The event will be fun for the whole family said Patrice Smerdu with the Carlsbad Community Garden.

“We’re having demos by the people who manufacture Netafim, a drip irrigation system that is terrific, also demos by The Conscious Cook, Floral Design by Darlene and the Solana Center. There will be free samples of fertilizer as well as vegetable seedlings and a surprise gift that will be given away. Carlsbad Girl Scout Troop 1157 will be hosting scavenger hunts for kids to complete work on the Bronze Award,” added Smerdu.

For more information, see the picture above.

Photos from The Express-Times

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Posted: Friday, April 19, 2013 11:38 am

Gardening Tips: Gardening in the Southwest

By Matthew Stevens

RR Daily Herald

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Every time I travel, I like to take note of the native plant life and landscaping and compare it to what I am used to at home.

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Friday, April 19, 2013 11:38 am.

By JENNIFER DAVIT

April 19, 2013 4:08PM

Jennifer Davit

Updated: April 19, 2013 4:08PM

Chicago’s front yard: How could someone’s “office” get any better than this? As director of the Lurie Garden in Millennium Park, sometimes I forget I’m just steps off Michigan Avenue, in this serene respite of plants, flowers and wildlife.

As the weather warms and the days are longer, the garden is filling fast with flowers and people — tourists from all over the world, Chicagoans who come here on their lunch break, young campers from the Chicago Park District and our own committed group of volunteers, who help with hands-on gardening and lead public garden tours.

Visitors often ask us how they can replicate elements of the Lurie Garden in their own home gardens. As we transition to planting season and think about how to incorporate the philosophies of Earth Day throughout the year, we love sharing that advice — it means the continual growth of beautiful, sustainable gardens.

• Replace annuals with perennials. We grow many perennials that are native to prairies and require little water and no fertilizer.

• Don’t overfertilize. Perennials in our garden are chosen for their durability and successful growth over time. They typically don’t need supplemental nutrients through conventional fertilizers — some will actually perform poorer if they are fertilized, especially with liquid formulations. Only fertilize if the plant is showing signs of nutrient deficiencies.

• Think beyond color: When choosing perennial plants and grasses, consider textures, movement, sound and scents. For example, the combinations of prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis) and Eastern bee balm (Monarda bradburiana) provide excellent textural diversity throughout the year.

• Attract wildlife. Choose plants, such as calamint, that provide nectar and pollen to attract and feed wildlife. We don’t use any chemicals in our garden, making it the perfect place for animals to enjoy a meal or seek some shelter.

• Say no to insecticides. If you learn to tolerate a little plant damage, you will help welcome a healthy insect population to your garden. You’ll be amazed at the number of dragonflies that come to eat your mosquitoes, the number of bees that will collect pollen and nectar from your plants, and the variety of butterflies that will make your garden their home.

• Don’t forget winter: Instead of cutting back perennials in fall, leave them up through winter and cut them back in late winter, before early spring bulbs start to grow. This will enable you to enjoy your garden despite the cold and provide a home for wildlife year-round.

If you have other gardening questions, feel free to stop by and see us or sign up at Luriegarden.org for one of our many free lectures and workshops, offered year-round. Happy Earth Day, and happy gardening season to all!

Over the last couple of weeks, people have talked with me about the cool-season vegetables they have been planting, many of which can still be planted. This is especially true if those crops don’t take long to mature.

Cool- and warm-season plants

Should hot weather arrive too quickly, many cool-season crops that are planted too late won’t mature well. Also, there are always those people who “roll the dice” and plant warm-season crops such as tomatoes as soon as the air temperatures warm up. Hopefully, they covered all those warm-season plants last week when we experienced those freezing temperatures.

Generally, our last average temperature of 32 degrees Farenheit occurs around April 15, but that changes a day or two back and forth since it’s a 30-year average. As such, with warm-season vegetables, I rarely would consider planting them before the middle of April, and usually not for a week or two after since the soil temperatures are as important as the air temperatures for good growth. Warm-season plants are just that – they love the warm soil and air temperatures.

While I know people want to have that first ripe red tomato before their neighbors if you truly understand your plant’s needs as relates to soils and fertility, and you practice good watering habits, you can plant a tomato plant in the latter part of April through the very first of May, and often your plant’s growth, since you planted them at prime conditions, will catch up to those that were planted early. If you are someone who buys their plants from nurseries, I know the nurseries love those early planters since they will often be back buying new plants when those early plantings don’t survive.

Lawn care

This time of year I also always get questions about lawn grass – whether it’s putting in new grass or fertilizing. Now is a good time to fertilize, but as I have said before, always be careful with the amount of fertilizing you do for any plants. While many companies and salespeople will strongly suggest you use a specific system of fertilizing and/or say you need to fertilize often, it’s rarely truly necessary.

At most, for a spring fertilization use one pound of actual nitrogen per 1,000 square feet this month or by early next month, then another one-pound application in September and another the last time you cut your grass in the fall. That is more than enough. You do need to determine what an actual pound of fertilizer is for the product you use. For example, one pound of actual nitrogen using a 21-0-0 fertilizer actually amounts to about five pounds of the product. Assuming you water correctly and your soil isn’t too compacted this fertilization schedule will result in good grass growth.

Also it’s important that we all understand that over-fertilizing is becoming a problem across our country. We want to be careful with our environment and resources.

All that being said, if your lawn is very old (say 15 to 20-plus years) your grass often won’t grow well by just fertilizing and watering. Or perhaps I should say without the overuse of resources, due to issues such as compaction. So if your lawn is older and nothing seems to work you really need to consider starting over by tilling or plowing and planting in the fall. Also be aware that rarely will just removing the old grass and laying sod improve the situation.

Thought for the day: “I have never had so many good ideas day after day as when I worked in the garden.” —John Erskine

For more information about these topics, call the Utah State University Extension Grand County office at 259-7558, or email Mike Johnson at mike.johnson@usu.edu.

By: Jenn Schanz
jschanz@klkntv.com

It’s almost may, but dismal winter weather has many shying away from grabbing their gardening gloves.

Andy Campbell of Campbell’s nursery urges reluctant gardeners to prep their gardens by trimming and mulching while we wait for spring to arrive.

“It’s a great time to prep for spring, get everything set,” he says. “Tilling up those gardens, compost and peat moss into those areas, plenty of perfect time to do that, and plenty of time to do it before…before spring really actually shows up on things.”

Campbell says planting cool season crops, pansies, trees or shrubs is a safe bet even in this weather. By mother’s day, the ground should be safe for all seeds, including perennials.

“I keep telling people that mother nature will arrive, she will bring spring to us, she just hasn’t done it quite yet,” he says.

If you’ve already put some grass seed down on your lawn, Campbell says be patient.

Until it gets warmer, that seed isn’t going to do much.  

 

The RSPB is advising wild life watchers on how to help take care of some of our most endangered garden birds.

The results from the annual Big Garden Birdwatch survey 2013 show numbers of house sparrows, starlings and song thrushes have fallen.

Now the RSPB is advising how to manage gardens to support them.

The author of RSPB Gardening for Wildlife, Adrian Thomas, said: “Gardens can offer a real lifeline for wildlife. 

“Just doing a few simple things in our gardens can mean they provide food, shelter and nesting spaces for birds, which are most vital for the species that are struggling.”

Here Adrian gives his tips on helping the struggling species.

House sparrow:

Try leaving some areas of grass to grow long. You can still give it neat edges and make a design feature of it, but crucially this will allow certain insects to thrive and the grasses to set seed. Or why not plant deciduous shrubs where are likely to gather for a good natter? They love a vegetable patch too.

Starling:

In summer starlings seek out insects such as beetles, flies, flying ants and worms, and especially leatherjackets, so gardens with a lawn will help. In autumn they love fruit like elderberries, so try planting an elder tree. 

You could also put up a starling nestbox high up on the shady side of a house, which is a large box at least 25cm deep with a 45mm round hole.

Song thrush:

Plant berry-bearing bushes and try to avoid sweeping up all the leaf litter as they’ll hop around in it, flicking over leaves to find food. 

They like moist and shady areas, and will really benefit from a garden full of worms and snails, so keep up the mulches in your flower beds, which will help you control weeds too.

       

As days get longer and the weather gets warmer it’s time to start thinking about how to get your garden into the best shape.

But for those who don’t have time to trim their lawns or prune their roses the Association of Professional Landscapers (APL) has published some advice on how to find the right professional to take care of your garden.

Tips include:

• Ask around and get recommendations from friends, neighbours, colleagues or family. This is often the easiest and safest way to find a good landscaper.
• Always get written quotes and if you cannot find a recommended landscaper then it would be advisable to get two or more quotes.
• When comparing the written quotes, make sure that you are comparing like for like and ask for a breakdown to ensure that everything you want is covered. 
• Always use a written contract for your project as it offers you protection if anything does go wrong and always agree in writing any changes to the original cost that occurs during the work.
• Ask the landscaper for an example of a recent local job and go and have a look at it before making a decision. Don’t just look at the quality of the work, have a chat with the householder and see whether the job was done within budget.
• Make sure the landscaper has adequate public liability insurance to protect your property in case of damage (all APL members must have this as a condition of membership).
• Check out who will actually be doing the work. Does the landscaper sub contract?

Back Pain Free Gardening

For National Gardening Week Hertfordshire Chiropractor Chris Pickard has ‘dug out’ some top tips and exercises for pain free gardening

(Newswire.net – April 13, 2013) Potters Bar, Hertfordshire — Gardening can provide a great workout, but more often than not it consists of prolonged poor posture, broken up with awkward bending, twisting, reaching and pulling.

The back, upper legs, shoulders, and wrists are all the major muscle groups affected when using your green thumb. By performing the following simple stretches before undertaking any garden task will help prevent injuries, pain and stiffness.

Pre Gardening Exercises

o Before stretching, there are a few tips to keep in mind. Breathe in and out slowly throughout each stretching exercise until the muscle is stretched to its furthest point. At that point, hold your breath in. When you relax, breathe out. Stretch gently and smoothly. Do not bounce or jerk your body in any way and stretch as far as you can comfortably. You should not feel pain.

o Stand up and prop your heel on a back door step or stool with your knee slightly bent. Bend forward until you feel a slight pull at the back of the thigh, called the hamstring. You may need to stabilize yourself by holding onto a garage door handle or sturdy tree branch. Hold the position for 20 seconds, then relax. Do it once more, then repeat with the other leg.

o Stand up and put your right hand against a wall or other stable surface. Bend your left knee and grab your ankle with your left hand. Pull your heel toward your buttocks to stretch the quadriceps muscle at the front of your thigh. Hold that position for 20 seconds, relax and do it again. Repeat with the other leg.

o Weave your fingers together above your head with your palms up. Lean to one side for 10 seconds to stretch the side of your upper body, then reverse. Repeat two or three times.

o “Hug your best friend”: Wrap your arms around yourself after letting your breath out and rotate to one side, as far as you can go. Hold it for 10 seconds. Then reverse. Repeat two or three times.

For the rest of this article and more gardening exercises go here: Gardening Exercises

 

Further Information

Name: The Pain Relief Centre
Address:

9 Bradmore Green, Brookmans Park, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Al9 7QW

Phone: 01707 662 704
Email: BP@thepainreliefcentres.co.uk
Website: http://www.thepainreliefcentres.co.uk

 

Media Contact Name: Chris Pickard (Director)