Bookstore  
Magazines 
Gardening Catalogs

Site Search
Contact Us
Submit A Tip

Feature Articles

Rose Tips
What's Hot... 
Turf Tips...
Winter Wisdom

Books We Love
Great Products
Web Resources
Event Calendar

Local Sponsors

National Sponsors

Subscribe
Unsubscribe 
Address Change
Tell A Friend

Privacy Pledge

April 18, 2001

Cold Hearty, Garden Party...
Brrr!  I hope the frost alert we sent out kept your plants from "a chillin".  As Kevin and I were out in the garden covering our plants all I could think about was what a nice healthy start everything seemed to have and how horrible it would be to lose some to frost.  The good news is that all of our plants survived and here's hoping yours did as well.  Mother Nature certainly is hard to predict this time of the year.  If you're not worrying about frost, your worried about torrential rains, high winds and hail!  Times like these sure make it tuff to be a gardener. 

Since there is so much going on this time of the year, don't forget to check out our event calendar.  If you know of something going on that is not on the calendar please feel free to add it.  Don't forget about The Garden Party for Savvygardeners @ The Kelly Gallery Saturday, April 28th from 12:00-4:00 PM.  You won't want to miss this!  Kelly Daniels and husband Mark have quite a place and will actually be featured in future issues of Better Homes and Garden, Midwest Living, and Signature Living.  Come and enjoy a peaceful walk through their private gardens or take a stroll through The Barn to find that new garden ornament.  The party is free but make sure you RSVP!  Kevin and I will be there and as always look forward to meeting and talking with our readers.  See you there!

~ Shelly  

Debutante Party for Transplants...
For Savvygardeners who were able to successfully start some flowers or vegetables indoors from seed it may be time to plan their "coming out" party.  Based on your plant's cold tolerance you will need to pick the date when you plan to permanently relocate it outdoors.  Tomatoes for instance are not friends with cool weather and really need soil temperatures at 60 degrees and above to do well. 

Once you've picked the magic date (and there may be as many dates as there are plants) plan a "hardening off" schedule. Remember these plants have had the benefit of consistent temperatures, regular light, and no wind in the comfort of your home.  It's a different world out there in the wild and wooly garden. 

About two weeks before permanent relocation you should stop fertilizing and place your plants outdoors for an hour or two.  Each day increase the time outdoors by an hour.  (I know this is impossible for working gardeners, just do your best.)  The trick is to acclimate your plants to the bright sun, wind, and varying temperatures gradually.  Don't panic if they look a little wilty during this process - they're going through a bit of shock. 

Once they're in the ground give them some starter fertilizer and begin a regular water and fertilizer routine.

Singin' The Blues...
You may have noticed that transplants set out earlier in the year may now be turning a little blue.  According to our friends at K-State Reasearch & Extension the blue color comes from the accumulation of anthocyanin pigments in the plant induced by a brief phosphate deficiency (phosphate is often limited in its availability in cold soils ).  Adding additional phosphate is usually not necessary since a few warm days will take care of the purplish color.  Soils that were warming readily a week or so ago have been dramatically slowed by the cooler weather and cold rains that have prevailed over the state recently.

Source

Circular Logic...
A popular and effective way to prevent disease in the vegetable garden is called crop rotation.  By rotating the location of vegetable plantings within the garden each season you can greatly reduce the likelihood of soil-borne disease.  This method works best when you rotate crop families from place to place and the rotation includes at least three families.  The effectiveness of crop rotation is diminished when the total gardening area is quite small.  Just do your best!  Here's a list of the most common home garden vegetables and their associated families:

Healthy Houseplants, Healthy Home...
Just because it's time to garden outdoors again is no reason to abandon your houseplants.  In fact those houseplants are making your home a healthier place.  About ten years ago NASA scientists discovered that plants are capable of removing volatile organic compounds (VOC's) from the air.  The gases most often studied include formaldehyde, benzene, xylene, toluene, ammonia, acetone, methyl alcohol, ethyl acetate, and trichlorethylene.  The plants listed below (in no particular order) are proven effective in this arena:

• Palms (Chrysalidocarpus, Rhapis, Chamaedorea, and Phoenix)
• Fern (Nephrolepis)
• Corn Plant and Dragon Tree (Dracaena)
• Rubber Plant and Weeping Fig (Ficus)
• English Ivy (Hedera)
• Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)
• Florist Mum (Dendranthemum)
• Gerber Daisy (Gerbera)
• Dumb Cane (Dieffenbachia)
• Schefflera (Brassaia)
• Orchids (Dendrobium and Phalaenopsis)
• Spider Plant (Chlorophytum)
• Philodendron (Philodendron)
• Arrowhead Plant (Syngonium)
• Pothos (Epipremnum)
• Dwarf Banana (Musa)
• Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema)

Source

Precipitation Estimation...
Here's a fact that's easy to remember: Most plants need 1 inch of water per week.  But how can you be sure?  The precipitation figures you hear on the local weather broadcasts may have little in common with what actually falls in your garden.  A simple rain gauge is the answer.  They are available for a couple of dollars at most hardware and garden stores and are perfectly adequate for the job.  Placement is critical - you don't want it under awnings or trees.  During a visit this past weekend Kevin's father Larry mounted our rain gauge on a single bamboo stake.  Rather than looking out of place it now looks more natural and elegant!

What's Hot On The Hotline...
Two consecutive nights of frost warnings were a real wake up call for Savvygardeners.  That may have been the last of them though the next two weeks still hold risk.  If Jack Frost comes our way again you will benefit from some more frost tips in this week's What's Hot on the Hotline... 

Two Blades Are Better Than One...
No matter how good your mower is the quality of the cut comes down to the sharpness of its blade.  If you're like most people you never get around to sharpening the blade during the spring and summer cutting season.  Probably because you don't want the mower out of service while the blade is sharpened.  We solve that problem by keeping two mower blades.  That way a well sharpened second blade is always ready to be swapped into service.

Finally...
"When the April wind wakes the call for the soil, I hold the plough as my only hold upon the earth, and, as I follow through the fresh and fragrant furrow, I am planted with every foot-step, growing, budding, blooming into a spirit of spring."

~ Dallas Lore Sharp, 1870-1929, Nature Essayist

© 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.