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Electrifying...
Ok, who else liked those thunderstorms that passed through
town Monday evening? Everyone here in the Marsh house was
thrilled by the bright flashes of lightning and the low rumbling
sound of thunder. In fact, once the sky turned ominous outside we
took turns trying to predict when the
rain and wind would arrive. My mom thinks we're crazy and I guess
I would have to agree with her. There is something terribly
exciting about lightning, thunder and even strong winds. Kevin
has even joked in the past about how much fun
it would be to actually chase a storm. For now we only have time
to get kids from one activity to another and if that involves
watching a storm then there you go.
Don't
forget the
Clearfield Farms Plant and Garden Art Auction this Sunday
April 17th @ 1:00. Clearfield Farms, located in Baldwin Kansas,
is a fantastic place to find beautiful and unusual plants grown
especially for this area. Celebrating ten
years in business, Larry Limberg is excited by the opportunity to
kick off another ten by creating
something fun and different for his customers. An auctioneer will
be present to assist in the bidding so don't miss your chance to
outbid someone for that Miss Kim lilac you've been dying to
purchase. Make sure you tell their staff you read about it here.
Join me
from 12-2 PM Saturday April 23rd at
Audrie Seeley's Garden Center for their Spring Open House.
Not only do they have annuals, shrubs, roses and perennials but
this year they are offering unique gifts. There will be original
work from local and regional artists and crafts persons. I'll be
there to answer questions and help you choose plants for the
garden. There will be a15% discount on nursery stock and a
portion of the proceeds go to the Rose Brooks Center for the
prevention of domestic violence. Can't wait to see you!
~
Shelly
Tuckered Out Tulips?
Unfortunately it's not uncommon for many
modern tulip varieties to "wear out" after a few years and
eventually produce insignificant blooms or no blooms at all. Here
are some tips to increase the chances of perennial blooming of
your tulips:
-
Plant the bulbs at the depth indicated on
the packaged they arrived in.
-
Water them - especially in the fall - to
help develop strong roots.
-
Clip off flower heads after they have
bloomed.
-
Do not remove the foliage until it has
turned brown and withered.
Daffodil's Deadly Secret...
If you take my
cue and decide to cut some flowering bulbs from the garden make
sure you keep the daffodils separated from other cuttings.
Daffodil stems secrete a fluid that can drastically reduce the
life of other cut flowers in the same vase. After a couple of
days in a vase they should be OK for sharing the same space.
Willow Water...
A reader wrote asking us about willow water - a natural
tonic for plants, made from steeping willow twigs in water, that
is purported to help stimulate roots. We have to admit that
we knew nothing about this magic elixir. A little sleuthing
around the web turned up a good article and recipe for homemade
willow water. We don't know if it works but it looks like a
fun project!
Check it out here...
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:
Family |
Family Members |
Alliaceae |
Chive, garlic,
leek, onion, shallot |
Apiaceae |
Carrot, celery,
parsley, parsnip |
Asteraceae |
Endive, lettuce |
Brassicaceae |
Broccoli,
Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale,
kohlrabi, radish, rutabaga, turnip |
Chenopodiaceae |
Beet, Swiss
chard, spinach |
Convolvulaceae |
Sweet potato |
Curcurbitaceae |
Cucumber,
gourd, melons, pumpkin, squash |
Fabaceae |
Lima bean, pea,
snap bean, soy bean |
Malvaceae |
Okra |
Poaceae |
Corn |
Solanaceae |
Eggplant,
pepper, potato, tomato |
Second
Chance Dandelions...
Readers of our newsletter know that we recommend that
dandelions be controlled in the fall. However, if you missed the
fall application, a second opportunity for dandelion control is
approaching. Research by Purdue University has shown that good
control can be achieved with an herbicide applied during or soon
after the first flush of flowers. Use a combination product that
contains 2,4-D, MCPP and dicamba. Examples would include products
such as Trimec, Weed Out, Weed-B-Gon and Weed Free Zone. If you
have only a few dandelions, consider spot treatment rather than a
blanket application. There are ornamental plants that are very
sensitive to drift from these herbicides, so be careful. Avoid
spraying on windy days.
Source
Lumpy Lawns?
Most lawns become bumpy because of
the natural settling of soil over time. Professionals will apply
thin layers of sand or soil over finely manicured turf and then
use modified brooms to move the topdressing down to the soil
surface. This topdressing will eventually help to smooth out
minor undulations over many years while not harming the turf
plants. Home lawns can accept up to about
¼
inch
of topdressing.
If the lawn
is in really bad shape, it is better to start over. Kill
it with a non-selective herbicide like Roundup, till the soil to
2"- 4” deep, work it smooth, and allow
it to settle with rain, irrigation, and/or time (the more time to
settle the better). Then work it smooth with shallow raking once
more after it settles and seed this fall. This settling part of
the process is regularly overlooked by contractors and homeowners
anxious to see grass, which usually results in a bumpy lawn down
the road.
Source
Crabgrass
Preventers...
Crabgrass preventers are another name for
preemergence herbicides that prevent crabgrass seeds from
developing into mature plants. They don’t actually keep the seed
from germinating; rather, the germinating plant takes up some of
the herbicide and is killed. With few exceptions they will have
no effect on existing crabgrass plants. Therefore, preventers
have to be applied before crabgrass germinates. Additionally,
they don’t last forever once applied to the soil. Microorganisms
and natural processes in the soil begin to gradually break them
down soon after they are applied. Most crabgrass preventers are
fairly ineffective after about 60 days, although there is
considerable variation among products (Dimension and Barricade
are longer lasting). For our area
crabgrass typically begins to germinate around May 1, or a little
later. Therefore, April 15 is a good target date for which to
apply the preventer; this gives the active ingredients some time
to evenly disperse in the soil before crabgrass germination
starts. Additionally, weather varies from one spring to the next,
and with it the timing of crabgrass germination. For this reason
application-timing of preventers is sometimes based on the bloom
of ornamental plants. The Eastern redbud tree is a good one to
use: when the trees in your area are approaching full-bloom,
apply your crabgrass preventer. A follow-up application will be
needed about 8 weeks later, unless you are using Dimension or
Barricade.
Source
Finally... "Shall I not have
intelligence with the earth? Am I not partly leaves and vegetable
mould myself." ~
Henry David Thoreau |
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