Savvygardener.com

Click Here For The Sweet Onion Nursery & Garden Center!

 
Visit Our Website
Previous Issues
Buyer's Guide

Site Search
Contact Us
Submit A Tip
Readers' Comments

Feature Articles

~ Seed Starting Indoors
~ Seed Starting Tomatoes
~ Summer-Flowering Bulb Care
~ Drought-Tolerant Flowers for KC
~ Peonies - A New Old Favorite
~ Growing Herbs
~ Worm Composting
~ When to Harvest Vegetables
~ Cold Frames & Hot Beds
~ Dividing Spring Blooming Perennials
~ Forcing Bulbs Indoors

Rose Tips

SavvyChat

~ On-Line Gardening Forum

Books We Love
Great Products
Web Resources
Event Calendar

Local Sponsors

~ Missouri Organic Recycling
~ The Sweet Onion

Subscribe
Unsubscribe

Privacy Pledge

 

 

 

 

Click Here for Great Soil and Compost!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

November 8, 2000

I Voted For The One With The Nice Garden...
It is hard for me to concentrate on writing today because all I seem to think about is who the next President of the United States is going to be.  What an election!  Not only am I distracted that there has not been a winner declared but I am also a little fatigued.  I was up a couple of times during the night flipping on CNN waiting for the big news.  Nothing; no winner.  I returned to bed still searching for some much needed sleep.  I guess this is one of those times when we all have to be a little patient, including me.  Once the winner is announced I will be relieved.  It will allow me to return to my everyday life with my everyday thoughts - like gardening! 

Officially winter is still 43 days away but by the looks of the icicles hanging outside my window fall has taken on a wintery appearance.  It is going to be quite chilly for the rest of this week so make sure to cover and care for those plants that you are still trying to keep alive.  Good luck and stay warm!

AN IMPORTANT REMINDER - Don't forget about the Garden Party for Savvygardeners, November 10th from 7-9 PM at The Sweet Onion!  It's not too late to RSVP!

~ Shelly  

Pip, Pip, Hooray...
When we think about bulb-forcing all too often we limit ourselves to the old standards - narcissus, tulips, daffodils, etc...  For a real winter treat try forcing lily-of-the-valley pips.  You may be able to buy commercially prepared lily-of-the-valley pips from your florist or garden center.  If you want to to dig your own pips be sure to dig deep enough to keep the roots intact.  Store the pips in a plastic bag full of peat moss where they will be cold, but not frozen.  When you are ready to force them, fill a shallow bulb pot with potting soil to the half-way mark.  Place as many pips as possible on top of the potting soil with their tips pointed upright.  Cover with additional soil until only the tips show. Water well and place the pot in a bright location at room temperature.  In three to four weeks flowers should appear.

Secret To Strawberry Success...
According to research done at the University of New Hampshire strawberries covered in the fall with a spun-bonded polyester material and uncovered in the spring just before bloom produced up to 60 percent more fruit than plants given the conventional straw or hay mulch cover.  For best results allow the strawberry plants to harden or acclimate to the cool fall temperatures before mulching the bed.  November is a good month to apply mulch on strawberries.  The mulch should remain on the strawberry plants until about mid-April.

Care For Cutters...
Late season clean-up around the garden may have your shears and loppers working overtime.  Keep them in good working order by wiping them with a rag dipped in paint thinner.  This will help remove sticky resins that would otherwise gum up the works.  Wipe them with oil before storage to prevent rust.

Much Ado About Mulch...
All this talk about mulch leaves some gardeners confused.  Remember that mulch used in spring and summer to control weed growth is different from the mulch used in winter.  Winter mulch is meant to protect perennial plants and should not be dense and heavy.  Use shredded leaves, tree branches, pine needles, or other loose organic material.  Come spring, rake it all away and add it to your compost pile.

Vanquish Those Voles...
A common spring-time lawn problem is the damage caused by voles or field mice.  These critters leave a series of winding trails in the grass as they burrow under snow cover.  To help prevent damage try cleaning up leaves and mowing until the end of the season.  This removes some of the cover they seek and may force them to go elsewhere.

What's Hot On the Hotline...
As the Hotline winds down it's telephone service for another year we are receiving calls asking us to identify those flowers that are still blooming.  Late season bloomers in this week's Hotline...

Chemical Container Caution...
If tidying up includes cleaning plastic sprayer bottles and other chemical containers please note that rinsing will not effectively remove herbicides from sprayers.  This could prove disastrous if you try to re-use a herbicide container for the application of a fertilizer or pesticide next year.  Your plants will die!  Always use separate well-labeled sprayers for herbicides.  Period.

Finally...
"The morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry's cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.
The maple wears a gayer scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.
Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I'll put a trinket on." 

~ Emily Dickinson - Poet 1830-1886

 

 

 

© 1999-2000 Savvygardener.com, Inc. All rights reserved.  If you wish to copy, transmit, or otherwise duplicate any of the material from our website please ask us first.  Thank you.o