As well as picking the top of your crop, don’t forget about your roses. Make sure you deadhead them for a strong re-growth next season.

– Leave tomatoes on the plants until the weather turns, to allow them optimum time to ripen.

– Leave nets over brassicas to stop pigeons feasting on them.

– Reduce the watering and feeding of greenhouse plants.

– Continue to deadhead roses.

– Trim hornbeam, beech, Leyland cypress and thuja hedges, if you haven’t already done so.

– Take hardwood cuttings from roses, choosing healthy stems of the current season’s growth.

– Root cuttings of lavender directly into gritty soil outside or in a cold frame.

– Pick crops at their best including marrows, runner beans, ridge cucumbers, spinach, sweetcorn, beetroot and salads.

– Sow hardy annuals like calendula, godetia, larkspur and candytuft outside where you would like them to flower.

– Plant tubers of Anemone ‘De Caen’ and ‘Saint Brigid’ at intervals to extend their flowering next spring.

– Sow poppies where you want them to flower next year.

– Lift Lilium regale clumps and re-set, planting them about 15cm (6in) deep in well-drained soil improved with compost and grit.

– Give autumn green crops a light dressing of general fertiliser hoed into the soil around them.

 

Best of the Bunch – Japanese anemone

Don’t confuse the low-growing, brightly flowered anemones you find in late spring with Japanese anemones, which bloom from late summer until the first frosts of October.

The embedded asset does not exist:
Asset Type: BTImage
Asset Id: 1363832877747
PAGENAME: btcom/BTImage/Detail

A. japonica (A. hybrida) stands 60-120cm (2-4ft) high, producing saucer-shaped flowers in white or pink with a central boss of golden stamens.

Good varieties include  ‘Honorine Jobert’, a tough, late-flowering plant on strong stems carrying single white blooms, which flower for up to eight weeks and reach 100cm (3ft) in height, and ‘September charm’, a slightly smaller pink variety which reaches about 60cm (2ft) in height.

Japanese anemones will grow in any well-drained garden soil in sun or semi-shade. They look great in the autumn border alongside asters and chrysanthemums or can be used in front of shrub roses and large shrubs. In a small garden they make reliable back-of-the-border plants behind summer bedding, which can be removed when the anemones are ready to bloom.

 

Walnut Creek’s Ruth Bancroft is a national authority on drought-resistant gardening. Twice a month, she and her staff share their knowledge with readers.

Q At the Ruth Bancroft Garden, I saw a prickly pear, which had grown large enough to have a woody trunk like a tree. What struck me was that the trunk was hairy. What is this?

A Prickly pears belong to the genus Opuntia in the cactus family. The cactuses are native to the Americas, and Opuntia has the broadest range of any group in the whole family, from southern Canada all the way to Argentina. Few people are aware of how widespread these plants are in the U.S.; they occur in 45 states, the exceptions being Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire

and Vermont.

Some are diminutive creepers, which never reach more than a few inches tall; others have a shrubby growth habit or form thickets; and a few, such as the one you noticed, actually form a trunk and become treelike. The name of this last species is Opuntia leucotricha, which refers to the bristly, hairy appearance of the trunk. This unusual trait makes the species easy to identify.

Opuntia leucotricha, which is native to central Mexico, can grow to a height of 12 feet or so. It has yellow flowers about 2 inches across in spring, and an abundance of small, pale yellow fruit in fall. The fruit is edible and one of the kinds featured on the autumn Ruth Bancroft Garden Fruit Tasting Tour. This Oct. 18 event affords an opportunity for visitors to taste several of the garden’s prickly pears and other fruits.

Because they grow in such widely divergent habitats, the different species of Opuntia vary widely in cold tolerance. Some come from tropical places such as the Galápagos Islands and will not tolerate low temperatures, while others occur in places like North Dakota and can endure temperatures of well below zero. Opuntia leucotricha is somewhere in the middle, but it is frost-hardy enough to survive our Walnut Creek cold spells, which can sometimes dip into the mid- to low-20s.

Opuntia leucotricha is easy to grow, and severed branches or individual pads root readily. This plant makes a dramatic focal point in a dry garden, but it should be situated in the middle, rather than at the edge. This allows room for the large size it eventually attains, and keeps it away from paths where its spines might prick the unwary. Like other prickly pears, it has tiny, easily dislodged spines, in addition to the larger, obvious ones. These tiny spines, called glochids, detach easily when anything comes into contact with them.

Email questions on drought-resistant plants to info@ruthbancroftgarden.org.

By Heather Prince
www.thegrowingplace.com

September 12, 2013 2:36PM

The container pictured here can easily be transitioned from fall to winter, keeping the ivy and the berries and adding more greens. | Courtesy of Heather Prince

Updated: September 12, 2013 2:48PM

School has started and our schedules suddenly seem crammed. Try to take a moment to stop and savor the harvest season.

Plant a row of lettuces, radishes or spinach for a late season salad. Soon pumpkins and gourds will arrive, making delicious meals and fun decorations. Mums and asters are starting to take the stage with starry blossoms. Ornamental grasses are beginning to bloom and showcase their many pretty seedheads.

Many of our late summer prairie plants are still looking great and offering a much-needed food source for migrating butterflies and hummingbirds. Birds are migrating, too, and are looking for food and water. It can be a great time to spot warblers making their way south for the winter.

Stop and smell the last roses of the season and leave their blossoms to form rose hips for winter interest.

And get outside and take a walk in the woods to enjoy the beginnings of fall color.

Or if you’re looking for a place to enjoy some old-fashioned fall fun, check out The Growing Place in Aurora during its fall festival from Sept. 21 through 22. Enjoy crafts, seasonal foods, hayrides, live music and more.

Garden Tip is courtesy of Heather Prince, The Growing Place, 630-355-4000, www.thegrowingplace.com

Four straw bales sit in our backyard as I write this on March 22. All I see is a mound of snow with a couple of white posts and blue reflectors sticking out to mark their location.

But as soon as the snow melts, my work will begin on my second-annual straw bale garden!

I’m ready for larger yields than last year, because I’ve read a book called “Straw Bale Gardens,” by Joel Karsten, of Roseville, Minn.

The book was released in mid-March 2013, and I was given a copy to review by Cool Springs Press, part of the Quayside Publishing Group, Minneapolis.

Karsten doesn’t need my review – his book was just featured in a big article in the “New York Times,” and there are thousands of people who have expressed their interest in his new book.

I am a straw bale garden enthusiast; however, and I have learned from his book how to do several things better this year than I did in 2012.

Last year, I didn’t understand how to get the straw bales to start composting.

I basically grew my plants in a trough I made in the straw bales. I used two bags of potting soil as my growth medium.

Karsten’s book showed me how to make the straw the growth medium in 2013. By following his “recipe” for conditioning the bales, I should increase my yields significantly.

I had the opportunity to talk with Karsten on March 21 about his book and the conditioning process.

The book offers two methods for conditioning bales – one is for organic gardeners and the other uses traditional lawn fertilizers for conventional gardeners.

For organic gardeners, a bag of blood meal (dried animal blood with 12-15 percent nitrogen) or feather meal (ground up poultry feathers with 8-12 percent nitrogen) can be used.

Conventional gardeners use “cheap” lawn fertilizer – look for 20 percent fast-release nitrogen – available from the local hardware store.

Conditioning will help activate bacteria inside the bale to begin digesting the straw. It will make nitrogen and other nutrients available to the seedlings.

“We’re not turning the compost pile over, we’re not adding any vegetable peelings,” Karsten said. “We’re just adding nitrogen and water – which is really the source of food for the bacteria that are down in those bales.

“It’s really important to build up the level of concentration of bacteria before we plant.”

About 10 days to two weeks are needed to condition the bales ahead of planting.

Conditioning will include sprinkling nitrogen-rich lawn fertilizer on day one, and watering the bales.

On day two, I will water the bales again and make certain they are saturated.

Day three, I’m going to use the lawn fertilizer again and wash the fertilizer into the bale – using tepid water.

In his book, Karsten goes on to explain the steps for conditioning the bales through day 12. It involves gradually adding smaller amounts of fertilizer and then watering.

In our interview, Karsten said that bacteria would begin to reproduce. In order to do that, they need a source of food – nitrogen.

“If they have to absorb nitrogen from the air – or if it will absorb nitrogen out of the soil to feed that bacteria – it will do that, but it takes a long time,” he said. “Probably a couple of years until that bale has enough nitrogen to feed the bacteria to begin that process of decomposition.”

Feeding the bale nitrogen, on the other hand, very rapidly replicates the bacteria and builds up their populations to consume the bales.

Karsten calls the process a nitrogen sink reversal.

“When you talk about green manure, or any organic material worked into the soil – there is a period of time where it actually absorbs nitrogen out of the surrounding soil – and can starve crops that are planted in that soil for a short period of time – until it builds up a little bacteria, begins to decompose that organic material, and then reverses the process and starts to give off nitrogen back to the surroundings,” he said.

This is a process that holds true for farming too.

The other important thing I’m going to do right away is set the bales up in a straight row from north to south in the sunniest part of our lawn.

After notifying Gopher State One Call and making certain there are no underground lines, I’m going to pound at least two 7- or 8-foot tall steel fence posts into the ground on each end of the garden.

Then I’m going to run a pair of 14-gauge electric fencing wire every 10 inches between the two posts.

After planting, I’m going to use plastic that is 2-3 mil thick. I’m going to cover the bales by running the plastic through the lowest wire and tucking the ends under the straw bales to make a little green house until temperatures warm.

Planting will involve using just 1-2 inches of potting soil that I will pat down to make a nice seedbed.

“That straw is converting to become the ‘soil’ or potting mix,” he said. “It takes a little bit of time for that to happen. When you have a little bit of potting soil on the surface and the roots get into that bale, the straw will have decomposed enough where it has reversed its nitrogen sink.

“That little root is going to be able to draw nutrients. That’s a key element in terms of nutrition for most vegetable plants that are going to be annuals. They need a lot of nitrogen to produce a plant quickly.”

Karsten’s book, “Straw Bale Gardens” is available at www.strawbalegardens.com for purchase. It’s $19.99 plus $3 for shipping, and the book is also available in some bookstores.

Karsten has also set up a new and fun website to bring farmers and urban gardeners together.

At www.strawbalemarket.com, farmers can list straw bales they have to sell as well as where they live, or where they can deliver bales.

I would encourage farmers who sell straw bales to urban gardeners to charge enough for their travel and the bales.

With an increased value placed on the straw bale, the gardener is recognizing the farmer’s effort. Paying for straw bales should also result in a vested interest by a new gardener who will likely take the time to successfully raise a straw bale garden after purchasing the bales.

Create an instant account, or please log in if you have an account. Anonymous comments are enabled.

There’s still plenty of fruit still to be enjoyed from the garden: just
remember to pick it while it’s young and tender, and store it so it remains
fresh as long as possible. If you’re want to store potatoes, for example,
wait till the foliage has died completely, then dig them up and dry them.
Make sure none are diseased or damaged, then place them in the dark in paper
or a hessian sack. For onions, why not tie them to a dangling string? They
make an attractive feature and the air circulation means they’ll last for
longer.

Santana Row will have a “Safety Day” at its Mommy Me and Daddies, Too event on Sept. 10 from 10 a.m. to noon.

Members of the San Jose Fire and Police departments will be there to share safety tips. Additionally Andy Z will perform live and there will be face painting, arts and crafts and educational activities for parents and their pre-school age children.

Santana Row Shopping Center is at Stevens Creek and Winchester Boulevards.

Tagline

Your choice of lighting has a huge impact on how your home looks and feels. But how do you choose when the options include everything from retro Edison-style bulbs with glowing filaments to compact fluorescents, plus lamps and fixtures in every shape and size?

“Lamps are one of the most important factors in a room’s design,” says designer Brian Patrick Flynn of Flynnside Out Productions. Yet homeowners often give lighting less attention than they do furniture or wall colors.

Here, Flynn and designers Betsy Burnham of Burnham Design and Molly Luetkemeyer of M. Design Interiors share tips on choosing the perfect lamps, lampshades and light bulbs to achieve maximum style and function.

OVERHEAD AND EYE-LEVEL

If a room has no overhead lighting or wall sconces, these designers say it’s worth hiring an electrician to add them.

Flynn recommends using 2-inch or 4-inch recessed halogen lights overhead, rather than brighter 6-inch can lights.

“They instantly fill a room with the much-needed illumination,” he says, “but without looking tacky or heavy.”

Wall sconces also cast a flattering glow, and can serve as striking decorative pieces. Vintage (or new vintage-style) sconces are popular, says Burnham, and can be found at some flea markets. If you buy them used, “take them to a lamp shop to check all the wiring,” she says, and replace any worn parts before installing.

But don’t light a room exclusively with overhead lighting: Light from above that isn’t balanced by lamplight can be “prison-like,” Luetkemeyer says. “It casts a bunch of shadows and makes you look like a cadaver.”

Instead, create “pools of light” at different levels for a warm, layered effect, she says.

Flynn accomplishes this by choosing lamps at various heights. “It’s all a game of scale and proportion,” he says.

“If the lamps are going on a tall console table with a super long piece of art hung above it, I’m definitely going to be looking for tall, slender, maybe candlestick-style lamps. On low-to-the-ground end tables, I’m most likely going to aim for something squatty which is balanced with the proportion of the table and its nearby seating.”

GO RETRO

Edison-style bulbs have become popular, and look great in industrial or vintage light fixtures or in chandeliers. But they can cost as much as $15 per bulb and give off minimal light.

So use them “as sculptural features integrated into lighting,” Flynn says. “Since they’re offered in many shapes, they’re almost like art. The ideal place for Edison bulbs is romantic spaces that are not high-traffic. For example, a chandelier above a bed in a master suite with Edison bulbs is ideal, since the room is not task-related and is meant for being sleepy and moody.” Burnham points out that these bulbs’ popularity may not last, so it’s probably impractical to invest in too many lamps or fixtures that look good only with them.

Another vintage option is the globe light that first appeared in the 1950s. Their “milky white finish and perfectly round shape” can cast a flattering glow, Flynn says.

“I use these a lot, especially in kids’ rooms,” he says, “due to their fun shape and nostalgic appeal.” Buy plastic globes rather than glass if you’ll be hanging them in rooms where kids may be roughhousing.

Sunday Gardening Tips

updated: Sep 08, 2013, 4:07 PM

By Lisa Ann Kelly

I wanted to write to Edhatters and say that, if you plant only three new plants in your garden this
Spring—-these are the three I recommend highly.

First: Did you know we can grow blueberries in Santa Barbara now? This is my second crop off one
plant this Spring/Summer. Look how huge these berries are! You will need two plants, for cross-
pollination. I recommend the “O’Neal,” which you can get from Knapp Nursery. The berries are larger
and tastier.

Second: If you like to see little yellow birds in your garden, then plant a few Cosmos flowers from seed,
and let the flowers die off—leaving the flower seeds for the Lesser goldfinches to harvest. Goldfinches
go nuts for Cosmos seeds.

Third: Plant a few hollyhock flowers. With hollyhocks you will attract those huge black Carpenter bees,
honeybees, hummingbirds and, as an added plus, the WestCoast painted ladies (butterflies) like to use
hollyhocks as a host plant (for butterfly caterpillars).

Gardener’s note:
Plant blueberries in a 1/2 barrel. Be sure and add peat moss and cottonseed meal (get it at Island Seed
Feed, in bulk). Yum. Fresh, organic blueberries, warm off the plant. Let the fun begin!

# # # #

# # # #

# # # #

# # # #

 

10 comments on this article. Read/Add

<!–

SEARCH RELATED KEYWORDS:

* * *

NEW COOL EDHAT FEATURE
Click a keyword below to see related photos

picTags

–>

# # # #

 

DERBY — Garden author, lecturer and instructor Colleen Plimpton will speak at 6:30 p.m. Monday, September 16, at the Derby Library, 313 Elizabeth St.

Good Night My Garden is a show-and-tell using visuals of tools and equipment used to put gardens to bed.

Ms. Plimpton will discuss bulb planting, what to leave up and what to cut down, composting, lawn care and bird feeding.

Ms. Plimpton’s award-winning, one-acre ornamental garden has been on numerous tours and serves as a living classroom laboratory where she teaches composition, color, composting and other gardening how-to’s.

She also runs a garden coaching business, teaches gardening at the New York Botanical Garden and works with numerous local garden clubs and non-profit groups.

This program is free and open to the public although registration is requested.

Those seeking registration or additional information may call 203-736-1418 or visit www.derbypubliclibrary.org.