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September 20, 2000

 

Another Season Passes...
Well the first day of Fall is two days away!  What a nice change of weather to welcome the Autumnal Equinox.  We did get some rain today, though not much, and beggars cannot be choosy.  Fall is such a great time of the year.  It ranks right up there with spring.  Spring brings new beginnings and Fall brings closure to the summer.  We are so lucky to experience the change of four full seasons and although I am not a "winter person" I fear I would miss the change from fall to winter if I lived in a warmer climate.  So for now, like a good gardener, I will enjoy the fall that is given to us and prepare myself for the winter which lies ahead.

Oops!  It was brought to my attention by Andrea Neumann (The Sweet Onion) that last week's newsletter was published with the wrong date.  How could that have happened?  I must edit and re-edit the newsletter until I am tired of editing.  All I can say is that I am sorry for the oversight and I hope that I did not confuse anyone as to what day it was.  Perhaps I am a better gardener than editor!

~ Shelly          

Totally Tulips (Part III)
If you enjoy the thought of continuously blooming tulips in your spring garden you will need to round out the early and middle bloomers (discussed in the previous two issues) with some of these later blooming varieties: 
  • Single Late Tulips incorporate the former Darwin, cottage, and breeder tulips.  Along with the Darwin hybrid tulips, they are some of the tallest tulips.  Flowers are borne on stems up to 30 inches tall and available in a wide range of colors.
  • Double Late Tulips are often referred to as peony-flowered tulips.  The many-petaled flowers are borne on 12 to 20 inch stems.  Plant double late tulips in protected locations as the large flowers can be damaged by rain and strong winds.
  • Viridiflora Tulips produce long-lasting flowers which have prominent green markings on their petals.  The unusual flower characteristics make it a novelty item in the garden.
  • Lily-flowering Tulips have long pointed petals which arch outward, the flowers somewhat resembling a lily.  Flower colors include white, pink, red, yellow, and purple. Several varieties have petals edged or feathered in contrasting colors.  Plants grow to a height of 20 to 30 inches.
  • Fringed Tulips have flowers with elegant fringed petals. Many varieties are mutants of single late tulips.  Also known as "crispa tulips."
  • Rembrandt Tulips produce striped or "broken" blooms. The white, yellow, or red petals are striped with red, bronze, or purple.  These types were bought for huge sums during the "tulip mania" in Holland in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.  The unusual markings were actually caused by a virus.  Due to the virus, the original Rembrandt tulips are no longer sold.  However, there are several modern, virus-free Rembrandt tulips available.
  • Multi-flowering Tulips produce 3 to 7 blooms per stem.  The main stem of multi-flowering tulips branches into secondary stems.  Each secondary stem produces a flower.  The flower on the main stem is slightly larger than those on the secondary stems.  Many of the multi-flowering cultivars belong to the single late tulip class.  These tulips are 14- to 20-inch-tall plants which bloom late in the season.  Several varieties are multi-flowering Greigii tulips which are 8 to 12 inches tall and early blooming.

Next week, Species Tulips...

Source

If Everyone Eats It, No One Complains...
We LOVE garlic!  This year we're going to plant some and see if we can grow something better than what we usually buy at the grocery store.  It seems like a good investment - apparently planting a pound of cloves will result in ten pounds of harvested bulbs.  

Mid-September through mid-October is the best time for garlic planting as it needs to be in the ground at least one month before the soil freezes.  Once planted, the bulbs will root and begin to sprout before the onset of really cold weather.  Growth will continue into next season.

Start by planting the small cloves that are divisions of the large bulb.  The larger the clove, the larger the size of the mature bulb at harvest.  Do not divide the bulb until immediately before planting.  Although some people have had good luck planting the garlic from the grocery store, seedstock from a nursery or via mail-order is recommended.  

Plant the cloves (with their points up) three to five inches apart at a depth of two to three inches.  Add a light layer of mulch.  Allow 18 to 30 inches between rows or plant five inches apart in all directions if  you're using raised beds.  Next spring the garlic will push through the soil and mulch.  We'll wait until then to complete the directions through harvest.

 

A Dandy Time to Stop Dandelions...
So, all summer long you've been battling a few (or a few dozen) dandelions for control of your lawn.  Well, they say the best way to control dandelions and other broad-leaf weeds is by maintaining a lush, healthy turf.  But you've still got to knock out those pesky weeds that just won't go away and fall is a great time to do it.  Options are many but generally the most effective controls result with a liquid broadleaf weed herbicide sprayed under these conditions:
  • The weeds are actively growing.
  • Soil moisture is plentiful (never in drought).
  • Air temperatures are between 60 and 75 degrees F (never above 80 degrees).
  • Wind speeds are below 5 mph.
  • The lawn will not receive moisture through rain or irrigation for at least 24 hours.
  • The lawn will not be mowed for several days before or after the application.
  • The person doing the applying reads and follows herbicide label instructions carefully.

Source

Thinning The Vines...
With nighttime temperatures getting seasonably cool it's time to take a hard look at your tomato plants.  It's a safe bet that any blossoms or small fruit aren't going to amount to much.  While this may be obvious to you it's not well understood by the plant.  Ignorance is bliss and that not-too-smart tomato plant will keep putting energy into its lost causes.  Help it out by removing blossoms and small fruit and thereby directing its efforts into finishing the growth of more well established fruit. 

Next week: How to make those green tomatoes red...

 

It's Not Nice To Fool Mother Nature...
But it sure is fun!  Perusing the bulb catalogs one can't help but wish spring would come sooner.  Well, you can't rush the Vernal Equinox but you can enjoy blooms from your spring flowering bulbs while the snow is still flying.  Just start the process of bulb forcing now to get colorful and fragrant wintertime indoor blooms.  Everything you need to know is in "Forcing Bulbs Indoors" in our Features section.

 

What's Hot On the Hotline...
The folks that bring us the hotline each week want to make sure that Savvygardeners are aware of another information resource - the InfoLine.  It's a joint service of all the Kansas City area county extension offices and K-State and MU.  Find out about this wonderful resource in this week's Hotline...

 

The Scoop On Mulching Trees...
Based on the mail we are receiving it sounds like a lot of new trees are being planted this fall.  Mulching is so important for new trees but it's not as simple as dumping a bag of wood chips at the base of tree.  Here are some tips to help you avoid the most common mistakes: 
  • Don't pile mulch around the trunk.  This keeps the trunk wet, which can allow diseases and insects to invade.  Keep the mulch at least 6 inches from the trunk.
  • Don't put on too little or too much.  A 1-inch-deep layer doesn't do the job.  A settled depth of 3 to 5 inches gives you the full benefits of mulch, including good weed control.  Mulch depths of a foot or two are excessive and may smother roots.
  • Don't apply sour-smelling mulch.  If it smells like a litter box  it's probably been stored on a waterlogged site.  The ammonia that builds in this situation can harm your tree.  Sour mulch is a rare occurrence, but your nose will give you a clear warning of it.
  • Don't use freshly chipped chips.  While the chance of disease transmission is small it's easy to go zero-risk by aging chips for six weeks or more before using them around your trees.

Source

A Frosty Reception...
It sounds as if overnight temperatures will dip into the 40's this weekend.  Brrr!  No frost on the horizon yet but keep in mind that our first frost is due in mid-October.  Remember that Mother Nature has her own agenda and doesn't have much time for statistics and averages.  Surprise early frosts can be a problem if you're not prepared.

For those of you new to Savvygardener.com we hope you will enjoy our timely frost alerts.  We send these e-mail alerts to all subscribers when we believe an untimely frost is likely.  Hopefully we are still several weeks from our first frosty scare.

 

Finally...
"If there were nothing else to trouble us, the fate of the flowers would make us sad."

~John Lancaster Spalding, Bishop of Peoria, 1840-1916

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