doesn’t mean you can’t. Many veggies lend themselves well to container gardening. Selecting a dwarf or bush variety and give you a plant well adapted to growing in a pot. Veggies that take up little space, such as carrots, radishes and lettuces work well in a lower, shallower container. Carrots come in shorter and rounder varieties these days and do nicely in the barrel sections one sees this time of the year at the garden centers. Crops that bear fruits over a longer period, such as tomatoes and peppers, are perfect for container gardens.
31 May 2009
In The Early Summer Garden...
Wow, it sure did get HOT fast, didn’t it? While I’m not loving it so much (with a nod to a certain woman I know who THRIVES in the heat…), our gardens certainly are.
Please, folks, pay attention to your bodies when you’re working out in the yard in the heat. Wear a hat and sunscreen. And whatever you do, stay hydrated. You need water in this heat as much as the plants you are care-taking in your yards and gardens. Where will they be if you’re laid up with heat stroke?
Some tips for keeping your early summer garden looking fresh and colorful:
Trim or shear deciduous or evergreen hedges.
Mow your lawn as often as needed, but don’t cut it too short. Never remove more than 1/3 of the grass blades at one time. When your lawn is growing like a house a’fire, it’s better to mow it every four or five days, than to wait a whole week.
Keep weeding! Easy to say, but not always easy to do. If you have children or grandchildren, spending a couple of hours together in the morning or the cool of early evening with a reward of, perhaps, baking some cookies afterward, is a sure way to get those weeds in check quick.
Continue to water as needed, especially new plants, trees, shrubs and perennials. They definitely need a good soaking every week for the first couple of months. If it doesn’t rain enough, and it’s looking like we’re pretty much done with rain for the year, you will have to water. You may want to also get out your watering can and hand out a dose of water mixed with fish emulsion every couple of weeks as well.
Keep a keen eye out for developing insect and disease problems.
Deadhead your rhodies and lilacs and prune back some of those spring flowering shrubs that have finished blooming.
Spray your roses every week with a baking soda solution or fungicide (if you use chemicals in your garden) to protect against blackspot disease. A great homemade fungicide is 2 teaspoons of baking soda with a few drops of Ivory dish soap in a half gallon of water. Use a spray bottle or garden sprayer. This will also help prevent aphids on your roses.
Pinch back your asters and mums, if you have them, to encourage compact growth and more blooms.
Cut back yellowing bulb foliage.
Let’s talk a bit about fertilizing your roses. You probably first fertilized your plants this year around mid April. You probably used a general purpose 10-10-10 fertilizer. Some of you may have supplemented with alfalfa pellets, cottonseed meal or fish emulsion. You may have also added some Epsom salts to encourage new canes from the crowns of your plants and healthy leaf production. You’re coming up on the next general fertilizer application. As much as I prefer organics, for success with roses you really should consider a fertilizer formulated especially for roses. Apply in a circle about six to eight inches from the crown. Scratch the fertilizer lightly into the soil and water it in. Be careful not to disturb the roots that live nearer to the surface of the soil.
Many rose gardeners are using a liquid fertilizer in between the major feedings in April, June and August. Liquid plant foods can be applied as a spray and can be combined with sprays for fungus and insects, including the baking soda fungicide. Do not spray your roses during the heat of the day; this could result in leaf burn. Early evening, when it’s pleasant out, is ideal. One point to note – Experts say that we should spray our roses for blackspot and fungus even if we see no evidence of these diseases. Using the baking soda solution will not only help prevent disease but also kill insects.
We’re going to talk about mulching your roses, although mulching is something that will benefit ALL of your planted areas. There are a number of important reasons for mulching. One is to provide a neat and manicured look to your rose and flower gardens. Some weed control is provided, moisture is retained, soil temperature is regulated through summer and winter, erosion is prevented and mulching prevents the need for constant cultivation. Mulch also encourages root growth, encourages earthworms and bacteria in the soil, and – if you’re using an organic – will renew and rebuild the content of your soil.
You can use lots of different things for mulching. Before I list those, let’s note that pine needles – which most of us have in copious amounts – benefit acid-loving plants. Rhodies and berries of any kind like this. The variety of materials available for mulching include hardwood bark, pine needles, rotted manure, straw (not alfalfa), wood chips, mushroom compost, ground corn cobs, grass clippings, chopped tree leaves, black plastic, sawdust and chopped or ground nut hulls. Generally, what you use greatly depends on what you can get, how much it costs and how easy it is to deal with. Be aware that straw has a tendency to reduce available nitrogen in the soil, but it does furnish potassium. You will want to maintain a mulch thickness on all your beds, including vegetable gardens, of two to four inches. If you’re using hardwood bark, you will have to regularly test your soil and, if the pH lowers to the acid side, you will need to add lime to maintain a 6.0 to 6.5 pH level.
In the rose or perennial garden, a convenient way to utilize hardwood bark as a mulch is to mound your plants with it as winter protection and then spread it out over the rest of the bed in the spring.
Some key tips for your veggie gardens for this season are:
Keep picking.
Water regularly.
Control insects and diseases.
Feed lightly.
Make sure they’re getting enough sun.
Keep the weeds down.
Practice succession planting.
Consider fall planting, perhaps with the use of a tunnel or cold frame system, to extend your veggie growing season.
Remember to share the bounty. With a little extra work and maybe some luck, we’ll all probably have more veggies than we can use. Sure, we can all freeze some and put some up for the winter. We’ll probably be dropping some off on the neighbor’s porch when they’re not looking (that is, if we aren’t competing against them for the best salad greens or the biggest ‘maters!). Don’t forget that our community center, local churches, food banks and the Plant A Row programs can all use extra help. With so many in our region struggling to put food on their tables, let’s not forget that caring for our fellows is always the right thing to do.
Please, folks, pay attention to your bodies when you’re working out in the yard in the heat. Wear a hat and sunscreen. And whatever you do, stay hydrated. You need water in this heat as much as the plants you are care-taking in your yards and gardens. Where will they be if you’re laid up with heat stroke?
Some tips for keeping your early summer garden looking fresh and colorful:
Trim or shear deciduous or evergreen hedges.
Mow your lawn as often as needed, but don’t cut it too short. Never remove more than 1/3 of the grass blades at one time. When your lawn is growing like a house a’fire, it’s better to mow it every four or five days, than to wait a whole week.
Keep weeding! Easy to say, but not always easy to do. If you have children or grandchildren, spending a couple of hours together in the morning or the cool of early evening with a reward of, perhaps, baking some cookies afterward, is a sure way to get those weeds in check quick.
Continue to water as needed, especially new plants, trees, shrubs and perennials. They definitely need a good soaking every week for the first couple of months. If it doesn’t rain enough, and it’s looking like we’re pretty much done with rain for the year, you will have to water. You may want to also get out your watering can and hand out a dose of water mixed with fish emulsion every couple of weeks as well.
Keep a keen eye out for developing insect and disease problems.
Deadhead your rhodies and lilacs and prune back some of those spring flowering shrubs that have finished blooming.
Spray your roses every week with a baking soda solution or fungicide (if you use chemicals in your garden) to protect against blackspot disease. A great homemade fungicide is 2 teaspoons of baking soda with a few drops of Ivory dish soap in a half gallon of water. Use a spray bottle or garden sprayer. This will also help prevent aphids on your roses.
Pinch back your asters and mums, if you have them, to encourage compact growth and more blooms.
Cut back yellowing bulb foliage.
Let’s talk a bit about fertilizing your roses. You probably first fertilized your plants this year around mid April. You probably used a general purpose 10-10-10 fertilizer. Some of you may have supplemented with alfalfa pellets, cottonseed meal or fish emulsion. You may have also added some Epsom salts to encourage new canes from the crowns of your plants and healthy leaf production. You’re coming up on the next general fertilizer application. As much as I prefer organics, for success with roses you really should consider a fertilizer formulated especially for roses. Apply in a circle about six to eight inches from the crown. Scratch the fertilizer lightly into the soil and water it in. Be careful not to disturb the roots that live nearer to the surface of the soil.
Many rose gardeners are using a liquid fertilizer in between the major feedings in April, June and August. Liquid plant foods can be applied as a spray and can be combined with sprays for fungus and insects, including the baking soda fungicide. Do not spray your roses during the heat of the day; this could result in leaf burn. Early evening, when it’s pleasant out, is ideal. One point to note – Experts say that we should spray our roses for blackspot and fungus even if we see no evidence of these diseases. Using the baking soda solution will not only help prevent disease but also kill insects.
We’re going to talk about mulching your roses, although mulching is something that will benefit ALL of your planted areas. There are a number of important reasons for mulching. One is to provide a neat and manicured look to your rose and flower gardens. Some weed control is provided, moisture is retained, soil temperature is regulated through summer and winter, erosion is prevented and mulching prevents the need for constant cultivation. Mulch also encourages root growth, encourages earthworms and bacteria in the soil, and – if you’re using an organic – will renew and rebuild the content of your soil.
You can use lots of different things for mulching. Before I list those, let’s note that pine needles – which most of us have in copious amounts – benefit acid-loving plants. Rhodies and berries of any kind like this. The variety of materials available for mulching include hardwood bark, pine needles, rotted manure, straw (not alfalfa), wood chips, mushroom compost, ground corn cobs, grass clippings, chopped tree leaves, black plastic, sawdust and chopped or ground nut hulls. Generally, what you use greatly depends on what you can get, how much it costs and how easy it is to deal with. Be aware that straw has a tendency to reduce available nitrogen in the soil, but it does furnish potassium. You will want to maintain a mulch thickness on all your beds, including vegetable gardens, of two to four inches. If you’re using hardwood bark, you will have to regularly test your soil and, if the pH lowers to the acid side, you will need to add lime to maintain a 6.0 to 6.5 pH level.
In the rose or perennial garden, a convenient way to utilize hardwood bark as a mulch is to mound your plants with it as winter protection and then spread it out over the rest of the bed in the spring.
Some key tips for your veggie gardens for this season are:
Keep picking.
Water regularly.
Control insects and diseases.
Feed lightly.
Make sure they’re getting enough sun.
Keep the weeds down.
Practice succession planting.
Consider fall planting, perhaps with the use of a tunnel or cold frame system, to extend your veggie growing season.
Remember to share the bounty. With a little extra work and maybe some luck, we’ll all probably have more veggies than we can use. Sure, we can all freeze some and put some up for the winter. We’ll probably be dropping some off on the neighbor’s porch when they’re not looking (that is, if we aren’t competing against them for the best salad greens or the biggest ‘maters!). Don’t forget that our community center, local churches, food banks and the Plant A Row programs can all use extra help. With so many in our region struggling to put food on their tables, let’s not forget that caring for our fellows is always the right thing to do.
25 May 2009
Gardening With Kids, Part 2
Watching our feathered friends eat from a homemade bird feeder has always filled my little budding birdwatchers with pride and fascination. Probably the best of all, is that these feeders are super easy to make with your kids or grandkids or whatever children are hanging around your house over the coming spring and summer months.
Toast Feeder. Make some toast and spread it with some nut butter. Peanut is great, but if food allergies are an issue, sun butter, made from sunflower seeds, is also a good choice. Cut the toast into a fun shape with a large cookie cutter, and then poke a hole in the top with a wooden skewer or a straw. Have the child press the buttered side of the toast into a plate full of bird seeds. Thread a ribbon through the hole, knot the ends and hang. This feeder should last for at least a week or until the next rain.
Pine Cones. Smear nut butter onto a pinecone with a stiff paintbrush until it’s well coated. Have the child put the cone into a large zip lock bag full of seeds, close securely (this can be a real mess if the bag isn’t closed tightly!) and shake the cone in the bag until it is thoroughly covered with seeds. Tie a piece of string or ribbon around the end of the pinecone, knot the ends and hang.
Cone-servationist. Have the child nibble a small hole in the end of a pointy ice cream cone or poke a hole into the flat part of a flat bottomed cone. Spread nut butter on the cone and roll it in birdseed, thickly coating it. Thread the ends of a ribbon into the hole, tie a knot too big to slip out of the hole and hang it up.
It won’t take long to cultivate the gardening bug in your kids with this project developed by Hans Leo of Massachusetts. His inspiration comes from the Canadian Indians would create temporary lodges out of live saplings by tying the upper branches together to form a roof.
Here are the instructions for planting and growing a sunflower hideaway of your own, including ways to keep the kids interested in the project.
In the spring, like right now, stake out a six foot square area where the sunflowers can be planted. Using a fork or rototiller, if you have one, loosen and turn a path about a foot wide along the perimeter of the square. Leave a few feet unturned on the north side for an entry way. Sunflowers need a fair amount of nutrients, so mixing in compost or aged manure into the turned soil is vital.
In late May or early June, plant your sunflowers. Hans recommends the Mammoth Gray Stripe, which has a stout stem, very large flower heads and can grow up to twelve feet tall. You can start your seeds in peat pots, thus getting the kids involved in the planting and sprouting process. Plus, you can plant the seedlings, pot and all. Plant 2 seeds in 24 pots and set them in a sunny, but sheltered, location. Keep the soil moist, but not soaking. Once your seedlings are four or five inches tall, snip back the smaller one. Plant the seedlings in their pots about a foot apart and water them well. You can also direct-sow your seeds, two to a hole, about a foot apart. When your seedlings are four to eight inches tall, snip off the weaker of the two.
As they grow, water and weed as needed. Spread mulch around them to conserve water. Give them a good watering once a week unless it gets really hot. Spraying the leaves weekly with liquid kelp will produce vibrant growth.
When your sunflowers are around 4 feet tall, you can add petunias or marigolds or whatever annuals you like to add some color to the house.
By the time your sunflowers are 6 feet or so tall, it’s time to start making your roof. Gently tie some baling twine around a flower on one side of the house about a foot below the flower head. You may need a stepladder for this. Slowly pull the plant toward the flower opposite of it and loop the free end of the twine around it. Bring the flower heads together and secure the twine. Don’t tie them too tightly or you could uproot your sunflowers. Pair up the flowers until your roof is done. You may have to adjust the twines over the next few weeks as the plants continue to grow.
As the sunflowers grow, periodically weed and rake the floor of the house to keep it clear. Kids like quick results, so include fast growing plants. Nasturtiums are also a good choice as are marigolds. Radishes of several varieties (Easter egg radishes, with their multiple colors, are a huge hit around here) and short or round carrots are a nice addition to the spaces between the flowers. Think short and round so you’re not compromising the roof system of the sunflowers when you pull up the veggies.
Encourage the children in your life to help with the planting, weeding and picking, but don’t let these activities stretch beyond their attention span. Make gardening fun but not a chore. Then it will be something that they look forward to each spring and summer.
Toast Feeder. Make some toast and spread it with some nut butter. Peanut is great, but if food allergies are an issue, sun butter, made from sunflower seeds, is also a good choice. Cut the toast into a fun shape with a large cookie cutter, and then poke a hole in the top with a wooden skewer or a straw. Have the child press the buttered side of the toast into a plate full of bird seeds. Thread a ribbon through the hole, knot the ends and hang. This feeder should last for at least a week or until the next rain.
Pine Cones. Smear nut butter onto a pinecone with a stiff paintbrush until it’s well coated. Have the child put the cone into a large zip lock bag full of seeds, close securely (this can be a real mess if the bag isn’t closed tightly!) and shake the cone in the bag until it is thoroughly covered with seeds. Tie a piece of string or ribbon around the end of the pinecone, knot the ends and hang.
Cone-servationist. Have the child nibble a small hole in the end of a pointy ice cream cone or poke a hole into the flat part of a flat bottomed cone. Spread nut butter on the cone and roll it in birdseed, thickly coating it. Thread the ends of a ribbon into the hole, tie a knot too big to slip out of the hole and hang it up.
It won’t take long to cultivate the gardening bug in your kids with this project developed by Hans Leo of Massachusetts. His inspiration comes from the Canadian Indians would create temporary lodges out of live saplings by tying the upper branches together to form a roof.
Here are the instructions for planting and growing a sunflower hideaway of your own, including ways to keep the kids interested in the project.
In the spring, like right now, stake out a six foot square area where the sunflowers can be planted. Using a fork or rototiller, if you have one, loosen and turn a path about a foot wide along the perimeter of the square. Leave a few feet unturned on the north side for an entry way. Sunflowers need a fair amount of nutrients, so mixing in compost or aged manure into the turned soil is vital.
In late May or early June, plant your sunflowers. Hans recommends the Mammoth Gray Stripe, which has a stout stem, very large flower heads and can grow up to twelve feet tall. You can start your seeds in peat pots, thus getting the kids involved in the planting and sprouting process. Plus, you can plant the seedlings, pot and all. Plant 2 seeds in 24 pots and set them in a sunny, but sheltered, location. Keep the soil moist, but not soaking. Once your seedlings are four or five inches tall, snip back the smaller one. Plant the seedlings in their pots about a foot apart and water them well. You can also direct-sow your seeds, two to a hole, about a foot apart. When your seedlings are four to eight inches tall, snip off the weaker of the two.
As they grow, water and weed as needed. Spread mulch around them to conserve water. Give them a good watering once a week unless it gets really hot. Spraying the leaves weekly with liquid kelp will produce vibrant growth.
When your sunflowers are around 4 feet tall, you can add petunias or marigolds or whatever annuals you like to add some color to the house.
By the time your sunflowers are 6 feet or so tall, it’s time to start making your roof. Gently tie some baling twine around a flower on one side of the house about a foot below the flower head. You may need a stepladder for this. Slowly pull the plant toward the flower opposite of it and loop the free end of the twine around it. Bring the flower heads together and secure the twine. Don’t tie them too tightly or you could uproot your sunflowers. Pair up the flowers until your roof is done. You may have to adjust the twines over the next few weeks as the plants continue to grow.
As the sunflowers grow, periodically weed and rake the floor of the house to keep it clear. Kids like quick results, so include fast growing plants. Nasturtiums are also a good choice as are marigolds. Radishes of several varieties (Easter egg radishes, with their multiple colors, are a huge hit around here) and short or round carrots are a nice addition to the spaces between the flowers. Think short and round so you’re not compromising the roof system of the sunflowers when you pull up the veggies.
Encourage the children in your life to help with the planting, weeding and picking, but don’t let these activities stretch beyond their attention span. Make gardening fun but not a chore. Then it will be something that they look forward to each spring and summer.
17 May 2009
Gardening projects to do with the kidlets, part 1
There are a number of very cool crafty projects that you can put together for your garden. And what child doesn’t like doing crafts? I know that my two would rather do crafts of any kind over just about anything else. Add gardening to the mix, and you’ve got a recipe for an afternoon of excited and happy kids. And happy gardeners!
The first project I wanted to tackle is the Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter. They sell these gadgets on those infomercials for over twenty bucks a piece (and that’s only if you buy two of them!). Even though I resisted the whole idea of the upside down tomato, I did have the opportunity to give the topsy turvy a try and it’s actually OK. I don’t care much for the price, and was pleased to find instructions on how to make my own.
The bottom line is that tomatoes love the sun, and even planting them upside down will not deter them from searching out the light.
It takes a couple of hours to put this together and – if your planter is white – why not have your kids or grandkids decorate it with some bright colored Sharpie pens? You’re going to need a sturdy bucket, preferably one with a cover, a drill with a 2” hole saw, electrical tape, sphagnum moss, tomato plants (smaller ones), potting soil and compost.
I’ve seen these done a couple different ways. One is to plant only one plant per bucket, right out of the bottom. I don't care for that version; what if you have to take down the planter and set it down? The other is to use three, from the sides of the bucket. I prefer the three from the side version, so those are the instructions I’m using here.
Moving on…Thoroughly clean out your bucket and cut three holes, equally spaced, about two inches from the bottom of your bucket. Wrap the edges of the holes with electrical tape to avoid sharp edges. You could sand them as well, if you wish. Put moss in the bucket all around the holes to keep the tomato plant from falling out when you first hang the bucket.
Thread the upper two to three inches of your tomato seedling through the holes but keep the root ball inside the bucket. Then you and your kidlet can loosely pack soil around the stem and root ball. Add enough soil to cover the roots by about two inches. Add a layer of compost and then another couple inches of soil. You will want to fill your bucket so that the soil is just a few inches below the rim. Hang the bucket by its handle in a sunny location, perhaps on the edge of your patio, and water it thoroughly, until water starts running out of the holes. Water your topsy turvy regularly and add soil and compost when levels inside the bucket fall. Keeping a cover on the bucket will help retain moisture. As the plants grow, the leaves will search out the sun until fruit forms to weigh them down.
Many of us are seeing crowds of winged visitors in our yards right about now. This little bird feeder is quick to make, fun for the kidlets and uses recycled materials. You’re going to need a 1-liter soda bottle, a craft knife, two wooden spoons, a small eye-screw and a length of twine or wire for hanging. Start by drawing a ½ inch asterisk on the side of a clean 1-liter pop bottle about 4 inches from the bottom. Turn the bottle 90 degrees and draw another asterisk about 2 inches from the bottom of the bottle. Draw a 1 inch wide circle on the opposite side of each asterisk. Using your craft knife slit the asterisk lines and cut out the circle (that’s a grown-up job!). Insert the wooden spoon handle first through the hole and then through the asterisk to hold it in place. Turn the spoon so that the depression will catch the seeds as they come out of the feeder and push it far enough in so that the base of the spoon is just inside that hole you cut. The handle on the other side serves as a perch. Take off the cap of the bottle and twist the small eye screw in to the top for hanging. Finally, fill your feeder with birdseed, recap it and use your length of twine or wire and hang if from a tree or your patio. Remember, though, that hanging a feeder on your patio or deck can get messy after that feeder becomes popular with your feathered visitors.
These are both projects that you can do with the kidlets in your life, or projects that you can make and give away. Wouldn’t grandma really grin over a topsy turvy tomato planter? And who doesn’t love bird feeders? Make some for your own yard and garden and make some for gifts. Don’t forget Father’s Day is coming up and Dad’s and Grandpa’s garden, too!
The first project I wanted to tackle is the Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter. They sell these gadgets on those infomercials for over twenty bucks a piece (and that’s only if you buy two of them!). Even though I resisted the whole idea of the upside down tomato, I did have the opportunity to give the topsy turvy a try and it’s actually OK. I don’t care much for the price, and was pleased to find instructions on how to make my own.
The bottom line is that tomatoes love the sun, and even planting them upside down will not deter them from searching out the light.
It takes a couple of hours to put this together and – if your planter is white – why not have your kids or grandkids decorate it with some bright colored Sharpie pens? You’re going to need a sturdy bucket, preferably one with a cover, a drill with a 2” hole saw, electrical tape, sphagnum moss, tomato plants (smaller ones), potting soil and compost.
I’ve seen these done a couple different ways. One is to plant only one plant per bucket, right out of the bottom. I don't care for that version; what if you have to take down the planter and set it down? The other is to use three, from the sides of the bucket. I prefer the three from the side version, so those are the instructions I’m using here.
Moving on…Thoroughly clean out your bucket and cut three holes, equally spaced, about two inches from the bottom of your bucket. Wrap the edges of the holes with electrical tape to avoid sharp edges. You could sand them as well, if you wish. Put moss in the bucket all around the holes to keep the tomato plant from falling out when you first hang the bucket.
Thread the upper two to three inches of your tomato seedling through the holes but keep the root ball inside the bucket. Then you and your kidlet can loosely pack soil around the stem and root ball. Add enough soil to cover the roots by about two inches. Add a layer of compost and then another couple inches of soil. You will want to fill your bucket so that the soil is just a few inches below the rim. Hang the bucket by its handle in a sunny location, perhaps on the edge of your patio, and water it thoroughly, until water starts running out of the holes. Water your topsy turvy regularly and add soil and compost when levels inside the bucket fall. Keeping a cover on the bucket will help retain moisture. As the plants grow, the leaves will search out the sun until fruit forms to weigh them down.
Many of us are seeing crowds of winged visitors in our yards right about now. This little bird feeder is quick to make, fun for the kidlets and uses recycled materials. You’re going to need a 1-liter soda bottle, a craft knife, two wooden spoons, a small eye-screw and a length of twine or wire for hanging. Start by drawing a ½ inch asterisk on the side of a clean 1-liter pop bottle about 4 inches from the bottom. Turn the bottle 90 degrees and draw another asterisk about 2 inches from the bottom of the bottle. Draw a 1 inch wide circle on the opposite side of each asterisk. Using your craft knife slit the asterisk lines and cut out the circle (that’s a grown-up job!). Insert the wooden spoon handle first through the hole and then through the asterisk to hold it in place. Turn the spoon so that the depression will catch the seeds as they come out of the feeder and push it far enough in so that the base of the spoon is just inside that hole you cut. The handle on the other side serves as a perch. Take off the cap of the bottle and twist the small eye screw in to the top for hanging. Finally, fill your feeder with birdseed, recap it and use your length of twine or wire and hang if from a tree or your patio. Remember, though, that hanging a feeder on your patio or deck can get messy after that feeder becomes popular with your feathered visitors.
These are both projects that you can do with the kidlets in your life, or projects that you can make and give away. Wouldn’t grandma really grin over a topsy turvy tomato planter? And who doesn’t love bird feeders? Make some for your own yard and garden and make some for gifts. Don’t forget Father’s Day is coming up and Dad’s and Grandpa’s garden, too!
10 May 2009
Catmint and other stuff....
I generally try to be whimsical and chirpy about approaching my computer each week to compose something that will, hopefully, be remotely informative and mildly entertaining. I’m finding that I really need the human equivalent of catmint; something that will instill euphoria and just make everything right in the world.
Sigh.
Since I’ve not found that human equivalent, catmint and a couple of other cool plants are the order of the day. Catmint, obviously, is a member of the mint family and has a lovely lemony-mint flavor. My girls love to crush a few leaves in the bottom of a glass before pouring in the ice and lemonade. It’s easy to grow both for your kitties and for tea or other beverages for you.
This is a strong smelling herb with clusters of purplish-blue flowers loved by honeybees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Oh, yeah…and cats. Historically, the medicinal effects of catmint have been recorded as great for treating colic or other tummy upsets and cold symptoms. Naturally, many of the supposed treatments have been dismissed, although it’s astringency and antioxidant qualities are documented.
In 2007, Faassen’s Catmint “Walker’s Low” was chosen as the Perennial Plant Association’s Perennial of the Year. This variety is slightly more compact than other catmints and much less floppy. It is drought tolerant and, since it is – after all – a mint, can creep through its area if you don’t keep an eye on it.
Catmint literally “billows” when it grows. It’s nice to have at the bottoms of roses, hollyhocks or even peonies to hide their “knees”. It’s a great border plant, lovely cascading over a wall and makes a nice substitute for lavender.
There are two schools of thought on the best way to propagate catmint. Our fabulous friends at the Master Gardeners swear by propagation via seed. They say if you bring the plants into your yard and crush so little as one leaf getting them planted, you will attract every cat in the neighborhood. Seed is the way to go, they say. Established plants can be propagated by division of the root ball. Remember to allow for plenty of space.
There’s a cute little rhyme for catmint:
“If you set it, the cats will eat it,
If you sow it, the cats don’t know it.”
Either way, it’s a nice addition to any home garden.
Catmint is easy to grow in either sun or partial shade and has few to no pests or other issues. Catmint is deer resistant. It likes well drained soil that is not too rich. Fertilizer is not generally needed, unless your soil is really bereft of nutrients. Maybe a little at planting and then a couple times a year for maximum growth. Periodically pinch back the shoots of your catmint to help make them bushy. First bloom should be around mid-summer at which time you can harvest the leaves for tea or cat toys. You can probably expect three harvests a year, and the honeybees will love you for growing it. Harvest the leaves as the flowers begin to bloom. You can cut off the leaves, stems and flowers for use fresh, dried or frozen.
Some nice varieties to try are ‘Felix’, ‘Six Hills Giant’, ‘Sweet Dreams’ and ‘Walker’s Low’. Catmint is beautiful when combined with the yellow and pinks of daylilies or yarrow.
Another plant that looks especially nice planted with catmint is Lamb’s Ears. The fuzzy, silver green foliage – soft as suede – are a nice counter to the brighter greens. They flower on tall spikes, pinkish-purple or white, in the late spring and early summer. Some folks like the flowers and others cut them off because they want that soft and fuzzy foliage more than blooms. As with catmint, bees love the blooms of the Lamb’s Ear. They look best as a rambling ground cover or border plant. You will have to do some maintenance to keep them from creeping out of their area. Lamb’s Ears self-seed like nobody’s business, and in some areas can be invasive and hard to get rid of.
Astilbes or Meadowsweet (love that name!) are very cool, plume-like bloomers that are noted for their long flowering quality. One of the easiest perennials to grow, Meadowsweet gives a very high return with their white, pink and red blooms. A pest free perennial, they offer color that pops to the shadier areas of your garden and do very well in containers. Their foliage is rather fern-like and the feathery blooms are on stalks above the foliage. The bloom cycle will last several weeks and the colors will slowly fade as the blooms dry. They prefer partial shade, but can do full sun with lots of water. They also like a richer soil. Meadowsweet is generally trouble free and not bothered by disease or insect pests. Cut these back in the spring or if the stalks fall over. They should be divided and shared amongst your friends every four to five years. Some varieties to consider: ‘Bridal Veil’, 3’ tall with full white plumes, ‘Purple Candles’, 3’-4’ tall with glorious purple plumes, ‘Fanal’, 1-1/2’ to 2’ tall with crimson flowers and bronze foliage, and ‘Rheinland’, 2’-2-1/2’ feet tall with rich pink blooms.
Well, I feel better now. I’m heading out to the garden. How about you?
Sigh.
Since I’ve not found that human equivalent, catmint and a couple of other cool plants are the order of the day. Catmint, obviously, is a member of the mint family and has a lovely lemony-mint flavor. My girls love to crush a few leaves in the bottom of a glass before pouring in the ice and lemonade. It’s easy to grow both for your kitties and for tea or other beverages for you.
This is a strong smelling herb with clusters of purplish-blue flowers loved by honeybees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Oh, yeah…and cats. Historically, the medicinal effects of catmint have been recorded as great for treating colic or other tummy upsets and cold symptoms. Naturally, many of the supposed treatments have been dismissed, although it’s astringency and antioxidant qualities are documented.
In 2007, Faassen’s Catmint “Walker’s Low” was chosen as the Perennial Plant Association’s Perennial of the Year. This variety is slightly more compact than other catmints and much less floppy. It is drought tolerant and, since it is – after all – a mint, can creep through its area if you don’t keep an eye on it.
Catmint literally “billows” when it grows. It’s nice to have at the bottoms of roses, hollyhocks or even peonies to hide their “knees”. It’s a great border plant, lovely cascading over a wall and makes a nice substitute for lavender.
There are two schools of thought on the best way to propagate catmint. Our fabulous friends at the Master Gardeners swear by propagation via seed. They say if you bring the plants into your yard and crush so little as one leaf getting them planted, you will attract every cat in the neighborhood. Seed is the way to go, they say. Established plants can be propagated by division of the root ball. Remember to allow for plenty of space.
There’s a cute little rhyme for catmint:
“If you set it, the cats will eat it,
If you sow it, the cats don’t know it.”
Either way, it’s a nice addition to any home garden.
Catmint is easy to grow in either sun or partial shade and has few to no pests or other issues. Catmint is deer resistant. It likes well drained soil that is not too rich. Fertilizer is not generally needed, unless your soil is really bereft of nutrients. Maybe a little at planting and then a couple times a year for maximum growth. Periodically pinch back the shoots of your catmint to help make them bushy. First bloom should be around mid-summer at which time you can harvest the leaves for tea or cat toys. You can probably expect three harvests a year, and the honeybees will love you for growing it. Harvest the leaves as the flowers begin to bloom. You can cut off the leaves, stems and flowers for use fresh, dried or frozen.
Some nice varieties to try are ‘Felix’, ‘Six Hills Giant’, ‘Sweet Dreams’ and ‘Walker’s Low’. Catmint is beautiful when combined with the yellow and pinks of daylilies or yarrow.
Another plant that looks especially nice planted with catmint is Lamb’s Ears. The fuzzy, silver green foliage – soft as suede – are a nice counter to the brighter greens. They flower on tall spikes, pinkish-purple or white, in the late spring and early summer. Some folks like the flowers and others cut them off because they want that soft and fuzzy foliage more than blooms. As with catmint, bees love the blooms of the Lamb’s Ear. They look best as a rambling ground cover or border plant. You will have to do some maintenance to keep them from creeping out of their area. Lamb’s Ears self-seed like nobody’s business, and in some areas can be invasive and hard to get rid of.
Astilbes or Meadowsweet (love that name!) are very cool, plume-like bloomers that are noted for their long flowering quality. One of the easiest perennials to grow, Meadowsweet gives a very high return with their white, pink and red blooms. A pest free perennial, they offer color that pops to the shadier areas of your garden and do very well in containers. Their foliage is rather fern-like and the feathery blooms are on stalks above the foliage. The bloom cycle will last several weeks and the colors will slowly fade as the blooms dry. They prefer partial shade, but can do full sun with lots of water. They also like a richer soil. Meadowsweet is generally trouble free and not bothered by disease or insect pests. Cut these back in the spring or if the stalks fall over. They should be divided and shared amongst your friends every four to five years. Some varieties to consider: ‘Bridal Veil’, 3’ tall with full white plumes, ‘Purple Candles’, 3’-4’ tall with glorious purple plumes, ‘Fanal’, 1-1/2’ to 2’ tall with crimson flowers and bronze foliage, and ‘Rheinland’, 2’-2-1/2’ feet tall with rich pink blooms.
Well, I feel better now. I’m heading out to the garden. How about you?
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