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May 5, 2004 |
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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.
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
Tell Your Friends About
Savvygardener.com!
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Could Win A $50 Gift Certificate
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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:
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Horizontal - left-to-right, turn, right-to-left across
the lawn.
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Vertical - top-to-bottom, turn, bottom-to-top across
the lawn.
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Diagonal 1 - bottom-left to top-right, turn, top-right
to bottom-left. Work toward corners.
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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 |