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OKC Beautiful’s Gardening Tip of the Month: Azaleas

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Gardening Tips: March garden questions, answers

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Posted: Friday, March 14, 2014 11:22 am

Gardening Tips: March garden questions, answers

By Matthew Stevens

The Daily Herald, Roanoke Rapids, NC

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With the time change and spring officially starting March 21, gardening season is nearly here and it’s a good time for a quick recap of questions I’ve been hearing a lot about the past few days.

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Friday, March 14, 2014 11:22 am.

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Garden Tips: Try some new veggie varieties

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Advertisers often use the words “new,” “improved” or “better” to tempt consumers. Plant marketers are no different. They want us to buy new varieties developed by plant breeders and seed companies. It is a good approach because most of the gardeners I know like to try something different in their gardens each year. It is part of what makes gardening so much fun. Here are some new veggie and herb varieties you might want to know about.

Burpee (burpee.com) has an exclusive basil introduction that has me excited. Basil is my favorite herb but by the middle of the season it starts to flower. I then work endlessly to keep the flowers pinched off. “Bam” is touted as a basil that reaches a height of 18 to 20 inches and is very productive, flavorful and fragrant. The great thing about “Bam” is that it never flowers and it keeps producing in hot weather.

Mascotte (www.parkseed) is a new bush bean variety that is so good it has been honored with the All America Selection award for 2014 — the first bean since 1991 to receive that honor. What makes this bush bean so great? First, it is a compact variety, which makes it ideal for the trend toward gardening with less space in raised beds and containers. The plants also produce plenty of long slender pods above the leaves, making harvesting easy. The beans are crunchy with a great taste.

Fans of beets (I’m not) will want to know that there are two new varieties to pique their interest. One is a red “Baby Beat” from Johnny’s Selected Seeds (www.johnnyseeds.com). The National Garden Bureau says “Baby Beat” is a true baby or mini beet that’s nicely rounded with smooth skin. The beet tops are small and attractive, which could make them a nice addition to an edible landscape or a container garden. The other new beet is “Boldor” (www.territorialseed.com) with sweet, mild, 2-inch round fruit. The flesh is a bright yellow and the skin is a dark golden color. The young tops are tender and sweet.

I do not eat a lot of eggplant, but after eating some spicy baba ganoush (sort of like humus made from grilled eggplant) last year, I’ll probably eat more this year. A new All American Selection is “Eggplant Patio Baby F1” (www.jungseed.com). As its name implies, it is a compact eggplant that will work well in containers. The plants are highly productive and yields 2- to 3-inch, deep purple, egg-shaped fruit. Plus, it is a “friendly” eggplant that does not have thorns on its leaves or at the top of the fruit.

I grow most of my veggies in containers, so I am always watching for space-saving bush varieties of squash, melons and cukes. While not brand new, here are a few varieties that space conscious gardeners might want to know about. From Renee’s Garden Seeds (reneesgarden.com) comes “Bush Slicer”, a dwarf bush cucumber with 6- to 8-inch fruit, “Astia”, a compact zucchini, and two bush winter squash. “Pic-N-Pic”, a bush yellow crookneck squash, comes from Burpee.

You might find some of the varieties I have mentioned on seed racks at your local garden stores, along with other interesting varieties that may entice you, or you can order them online from the companies noted. The weather is warming, so get your seed as soon as possible and don’t forget to try something new.

— Marianne C. Ophardt is a horticulturist for Washington State University Benton County Extension.

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Autumn in the garden

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Picture: Guru Productions October Glory.

The changing of the season with deciduous trees is seen by some as a time of great beauty; for others it’s a messy time in the garden. Then there are those who see it as a window of opportunity.

Deciduous trees make fantastic additions to the garden and in recent years there have been some real stand-out varieties making their mark in WA.

The surprise package of the lot for me would be the sugar-red maple hybrid Acer x freemanii, Autumn Blaze, and the red maple Acer rubrum PNI 0268, October Glory. These two trees have proven to grow exceptionally well in Perth and the South West and as trees mature the autumn colour show they put on is simply dazzling.

I have marvelled at the golden hues initially put on by my three and four-year-old trees before they turn crimson red and eventually drop their foliage in a sea of colour.

This bed of colour is the window of opportunity for people who want to improve the quality of their soil; effectively these leaves are the gold that those who see these trees as messy can’t see. When collected and composted, either formally through a bin or informally through large piles in garden beds allowed to compost down, they make amazing high- quality compost that is home to trillions of microbes.

Deciduous trees come in many shapes and forms. Among my favourites is the beautiful Forest Pansy Cercis, with its amazing autumn coppery foliage, red spring foliage, pink late winter/early spring flowers and 4-5m maximum-height growth habit.

Another is the gorgeous Chinese tallow tree, with its golden but sometimes crimson foliage set atop a 4m-high tree which colours up in coastal locations and warmer climates and is relatively drought tolerant.

One recent introduction from Olea Nursery, in WA’s South West is Alford Blaze Platanus orientalis.

This variety of plane tree has thick, leathery, deep-green leaves which transform into the most amazing, fiery autumn colouring in shades of deep orange, bronze and red. Its colouration is not determined by cold as such so the colour is something you can rely on each year. The stunning display continues for a long period over autumn and into early winter when other plane trees are either still green or turning to the usual brownish, gold shades. Best of all, this tree is a third of the physical size of the traditional oriental plane tree, making it ideal for medium-sized gardens.

The important thing now is to identify what trees you like, secure them early from your local nursery and get the soil ready to plant as soon as they go dormant.

Autumn lawn tips

Autumn is also lawn-renovation time, either getting it back on track or in some cases replacing it altogether.

Lawn renovation is always a contentious issue, particularly whether to vertimow or core.

Vertimowing or dethatching involves blades ripping into the surface of the lawn, which works well for rhizomatous grasses such as couch, Zoysia grass and kikuyu.

The problem with this form of renovation is the stoloniferous buffalo grass, which does get heavily thatched if it’s fed high nitrogen-based lawn fertilisers. Buffalo grass varieties are, in my opinion, best cored and top-dressed with organic humus such as that made by local company NutraRich, which produces a specialised product, Turf Topper, a soil improver and organic fertiliser in one.

Vertimowing followed by top-dressing can produce amazing results in old couch lawns.

Now is also when you need to take action to avoid prickles, weeds and patches in your grass.

Having lawn sprayed with a pre-emergent herbicide will knock weed seeds out before they smother your slow-growing winter lawn.

Top-dressing with a purpose-designed, humus-based lawn top-dressing will improve the soil’s health, the turf’s growth and cover patches before weeds can germinate and get hold as the weather cools.

Time to repot

Another major task to tackle at this time of the year is repotting, something many forget is important — particularly if you haven’t done it for a couple of years.

The average potting mix will sustain a potted plant for 12-18 months but after that it’s pretty much sand and roots. At this point applying fertilisers is critical or the plant will sink into decline.

The classic indication of a plant ready for repotting is when they lose density of foliage as the soil can no longer sustain the amount of foliage, leaving them looking haggard and tired.

The main decision is what soil to replace them with. I’ve noticed a trend recently for some retailers to promote cheap potting mixes.

Quality potting mixture is the foundation of success in the garden and they are developed using a tremendous amount of science. Understanding the plant’s roots, air needs, the moisture-holding capacity of ingredients, drainage capacity and the nutrient levels required to sustain the plant’s growth over a six to 12-month period are all criteria used to determine optimum results, so seeing cheap mixes gets on my nerves.

Always look for a quality potting mix. If a product bears the Australian Standards red box, and costs more than $10 for a 30 litre bag, you’re likely getting a quality mixture.

Companies such as Scotts and Baileys provide quality potting mixes, originally developed in commercial nurseries who cannot afford failures.

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Free Mulch & Gardening Tips This Weekend

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21 hours 56 seconds ago by Janine Reyes

CORPUS CHRISTI — If you have plans to spruce up your garden this spring, you’re chance for free mulch is right around the corner at the City of Corpus Christi’s Mulch Madness event.

The event will feature tips from the pros on your planting woes. They will also share water conservation tips, and of course, free mulch. Mulch can help save water, it also keeps weeds away and decreases erosion and improves soil drainage. Mulch will also protect your lawn from hot and cold temperatures.

The event is free and open to the public. Organizers just ask that you bring a tarp to cover the mulch.

You can head out to the Citizens Collection Center at the JC Elliott Transfer Station on 7001 Ayers this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the event.

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UT Gardens offers March gardening tips

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Posted: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 10:13 am

UT Gardens offers March gardening tips

RANSON GOODMAN

Parispi.net

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The following article was written by Jason Reeves, horticulturist and curator at the University of Tennessee Gardens in Jackson.


 

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Wednesday, March 12, 2014 10:13 am.

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Springtime gardening tips – Appeal

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Blooming

Associated Press

Blooming



Posted: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 12:05 am

Springtime gardening tips

Associated Press |

Veteran bulb growers have learned to put patience ahead of pruning in helping their perennials bloom season after season. They’re in no rush to remove the unsightly leaves and stems of these botanical storehouses, which need time after flowering to renew their growth cycle.


“We consider the foliage of the bulbs the ‘recharging batteries’,” said Becky Heath, president and chief executive officer of Brent and Becky’s Bulbs at Gloucester, Va. “If they aren’t recharged, the flowers won’t bloom again.”

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Wednesday, March 12, 2014 12:05 am.

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From vegetables to hops, local gardeners share desert planting tips – Las Vegas Review

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Urban gardeners who are new to the valley quickly learn that Las Vegas enjoys mild winters, making it possible to grow plants year-round. Mid- to late March are good times for plants such as artichokes, asparagus, beets, parsley, parsnips, radishes, spinach and turnips.

They also learn that plants don’t like our soil. Key to the process is mulch. For soil amendment advice and to learn locations offering free mulch, contact the Springs Preserve, 333 S. Valley View Blvd., at 702-822-7700. The University of Nevada Cooperative Extension is another source for planting advice. To reach its Master Gardener Help Desk, call 702-257-5555.

View visited a number of Master Gardeners to learn how they tamed the desert to grow a plethora of plants.

Valerie Godino’s Summerlin backyard is filled with plants of all types, including flowers and vegetables — peas, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, lettuce — and herbs such as chives and parsley.

“Yes, you can have a botanical garden in Southern Nevada,” Godino said, spreading her arms in a “voila” gesture.

She previously lived in Ohio and Colorado, where growing things was as easy as tossing a seed into the ground.

“I always loved to garden. Then I moved here, and I went, ‘What?’ “she said. “ … We have really bad soil here, really bad. Why? Because where we’re standing, this used to be an ocean.”

To bypass the alkaline-infused ground, she uses raised beds. She bought tons of “cheapy-cheap fill” and treated it with compost to fill them. Anything she planted soon started growing. A secondary benefit of raised beds was they’re easy on her back.

Grapes can handle the heat but must be cut back after they fruit to maintain their heartiness. Godino grows them to fill a wood frame on the sunny side of her house. The grape plants look pretty, cool her patio and keep her electric bill down, she said.

Michelle Miller dabbled in gardening for approximately 20 years in Summerlin while she and her husband raised a family. She chose trees — two apple varieties and a pear — to begin, and the whole family enjoyed the resulting fruit.

“Trees are easy … and I was a lazy gardener,” she said.

But Miller got serious about gardening three years ago when she became an empty nester and could indulge her hobby. She attended a session with the late horticulturist Linn Mills at the Springs Preserve after reading his Las Vegas Review-Journal advice column for a long time.

“I still had newspaper clippings (of his) from ‘92 when we moved here,” she said. “I started really small, with things like zucchini.”

Small tomato varieties such as cherry, plum, grape and yellow pear are great for first-timers and often bring success, she said. Miller fills her gardens with various vegetables and herbs. Her favorite, cilantro, goes into her homemade salsa.

She said vegetable plants also can be aesthetically pleasing.

“You can have really beautiful vegetable plants. Lettuces are pretty and some cabbages, too,” Miller said. “You can plant them in the front yard, and people won’t realize it’s a lettuce, it’s so pretty.”

Now residents of Desert Shores, the Millers are renting, and their landlord specified no changes to the landscape. Undeterred, she’s into container gardening now.

Diane Rowe’s family had a long history of growing and nurturing plants. One of her ancestors was Luther Burbank, a horticulturist who pioneered tree grafting and rotating crops in the 1800s. Her parents had fruit trees, and they gave her free rein with the front yard when she was a child. Later, she and her husband owned an 80-acre walnut orchard in California.

“Trees have always kind of been my thing,” she said. “I like to go out and pick and eat.”

But growing up in California meant Rowe took the weather for granted.

“After I moved here, I killed a lot of plants because of the heat,” she said.

Her northwest Las Vegas home has a backyard with an area for gardening and another filled with various trees — apple, plum, apricot — and “volunteer” plants, ones that just start growing and surprise her once they mature. She said she thinks they’re nectarines or peach trees. Time eventually will tell.

She uses paint to protect them from insects. After Rowe painted a bedroom purple, she slathered it on the bottom of her trees.

“It keeps the borers out,” she said. “The trees will get sunburned, and they blister like people. The borers (insects) will go in and eat, and they end up killing the tree. So, I had leftover purple paint. I mixed it so it’s half paint and half water.”

While hiking in Northern California, she brought home a sprig from a fig tree and planted it in her garden. Guess who now has figs for baking.

Joann Reckling has been gardening all her life. Her backyard has five raised beds, a number she is doubling for spring gardening. Currently she has artichokes, fennel, onions and broccoli growing.

This past season, she added hops from which she made beer.

“My son does home brewing, so I thought, ‘Why not?’ ” she said.

Hop vines grow from a rhizome, a piece taken from a mature plant. The rhizome is planted in the ground in the late spring.

Hops can reach 25 feet high. Reckling strung them up to the surrounding trees, and hers reached about 12 feet in height. Her hops crop will be ready for harvesting in late fall.

Reckling and her son, Chase, harvested them in early November and took them to the beer festival at Village Square, 9400 W. Sahara Ave.

“We walked around to all the booths and talked to over 10 local brew masters,” she said. “They all loved the smell and look of our hops and were really excited to hear that hops would grow in Las Vegas. Several of them told me that they would purchase whatever I grow so that they can make a custom batch of their brew and call it ‘local.’ Exciting things.”

Contact Summerlin/Summerlin South View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 702-387-2949.

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Expert digs up tips for all-weather gardening

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MASON CITY | Being a weather-resistant — or all-weather — gardener is a skill worth cultivating in North Iowa, attendees at a gardening workshop were told Sunday at the Home and Landscaping Show.

“It’s what to do when Mother Nature doesn’t play well with others,” said John Sjolinder, a gardener and executive director of Iowa State University Extension and Outreach in Cerro Gordo County.

To help plants survive in cases of extreme wet weather or drought, both of which occurred during the 2013 growing season, Sjolinder suggested it’s always wise to diversify.

“And just get used to the idea that some of your plants aren’t going to make it,” he said.

The weather is what it is.

“But we as gardeners can take a much more active approach to planting,” Sjolinder said. “We can be smarter about our plants and what they need and how and where to plant them.”

Choosing plants native to the Upper Midwest is always wise.

Beyond that, talking with successful gardeners is always helpful, especially if their land is similar to yours.

” ‘Steal’ plants from your neighbors,” Sjolinder said. “Get tips from people that have been successful.”

Sjolinder also recommended being realistic about plant hardiness.

Although the growing zones are shifting north, borderline plants for our area do not tend to do well, he said.

Plants hardy to Zone 4 will be most reliable.

Container gardens offer flexibility by being easy to move from one location to another.

In a discussion that included much science background relating to what plants need to survive, Sjolinder explained how some plants do better than others in extreme dry or wet conditions.

Plants that do well in sun, for example, tend to have small, thick leaves. They don’t lose moisture during the day, Sjolinder said.

If a plant does not survive, remember that trial and error is a part of the learning process.

“Killing plants is not a bad thing,” Sjolinder said. “It’s a way to find out what works and what doesn’t.”

There can be enough success to plant again next year.

Bob and Sally Becker of Mason City were among the gardeners who attended the session to pick up a few pointers.

Last year, they had some ornamental plants that wilted in the drought and didn’t come back, said Sally.

“I think we really have a better idea of what to do this year so we don’t have the same problems,” she said afterward.

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“Tips On How to Plan a Garden”, New Article On Vkool.Com, Teaches People …

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how to plan a garden review

how to plan a garden

The article introduces to people simple yet unique tips on how to plan a garden that allow them to become a professional gardener.

Seattle, WA (PRWEB) March 08, 2014

The new “Tips On How to Plan a Garden” report on the website Vkool.com delivers innovative tips to plan garden effectively. At the beginning of the report, people will get to know basic rules to plan a garden. The author reveals to people tips on planning their foundation plantings. Foundation plantings are the small trees and shrubs planted around the perimeter of the house. People should choose trees and shrubs that will look good year-round. Moreover, they should also avoid competing elements that detract from the main entrance and the house in general. Besides, the author also indicates that tall plantings placed at the corners of the house can soften its edges and tie in into the landscape. They could also give an illusion of extending a small house, making it appear larger.

After that, the article points out that trees and shrubs shelter wildlife and filter the air by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. There are different shrubs to choose from. Gardeners should measure their shrub’s root-ball and dig a hole as deep as the root-ball and twice as wide. Like trees, shrubs are classified as either evergreen or deciduous. Next, in the report, people will discover that ground covers require less maintenance than a lawn. Therefore, they should use these plants in areas that get little traffic. In warm areas, ground covers could be planted basically any time. However, spring and fall are the ideal. In colder areas, spring is the good time to plant ground covers as fall plantings are likely to have a hard time surviving alternate thawing and freezing of the soil. Actually, different ground covers have different cultural requirements as well as growth habits. This report also uncovers some easy-to-grow ground covers, such as bugleweed, kinnikinnick, juniper, wintercreeper, and juniper. In addition, readers will discover many vegetable garden growing tips. The writer advises readers that they should keep cutworms away from seedlings. In fact, moth caterpillars often creep along the soil surface, eating tender stem bases of young seedlings and cutting sprouts off at the roots. After the “Tips On How to Plan a Garden” report was launched, a lot of people can improve their understanding about gardening issues quickly.

Mai Pham from the site Vkool.com says that: “The “Tips On How to Plan a Garden” report is actually helpful and includes various techniques and ideas on how to plan a garden easily. Additionally, the tips delivered in this post are easy-to-apply for most people.”

For more information from the whole “Tips On How to Plan a Garden” report, visit the website: http://vkool.com/how-to-plan-a-garden/.

_____________

About the website: Vkool.com is the site built by Tony Nguyen. The site supplies people with ways and tips about a variety of topics, such as fitness, health, business, and lifestyle. People can send their ideas to Tony Nguyen on any article through email.

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