All things green

This year we have been fortunate to have a nice cool spring with a gradual warm up ( if you don’t count today).

One of the nice things about a cool spring, like the one we have experienced this year, is the way all of the spring flowers have lasted and lasted.

Remember all of those bulbs that were planted last fall?  (How We Plant Bulbs) Well, this year we really got to enjoy them. Last year the tulips were exposed to some unseasonably warm temperatures and only flowered for about three days. It took us longer to plant them than that!

Contrast that with this year’s flower display. Here is a photo of part of our bulbs. They are at about 80% blooming when this photo was taken.

These are tulips in the upper beds with Grape Hyacinths in the fore-ground.

A close up shot of those Grape Hyacinths.

Now you know what to say the next time a non-gardener complains about a cool spring!

Bob

Finally it feels like spring! I don’t mind this slightly cool weather. I seem to be able to work longer. Heat in the early spring is too much for me. So this is ideal for me to get my big pots planted that I put out on the extensive terrace that we have at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens.

The pots range in size from 2-3 gallons up to big square pots that are 2 ft sqaure by 2 1/2 ft. tall. I use more than 30 pots all together.

I’m using different soilless mixes this year. I can’t stress how important that is for growing plants in pots. Soilless mixes work so much better because real soil tends to compact too much in pots. Soilless mixes stay looser so roots have an easier time growing, get more air plus the peat moss and shredded bark in the mix holds moisture very well.

We are opting to use mixes with less peat moss and more shredded bark. The bark is a renewable crop while peat moss is being mined faster than it is be produced. Because it takes even longer than growing trees!

So I am using Metro Mix 380 and also Farard 52 mix. I’ll let you know the results at the end of the summer. I have the pots marked, as to which pot has which soil and I will compare how well they grow. I think I will have to fertilize differently but don’t know for sure yet. I will investigate the fertilizer requirements for the soilless mixes, and I’ll let you know

I usually fertilize every two to three weeks with a soluble fertilizer like Peterson’s or Miracle Grow. Don’t use fertilizer made for lawns. It has too much nitrogen and your plants will get to tall and floppy and more inviting to insect attack. I also use time released fertilizer pellets when I first plant. But don’t expect the timed released fertilizer to last all summer. It breaks down very rapidly when temperature are above 70 degrees.

Fertilizing that often , gives me great results. My coleus and cannas cause a lot of “oohs and ahs” when people see them. The coleus gets two and a half feet tall and nice and bushy and the cannas get 6 -7 ft tall in pots!

We could still get another frost so I won’t put anything out yet. I keep mine in the greenhouse but you could keep yours in a garage by a window or in the house by a window. If they are small enough and you have the energy put them out in partial sunlight on nice days but don’t forget to bring them in at night. You could start a number of plants in smaller pots to give them a head start and then transfer them to your biggest pots when you are ready to put them out. This year it doesn’t even look like I will put them out for Memorial day! It is still too cool at night.

So we may have to wait to enjoy our summer flowers but have you noticed that the spring flowers like daffodils and wild geranium and tulips are lasting longer this spring. One flower’s loss is another flower’s gain!

Bye for now, Judy

The warmth of May along with our spring rain is waking up the asparagus.

We picked some last week in one of the asparagus beds. That bed is in a protected area on a southern slope so it always comes up quicker than the other bed which is in a damp area on a slight northern slope.  There are no signs of life yet in that second bed.

There seems to be some argument on the proper method of harvesting asparagus. One camp argues that you simply snap off the asparagus spear with your bare hand.  The other group favors cutting the spear with a knife.

Actually, both methods are correct. In a small home garden, simply breaking the spear off at the soil line works just fine. The small stub left behind usually dries up and disappears.

Farmers who grow asparagus to sell, always use a knife of some sort.  The most common tool used resembles a dandelion weeder.  The knife is used to carefully cut the spear just below the soil line.

If you opt for the knife method, be careful not to cut too deeply, as there is a chance you will damage nearby buds.  It is these buds from which the asparagus spear grows.

The ideal time  to cut an asparagus spear is when it reaches about 6 to 8 inches or so in length.

It is always a good idea to cut all growth from the asparagus bed once you start harvesting.  If a spear is left to grow, the Asparagus Beetle will lay eggs on it.  These beetles hatch and grow very quickly and can do a lot of damage to tender young asparagus spears later in the season.

Whatever you do, don’t be tempted to cut off the tip of the spear and leave the remaining stalk still attached to the root.

Keep harvesting asparagus until the spears start to get smaller, the diameter of a pencil or so.  Then let them grow from that point so they can replenish their roots for next year’s crop.

Now, here is a box of asparagus we harvested this week.

They are really too long for the entire spear to be usable. The base of the spears are tough and stringy.  To correct this problem, simply grab the asparagus near the bottom 1/3 and break it off.  The spear will break just above the stringy part, so there is no guessing on where to cut it. Toss the lower tough part into your compost bin.

The fact that you can harvest a crop from your garden so early in the spring makes this one of my favorite vegetables to grow.

Bob

There’s only 4 weeks left until Memorial Day! And yet they are forecasting snow showers for Monday and Tuesday!

My tomato seedlings are up and 3″ tall already. Pepper’s are up, too. I’m lucky to have a heated bench at the greenhouse. That speeds germination along . It makes such a difference. But a heating mat at home would do as well. Johnny’s Select Seeds and Seeds of Change both carry heating mats in their catalogs. You’ll want to keep that in mind for next year. Though who knows we may have a late cold spring.

If you started tomatoes and peppers right now, they should be big enough by the 2nd week of June. Which the way we’re going this year may be just the right time to put them out. If you put tomatoes and pepers out and they get chilled , it can stall their growth. Wait till the nights stay above 50 degrees. Unless you have protection that will keep the soil’s heat in.

For the past 16 years I have only used “soilless” potting mix for starting seeds and potting up my seedlings. so I’ve never had to worry about “damping off”, a disease that causes the stems of brand new seedlings to collapse and the plant to die. If you use garden soil or potting mix with real soil in it, (unless its been totally sterilized) you will be taking the chance that the “damping off ” disease organism is there in the soil and may infect your seedlings.

Once your seeds have germinated they need as much sunlight as you can give them in the house. Other wise they will get long and weak stems.

Don’t keep your seedlings too moist. Let the very top of your soil look a little dry before you water again.

If you notice little black “flies” coming off your soil around your seedlings (or any other houseplant for that matter), they you are keeping your soil too wet. Those are fungus gnats. If the infestation gets too severe it will stunt your seedlings because the larvae of the fungus gnat is a grub in the soil that may chew on your seedlings roots.

With 4 weeks to go till Memorial Day, it’s time to start seeds like annual coreopsis, cleome, zinnia, marigolds 4 O’Clocks, nasturtium and annual phlox.

During last weeks warm spell it was probably tempting to buy some annuals at the garden centers. If you did, keep those plants away from the frost. It’s forecasted to go down to 34 degrees Monday night.

Bye for now. Happy growing! Judy

2008 has been declared International Year of the Potato by the United Nations. It almost sounds like a humorous punch line should follow that statement. However, it’s true, the once lowly potato has finally received the recognition it deserves.

Contrary to popular belief, potatoes originated in the Americas, not in Ireland. Native South American Indians were raising the delicious tuber for centuries before the Europeans discovered how versatile they are.

They were actually brought to Europe by the Spanish explorers during the mid-1500’s. The Spaniards were looking for gold, but, I would argue that this single discovery is more valuable to the human race than any amount of gold could be. After all you can’t eat gold. It looks like the United Nations agrees with me.

It wasn’t until the 1770’s that potatoes gained widespread acceptance. Thomas Jefferson was a big fan of the new crop, he even served french fries at state diners during his term as president,

Historically, we all remember being taught about the most infamous event involving potatoes. It was the Potato Famine that occurred in Europe from 1845 to 1848 causing over 1 million deaths from starvation. Many countries were involved, not just Ireland. Although, the Emerald Isle was hit the hardest.

Potatoes are now grown all over the world. They rank #4 after corn, wheat and rice in terms of worldwide production. China is now the largest producer of potatoes harvesting about 77 million tons. Russia is second with 43, India 27, and USA rounding out 4th with 22 million tons.

As far as who are the biggest lovers of potatoes… the folks in Europe eat about 216 lbs of potatoes per person per year. Here on the North American continent we average about 128 lbs. for each man, woman and child. Not many are eaten in Africa yet. South Americans don’t eat many either, which strikes me as a little odd, since this is where potatoes got their start so many centuries ago.

Up in northern Michigan, the good and gentle townfolk of Posen, have been celebrating the potato for decades with their annual Posen Potato Festival. This festival draws people from all over the state and beyond. It looks like once again, Michigan is way ahead of the rest of the world!

Our bag of seed potatoes is just waiting for the ground to dry out.

Bob

I heard the news this afternoon on the radio (WRCJ). The price of spaghetti will soon be at an all time high.

That inexpensive pasta, loved by children and adults alike, apparently will be costing much more in the future. The price will be so high that many families will no longer be able to afford to serve it on a regular basis.

The Swiss Spaghetti Weevil, an insect that has not been a problem in the past, is, because of global warming, threatening the Swiss spaghetti crop this season. Switzerland is the world’s major grower of spaghetti.

The weevil is very difficult to control even with strong insecticides under the best of circumstances.

Readers of this blog have nothing to worry about. Tomorrow I will be discussing growing organic spaghetti trees in your own back yard.

Bob

Have we had enough snow yet? Will spring ever get here? I’m sure that the first weekend we have warmer weather many, many people will be outside cleaning up their yards!

Let me say - please don’t burn the pile of leaves and twigs that you rake up! All those leaves that have been hiding in the corners all winter should go in the compost pile. If you don’t have a compost pile, start one. It’s easy! Oh yes, compost making can be a science. If you like formulas and recipes and quick results then you’ll want to read up on compost making. there are lots of books and magazine articles out there that will tell you how. But you can get results almost any way you do it if you’re patient enough. The simplest way to have compost is to start a pile about 3 ft square. I like to put down a layer of sticks in the bottom. Then alternate a thinner “green” layer and then a thicker “brown layer”. The green layer can be made of veggie scraps from the kitchen, or grass clippings or green weeds that you have pulled. the Brown layer is made of dried weeds, tree leaves and twigs. Just keep adding ingredients to the pile. It doesn’t have to be true layers either. It can be all mixed up. And then you can either be patient and wait a year ( my way of composting ) or do the extra work to hurry things along by “turning “your compost pile. Which means shoveling or forking the pile into a new pile next to it, putting the top layers on the bottom and the outside edges of the compost into the middle of the new pile. Keep it moist but not soggy and it will turn into “gardener’s black gold”! there are ways and products out there to make it faster and neater, but really it’s simple to do. Once you get in the habit of using all the debris from your garden fill your compost pile , you’ll wonder how you ever let it get taken to the landfill.

Another word of advice for this time of year. don’t jump the gun on starting seeds. If seeds are started too early you’ll only have long leggy seedlings before you can plant them outside. for instance, tomatoes should be started only 6 weeks before you plant them out, which around here is Memorial Day!

Which reminds me, I want to spend a few hours this evening looking through the seed catalogs again. Bye for now

Judy

I had a fantastic gardening experience last week. I went to the Philadelphia Flower Show. It was amazing! Everywhere I looked I was awed by the great landscape design and beautiful flowers. Tulips, daffodils, azaleas,dogwoods, magnolias, calla lilies and more were in full bloom. Even wild flowers (which are much harder to force into bloom at the right time), virginia bluebells, trilliums and others. There was something for everyone’s style of gardening. Formal, small lots, city lots, informal, wild and tropical and exotic. One of my favorites (and it is hard not to have a long list of favorites) was a garden depicting a wild bayou with a decrepit shack complete with an realistic alligator in the pond, and native shrubs planted as if in a back woods with 20 ft tall cypress trees and even their “knees” (those woody knobs that grow up out of the swampy ground around the cypress tree that are used by the tree to get extra oxygen). That garden was very realistic looking with all the ground covered with moss and leaves and sticks and logs here and there. Superb design! It won some awards so the judges and the people liked it too.

The Philadelphia Flower Show is held in the Pennsylvania Convention Center and covers 10 acres! A third to a half of that was the landscape designs, another third was standard flower show entries such as houseplants, floral designs, topiaries and bonsai. And another third was vendors with great gardening stuff.

We(myself and two of my hiking buddy gals) got there at 8:30 in the morning and stayed till almost 8 at night. What an experience!

http://www.theflowershow.com/home/index.html

Bye now, Judy

It may not look like it but spring will be here soon. Now is the time to plan our gardens, before we get carried away with the routine chores of spring.

As I page thru the catalogs ( and this is especially true if you are a new gardener) I try not to pick a plant just because I love the flower. I pay attention to the descriptions of the plant. The backbone of a good garden should have plants with descriptions in the catalogs that sound like the following phrases : easy to grow,hardy and vigorous, long blooming, disease resistant, long lived, not fussy about soil, equally happy in average soil or moist soil, reliable, and easy culture. Those kinds of plants will be dependable. They won’t need lots of time consuming care and fussing with.

Sometimes it’s hard to resist putting a shade loving plant on the south side of the house because it matches the color scheme there. But I know it won’t be happy there and then I won’t be happy either. The same thing goes for putting a sun lover under the edge of a tree. You’ll probably have to move it later and that’s twice the work.

I try to pay attention to the micro climates in my yard. The spot near the driveway that I see in the sun every morning is probably in the shade most of the day. I need to remember that when I’m planning.

Here’s a short list of easy plants that I use often. For a sunny, well drained spot, plant yarrow, coreopsis, sedums, lavender, German Iris, gaillardia, agastache, daylilies and daffodils. For average soil neither very moist or always dry, plant lady’s mantle, purple coneflower, catmint, liriope and cannas.

Nows the time to dream but be down to earth about it. That’s what makes a good gardener.

Bye now, Judy

Many gardeners are becoming interested in growing butterfly gardens. I will be putting together a list at work at the MBGNA gardens, for an exhibit garden about attracting butterflies. Today I’ll write about flowers that the adult butterflies readily come to for nectar. An even more ambitious garden is one that includes plants that the larvae of butterflies need to eat, but that will have to be another blog.

Butterflies are looking for flowers that have lots of nectar and a good landing platform for them to cling to. Small tubular flowers are especially adapted to the butterflies’ probiscus- its’ specially shaped tongue that works like a straw. These tubular flowers cannot be too long or the butterfly cannot reach all the way down to the nectar which is usually at the base of the petals.

So after a quick look at my favorite flower catalog, Select Seeds, I’ve come up with this list of flowers for attracting butterflies.

Thyme

Valerian

Heliotrope

Asclepias incarnata (common name-Red Swallowwort)

Phlox

Allysum

Verbena (all the different kinds of verbena are good. The Verbena bonariensis is very easy to grow here in Michigan)

Thistle

Scabiosa

Columbine

Chrysanthemum

Herbs (many of them are good nectar flowers)

Milkweed (attracts at least 17 different kinds of butterflies)

Queen Anne’s Lace

Liatris (common name Gayfeather)

Gaillardia

Butterfly Bush

Echinacea purpurea (common name Purple Coneflower)

Violets

Lilac

Yarrow

Rudbeckia hirta (common name Black Eyed Susan)

Monarda (common name Bee Balm)

Lupine

Marigold

Daisy

Lavender

Other things you will want to consider when you plant your garden is to have a sunny site yet sheltered from the wind. Butterflies get tossed around by a breeze fairly easily. A shallow container of water is good too. Even just a mud puddle is beneficial to them. They need to absorb some minerals from the mud.

If you want an in depth look at butterfly gardens go to the Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary web site and click on Butterfly Gardens.

Happy Gardening! Bye now, Judy