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May 8, 2002

Feeling A Little Waterlogged...
Well we wanted some rain and by golly we got it!  We have had about 3½ inches in the last three days.  Enough already!  The ground needs some time to dry out.  Of course you know how it works.  We will receive all of this spring rain and then in late June and July we will be begging for a few drops.  Oh how the Midwest weather is becoming so predictable.  It may be predictable but not very conducive for gardening.  It is way too wet to be planting anything unless it's in pots with dry potting soil.  I know how hard it is to wait.  Kevin and I picked up some spectacular plants (photo) Sunday at The Sweet Onion and they are just sitting outside patiently awaiting a new home.  Patience is not one of my virtues.  So for now the waiting game is the one we are forced to play.

Hopefully the weather cooperates for The Kelly Gallery's "Gardens In Bloom" this Saturday May 11th from 10AM to 3PM.  I am sure that proprietor Kelly Daniels is keeping her fingers crossed as well.  Please join us for this fabulous event.  Those of you who have been to The Kelly Gallery in the past know that this is truly a place of beauty.  May I also suggest shopping for that perfect Mother's Day gift at The Barn.  I know that I would love anything from there (hint, hint Kevin).  Kevin and I will be on hand to tour the gardens with you or simply help you pick out that special gift.  The Kelly Gallery is always such a fun event.  Hope to see you there!  (Also, I'll be promoting the event on KCTV-5 this Saturday between 8:00 and 8:30 AM).

It was a pleasure seeing several Savvygardeners at The Sweet Onion's 1st Annual Garden and Music Festival (photos).  The music, food and atmosphere was so much fun.  Needless to say the shopping was great as well.

Fair warning - next week's issue of this newsletter will arrive on Tuesday morning (instead of Wednesday night).  Our regular schedule resumes the following week.

To all of you Mom's out there, have a terrific Mother's Day! 

~ Shelly  

A Word About Your E-mail Privacy...
Just a quick reminder that we do not use your e-mail address for anything but the sending of this newsletter and related items (frost alerts, etc...).  If you are receiving spam or other unsolicited e-mail we can assure you that it is not because of your association with us.  Our privacy pledge spells that out and we stand by that pledge every day.

Unfortunately spam has become an unavoidable reality for anyone using e-mail (you wouldn't believe how much we receive each day!).  That doesn't make it any less annoying but it helps put things in perspective.  Remember - the best response is no response.  Just make regular use of your delete button.  

Tip Top Tools...
Here's a great way to keep your gardening hand tools clean and free from rust.  Fill a 5-gallon bucket with play sand.  Moisten the sand with mineral oil or even motor oil.  Plunging your tools into the sand/oil mix several times before storing them will remove the dirt and leave a protective coating of oil on the metal surface.

Jurassic Plant?
Savvygardeners with a sense of science and history will enjoy this - Researchers at the University of Florida have stunned the world with the discovery of the fossil remains of the oldest known flower.  At 125 million years of age this flowering plant is probably an extinct ancestor of every plant we grow in our gardens today.  Read the full story here...

Got Irrigation?
We stumbled on this tip and couldn't resist passing it along: 

Here's a use for those used gallon milk containers - seep irrigation.  Simply use a large nail to punch holes in the sides of a jug, spacing them about 2 inches apart.  Bury the jug, leaving the neck protruding from the soil.  Fill the jug with water (solutions of liquid fertilizer may be used to water and fertilize at the same time) and screw the cap on firmly.  The water will gradually seep out, providing a slow, deep irrigation for surrounding plants.

Source

Battling Blight...
Early blight and Septoria blight are the two most common foliar diseases of tomato.  Early blight produces brown spots (up to ½ inch in diameter) on infected leaves.  Concentric rings of darker brown often appear in the leaf spots.  Septoria blight produces small brown spots (approximately 1/8 inch in diameter) with tan or gray centers and dark edges.  Both diseases cause heavily infected leaves to eventually turn brown, die, and fall off.  Lower leaves are infected first with the diseases progressing upward during the growing season. 

Savvygardeners can reduce blight problems on their tomatoes with good cultural practices.  Here's some tips:

• Start by selecting stocky, healthy plants at a garden center or greenhouse.
• Plant your tomatoes in a different location in the garden each year.  Rotate crops so that tomatoes and other solanaceous crops (potatoes, peppers, and eggplants) are not grown in the same area for at least 3 or 4 years.  Obviously this may not be feasible for those with small vegetable gardens - just try to rotate as much as possible.
• When planting, space tomatoes approximately 3 feet apart.  Adequate spacing allows good air movement and promotes rapid drying of plant foliage. 
• Grow tomato plants in wire cages.  The foliage of tomatoes grown in cages will dry more rapidly than those sprawled on the ground.
• In early June, apply a 2 to 3 inch layer of mulch around each tomato plant.  Shredded leaves, dry grass clippings, and straw are excellent mulches.  The mulch reduces the splashing of fungal spores onto plant foliage.
• Avoid wetting tomato foliage when watering.  Apply water directly to the ground around plants with drip irrigation, a soaker hose or slow running hose.  If a sprinkler must be used, water in the morning so the foliage dries quickly. 
• While cultural practices may help control tomato blights, fungicides are often needed.  Apply fungicides (chlorothalonil, maneb, or copper-based fungicides) at 7 to 14 day intervals beginning 2 to 4 weeks after transplanting.  Thorough coverage is essential.  Be sure to spray both the upper and lower leaf surfaces as well as the centers of the plants.  Spray to the point of runoff. 
• If blight occurs, remove and destroy infected leaves as they appear.  Prompt removal of infected leaves may slow the progress of the blights.  At the end of the gardening season, remove and destroy all infected tomato plants.  Clean up and dispose of as much tomato plant debris as possible.

Source

What's Hot On The Hotline...
This pattern of heavy rain followed by periods of sunshine really have lawns growing fast.  Don't take that vigorous growth for granted however!  Start using good lawn care practices now for a healthier lawn through the season.  Our Hotline staffers cover the basics in this week's What's Hot on the Hotline...

The Arthur Murray School of Mowing?
Most of us are creatures of habit.  When it comes to mowing your lawn you probably follow the same back and forth pattern every time you cut the grass.  Unfortunately this regular practice will eventually wear ruts in the lawn where the mower wheels repeatedly follow the same path.  To avoid this problem try a four-way rotation of cutting patterns.  Picture your lawn as a sheet of paper and try these patterns.  Next week - tango lessons:

1. Horizontal - left-to-right, turn, right-to-left across the lawn.
2. Vertical - top-to-bottom, turn, bottom-to-top across the lawn.
3. Diagonal 1 - bottom-left to top-right, turn, top-right to bottom-left.  Work toward corners.
4. Diagonal 2 - bottom-right to top-left, turn, top-left to bottom-right.  Work toward corners.

Finally...
"My mind is a garden.  My thoughts are the seeds.  My harvest will be either flower or weeds."

~ Mel Weldon (submitted by Savvygardener mmellow)

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