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March
28, 2001
My
Gardening Roots...
Do you ever stop to think about how you became a
gardener? Were you taught as a young child or did gardening
become a passion along with the purchase of your first
home? I often think about the long line of gardeners in my
family. Of course many of them grew up on farms and were
called farmers not gardeners. My grandmother on my father's
side was raised on a farm and could grow anything.
Vegetables, flowers, chickens, cows. I suppose she did most
out of necessity but once she was older and moved away from the
farm she still continued to grow vegetables and flowers that were
magnificent. She had a natural way of nurturing both plants
and animals. She was the first of many to introduce me to
gardening. In particular I remember visiting her house and
noticing the mayonnaise jars lined-up along the back of the
house. The forecast must be rain. Grandma liked to
fill several jars of rain water so that her house plants could
get a drink of the "good stuff" as she called it.
My father
is a great gardener as well. He also grew up on a farm and
has a natural green thumb. More than that is his strong
passion to feel the earth between his hands. He loves it
and is like a child in a huge sandbox never wanting to come
out. Dad just keeps digging and planting never tiring of
what he is doing. My mother says he is happiest when he is
outside among his plants. I guess you can say the same
about me. So I'm confident that gardening must be
genetic! My grandmother, my father and myself. Three
generations of gardeners soon to be four, my children. Stop
to think about your gardening lineage. You might be
surprised as to what you find.
~
Shelly
Well
Oiled...
Savvygardeners with fruit trees will soon be applying
horticultural oils to fruit trees to reduce certain pests.
These oils are not poisons. Instead, the thin film of oil covers
the target insect or mite and plugs the spiracles or pores
through which it breathes. Pine needle
scale, oystershell scale, euonymus scale, aphids, spider mites
and small pine sawfly larvae are all effectively controlled by
this method.
Proper
timing is critical for success when using oils. Dormant oils
should be applied in late March or April before leaves or flowers
show signs of breaking dormancy. A common mistake is to apply 'dormant' oil sprays
too early (on the first warm day in February or March) before
insects are actively respiring and susceptible to the oil's
suffocating effects. Wait until as close to bud break as possible
before applying oil sprays. Also make sure temperatures
will be above 40 degrees for at least 24 hours.
Source
Dig
This...
Depending on which "how to" guide you're reading
you might see different references to what many simply refer to
as digging. While some people use the terms interchangeably
digging, shoveling, and spading are actually 3 different
actions. Digging turns up, loosens or removes soil.
Shoveling
moves loose material from one place to another. Spading mixes the
material leaving it in the same location. For example we dig a
hole, we spade (work) compost into the soil, and we shovel the soil
mix back into the planting hole. They're not just different
actions either. Digging, shoveling, and spading
require different tools to get the job done right.
- For
digging the best tool to use is a round-point shovel. The
point at the tip of the blade focuses the digger's weight on a
very small area, increasing the pounds per square inch on the
shovel and allowing the cutting surface to move through the
soil easily. This becomes a disadvantage if the blade hits a
tough root or rock.
- For
shoveling the tools of choice are a square-point, flat-backed
shovel or the round point shovel. On a flat surface the
square- point, flat-backed shovel works more efficiently.
For
shoveling out planting holes, the round-point works best
because its smaller head can fit into tight spaces.
- For
spading, a digging fork or a round point shovel work well.
Source
Better Spreaders...
Whether it's lawn seed, fertilizer, or weed killer chances
are you're going to use a spreader for the job eventually.
But what kind? Drop or broadcast? Well, there's
several things to keep in mind before you pick one.
Generally if both spreaders are of equal quality, a drop spreader
usually will provide better accuracy. However, a
high-quality rotary will be more accurate than a lower-quality
drop spreader. There are these differences to consider as
well:
Drop
spreaders meter out the fertilizer and drop it directly on the
lawn. A drop spreader is best if:
- You have
a small lawn Doing the job as precisely as possible is most
important to you.
- You don’t
mind taking a bit longer to apply products to your lawn.
Rotary
spreaders meter out the fertilizer and throw the granules in a
swath up to several feet wide. A rotary spreader is best
if:
- You have
a very large lawn.
- You like
to get the job done as quickly as possible.
- You do
not have flower beds or gardens in the middle of your lawn.
Source
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Proper Pruning...
Part of your spring clean-up may include some tree
pruning. Take your time and do it right. In
particular don't leave stubs behind when pruning. Stubs usually die and
become entry points for decay fungus. Instead cut just outside the branch
collar, the slightly thickened area at the base of the branch.
As an extra precaution remember that pruning should never be done in damp or wet weather when the
fungal spores and bacteria that infect plants through fresh
wounds spread easily.
Start,
Stop, Stagger?
Well it's less than six weeks from the weekend that we
usually feel is "frost free" in our garden. This
is such a guessing game! If you want to play it safe with
transplants you're generally better off waiting. For
instance, according to the Savvygardener.com Seed
Starting Calendar now would be a good time to start
tomato seeds indoors. But what if it's too cold to
transplant tomatoes in six weeks? Cloches, water walls, hot beds
and the like are one approach. Another is to stagger the
starting of your seeds - start some now and some more in a couple
of weeks. It's cheap insurance!
What's
Hot On The Hotline...
The hotline is buzzing with gardeners looking for help
getting vegetables started from seed. Whether you're new to
seed starting or fancy yourself an old pro you'll likely get
something useful in this
week's What's
Hot on the Hotline...
Lackluster
Lawns...
Don't be surprised if your lawn looks worse than it usually
does at the beginning of spring. It was a cold winter and
with spring off to a chilly start most lawns are still dormant
and a bit ragged looking. Don't sweat the small
stuff! Smaller bare patches will likely take care of
themselves as growth gets under way. Larger bare areas
should be seeded now but keep in mind that in our area fall is
the ideal time for grass seeding. All too often grass
planted in spring doesn't get adequately established before the
summer heat sets in.
Finally...
"People
are always asking, 'What is the purpose of life?' That's
easy. Relieve suffering. Create beauty. Make
gardens." ~
Dan Barker, The
Home Gardening Project Foundation |
