Procrastination is generally not a good thing, but when it comes to your lawn in the summertime, a little bit can be a good thing. So says the turf grass specialists at Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.
Summer lawn care and maintenance knowledge will make the difference between a lush, healthy law – just begging to be tip-toed through with bare feet – and a scraggly brown one. Grasses usually go into a state of semi-dormancy and are vulnerable to disturbance.
There are a number of things to look at with summer lawn care:
Fertilizer –
Fertilizing is one of the best lawn maintenance choices you can make. Misusing it will make things turn really ugly, really fast. Using a fertilizer that is higher in nitrogen may be a good thing in the fall or the spring, but in the summer, when the only cooler place is on the sun, you can burn the daylights out of your lawn. Go for a slow-release fertilizer with lower nitrogen for this time of the year and carefully follow the instructions for use. You might even want to forgo fertilizing at all until the season starts to cool off and head into fall.
Water –
One of the most common issues seen with summer lawn care is NOT ENOUGH WATER. You may be watering as you normally do, but remember – it’s summer – water evaporates much more quickly than other times of the year. Water your lawn until the moisture has penetrated the soil to around six inches. Also, consider increasing the number of times per week you turn on the sprinklers. Whatever you do, don’t let your lawn turn brown and then water them back to a green condition. This depletes energy reserves and stresses out the plants. A wise garden writer said in print recently, “Yes, grasses are plants, too.” Keep in mind that they need the same care as other plants in your garden. Water as early in the day as possible.
Yard Toys –
My kids bugged and bugged for a Slip N Slide. While I am generally not the mom to deny her kids summer fun – and I didn’t – I am a bit of a psycho (hey, now!) about them not leaving their stuff all over the lawn. That Slip N Slide (or tarp or whatever they’re covering your lawn with) will get smothered by that hot plastic. Of course, if you’re setting up a pool, it’s just not practical to tear it down and set it up. I’ve given instructions for repairing those spots in the past and may do so again in the fall, but the other stuff? Don’t leave that tarp or Slip N Slide laying around if the kidlets aren’t using them. No reason to damage your lawn when you’re doing all this work to keep it lush.
Mowing –
Mowing height adjustment is probably the most important practice in preparation for hot weather. Don’t mow ANY LOWER than three inches, even a little longer wouldn’t hurt. Lawns allowed to exist at this higher level will usually develop deeper roots and dry out more slowly than closely mowed grass. As the summer gets hotter and drier, the growth of your lawn should slow somewhat.
Other lawn care practices –
Avoid seeding, thatch control and the application of weed killers (including “weed and feed” if you use that type of product) until later in the season. September is a much better time for those things.
Mower Maintenance –
If you own your own mower, there are a few things you should do to take care of and insure the life of your mower. After each mowing, wait until the engine cools and then hose off the clippings and grass debris that may be clinging to the underside of the mower deck. Be sure to make sure that you have disconnected the spark plug cable prior to cleaning. Reconnect it afterwards.
It’s a good idea to sharpen, or have sharpened, the blades of your mower once a month or every six weeks. If you mow more than 4 times a month or happen to run over lots of rocks and debris, definitely once a month. Sharp mower blades are perhaps the one most important thing to focus on with your mower. Aside from the damage that dull blades will cause on your lawn, you could use up to 20% more fuel and you could spend a lot more time mowing that would ordinarily be required with sharp blades.
Always remember when reinstalling your blades that the sharp cutting edges of the blade should be facing down, not up! Most mulching blades are twisted, so make sure that the sharp end is facing toward the ground.
At the end of the season, don’t just put your mower away – prepare it first. Drain the fuel. Be sure to disconnect your spark plug prior to draining. By draining the fuel from your mower, you are preventing the remaining fuel from aging and potentially going bad inside your mower engine and carburetor.
Once the fuel has been drained, reconnect the spark plug wire and run the engine until it burns all the remaining fuel and runs out of gas.
Most mowers have instructions for putting your mower up for the season. If you still have the manual, follow those instructions.
Once spring rolls around again, bring your mower out of hibernation. If you’re not mechanically inclined, drag that mower to a shop to have it serviced.
If you’re up to doing this on your own, here are the few things you should do to get your mower ready for the season
Change the oil in the mower. If your mower has a two-stroke engine, oil is already mixed into the fuel and you can skip this step. Smaller, gas powered four-stroke engines will use 30 weight oil. Check the owner’s manual.
Replace the spark plug. These can fowl out and should be replaced at least once a year.
If your mower has a fuel filter, this should be replaced as well.
Replace the air filter. Your motor will need to breathe and if you kick up a lot of dust and debris while mowing, your filter could be choking your engine and it won’t function properly.
If there are issues with the way in which your mower runs, you may want to consider taking it in to a service shop.
With good cultural practices and mower maintenance, lawn care – all the way around – can be easily accomplished and extremely rewarding. Good luck through the rest of the summer and don’t forget to take care of yourself in this heat. Wear a hat and some sunscreen and be sure to drink lots of water if you’re going to be out in this heat for any length of time.
26 July 2009
11 July 2009
Summer Mish Mash
I’ve got a little bit of this and a little bit of that to talk about.
I’m hearing a lot about moles and gophers this year. A lot. I even have my own not insignificant issues with moles. I’ve got mole plant. I’ve got castor bean plant. But the best thing I’ve found for moles? A cat. My family presented me with a large, orange and white tom cat, rescued from the Siskiyou Human Society (they work with Petsmart). He’s a fabulous cat. Loves the kids, absolutely LOVES the dog. Last night, I went on the hunt for the cat and found him sitting quietly in the side yard, about 18 inches from a mole hole in action. Watching him, I could tell that he could sense, or perhaps hear, the varmints under the ground. While he didn’t nab himself a mole last night, I know that it’s on his agenda and that nasty, large mole will be dispatched in short order shortly. Got moles? Rescue a cat.
I’m also hearing a lot about a variety of mysterious pests this year. Folks finding plants with lacified leaves and no clue as to what’s doing it. Today, we’re a lot more aware of the need to protect our environment and keep the use of poisons to a minimum. The days of flinging about clouds of dust and spraying everything that moves are on the way out. Organic and biological controls are the wave we are riding right now, and the wave we’ll continue to ride in the future.
Most garden pests have natural predators, but we don’t always have them waiting in our gardens for aphids to show up. I have yet to see a praying mantis hanging about, rubbing her front claws together, saying, “Oh boy, I can’t wait for the squash bugs to hatch!” There are things we can do to draw them into our landscape, but – more often than not – its mail order that puts the beneficial insects and nematodes where we need them. Ladybug Indoor Gardens in Jacksonville can provide pest identification, excellent advice and is an outlet for every kind of beneficial insect that would help you out with your pest problems. Diatomaceous earth will help with a myriad of garden pests, but you want the kind NOT meant for pool filters. Tiny fossils in the diatomaceous earth put minute scratches in the exoskeletons of the pest that walk over it and they wind up dehydrating. Think about a trip to Ladybug Gardens for perhaps no other reason than education. They’re really nice there, as well.
Let’s talk about nuts. I don’t mean your crazy friends, people from California or certain family members. I’m talking about hazel nuts, cashews, almonds and the kind. Little nuts. Most nut trees are too large to grow more than maybe one or two in the home orchard.
The dwarf Siberian pine bears edible pine nuts and grows to only around 9 feet tall. Some hazelnuts are actually more of a bush and work for a crackerjack hedge. There are hybrid nut trees that will produce in as little as 3 years, whereas the larger walnuts and butternuts can take up to ten years to bear fruit. The purple leaf filbert is a smaller hedge bush and you would need two of these. Purple leaf filberts grow to 8 feet or so.
Almonds are a stone fruit like peaches, only you eat the nut. When selecting an almond variety, be sure to either choose a self-pollinator or plant two trees. You will also have to encourage honey bees to come to your yard and orchard if you’re going the cross-pollination route. If you want honey bees to frequent you yard and orchard, stay away from pesticides. We need to do all we can to support the honeybee. No bees = no food. Hive collapse is more serious than any of us really knows, far reaching with an impact that is mind boggling. But I digress…
I would recommend staying away from cashews unless you are in an area that doesn’t frost. They are very susceptible.
Pistachios are actually a fairly large tree; 20 feet or so and you need two of them for production. They need a lot of water, but they also need really good drainage.
There are lots of different nut producing pines. Popular varieties are Siberian, Korean, Italian Stone and Chilgoza pine as well as several types of pinyon, including the Colorado pinyon. The Korean Nut Pine is very hardy, does well in our clay soil, is resistant to white pine blister rust and is a slow grower. A number of the edible pine nut trees are also very nice as ornamentals.
Other nut trees to consider might be the chinquapin, which is similar to a chestnut and of which you would need two for pollination. The ginkgo, also known as the maidenhair tree, which is not a small tree, but at lovely for cooking and eating, have well known health benefits and are one of the few nut trees not affected by pests or disease.
The monkey-puzzle tree is as beautiful and unusual as it is practical. The nuts are about two inches long and grow on a large cone. You can get as many as 250 nuts out of one cone. You can roast them and eat them like chestnuts or grind them and use them as flour, among other things. Monkey-puzzles are evergreen and will require a male and a female in order to produce.
Is anyone thinking about what to do with the bounty we’re starting to see in the Rogue Valley gardens? Once you’ve taken care of your family, perhaps given some back to the community with that extra row or two you planted this spring, what then? If you’re like me, you’re probably overrun with tomatoes. Don’t have time for traditional “putting up” of the harvest? Try a dehydrator. Dry your sliced tomatoes, then pack them in pretty jars layered with basil and garlic and filled with a good olive oil. Pizza topping in a jar. And makes a great Hostess or Holiday gift. Aside from the fact that you may find that you eat it all before the Holidays roll around, of course.
There are lots of dehydrators on the market ranging in price from $50 to $500. If you really believe that you need a new one, perhaps rallying a few friends to go in together on one and everyone takes turns using it. Other options for finding a dehydrator would be thrift stores, the internet to check out Craigslist or even Freecycle (see http://www.freecycle.org for a group in our area) as well as the ever-popular garage sale.
Since most of us are drying fruits, tomatoes, peppers and other produce, the circular, tower style should work just fine. If it’s jerky you’re after, you really do want something with a thermostatic control. They’re usually square and have forced hot air that comes from the rear of the unit across the trays. The square trays are a lot easier to deal with if you’re making fruit leathers since you won’t have that hole in the middle of the tray to contend with.
The summer is progressing; we’re all spending time weeding and hovering over gardens waiting for our first fruits to ripen. I had the first few tomatoes this week along with some lovely sautéed onions and peppers on a turkey burger with a nice, melty Jarlsberg cheese and tomato. Before too long, we’ll all be swimming in produce. Some of us are already sowing our second round of some things while others are already pondering the winter garden. Still others are trying to figure out how to convert their entire garden to square-foot gardening and how many shitake-inoculated oak logs can be stuffed under their porch. Later summer means something different in every garden and to every gardener. And all of it bears with it a certain amount of fun and magic.
I’m hearing a lot about moles and gophers this year. A lot. I even have my own not insignificant issues with moles. I’ve got mole plant. I’ve got castor bean plant. But the best thing I’ve found for moles? A cat. My family presented me with a large, orange and white tom cat, rescued from the Siskiyou Human Society (they work with Petsmart). He’s a fabulous cat. Loves the kids, absolutely LOVES the dog. Last night, I went on the hunt for the cat and found him sitting quietly in the side yard, about 18 inches from a mole hole in action. Watching him, I could tell that he could sense, or perhaps hear, the varmints under the ground. While he didn’t nab himself a mole last night, I know that it’s on his agenda and that nasty, large mole will be dispatched in short order shortly. Got moles? Rescue a cat.
I’m also hearing a lot about a variety of mysterious pests this year. Folks finding plants with lacified leaves and no clue as to what’s doing it. Today, we’re a lot more aware of the need to protect our environment and keep the use of poisons to a minimum. The days of flinging about clouds of dust and spraying everything that moves are on the way out. Organic and biological controls are the wave we are riding right now, and the wave we’ll continue to ride in the future.
Most garden pests have natural predators, but we don’t always have them waiting in our gardens for aphids to show up. I have yet to see a praying mantis hanging about, rubbing her front claws together, saying, “Oh boy, I can’t wait for the squash bugs to hatch!” There are things we can do to draw them into our landscape, but – more often than not – its mail order that puts the beneficial insects and nematodes where we need them. Ladybug Indoor Gardens in Jacksonville can provide pest identification, excellent advice and is an outlet for every kind of beneficial insect that would help you out with your pest problems. Diatomaceous earth will help with a myriad of garden pests, but you want the kind NOT meant for pool filters. Tiny fossils in the diatomaceous earth put minute scratches in the exoskeletons of the pest that walk over it and they wind up dehydrating. Think about a trip to Ladybug Gardens for perhaps no other reason than education. They’re really nice there, as well.
Let’s talk about nuts. I don’t mean your crazy friends, people from California or certain family members. I’m talking about hazel nuts, cashews, almonds and the kind. Little nuts. Most nut trees are too large to grow more than maybe one or two in the home orchard.
The dwarf Siberian pine bears edible pine nuts and grows to only around 9 feet tall. Some hazelnuts are actually more of a bush and work for a crackerjack hedge. There are hybrid nut trees that will produce in as little as 3 years, whereas the larger walnuts and butternuts can take up to ten years to bear fruit. The purple leaf filbert is a smaller hedge bush and you would need two of these. Purple leaf filberts grow to 8 feet or so.
Almonds are a stone fruit like peaches, only you eat the nut. When selecting an almond variety, be sure to either choose a self-pollinator or plant two trees. You will also have to encourage honey bees to come to your yard and orchard if you’re going the cross-pollination route. If you want honey bees to frequent you yard and orchard, stay away from pesticides. We need to do all we can to support the honeybee. No bees = no food. Hive collapse is more serious than any of us really knows, far reaching with an impact that is mind boggling. But I digress…
I would recommend staying away from cashews unless you are in an area that doesn’t frost. They are very susceptible.
Pistachios are actually a fairly large tree; 20 feet or so and you need two of them for production. They need a lot of water, but they also need really good drainage.
There are lots of different nut producing pines. Popular varieties are Siberian, Korean, Italian Stone and Chilgoza pine as well as several types of pinyon, including the Colorado pinyon. The Korean Nut Pine is very hardy, does well in our clay soil, is resistant to white pine blister rust and is a slow grower. A number of the edible pine nut trees are also very nice as ornamentals.
Other nut trees to consider might be the chinquapin, which is similar to a chestnut and of which you would need two for pollination. The ginkgo, also known as the maidenhair tree, which is not a small tree, but at lovely for cooking and eating, have well known health benefits and are one of the few nut trees not affected by pests or disease.
The monkey-puzzle tree is as beautiful and unusual as it is practical. The nuts are about two inches long and grow on a large cone. You can get as many as 250 nuts out of one cone. You can roast them and eat them like chestnuts or grind them and use them as flour, among other things. Monkey-puzzles are evergreen and will require a male and a female in order to produce.
Is anyone thinking about what to do with the bounty we’re starting to see in the Rogue Valley gardens? Once you’ve taken care of your family, perhaps given some back to the community with that extra row or two you planted this spring, what then? If you’re like me, you’re probably overrun with tomatoes. Don’t have time for traditional “putting up” of the harvest? Try a dehydrator. Dry your sliced tomatoes, then pack them in pretty jars layered with basil and garlic and filled with a good olive oil. Pizza topping in a jar. And makes a great Hostess or Holiday gift. Aside from the fact that you may find that you eat it all before the Holidays roll around, of course.
There are lots of dehydrators on the market ranging in price from $50 to $500. If you really believe that you need a new one, perhaps rallying a few friends to go in together on one and everyone takes turns using it. Other options for finding a dehydrator would be thrift stores, the internet to check out Craigslist or even Freecycle (see http://www.freecycle.org for a group in our area) as well as the ever-popular garage sale.
Since most of us are drying fruits, tomatoes, peppers and other produce, the circular, tower style should work just fine. If it’s jerky you’re after, you really do want something with a thermostatic control. They’re usually square and have forced hot air that comes from the rear of the unit across the trays. The square trays are a lot easier to deal with if you’re making fruit leathers since you won’t have that hole in the middle of the tray to contend with.
The summer is progressing; we’re all spending time weeding and hovering over gardens waiting for our first fruits to ripen. I had the first few tomatoes this week along with some lovely sautéed onions and peppers on a turkey burger with a nice, melty Jarlsberg cheese and tomato. Before too long, we’ll all be swimming in produce. Some of us are already sowing our second round of some things while others are already pondering the winter garden. Still others are trying to figure out how to convert their entire garden to square-foot gardening and how many shitake-inoculated oak logs can be stuffed under their porch. Later summer means something different in every garden and to every gardener. And all of it bears with it a certain amount of fun and magic.
20 June 2009
They're at it again...
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…
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…
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.
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