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Seeds Indoors
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Shrub Pruning Calendar
~ Pruning Clematis 
~ Gardening in the Shade
~ Summer-Flowering Bulb Care
~ Drought-Tolerant Flowers for KC
~ Preparing for a Soil Test
~ Changing the pH of Your Soil
~ Growing Herbs
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~ All About Mulch
~ Worm Composting
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~ Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
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~ Cold Frames & Hot Beds
~ When to Divide Perennials
~ Dividing Spring Blooming Perennials
~ Forcing Bulbs Indoors
~ Overseeding A Lawn
~ Pruning Trees
~ Pruning Shrubs
~ Planting Trees
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Nursery & Bulk Supercenter

The one-stop-shop for
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www.rlnbulksupercenter.com

 

 

 

 

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May 5, 2004

Wacky Weather...
What a difference a few days can make in the weather. Sunday the temperatures dipped dangerously low, leaving a light touch of frost in some areas. Today it was sunny and warm - almost hot. I must admit I thought the meteorologists were once again going to give an inaccurate forecast Sunday as they warned of a possible frost. I guess I have to give them one because, when walking the dog first thing Monday morning, not only did I have a coat and gloves on I also noticed a light layer of frost. The good news is that most of the frost was on windshields. Fortunately I had not yet planted anything too tender, so nothing in my garden was affected. I hope you had the same good luck or thought of covering your tender plantings. After a scare like that I think that I will continue to follow my rule of thumb and do most of my planting after Mother's Day.

For those of you who have not yet had an opportunity to visit Clearfield Farms in Baldwin City, Kansas this weekend is your big chance. The weather is supposed to be perfect for planting. Take your mother, your loving wife, mother-in-law and anyone else who might enjoy a scenic tour of unusual plantings and custom gardens. And better yet, there are coupons on their website that you can print and take with you for fabulous savings! I am not quite sure that it gets better than that!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you wonderful moms!

~ Shelly  

A Clip In Time...
The proper time to prune continues to vex many gardeners.  This time of year can get confusing because some shrubs are flowering, some are done, and others are still getting ready.  Here's the deal:

Shrubs that flower in the spring are normally pruned immediately after flowering.  Examples of these types of plants include forsythia, Vanhoutte spirea, flowering quince, lilac and mockorange.  Though pruning during the dormant season does not harm the health of the plant, the flowering display will be reduced.  Shrubs that bloom on current season's growth or that do not produce ornamental flowers are best pruned in late winter to early spring.  Examples include Rose-of-Sharon, Bumald Spirea and Japanese Spirea.

There are three basic methods used in pruning shrubs:

  • Thinning is used to thin out branches from a shrub that is too dense.  It is accomplished by removing most of the inward growing twigs by either cutting them back to a larger branch or cutting them back to just above an outward facing bud.  On multi- stemmed shrubs, the oldest canes may be completely removed. 
  • Heading back is removing the end of a branch by cutting it back to a bud and is used for either reducing height or keeping a shrub compact.  Branches are not cut back to a uniform height as this will result in a "witches-broom" effect.
  • Rejuvenation is the most severe type of pruning and is normally done during the dormant season.  It may be used on multi-stem shrubs that have become too large with too many old branches to justify saving the younger canes.  All stems are cut back to 3- to 5-inch stubs.  This works well for spirea, forsythia, pyracantha, ninebark, Russian almond, little leaf mock orange, shrub roses and flowering quince.

Source

Cutworms Collared...
Cutworms can be a real problem for gardeners setting out transplants.  Protect your newly transplanted plants with collars.  Simply cut strips of cardboard 2 inches wide by 8 inches long and staple them into a band.  Place this collar around the plant stem and press it about 1 inch into the soil.  Simple and very effective!

We're Cookin' Now...
If you are a cook as well as a Savvygardener one of the great joys of summer is stepping outside to pick or cut fresh herbs for preparing a fine meal.  In addition to their obvious use in foods herbs are great additions to most gardens because they are generally pest resistant, smell great, and many are a joy to behold.

Conveniently, most herbs have similar growing habits and requirements.  Because their essential oils are much more concentrated under cool growing conditions you will want to locate them in a cool but sunny area which receives at least 4 to 6 hours of full sun each day. Areas exposed to the morning sun are better than those areas with mid-day and afternoon sun.

If you didn't start any herbs from seed buy some healthy looking plants from your favorite plant source.  However anise, coriander, dill and fennel aren't too fond of being transplanted.  Sow their seeds directly in the garden.

For a list of over 30 herbs and specific details about growing them check out "Growing Herbs" in our Feature Article section.

 

 

Tired of the Ordinary?

Visit Clearfield Farms

For
a vast assortment of
unusual and hard to find plants.

Valuable savings coupons
and directions are here! 

 

 

Getting Rid Of Girdles...
Remember to remove old stakes, ties, and labels from your trees and shrubs.  Stems and trunks grow in diameter this time of year and it is important to remove any constrictions that exist around them.  Even a thin wire can completely girdle a branch causing it to eventually die. While it's true that tree trunks may grow around wire, nails, or ties, they will forever have a structural defect that may be unsightly and is likely prone to storm damage.

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.
  • 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. 
  • 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

 


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What's Hot On The Hotline...
Excitement is building for the 2004 Extension Master Gardener Tour. This biennial informational garden tour for gardeners is in a class by itself. Five gardens, planned, planted and maintained by the Extension Master Gardeners themselves, are presented to those purchasing tickets for $10 each.  Dates and other details are in this week's What's Hot On the Hotline...

The Turfgrass Two-Step?
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...
"Wisdom is oftentimes nearer when we stoop than when we soar."

~ William Wordsworth, 1798

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