ASK THE MASTER GARDENERS

Q: Any ideas for dealing with the deer and wildlife that are ravaging my garden?

A: Browsing by deer and woodchucks has resulted in a large loss of plants at our Demonstration Gardens at Cornell Cooperative headquarters in Stony Point. To deal with this we have fenced in some gardens, use spray repellents, and accept some damage and use plants that are rarely eaten.

Your Cooperative Extension will have a guideline list of plants and their susceptibility to deer browsing. There is no list for woodchucks, which eat many vegetables and flowers. We have fenced in our Native Plant, Annual Cutting, Rain, Container and Shade gardens with great success. For deer, Cornell recommends using a fence at least 8 feet high. To deter woodchucks from digging under the fence, make an L-shaped bend 1 foot up from the lower edge of the fence and bury it a few inches underground. If rabbits are a problem, use fencing with very small holes.

Spray repellents work if they are applied consistently, changing brands a few times through the season so the animals don’t get used to them. Spray repellents have worked in our Fern Garden.

The Lower Hudson Valley has a very large population of deer. They are pressured for food sources and are eating plants such as ferns that are on the rarely eaten list, a list that they clearly don’t read!

Unfenced and unsprayed, our Hillside Garden and Ralph Snodsmith Perennial Gardens are evolving into gardens with fewer plants that are rarely browsed. Because the plants eaten by deer in one area can be very different from those eaten in another area, you should keep track of what is browsed in your garden.

Our Ornamental Grass Garden and our aromatic plant filled Herb Garden are, dare I say it and tempt fate, never browsed.

Starting April 27, at 1 p.m. on the last Sunday of each month through October, you can join the master gardeners for take a free hour-long tour of our Demonstration Gardens and ask us questions beginning at 1 p.m. at the Cornell headquarters in Stony Point. For more information, call 845-429-7085 or visit www.rocklandcce.org.

Donna De Sousa, Suffern, master gardener, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rockland

Americans are a restless bunch. They change locations with a frequency that would tire a migrating songbird.

But there is more to moving day than unpacking boxes; there’s also learning to care for that garden inherited with the new home.

If you were thinking ahead, you asked for an inventory of the plants and accessories that came with the house.

“There’s no problem with asking owners for a list of landscape items and for an explanation about the plantings,” said Shirley French, an agent with the Woodstock, Va., office of Funkhouser Real Estate Group. “Usually, the owners are more than happy to give you a list. In fact, if they know the purchasers are interested, that will make for good feelings on both sides.”

But where to start with a newly purchased property?

Michael Becker, president of Estate Gardeners Inc. in Omaha, Neb., suggests that new owners put safety first.

“Check out the dangers,” said Becker, a spokesman for Planet, the Professional Landcare Network that certifies green industry professionals. “Are the retaining walls stable? Are any trees leaning or diseased with dead branches?

“Assess the hardscape,” Becker said. “Is anything heaving, creating tripping hazards? Examine the drainage around the house. More often than not, it isn’t correct and may be damaging the structure. Bring in some professionals to help sort things out.”

As for plantings, be patient with the perennials.

“Learn what things look like in your yard,” Becker said. “Determine if it’s aesthetically what you want, or if it’s so high-maintenance you won’t have the time to care for it. Most perennials need pruning and deadheading.”

Other things to consider when dealing with an unfamiliar landscape:

•  Do soil tests. Map the yard for sun and shade. “If you live in the city and all you have is a porch or a patio to work with, where is all that water going to go that you’ll be putting on plants?” asked Josh Kane, president and head designer at Kane Landscapes Inc. in Sterling, Va. “Also, where do you get the water? You’ll have to figure out how to care for everything.”

•  Water fixtures. “Look for care instructions when dealing with special features,” Kane said. “A lot of people get put off or are scared of things like koi ponds, pools and fountains that require startups, maintenance and attention during the seasons.”

•  Don’t try to do everything the first year. Mulching will keep the weeds down. Composting will improve the soil. Bringing in some annuals for window boxes, hanging baskets or containers will provide instant color. “Nothing gives you as much impact in a garden as planting annuals,” Kane said.

•  Anticipate. Avoid planting trees or shrubs near sewer or water lines, to prevent root damage. Study the plat map for restrictions that could prevent expansions or additions. “A lot of people might want to build a big outdoor room or pool and find they can’t do it because of an easement on the property,” Kane said.

Posted on: 9:24 pm, March 1, 2014, by Staff Writer

Tim from the Waukee Earl May said many people are trying to escape the bitter winter with an indoor paradise like a garden.  Fun and tropical plants can help boost your mood during these nasty winter months and let people remember that spring is on the way.

Stop by Earl May for more gardening tips on how to create your own indoor garden paradise.

By Katie Marks
Networx.com


Posted Feb. 20, 2014 @ 10:40 am

Far better is blood, bone and fishmeal (or blood, fish and bone) which is an organic fertiliser containing all three elements. Soil bacteria must break it down before it can be absorbed and so are encouraged in a way that is absent when using other all-purpose fertilisers.

But if fertiliser provides the vitamins, it is well-rotted organic matter that offers the “meat and two veg”. Stable manure, farmyard manure, spent mushroom compost, spent hops and the like are all bulky and can be dug into the soil now to improve its structure. On heavy clay soil they will improve drainage, and on light sandy soils they will help to hold on to moisture (even though it sounds as though one statement ought to contradict the other).

Work in as much as you can on bare ground, and in beds and borders, lay it as a mulch (a 2in thick layer) between plants. Apply two handfuls of blood, fish and bone to each square yard of soil and fork it in before laying mulch on top. Gradually, the worms will take it into the soil, but while lying on the top it will seal in moisture and help keep down the weeds.

For now, our efforts involve getting rid of moisture, but in the summer we need to keep as much of it around plant roots as we can. Act now to make sure plants recover from the winter and, hopefully, enjoy a summer that will make up for it.

Don’t miss Alan’s gardening column today and every day in the Daily Express. For more information on his range of gardening products, visit alantitchmarsh.com.

Posted: Friday, February 28, 2014 11:25 am

Gardening Tips: Planting a spring veggie garden

By Matthew Stevens

The Daily Herald, Roanoke Rapids, NC

|
0 comments

Between the rain and snow, it’s been quite a wet winter. There may yet be more rain, but thankfully the temperatures are slowly creeping upward. If your garden soil is dry enough to work, then you might want to start thinking about planting spring vegetables.

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By David Scott
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Posted Feb. 28, 2014 @ 3:54 pm

The Maryland Home and Garden Show is underway at the Timonium Fairgrounds, giving people all over a chance to get ideas for projects this spring.

Several free seminars this year offer do-it-yourself ideas, including tips for keeping lawns looking as good as the field at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Mobile users tap here for video.

Camden Yards head groundskeeper Nicole McFadyen said her job is a dream come true.

“I love it. I love coming here every day. It’s a beautiful ballpark, first and foremost, but to be able to leave a mark on the field and let those players play every day, it’s pretty amazing,” McFadyen said.

She started out studying turf grass science at University of Delaware and followed a path that, for the past eight seasons, has kept her busy maintaining Oriole Park. She said Maryland’s weather can make it quite stressful.

“It’s very stressful, especially when you have different weather conditions. You can get 100-plus degrees or days like today, where it’s 19 degrees,” McFadyen said.

This weekend and next weekend, she’ll be at the Home and Garden Show to offer tips on how to make gardens and lawns look good.

“Hopefully give homeowners tips that could help prevent their grass from dying or stressing out,” McFadyen said. “Just proper maintenance practices that they need to take, and hopefully they’ll walk away with some good ideas.”

The show in Timonium will feature dozens of vendors and do-it-yourself seminars to help people jump-start their spring projects.

One tip McFadyen has is that just because your grass may be brown doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing.

“Grass, typically in Maryland, is full-season grass, and it goes dormant in the summertime. So when it turns brown, it really is just sleeping, like a self-defense mechanism to get through the heat. So, they shouldn’t really stress too much about their grass being dead or dying,” McFadyen said.

She said she’s looking forward to meeting people at the fairgrounds and sharing her passion as one of only two women in Major League Baseball to be in charge of a field.

“Not a lot of people think that you can have a college degree in turf grass science or do this for a living, and I think being a female also, it kind of sparks interest in younger girls that maybe are looking for a career outside,” she said.  

Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare is no different from the other shooters out in the market, but to really get the hang of things in the game, you have to get familiar with the different classes available in it.

Both Plants and the Zombies have very similar classes but there are some very important differences. First of all we would like to introduce the classes of Plants.

For more help on Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare, read our Tips and Tricks, Team Vanquish and Co-op Garden Ops Strategy Guide.

Garden Warfare Class Tips

Plants

Peashooter
At the start of the game, this is your go-to class. They act as a scout and their shots do a splash damage which comes in handy when you are dealing with the hordes or taking down the tombstones.

Peashooters run fast and can jump really high; they can cover the long distance in a speed. They are equipped with chili pepper grenade which is an explosive attack that does enormous damage.

The ultimate skills of the peashooter transform it into a Gatling gun which does a lot of damage to oncoming enemies.

Its variant is Fire Pea which can withstand huge damage from the opponents. Another variant is Ice Pea which can freeze the zombies with just a few shots. Third one is Toxic Pea, it does a lot of damage to the opponent and anyone who comes nearby.

Fourth variant is Commando Pea which are brilliant assault troopers and can take down multiple zombies with their rapid fire. Finally, there is Agent Pea; their shots are very focused and do more damage when aimed correctly.

Chomper
Chompers are extremely strong but vulnerable and they don’t have any ranged weapon. The strongest asset of this class is their giant mouth as they can eat the whole enemy, when they attack from behind.

Shielded enemies take a lot of damage when attacked from the front by the Chomper. However, there is one problem, whenever Chompers eat an enemy he takes a few moments to digest it and sometimes these moments are enough time for opponent to kill them.

Its first variant is Hot Rod Chomper, who upon swallowing the zombie, he gains a speed burst. The second variant is Toxic Chomper who can do a lot of damage because of its poison.

Third variant is Fire Chomper, who has a flam-spray that hits rapidly without any breaks and can take down multiple enemies. Fourth variant is Power Chomper, they are most suitable for the close range battles.

Fifth variant is Count Chompula, who can upon taking down an enemy, gains health.

Sunflower
This class is a healer of the game. Their starting skill will heal all players who have set up defenses nearby. Another skill allows them to deploy healing flowers that automatically throw out sunshine to the players nearby. Third skill allows them to shoot out a ray of high damaging sunlight.

Sunflower’s main weapon is a machine gun with high bullet count.

Its variant is Mystic Flower, which has a little ammo, but all the energy can be charged to fire an extremely powerful shot. Second variant is Power Flower, it gives you some extra speed and damage factor to the Sun Pulse.

Third variant is Fire Flower, it combines the health-draining functions of a fire weapon with the speed and versatility of the Sun Pulse. Fourth variant is Shadow flower which has a faster rate of fire than the standard Sun Pulse.

Fifth variant is Metal Petal, it can take huge damage from enemy fire.

Cactus
Cactus is the sniper of the plants. Cactus can do a lot of high damaging shots with the scope. Cactus have the ability to plant mines which will blow anyone with a single blow.

The major skill of Cactus has to be the Garlic Drone.

It is remote controlled flying garlic which can do a lot of damage with the machine gun and can call down Corn Strikes. However, the Cactus have very low health and can die very quickly.

Its variants are Camo Cactus, who are actual 100% Snipers. Second variant is Fire Cactus, who can fire damage from far away. Third one is Ice Cactus and it can freeze the zombie enemies from a long range.

Fourth one is Power Cactus, who fires electric burst which goes really fast from a long range. Fifth one is Future Cactus, who can be used for the medium range fights.

Zombies

Let’s take a look at the opponents of Plants, the Zombies.

Foot Soldier
Foot Soldiers most useful skill is their poison cloud which blinds certain areas and it damages the opponents upon contact. Then they have a ZPG (Zombie Propelled Grenade) which is a heavy hitting skill.

Foot soldiers will be a good choice at the start of the game.

Its variant is Camo Ranger, who does extra damage for the Critical Hits it gets from the primary weapon. Second variant is Super Commando, who can be valuable with its crossbow for the long and middle range combat.

The third variant I General Supremo, who has unlimited ammo for the Golden Gatling.

Fourth one is Tank Commander, who uses mega cannons which do a lot of damage to the opponents. Fifth variant is Arctic Trooper, who make the plants freeze with their shot and can take them out with the ZPG.

Engineers
As the name suggests, the engineers are the fixers of the groups. They can build up turrets and can ride a devastating jackhammer in to the battle.

The engineers also have stun grenades which can be put to a good use; they stop the movement of the target for a short time. Their weapon of choice is Shotgun: it is slow but extremely effective.

Its first variant is Welder, who does a lot of damage on impact and sets the plant on fire for extra damage. The second variant is Electrician, who are most useful for close combat.

The third one is Mechanic, who fires nuts and bolts at a very fast speed and can take down multiple enemies. Fourth one is Painter, who have slow weapons but are very effective in close combat.

Fifth variant is Plumber, who has the same weapon as Engineer but water is also added to do some extra damage in the large blast radius.

Scientist
The scientist has the best escape skills. It can easily warp past enemies which really confuse the players and gives the scientist enough time to finish the job from behind.

He has sticky grenades and if you combine both the warp and the grenades, it can prove to be a shattering combination. He can deploy healing stations which will heal any of the zombies that walk past it.

Its variant is Marine Biologist, who has a Dolphin Blaster that gains a bit more range compared to the standard Scientist Goo Blaster. Second variant is Dr. Toxic, who is valuable asset in close combat.

Third one is Physicist, who can cause electrical damage to anyone that stands in its way. Fourth one is Astronaut, who is more valuable in a long range battle. Fifth one is Chemist, who has a very short range weapon but is useful in close range combat.

All-Star
All-Star is wielding a large weapon and has a lot of health. His ability to drop the tackle dummy is quite scary as it deals a lot of damage to the opponent.

The downside to that is his inability to move fast, making All-Star the slowest class among all. He has the ability to do the tackle by lunging forward and it packs a huge punch.

Its variant is Cricket Star, who deals fire damage to the plants. Second one is Goalie Star, who deals ice damage to the plants and freeze them.

Third one is Baseball Star, who fires the faster and accurate All-Star Weapon. Fourth one is Hockey Star, who has great rate of fire with the weapon.

Fifth one is Rugby Star, who has the most powerful weapon among its class.

Hearths worthy of centerpiece status, even when they’re not ablaze. … Read the story»