Growing vegetables from seed is a great way to experiment with varieties that you can’t find at your local garden center (or supermarket, for that matter). Come January/February the seed catalogs start arriving, and we gardeners start dreaming, but when and how do you use seeds? Continue reading
Grafted Tomatoes
Tomatoes are a popular purchase at our annual plant sale. We offer both traditional and grafted tomatoes, and the planting instructions are very different.
Since tomatoes will root from the stem, “traditional” tomatoes are planted deeply, to encourage a stronger root system. But if you plant grafted tomatoes too deep, you’ll lose the benefit of the graft.
Jim, our lead grafter, has written a Grafted Tomato Planting Care Ins to help you get the most out of your grafted tomato.
July
Ornamentals
• ALWAYS READ THE LABEL – Taking a fresh look at the label is important whenever using garden pesticides – whether chemical or organic. Labels will tell you what diseases, insects or weeds should be controlled and where the product may be used. It will also tell you the mixing or application rate and safety precautions that should be taken when handling. Continue reading
5 Ways to Keep Your New Tree Alive and Happy
Congratulations, you have a new tree! Now what? Here are 5 easy tips to help your new tree get off to a good start. Continue reading
“Green” Gardening
We can choose to “go green” in almost all facets of our lives and daily activities. As gardeners, here are some ways we can care for our lawn and property with environmental and resource conservation in mind: Continue reading
Arboretums & Botanical Gardens
Touring arboretums and botanical gardens is a wonderful way to get ideas for your own garden. We are lucky to have many fabulous gardens in our area that make for fun day trips. Here’s a sampling of some of our favorites. Continue reading
June
Ornamentals
• Fertilize your late-spring flowering bulbs as soon as they finish blooming – use 5-10-5 or 5-10-10 fertilizer or a water-soluble fertilizer according to directions. Continue reading
May
Planting Out
• Pull weeds before applying a fresh layer of mulch on landscape beds.
• Water-in all transplants. Planting on a cloudy day will minimize the shock to new plants. Continue reading
April
• First of all–patience! April is early in our gardening year. As soon as we get a taste of the warm weather to come, we gardeners get itchy to garden! Remember that the “early risers” are first to wake. Don’t assume that plant you bought last summer didn’t survive because it’s not rising with the bleeding hearts. Many plants won’t break dormancy until the end of April, early May. Don’t make rash decisions. Continue reading
November
Ornamentals
Clean up the flower garden. Remove dead annuals, cut back dead tops on perennials, thin out groundcovers, trim a few unruly shrub branches, stash stakes and pull weeds. Leave some tops on heavy seeder perennials for the birds. Continue reading