Gardening for Beginners Part 1: Due to the trials and tribulations of 2020 more and more people are discovering the joy and passion of gardening whether you are a beginner or an experienced gardener, there is always something to learn with gardening. Gardening is an all-inclusive community that doesn’t care what you do in the real world and welcomes you with open arms to learn and share information about a common interest. It provides a new outlet in these trying times for people of all ages, young children to seniors and everyone in between and can help alleviate anxiety and depression being cooped up at home. Gardening provides a reason to go outside and enjoy the beauty of Mother Nature at her worst, when she decides an animal or insect needs your plant more than you and at her finest when you see the happy little faces of your flowers or harvest vegetables you grew yourself. These benefits are what makes gardening fun and always interesting. Also, gardening does not need to be an entire yard landscape or a one acre vegetable garden, start small with a container or two planted with pansies for color this winter, herbs you use in the kitchen or even a cherry tomato plant will produce for you this fall before the first freeze kills it. Who knows you might discover that neighbor that never speaks to anyone also has a passion for growing plants and suddenly you have a new friend and both of you walk away with smiles!
Til next time - Vicki
Gardening for Beginners Part 2: Last week I wrote about how more people are discovering the joy and passion of gardening and how beneficial it can be during these trying times of 2020. For beginners to start with a few containers of either vegetables, herbs or flowers is so easy and budget friendly. Begin by deciding on plastic containers that are both inexpensive and lightweight enough to move around, start with a medium size pot as most plants will do fine in a ten-inch container. Potting soil selection is the basis for all the plant’s growth and nutrients. All Miracle Gro type would be my first choice but if your budget will not go that much use half Miracle Gro and half the inexpensive generic potting soil we carry at the store. If planting herbs that you will bring inside for the winter be sure to use all Miracle Gro as the generic does contain cow manure and you do not want that inside your home. Next decide on what kind of plants, there are all kinds available now and even more of a selection in the spring. Try six pack pansies for this winter since they will bloom all winter long, even in the ice and snow they will freeze up but the first warm days and they are back with their beautiful happy little faces blooming again. When planting gently remove them from the nursery container and split the bottom of the roots about half an inch in and plant in the new container the same height, firm the soil and water. A ten-inch pot will hold three to four plants spaced out. Fertilize every two weeks with Miracle Gro water soluble and enjoy.
Til next time, Vicki
Gardening for Beginners Part 3: Last week we learned how easy it is to grow plants in containers. To expand on that, you can tuck a well-placed container just about anywhere in your landscape, on the patio and even at the door or balcony of an apartment. Just remember to water them at least once a day in the summer and usually only when dry in the winter but they will need watering in the winter. Next spring you can grow vegetables in containers in any sunny location, start easy with peppers, tomatoes and lettuce then branch out into other types. Start with any type of pepper plant, cherry, grape or patio type tomato plant, the larger tomatoes will need a super large pot to produce well but smaller varieties do just fine. Purchase lettuce plants or you can sprinkle the seeds in the container and they will grow wonderfully. If you like using herbs to cook try growing your own, herbs do quite well on a sunny windowsill inside or outside where they can receive as much sun as you can give them. Ninety percent of herbs are grown outside, I know you see those TV chefs with them growing inside on the kitchen counter but that is not real life, they need sun and plenty of it especially basil some of the others can take a bit of shade but not much. The basic thought is most sun plants need four to six hours of direct sun a day to grow well and produce. Tomatoes and peppers need as much as you can give them. Gardening is fun, give it a try.
Til next time, Vicki
Gardening for Beginners Part 4: Fall is the time to plant pansies and other cool season annuals to have a beautiful show for the holidays and color for the entire winter and early spring. For beginning gardeners this is one of the easiest plants to grow and take care of. The different names can be confusing but pansies have large flowers, violas have small flowers the size of a quarter and panolas are a cross of the two with medium size flowers. There are the old standbys of big flowered pansies that bring out new colors and combinations each year, such as the Majestic Giant II Series with their 3 ½ to 4 inch flowers. The sweet little violas available now have your grandmother’s Johnny Jump Ups ramped up to a whole different level with unbelievable colors and color combinations. Panolas are a cross between a pansy and a viola are reaching popularity since they have the cold hardiness of the viola and the colors and blotches of the pansy. They are medium size but really pack a punch on unique color variations. For those wanting curb appeal for the front of the house plant more of the brighter and lighter colors, the darker colors will be lost unless they are mixed in. Darker intense colors are enjoyed more from up close such as a walkway or patio. Don’t forget to plant a few in containers; they can add a pop of color in unexpected places. Add a tight fistful of Bone and Blood Meal to each hole and your plants will be fed all winter.
Til next time, Vicki
Gardening for Beginners Part 5: The pansies are here and ready to provide color all through the winter. There’s nothing like a pick-me-up on a gray winter day than to look outside and see those happy little faces almost smiling back at you. Even if your summer annuals look great, it’s time for them to go on the compost heap or go to their winter home at the landfill and plant winter annuals to allow them time to develop a good root system well before the cold temperatures and freezes arrive. Even when we have ice and snow pansies, panolas and violas will shrivel up and freeze but the first 45-degree sunny day and they are off and blooming again. When setting out pansies in small groups for pops of color use 3, 5, or 7 plants, any odd number, in a zigzag pattern. Do not plant them soldier straight, you are mimicking Mother Nature so you want a random look. An easy way to remember how far apart to plant is to spread out your fingers wide and use the length between the tips of your thumb and little finger. A small fist full of half blood and half bone meal, or you can now purchase them already mixed as Bone and Blood Meal, added to the hole and a top dressing of timed-release fertilizer such as Osmocote will feed them through most of the winter. They will need to be fed again in February for that burst of spring color through March and then they are ripped out and summer annuals are planted. Try some ornamental cabbage and kale planted as a backdrop for the pansies.
Til next time, Vicki
Gardening for Beginners Part 6: Now is the time to apply pre-emergents on your lawn to prevent winter weeds such as henbit from getting a foothold in your grass. Henbit is the purple clover like weed you see in early spring and is the bane of gardeners in our area; another bothersome weed in our area is Annual Bluegrass aka Poa Annua both can be controlled with a fall application of pre emergent granules such as High Yield Turf and Ornamental Weed and Grass Stopper containing Dimension that does not contain fertilizer or Fertilome Winterizer containing Dimension and fertilizer. If you prefer a liquid Atrazine applied only after Bermuda goes completely dormant will also control henbit. For St Augustine and Centipede lawns be sure to read the labels these grasses are much more sensitive than Bermuda and Fescue. Applying pre-emergents will give you wonderful results in your lawn for the spring with a small amount of labor. All you do is apply the granules with either a handheld or push around spreader following the label directions. Remember anytime you can apply a preventative is much better than trying to eradicate whether weeds, insects or fungus once they are actively growing. Once your lawn goes completely dormant look for the remaining green weeds you can now spot spray with a glyphosate product (Roundup, Killzall, or Knockout) plus 2-4-D to eradicate remaining weeds. Be sure to add high Yield Spreader Sticker to the mixture to help the liquid stick to the weeds; some people use a few drops of dawn dishwashing liquid.
Til next time, Vicki
Gardening for Beginners Part 7: Now is the time to prepare your home and yard to repel those unwanted outdoor pests from coming in from the cold and trying to winter over in your nice warm home. Ants, little spiders, and the large daddy long legs, scorpions, mice, lady bugs, crickets and many other creepy crawlies will try to invade any structure they deem might be warmer than outside. First rake any fallen leaves away from the foundation of your house, mulch is fine while old leaves are not, seal any cracks or holes with expandable foam, the Pest Block foam is for outdoor use and the Mouse Shield foam is for indoor use, apply a band of insecticide granules all around the foundation creating a barrier they will not want to cross or if they do come in contact they will die. Follow the label instructions on application and PPE, whether or not to water in, do wear disposable gloves and mask. I like the Bayer Complete granules for ease of use and effectiveness in above ground and below ground insects. Next spray Bayer Home Pest Control in the gallon container around all door and window frames and under the eaves of the house outside and under sinks, the interior of the attic entrance and anywhere you have seen insects in the past indoors. Steel wool can be stuffed around pipes under the sinks to keep out mice; insect sticky traps can be placed indoors along baseboards and especially along the baseboard under the bed to catch spiders and other insects. This was my favorite way to eradicate brown recluse spiders after being nailed by them twice.
Til next time, Vicki
Gardening for Beginners Part 8: Now is the time to decide what type of mulch to provide as winter protection for your plants. They need to experience the cold to trigger them to go dormant but once dormant they require extra cover to survive if we have extreme cold for extended periods of time and also to provide moisture to the roots if our winter is dry. Fallen leaves can make a great cover for some plants but you need to run them through the lawn mower first and mix with the compost of your choice. Whole leaves and shredded leaves without compost will pack down and shed water during the long winter and the plants can die due to lack of water and oxygen. Mixing compost, used potting soil or inexpensive potting soil with the shredded leaves also helps in the breakdown of the leaves; remember in the early spring to add extra nitrogen to the area since this process can rob needed nitrogen from the plants. Mulch is available in both bulk and bag form in the colors and types of your choice. Once you decide the mulch simply apply a small mound to each plant two to three inches deep in a wide enough circle to extend to the drip line on small plants and three feet on trees. Do not apply against the tree trunk or woody stem of the plant, leave an inch of space on small plants and three inches on trees. If mulch is against the foundation of the house treat with insecticide granules such as Bayer Complete to prevent termites and other insects from entering the home.
Til next time, Vicki
Gardening for Beginners Part 9: Now is a good time to have a soil test done to determine if your soil ph needs correction or if you are low on needed nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium. Those are the most common recommendations given on a soil test but you will learn more about your soil than you ever thought possible. Soil can have the very best nutrients but if the ph is off plants are unable to get to the nutrients. Have your soil tested every few years for existing areas and before beginning any new area in the yard to determine if you have all of the needed nutrients for optimum growth for your landscape, this service is free through your local County Extension Office. If you would like to have separate reports for each area of your yard, label the samples such as A for the lawn, B for the garden to grow vegetables and C, D etc for different flowerbeds indicating azaleas and roses separately keep a legend so you will know which report goes where. Collect samples by scraping away any mulch, discarding the top 2 inches and taking a core sample of the next 4 inches, do this in 4 or 5 spots in the sample area to get a good reading of all of the area, mix well and place 2 cups dry soil in a plastic bag for each test. Take to your nearest County Extension Office, fill out a form for each sample and pick up a brochure on how to read your soil sample report. Results will be mailed to you within 2 to 6 weeks.
Til next time, Vicki
Gardening for Beginners Part 10: Now is a great time to walk your landscape and check for dead branches on shrubs and small trees. Dead branches will never grow again so they need to be removed and other new growth in the spring will fill in the area to replace them. If you are unsure if the branch is dead try the snap and bend thumb test; grab the branch close to the end and try to bend the tip with your thumb, does it snap or does it bend? Snap, it’s dead, bend it’s alive. Prune out any dead or damaged limbs with bypass shears or loppers. Now is the best time to give me your plant requests for next Spring, 2021. I am finishing up my bookings and can search for that desired plant for you. If you have plants you want me to find let me know by email fsplantlady@att.net or Sutherlands Fort Smith Garden Club on the home page in the lower right corner is a chat box where you can chat direct with me include the size such as one gallon and your name and telephone number. Also, if you are a collector and want to expand your collection let me know if I need to expand an existing line that we already carry. Any and all input is appreciated at this time to continue to make Sutherlands your go to plant department. We at Sutherlands enjoy trying to find new items our customers want and love the input you give us. Til next time, Vicki
Gardening for Beginners Part 11: Feeding birds in the winter is even more important now than during the rest of the year, their food sources are not as plentiful and if you had feeders out during the spring and summer they know where a good supplemental food source is available and if not they are searching for new sources. Yes, some of them will migrate south but you will also pick up different birds either on their own migratory path who need those quick stopovers for food or those that winter over here. It is a myth that you will keep birds from migrating if you stock feeders, migration depends on daylight changes, climate and instinct when to leave. For beginner bird feeding the two basics are to stock feeders with black oil sunflower and wild bird seed. Winter feeding should also include suet whether in cakes or plugs, try nyjer or thistle seed in thistle feeders or in sock feeders, both of these can involve acrobatics by the birds and can be highly entertaining. For those birders wanting to customize their feeds check out the specialty feeds, they are a little more expensive but have less wasted seed and can attract some of the more unusual birds. You can also feed fruit, peanuts, and peanut butter; try a few and see which ones your birds go crazy for. For winter it is important to have a covered feeder due to the weather and leave birdhouses up for roosting in the winter storms. Remember to periodically clean your bird feeders and houses to lessen the chance of mold, mildew and disease.
Til next time, Vicki
Gardening for Beginners Part 12: When going to the store to purchase fertilizer it can be confusing since there are all types of fertilizers on the market today for any application you need in both granular and water-soluble form, organic and inorganic, containing one fertilizer component, containing the three major fertilizer components of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (aka potash) and those containing both the three majors plus the micronutrients. Granular fertilizers can be applied by using hand, broadcast or drop spreaders while water solubles are applied by either using a hose-end sprayer or watered in. When selecting a fertilizer look at the formula on the package to determine if it meets your needs, for green growth such as a lawn select those with a higher nitrogen number or an evenly distributed formula such as 13-13-13 or 20-20-20. For blooming plants and root growth select one with a higher middle number such as 10-20-10 or 15-30-15. Some gardeners will start with a higher nitrogen fertilizer to encourage plant growth and then switch to a higher middle number for increased blooms. For the beginner and average time-stressed gardener wanting just the basics spring, summer and fall applications of lawn fertilizer are available and for trees, shrubs and other plants application of a good timed-released fertilizer such as Osmocote every 3 months and monthly supplements of water solubles such as Miracle Gro and Fish Emulsion will feed their trees, shrubs and plants all season. For container plants using Osmocote and supplement with Miracle Gro will work or inserting a few of the small plant spikes in the soil will also work well.
Til next time, Vicki
Gardening for Beginners Part 13: Now is a great time to begin a dormant spray program of Dormant oil to head off overwintering insects on roses, fruit trees (except apricots), deciduous trees (except Japanese maples) and deciduous shrubs, read the label, do not use on evergreens due to and the possibility of leaf burn with the oil. If your roses still have leaves spray anyway since these will be removed at pruning time later. Mix according to manufacturer’s recommendations and wear disposable gloves, mask and eye protection. Spray when temperatures are not expected to drop below freezing for 24 hours; spraying when temperatures are 45 to 55 degrees is optimum. Use dormant sprays only when the plant is dormant, if you wait until early spring and the leaf or flower buds are beginning to swell, you have waited too long and risk damaging the emerging leaves and flowers then you would need to apply a horticultural all season oil. This will kill aphids, mites, scale, and several other insects. Dormant oil, All Season Oil and Horticultural Oil are different products. All Season and Horticultural oil is lighter oil and can be used during the growing season while dormant oil is heavier and can only be used when the plants are dormant. For those of you told by others that dormant oil will kill crape myrtle bark scale (the white insect that causes the black mold on crape myrtle branches) it will not do anything for them wait until late March to use a systemic drench. We will talk about them later when it is time to apply the drench.
Til next time, Vicki
Gardening for Beginners Part 14: All of us receive those pretty catalogs in the mail this time of year that promise a gazillion plants for five dollars and the TV shopping shows will soon be full of beautiful plants but please do not believe everything you see, do a little research both on the company and the plants they ship. Plants on home shopping channels look beautiful and oh so lush in their containers but remember the plant you will receive will probably be in a very small container or bare root and dormant. It can be very discouraging for the beginner gardener to think they will receive a huge three to five-year-old plant that has been groomed to the nth degree when in reality they receive a baby plant with only a few leaves. Experienced gardeners use both places to find those very hard to find plants knowing they will be small; I have ordered hard to find plants through the mail and at times have been extremely happy and other times disappointed. We’ve all had to give it a try just be realistic. Had a very good customer, Sue, contact me with a new tip this week. She enjoys forcing paperwhite bulbs indoors this time of year but does not care for the intense fragrance they emit. When planted in the ground paperwhites have a beautiful fragrance that can permeate the yard but indoors it can be overwhelming. Her tip is to place one drop of bleach in the water below the bulb and it removes the fragrance.
Til next time, Vicki
Gardening for Beginners Part 15: It is time to start planting for spring, the first truck is rolling in as of this date of writing Tuesday or Wednesday, February 2nd or 3rd, 2021 and it is a big one. These plants will be arriving dormant, meaning they will be sticks in pots without leaves unless they are evergreen and dormant. There will not be any lush new green growth peeking out but do not worry, once warmer temperatures arrive, they will flush with all their glorious new green spring growth. These plants have been grown outside in the same climate zone as ours so are safe to plant in ground now, their roots will grow now before the above ground starts later. This will be the first big shipment of fruit trees such as apples, peaches, pears, plums and cherries; shade trees such as maples and oaks; ornamental trees such as crape myrtles in dwarf and standard sizes, cherry, weeping willow, jane magnolia, first order of Japanese maples and lilacs. For those of you seeking dogwood trees there will be several varieties, some new on the market, and in very large numbers since they have not been available for a few years. Blueberries in regular cheaper varieties but also the new larger Bushel and Berry line that are perfect for containers and stay short with other small fruits beginning next week. Shrubs arriving will be boxwoods, forsythia, first of the junipers, snowballs, several others plus the new First Edition line of plants that are unusual and very interesting whether in color, mature size or blooming habit. You get the idea, Spring is here, are you ready? I know I am.
Til next time, Vicki
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