Archive for April, 2011
Tuesday, April 26th, 2011
Container gardening allows anyone the opportunity to grow plants. Annuals, perennials, herbs, trees ands shrubs, vegetables, water plants; if it grows, chances are it can be grown in a pot. Container gardening is mobile, can be a quick fix, quick spruce up or decoration, can be short or long term, helps to extend the seasons, can be year-round, and works for homeowners, condo and apartment dwellers, kids, senior citizens, physically challenged, or anyone who just wants to do a little gardening. So, let’s take a look at the basic materials you’ll need to get started with container gardening.
Here’s what you’ll need:
1.) The first thing you’ll need is the container. And you know what? Any container will work, as long as it’s large enough to support the root system of the plants you intend on growing in it, and that it has excellent drainage holes. There are so many pots and decorative containers to choose from today, it’s unreal. But again, size and great drainage are the 2 most important factors. Do not add gravel to assist in drainage. All it does is add weight to the pot!
2.) Next, you’ll need a good soil-less potting mix. These mixes are what the professional use, and although there are many brands to chose from, the basic ingredients include sphagnum peat moss, vermiculite, perlite, and sometimes a small finely ground pine bark. Forget the 99cent bags of muck – invest in the soil-less mixes. And remember, you can use them year after year. Depending on the soil-less mix, you may want to add extra Pine Soil Conditioner to the mix (25-30% pine soil conditioner). Combining soil-less potting mix and Pine Soil Conditioner makes one very nice growing medium!
3.) Soil-less mixes are basically nutrient free, so you’ll need to add a little fertilizer to the mix. Use a slow release fertilizer such as Osmocote for a slow all season feeding, and then supplement additional feedings as needed with good old Miracle Gro, Fish Emulsion, or fertilizer of your choice, and feed as needed depending on what you’ll be growing in your containers.
4.) And here’s a real secret to container gardening. Plants in containers will be depending on you for water. So make sure you have a good water wand. And to help cut down on your watering, add Soil Moist to your soil-less mix. These tiny polymers absorb water, swelling to 200 times their original size, and as the soil-less mix becomes dry, the Soil Moist releases water back to the soil, basically cutting your watering in half. Also consider using ‘Aqua Cones’ to help reduce your watering times.
Okay, now you’ve got the basics for container gardening. The rest is up to you and your imagination. “If it grows in the ground, chances are it’ll grow in a pot. And if you aren’t doing some type of container gardening, you just aren’t gardening!”
No room for an in-ground garden? Want to grow your own food but no room in the yard? Container Gardening is your answer! Greens, onions, rhubarb, horseradish, potatoes, tomatoes and peppers, cucumbers, melons, squash, herbs, beans, garlic, blueberries, fruits – I could just go on and on. Like I said earlier – if it grows in the ground, chances are you can grow it in a pot and even better! Visit www.natorp.com for our tip sheets on growing potatoes in baskets, tomatoes upside down, herbs in pots, and lot’s more!
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Tuesday, April 26th, 2011
Problems in the Garden
This week Buggy Joe Boggs is reporting sawfly leafminer adults are out and about (birch, alder, hawthorn), boxwood going ‘snap, crackle, pop’ (boxwood leafminer), six-spotted tiger beetle on the move (folks sometimes mistake it for the Emerald Ash Borer), Eastern tent caterpillars now in full swing making their silky nests in several species of ornamental trees, white pine weevil adult females now feeding on main leaders of conifers, too late to spray for peach leaf curl, but good time for apple scab control, wild onions popping up in lawns and landscape and garden beds, white grubs have moved up to the soil surface getting ready to emerge as adult beetles (not a really good time to treat for grubs – treat in June with preventers), and a reminder from Joe that Friday is Arbor Day, so get out and plant a tree!
-Catch the Buggy Joe Boggs Report Saturdays at 8:42am on 55KRC The Talk Station.
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Tuesday, April 26th, 2011
Garden Questions of the Week
“The rains are killing me trying to spray my fruit trees! Any suggestions?” -Stick with it. We know those early applications are very important especially with the fungicides, so watch the weather, and get your sprays done between showers, hopefully allowing enough time for the product to be rain-fast (says how long on the label).
“I haven’t planted my onions or potatoes due to the soils being too wet. Am I too late?” -Nope. Just be ready to plant when the soil dries enough to plant. But do not push it! Make sure the soil is not too wet for tilling or digging in – trying to till or plant before the soils dry properly can spell disaster for the soil and the plants.
“I’d love to grow blueberries but I understand our soils aren’t the best for blueberries. Can I grow them in containers?” -Yes, yes you can! An 18-24 inch container works great. And you can grow any of the blueberries in pots. But look at ‘TopHat’, which is a dwarf blueberry, mid summer producer, nice plant, 24-30 inches high and wide, and grows great in containers. Add plenty of peat, pine fines, and soil sulfur to get the pH of the potting soil down to 5 or lower.
“Noticed in my neighborhood that several large trees were trimmed like a bush – branches cut at the ends all around like a haircut. I always thought this was the wrong way to trim trees, but seeing how many are like that, is it now an accepted practice of the work of a rogue trimmer?” -ROGUE TRIMMER! That has never been and never will be an accepted way to trim trees. Obviously a so called ‘tree trimmer’ has bamboozled many homeowners in to topping their trees. DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOUR TREES!
“I have some lower limbs that need to go on a silver maple. Will it hurt to trim it now?” -Nope. You may see it bleed a bit, but that will stop. DO NOT use tree paint or tree wound dressing on the cuts. And be sure to leave the branch collar when making the final cut. That’s the raised area on the trunk where the branch extends out. That raised area (collar) is responsible for sealing the wound.
“I heard you talking about growing greens in pots. Like what?” – I call them ‘Salad Bowl Add-Ons’. A plain old lettuce salad can be pretty boring. But in today’s produce areas, you’ll find bags of mixed greens to add a little extra something to your lettuce salad. And typically, these bags aren’t cheap. Well guess what? You can most of these greens, and you can do it in a pot on your own back porch! It’s really simple to do. Here’s how:
1.) Get yourself 2 or 3, 12-14 inch shallow containers, always making sure they have good drainage. Plastic bowls, ½ bushel baskets, anything close will do just fine.
2.) Fill your containers with our container mix we’ve been talking about – soil-less potting mix, a little Osmocote for a gradual feeding, and some Soil Moist to help cut down on our watering. And now you’re ready to plant!
3.) So what do you put in your salad bowl add-ons containers? Try growing Upland cress, dill, radicchio, arugula, basil, parsley, chives, mixed greens, mustard greens, and of course, my favorite, cilantro. Any of these greens which can be added to a salad bowl of lettuce will work.
4.) Plant your add-ons closer than you would normally, keeping in mind you’ll be harvesting these on a regular basis. Many of your plants are “cut and come agains”, which means as your remove or harvest the young leaves, more will re-grow later. So by planting several containers, you can rotate your harvesting from basket to basket.
5.) Water your plants in well, and water as needed throughout the spring season. Come June, many of these greens will begin to poop out, and at that time, your can remove the greens, and replant these planters with your favorite herbs. Then you’ll have fresh herbs to harvest, all summer long.
As most of these greens do best during cooler temperatures, ‘salad bowl add-ons’ can also be planted in August for late summer and fall harvests. Best crops may be achieved by fall plantings!
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Tuesday, April 26th, 2011
From the Garden to the Kitchen
STEVIA ( S. rebaudiana) THE ‘SWEET HERB’ (or Sweetleaf) – So many of you have asked about this herb. For years, the Yardboy and I have been literally up on our herbal soap boxes talking about Stevia. It comes from Paraguay and the leaves of this plant are the sweetest natural product known. Stevia can be several hundred times sweeter than sugar, is non-caloric and diabetic safe. It doesn’t promote tooth decay. S. Rebaudiana, Stevia, is a member of the aster family (Compositae) and grows to be a small perennial shrub like plant native to Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina. The natives in those countries most likely have used the leaves to sweeten their foods since pre-Columbian times, but it wasn’t until 1887 that a scientist discovered it. The Japanese started growing Stevia in the 50’s. When their government banned some artificial sweeteners due to health concerns in the late 60’s, Stevia use skyrocketed. It is now the main sugar substitute in Japan.
Growing and Using Stevia – I have had my Stevia plants for several years, wintering them over in the house since in our climate it’s a tender perennial. Best started from cuttings or small plants, Stevia does best in sun with a moist soil. I am constantly pinching leaves off to bruise for sweetening hot and cold beverages and I do that long before the plant flowers. If your plant is extremely sweet, one large leaf will sweeten a pitcher of ice tea. Go to taste on this, though. You may need several leaves.
Preserving Stevia – Harvest it just as it begins to flower, as this is when the plant is at its sweetest. To dry, strip an inch or so of the bottom leaves from the stem, hang upside down in a cool, dry place. When the leaves can be crumbled between your palms, the herb is dry enough. Store away from heat and light. The dried leaves sweeten nicely but do not dissolve in liquids, so you may want to strain them out.
Stevia’s components are heat stable. You can even combine it with other sweeteners. It doesn’t have the caramelizing effect like sugar, because it doesn’t brown or crystallize like sugar. If you use pulverized dried leaves, they may color your food a bit.
Start using Stevia to sweeten applesauces, smoothies, nut butters, bread puddings, custards, and pies. I don’t have much success using it in cakes that require much leavening, but I’m learning. I like using Stevia extract in drinks, etc
Tags: stevia
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Tuesday, April 19th, 2011
Let’s see, the benefits of planting trees. Funny, my mind went right back to when I was a kid. My sister and I used to climb trees better than most monkeys in the zoo. Don’t know too many kids that get to do that anymore, but we certainly did. Hug out in those big trees all day. But let’s get past that.
So, what are some really good benefits for planting trees? “Trees please.” Think about it – trees please, and they really do. Trees clean the air, provide oxygen, cool the streets, cities and backyards, conserve energy, save water, help prevent soil erosion and water pollution, provide food, provide a canopy and habitat for wildlife, increase property values, make good visual and wind screens, add beauty and help improve our personal health, reduce noise pollution, modify local climates, make life more pleasant, provide wood, are an investment that grows every year, and yes, they’re fun to climb.
Trees really do please. So what do you say? Why not get out and plant a tree or two this spring? Or celebrate Earth Day by planting a tree or two or three. If anything, plant them for the future generations of tree climbers (like I was), so one day they can sit up in a tree and wonder who was responsible for planting their great place to ‘hang out’.
[Learn more about trees (shade/ornamental/native). Join The Yardboy and Liz Jacobs (Ms. Tree Geek) 6-7:30pm tonight at the Mason store, or 6-7:30pm tomorrow night at the Florence store for their tree workshop, “Trees Please”.]
Award Winning Trees – Each year the Society of Municipal Arborists chose an ‘Urban Tree of the Year’. For 2011, it’s Koelreuteria paniculata or commonly known as Golden Raintree. This flowering ornamental tree was first introduced into the U.S. back in 1763 (native in China, Japan and Korea). Medium growth rate, this tree grows 30’ high and wide, has doubly compound green leaves turning golden yellow in fall, yellow summer flowers held upright in pyramid shaped clusters 12-18 inches long, followed by small three sided papery lantern like fruit with small black seeds inside. When the wind blows, it sounds like rain. Adapts to many soil types, tolerates air pollution, drought, loves the sun, and has few pests or diseases. Great for street tree, small lawn tree, patio tree.
(Past winners include ‘Bur Oak’, ‘Heritage River Birch’, ‘Allee Lacebark Elm’, ‘Autumn Blaze Maple’, ‘Chanticleer’ Pear, ‘KY. Coffeetree’, ‘Bald Cypress’, ‘Black Tupelo’, ‘Chinkapin Oak’, and the 2010 winner, ‘Redbud’.
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Tuesday, April 19th, 2011
Garden Questions of the Week
“I want to try blueberries, but don’t have a lot of space. Suggestions?” -Containers! All types will grow in containers, especially the dwarf selections like TopHat (dwarf and self pollinating). If you want the regular blueberries (you need to plant two to three types for good berry production). Look for the 3 in 1 where there are 3 types planted in one clump! Makes it really easy and doesn’t take up a lot of space – and you have berries extended over a longer period of time. Pretty cool, huh?
“I have a good amount of finely ground leaves from fall and they haven’t broken down much. Can they be tilled into the garden this spring?” -I would wait. For now, use a good compost, rotted manure, coir, etc. Light amendments in the spring and heavier in the fall. BUT, I would use the leaves as a topdressing / mulch after you get the garden planted. Those and grass clippings (not sprayed with herbicides) are great for mulching the garden. This fall, then you can till them into the garden. Keep doing that, and you’ll eventually have some pretty nice soil in the garden!
“A friend has a wooden swing and carpenter bees are flying around it. What can they spray to kill the bees and if nests in the wood to get rid of the eggs also?” -Unless they’re doing serious damages to the wood, I let them bee. The male doesn’t have a stinger and can’t sting you, and the female is not aggressive and usually won’t sting unless you tried to pick her up. Plus, she can be a good pollinator. But if they are causing structural damages in the wood or ‘beeing’ a real nuisance, a simple swat with a tennis racket takes care of them. And you can run a wire into the hole in the wood and kill any bee in the hole as well as the larvae. If sprays are needed, try dusting the opening of the hole with an insecticide listed for wasp/ bees. But do that as a last resort. By the way, using ‘Liquid Nail’ has been found to be the best filler for carpenter bee holes. Larvae / adult bees in the holes cannot chew threw the filler and get out of the hole / or back in.
“I had a lot of crabgrass last year, but many broadleaf weeds coming up now. What should I apply this week – pre emergent or weed and feed?” -Let’s go with pre emergent with a fertilizer (to boost lawn growth) and then spot treat the weeds as needed with a water soluble weed killer. Don’t do the weed and feed. Let’s feed as needed (3 times a year) and spot treat weeds as needed with the weed killer. And make sure the weeds you’re trying to kill are listed on the label! And remember; keep working to get that lawn thicker. Thicker lawn / fewer weeds insects and diseases.
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Tuesday, April 19th, 2011
Problems in the Garden
This week, Buggy Joe Boggs (OSU Extension) is reporting that European Pine Sawflies have indeed hatched and are devouring pine needles (usually really bad on Mugho pine), continued reports of carpenter ants swarming and establishing new colonies in moist decaying wood, white pine weevil females are working the leaders of spruce and white pine, Eastern tent caterpillars have hatched and building their silky nests (love ornamental trees / cherry trees / etc), gypsy moths have begun to hatch, spruce spider mites have begun to hatch, sawfly leafminers are getting really close to hatching, viburnum leaf beetles are close to hatching, poison hemlock plants are starting to emerge, fruit tree spray programs need to be up and going by now (early sprays of fungicides very important), continued reports of severe damages to evergreens from last years drought, ticks have started showing up on outdoor pets and kids playing in woods or brushy weedy areas, time is now (or very close) for applications of imidacloprid as a soil drench or for systemic injections into Ash trees for Emerald Ash Borer Protection, and there is good news – ‘Tenacity’ is now available (professional use only) for control of nimblewill in lawns (also pre and post control of crabgrass, clover, goosegrass, yellow nutsedge, and more!).
Catch The Buggy Joe Boggs Report Saturdays 8:42am on 55KRC The Talk Station.
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Tuesday, April 19th, 2011
From the Garden to the Kitchen
Yardboy, here’s a nice recipe for that Easter Brunch. I like the fact that it can be assembled the night before. This is from Mitzi Gelter, daughter-in-law Courtney’s Grandma.
MITZI’S OVERNIGHT FRENCH TOAST
1 loaf white bread
1 dozen eggs
1 pint Half and Half
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)
4 tablespoons margarine or butter
The night before: Break a loaf of bread into pieces and place in a sprayed 9×11 baking dish. Whisk eggs, half & half and vanilla in mixing bowl. Pour mixture over bread, Cover and refrigerate until morning. Before baking, Mix together brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts. Sprinkle over egg-bread mixture. Dot margarine on top. Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes, until bread is set. Serve just the way it is or sprinkle with powdered sugar or dip in maple syrup.
Tips from Rita’s kitchen:
Check those spices. Cinnamon, especially, can lose flavor over time. Do the sniff test – if it doesn’t smell fragrant, toss it on the compost.
Buy spices and dry herbs in small amounts and replenish as often as needed.
Don’t like nuts? Leave them out.
-Rita Heikenfeld, CCP / Herbalist www.abouteating.com
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Tuesday, April 12th, 2011
Last year was brutal for many lawns, and with the drought going thru the fall season, most of us were unable to reseed / renovate our thinned out lawns – many of which had been taken over with large patches of crabgrass (lawns thin out, weeds move in, and crabgrass was a major mover last year!). So this spring, we’re raking out the dead crabgrass, seeding the bare areas, over-seeding the thinned lawns, getting pre emergent herbicides in place to help stop crabgrass and other weed seeds from coming back, while trying to get new grass seed growing and existing grass to thicken back up. (Don’t forget that you must use the starter fertilizer with crabgrass preventer for newly seeded lawns IF you are sowing spring seeds or dormant seeded during the fall or winter.) But what about those spots in the lawn that were green right to the end, and then turned brown? And so far this spring, they’re still brown. What is that? Well, more than likely, its patches of Nimblewill. Again, when lawns thin, weeds move in. And with Nimblewill, you don’t notice it like crabgrass and other weeds, as it does a nice job blending in with the existing turf, and is a very nice green all summer long (and very soft to walk on!). So, what do you do? Read on:
Controlling Nimblewill (If that’s possible!)
Description: Nimblewill is a warm season perennial, which means it grows well in the heat of the season, and goes dormant during the cooler parts of the season. It tolerates both sunny and shady locations, loves moist areas, and has bluish green short leaves, spreading wiry flat growing habit, in low circular patches. Nimblewill turns a whitish tan right after the first good frost, and remains like that until it re-greens in late spring. Nimblewill has very shallow roots, and spreads by both stems that root into the soil and by seed, which are produced anytime between August and October (the flowers are on long slender stalks). These seeds will remain dormant in the soil until the following late spring, when they will begin to sprout. This weed can be very invasive in both the lawn and the landscape, and tolerates a wide range of soil conditions including gravely soils. Bottom line – it’s a pain in the rear end!
Prevention of Nimblewill: This includes keeping the lawn as thick as possible (modify the growing conditions for the turf by improving soil drainage, reducing shade, increasing air movement, etc. to increase the turf’s capability to compete), as well as hand pulling or eliminating it before it goes to seed in the late summer. Keep the lawn thick. Nimblewill grows where grass has thinned out. Get the lawn to thicken up.
Control of Nimblewill: Physical removal, making sure all roots and stems are removed from the soil will work. Again, do this before the plants begin to flower and set seed. If just lightly scattered in the turf, physical removal and encouraging the lawn to thicken may take care of it. But in most cases, the best means of control for young and tender or matured and established Nimblewill is the use of a non-selective herbicide, such as Roundup / Kleenup / Killzall, and killing the entire infested area, Nimblewill, turf, and all (and further out to be sure you kill it all). Then re-seed or re-sod that area. Roundup is only effective on actively growing Nimblewill, and may require 2 applications. Make sure the weed is totally dead, and that all has been killed, before re-seeding or sodding the area. NOTE: If Nimblewill seed is present in the soil, it can come back quicker from seed than the new lawn seed can become established. Sodding helps to keep the Nimblewill seeds from germinating. It is generally advisable to do this type of renovation in August for seeding or sodding in early September. To make sure all is gone, you may even cut the area with a sod cutter and remove the dead weed roots and all. Then add topsoil and seed or re-sod. Not what you wanted to hear, was it?
Tags: nimblewill
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Tuesday, April 12th, 2011
Problems in the Garden
This week Buggy Joe Boggs (OSU Extension) is reporting winter annuals such as henbit, purple deadnettle (looks like henbit), and chickweed are really showing up in landscape beds, gardens and thinned lawns (physical removal very effective), excessive winter and salt damages showing up on evergreens across the state (wait until bud break to make a decision on whether the evergreen is dead or may recover), rabbit and vole damages now showing up from this past winter (plants eaten back, bark girdled on plant trunks and branches close to the ground), Eastern Tent Caterpillars have begun to hatch out in our area so keep your eyes open for their silky tents, keep watching for European sawflies on pines (time is right), significant boxwood leafminer damages now showing on, yes you guessed it, boxwood, excessive nimblewill brown patches all over lawns all over Ohio, as well as nimblewill just being interspersed in the regular turf (more than ever!), Orn. Pears are blooming and if it is rainy, watch for fireblight, thinned lawns are subject to crabgrass infestations so be sure to have your pre emergent herbicides in place, and if you have had issues with White pine weevils, temps are right for the females to begin to move from the debris in the ground to the top of the pines. –Thanks Buggy Joe! Good to have you back!
Tags: henbit
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