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April
4, 2001
Sharing,
Caring, Gardening...
A couple of weeks ago Savvygardener Nancy Yuelkenbeck
forwarded an email to me that really made me stop and
think. It was a story was titled Blossie, excerpted from Chicken
Soup for the Soul: Home Delivery and told of a man and his
wife in Portland Oregon who build gardens for the disabled and
less fortunate. In this particular story, Blossie, a woman
who has recently lost both legs to diabetes, requests a garden so
that she can start to maintain a healthier diet. She also
believes that having a garden will allow her the opportunity to
get outside more. To make a long (and wonderful) story short Blossie gets
her garden and a new lease on life. She calls a few of her
friends from down the street who live in a housing project and
invites them to share in her new garden. The garden adds a
new dimension to all of their lives. They now meet
regularly at Blossie's house to weed, take care of, and reap the
rewards of the garden. This garden has brought together
women who needed each other. What a powerful story!
I think we
should all challenge ourselves more to reach out to those less
fortunate. What a difference we can make in someone's
life. Build a garden for someone or better yet, offer to
help them till up the ground and plant some seeds. It is
well proven that gardening helps the mind, body and soul. After
reading the story of Blossie there is no doubt in my mind.
April
showers are here and May flowers are on the way. I am still
waiting anxiously for my daffodils to bloom. I have seen
several in bloom around town so I know that mine are not far
behind. Be careful to not work the ground when it is too
wet. You could be setting yourself up for problems down the
road. Hopefully we will get a chance to dry out this
weekend with warmer temps. Doesn't the spring air smell
great?
~
Shelly
The Rich
Life...
Compost can be your garden's best friend. Full of
organic matter, rich in nutrients it's no wonder compost is often
referred to as black gold. For large quantities of compost
Savvygardeners can always call on bulk soil providers like
Missouri Organic Recycling. But for an ongoing supply of
compost for daily gardening activities any gardeners worth their
scratch will be making their own. If you haven't started
already or just want to learn how to do it a little better take
time to read All
About Composting in our Features section.
Are You
A Good Host?
Sometimes gardening is a lot like hosting a party. Plants,
like party guests, need to be steered toward others that will
enjoy their company. The practice of companion planting,
growing vegetables in proximity to helpful plants, has become
quite popular over the years. Here are some of our favorite
matchmaker tips:
Vegetable |
Group With |
Keep
Distance From |
Tomatoes |
Carrots,
peppers, basil, marigold |
Mature
dill, kohlrabi, potatoes |
Beans |
Carrots,
cucumber, pea, potatoes, radish, marigold, nasturtium,
rosemary |
Garlic,
onion, shallots, fennel, gladiolus |
Peas |
Radish,
carrots, cucumbers, celery, turnip |
Garlic,
onion, gladiolus |
Carrots |
Beans,
radish, tomatoes, peppers, onion, sage |
Dill,
celery |
Cucumbers |
Corn,
tomatoes, cabbage, radishes, dill, nasturtium |
Aromatic
herbs, potatoes |
For more on
this fun and useful topic check out "Carrots
Love Tomatoes" at Amazon.com
The
Great Divide...
Dividing perennials is important for the garden and the
soul. The garden benefits because many perennials become
overcrowded and need to be thinned out once in a while. The
gardener's soul benefits because it provides an opportunity to
share our garden treasures with other gardeners who will go on to
expand their beauty.
Don't
divide the wrong plants! Before you start take a look at
our handy guide When
to Divide Perennials in our Features section.
Tell
A Friend About Savvygardener.com!
We've Made It So Easy.
Click
Here Now!
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Contain
Yourself...
Most of us grow at least a few flowers or herbs in pots - they
look great and expand the garden onto decks and porches.
Well, have you ever thought of growing some vegetables this way?
It may sound unconventional at first but container vegetable
gardening is perfect for people who have small plots, don't have
sunny gardens, or just want to try something different.
Here are some varieties of popular vegetables that are well
suited for containers:
- Tomatoes
- Patio, Pixie, Small Fry, Tiny Tim, and Tom Boy
- Carrots
- Little Finger, Lady Finger, Short 'n Sweet, and Tiny Sweet
- Beets
- Burpee Golden, Detroit Dark Red, Gladiator, Little Ball, and
Ruby Queen
- Peas
- Little Marvel, Mighty Midget, and Tiny Tim
- Cucumbers
- Bush Champion, Cherokee, Challenger, Patio Pick, and Pot
Luck
As always,
follow the planting and care instructions provided with your
seeds or plants. Keep in mind that container vegetables
will need to be watered more often than those in a traditional
garden. Containers just dry out faster. Check
the soil at least once a day especially when the weather gets warmer.
Farewell
Frost?
These
bursts of warm weather can sure put a spell on a winter weary
gardener. It's all to easy to convince oneself that the
cold is behind us and it's time to get planting. After all
our last frost date is only two weeks away right? Well...
Yes and no. You see, even
though the Kansas City metro has an official "frost
free" date around April 15 that doesn't mean that the frosts
are over. It means there is still a 50% chance of frost on
this date - not the best odds when your plants are on the line.
We are a bit conservative here at Savvygardener.com and as
a rule don't plant any tender plants outdoors until the first
full weekend in May.
What's
Hot On The Hotline...
It's easy to tell that spring has arrived by the calls on the
hotline. From lawns to pruning to preparing the garden for
growing your questions are answered in this
week's What's
Hot on the Hotline...
Zoysia
Zzzz's...
If you have a zoysia lawn it is still dormant and you should not
be applying any fertilizer to it. Any fertilizer added now
will just feed the weeds and they're overfed as it is. Be
patient. You should be able to fertilize your zoysia lawn in about
six weeks.
Finally... "Half
the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the
imagination. You are always living three, or indeed six,
months hence. I believe that people entirely devoid of
imagination never can be really good gardeners. To be
content with the present, and not striving about the future, is
fatal." ~
Alice Morse Earle, 1851-1911, Author |
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