Archive for September 2009

I have planted carrots, radishes and spinach all from organic seeds from Lowe’s. They don’t seem to be growing after planting indoors or out. I purchased organic dirt with food already in the soil. What am I doing wrong or what do I need in my soil to help them grow? Rebecca

Answer: I am sorry your seeds didn’t take off but unfortunately you’ve provided way too little information to determine why they did not perform. Every seed has its own particular needs to establish germination. Just using a product labeled “organic” is not a guarantee of a healthy plant if the correct growing conditions are not met. I would suggest you research the needs for each item. 

For instance, spinach is a cool season crop that likes nice cool nights and warmish days with good even moisture, making it perfect to plant in most areas of the country right now. Why don’t you try some of our Bloomsdale or Samish Organic Spinach Seed. Follow the directions listed on the seed packet and you will have a nice crop of spinach in approximately 45 days.

Keep trying and best of luck!

Karen

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Anyone who has ever attempted to germinate their own seedlings, indoors, for a head start on their garden has probably had a great number of failures, sometimes equal to or greater than their successes. Unfortunately, starting seeds outside in the garden can be just as unfulfilling. Weather conditions, especially in early spring, can greatly affect the number, if any, of seeds that will grow to healthy plants.

Seeds require specific conditions for optimal growth, and those conditions can be hard to meet when germinating seeds in egg cartons on your windowsill. Temperatures fluctuate, cloudy days occur, humidity is not constant, especially when the weather is still cold outside, and it is so easy to over water or under water. Basically, if you just miss one day of careful attention to those babies…well, you know….you’ve been there.

Jiffy-7® products have taken much of the guess work out of seed germination. The Jiffy-7 products optimize growing conditions, resulting in a much higher, sometimes as high as 100%, germination rate. The heat mats or heated germination units provide a constant, thermostatically controlled temperature, so important to starting seeds on their growth cycle. The domed greenhouse-like lids insure that the humidity remains high and stable, something which is almost impossible to achieve without a greenhouse. Jiffy has thought of everything. Even the Jiffy-7 peat pellets, specifically designed to fit their trays, have been enhanced with the necessary minerals and vitamins necessary for seed germination. Jiffy-7 trays are re-usable and recyclable. They come with complete instructions so even the novice can succeed at this delicate task.

Make your life easier! We all get great pleasure from watching those seeds sprout and grow into healthy plants to be transplanted to our springtime gardens. Quit wasting money on seeds that never sprout and on growing medium that goes to waste. Jiffy-7 makes it easy to maintain the proper growing conditions!  Insure your success by investing in these Jiffy-7 products; you will find them invaluable in terms of your success and the productivity and beauty of your gardens.

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I live in Zone 8/9 and want garden vegetables that will tolerate 4 to 6 hours of direct sun. The garden is in between two houses facing north. Any ideas? Sam

Answer: Zone 8 and 9 can vary since you could be in Florida, Georgia or Texas; therefore you will need to include soil make-up as well, when considering what vegetables to plant. With your longer growing season you can grow most any vegetable plant but you may need to investigate soil additives after you determine the pH of your site with a soil test kit. Four to six hours of sun would be considered full sun, so any pepper, cauliflower, bean, tomato or melon will be perfectly happy and will produce an abundance of blooms. Cool season plants like lettuce, radish and spinach would be fine in the early season, Jan. – March or late season, Sept. – Oct. but will wilt away during the heat of the summer. Squash can also be planted as early as April. There are several online guides to the exact timing. 

Hope that helps. Karen

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I have 3 Dark Eyes Fuchsia plants. One is fairly large, the other 2 quite small. I would like to keep them over the winter but it gets much too cold here. How can I keep them over the winter?

Answer: Fuchsias are pretty easy to overwinter but they do desire a period of rest, so they are not an attractive winter houseplant. Discontinue any feeding by September to allow them to begin their descent into dormancy.  I bring mine inside before the first frost.  When you bring them inside they will prefer a bright, cool location free from drafts. You will want to slowly reduce watering in October and November as the blooms and leaves fade. Once the leaves have dropped, trim the stems back to about six inches above the soil. You can store your resting plant anywhere, as long as the temperature does not drop below 40 degrees F.  Basements or garages will work. Check on it throughout the winter, making sure the soil does not become too dry, and during this dormancy period you do not want to fertilize it. Your plant should start to show some signs of new growth once the spring returns. When you see these signs you can place it in a cool location or return it to an outside shaded area, if all danger of frost has passed. Trim back the new growth to encourage more fullness. Once the growth has begun you can return to usual watering and fertilizing routines.

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Everyone is captivated by the beauty of deer, with their lean and elegant physiques and peaceful demeanors.  However, when they forage in your yard, garden, landscape beds, or crops, their loveliness is no longer so admired.

Deer Barrier and X-treme Deer Barrier by Easy Gardener offer the most efficient, economical, and effective means of protecting your garden produce, shrubbery and treasured landscape plants from being dinner for four-legged wildlife.  This black mesh barrier is quick and easy to install, and it gets the job done without obscuring the beauty of your natural environment.

Made of UV-protected poly mesh material, Deer Barrier is designed to last.  It won’t rust, rot or corrode, and it doesn’t conduct electricity.  It also withstands climate changes and won’t fade due to sun exposure. It also has openings too small for feet to get caught in, so no humans or invading wildlife can be trapped by it.

Deer Barrier is lightweight and has no rough edges, making it a cinch to install.  It attaches easily to fences, posts and trees to provide a physical barrier that is sheer enough to barely be visible.  It is available in three package sizes:  7’ x 100’, 7’ x 350’, and X-treme Barrier, which adds a foot of height for blocking larger animals, at 8’ x 100’.

By securing Deer Barrier or X-treme Deer Barrier to the ground, and around the perimeter of your garden, you can also keep vermin, dogs, rabbits and raccoons away from your maturing produce.  This mesh is strong and resilient and animals steer clear of areas protected by its physical limiting abilities.

If you’re looking for a one-man, fast and low-tech installation, this mesh fence is your answer.  Deer Barrier and Deer Barrier X-treme are the most transportable and maneuverable material available.  Depending on the durability you seek, you can even use a basic wood stapler and have a complete barrier constructed in minutes.  For a more stable, permanent fence, consider strapping cords to secure each few yards to upright posts.

A great way to contain pets, Deer Barrier can also be used for temporary housing to keep animals “in”.  It sets up quickly when a pen is needed.  Since it is easy to roll and unroll, it can be used over and over.  And because it contains no metal or sharp edges, it’s safe to use around the animals you want to protect, as well as the ones you wish to repel.  You can feel like a good environmental steward by using poly mesh instead of metal or treated wood materials that break down and harm the soil.

One of the biggest benefits of Deer Barrier is its low cost.  It can be attached to existing upright posts or trees, or a few inserted new posts, in minutes.  Very little investment is required for the average property owner, and certainly the cost of your plants and yard are well worth the protection!

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I live in North VA and buy mostly all of my vegetable plants from Garden Harvest Supply. I’d like to know when would be the best time of the year for me to plant Kale, Collards, and Brussel Sprouts? Thank you.

Answer:  The best time for planting these items is in the early spring. Kale, collards, cabbages, Brussels sprouts and lettuces are considered “cool-season crops,” meaning they need the cool soil and air temperatures to germinate and develop. Generally they are shallow-rooted and thus require constant, even moisture. Once the temperatures start to rise their development will start to decline, so you want to get them into the ground once the threat of hard frost has passed. Some varieties can tolerate light frosts so you would need to check each variety to be sure. If you are purchasing plant starts from Garden Harvest Supply, they will be shipped to you at the proper planting time. If you are starting from seed indoors, check the germination time on the package and count backwards from the last frost date of your area to know when to start the seed. The nice thing about the cool-season crops is you can have a second season in the fall. Determine what the first hard frost date is for your area and based on the “days to maturation” listing for each crop, count backwards and set out a second round of crops in the fall.

Have a great harvest!
Karen

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We recently put up a retaining wall. On the back side of the wall is a steep slope. I would like to plant thia area with items that look nice and will control erosion with little care after established. The area is also quite large. What do you suggest?  Thanks, Shelly

Answer: You do not say the conditions of the area or your location. My suggestions will be pretty general for that reason.

First you want to make sure you are planting only perennial plants, those that come back every year. They still require some maintenance but generally just some occasional cutting back or deadheading.

If this is a sunny location, consider first a low-growing ground cover like Euphorbia or Sedum; also, Ajuga, but it would prefer a little shade. You could mix in some tall grasses – there are so many varieties and sizes to choose from. These, once established, are very drought tolerant, as are Agastaches, Achillea and Salvias. Don’t forget some fall color with Asters, Rudbeckia or Mums. Artemisia can also make a beautiful planting but if really happy can get to be a bit of a thug, so be watchful. It’s worth the work for some because of its unusual silver foliage and fragrance that repels bugs.

If this is a shaded location then you can never go wrong with Hostas, Heucheras and Heucherellas, Ferns and Brunneras.  In time they will form a complete ground cover. All will tolerate some morning or late afternoon sun but really want some protections from the hot midday sun. Actaea makes a striking mass planting but they can get quite tall, so don’t block out your view with them.

I hope that helps point you in a helpful direction.

Best of luck with the slope.

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I was just wondering what I should do when broccoli starts flowering. It’s quite a small head and I’ve been reading up a bit on the Net and it says to let it go to seed. Is it still possible to eat the broccoli with a few flowers on it? If not, how should I go about letting it seed because these things are really new to me and I would love to have more seeds to plant. Should I cut off the head of broccoli and what do I do with the head to make it seed? And what would be the process to get the seeds out? I look forward to your reply. Regards, Abby

Answer: What we generally think of as broccoli is really a bunch of developing flower buds, so when growing broccoli you should cut the main center stalk as soon as it looks like a bunch you would eat. There will be lots of shoots developing off the side branches. Each of these “heads” will produce a number of flowers and if pollinated will produce a number of seeds. Once the seed pods have developed and ripened, and turned brown, you can harvest the seeds and save in a cool location for early spring planting next year. If the plants you are harvesting are from a hybrid variety and if you are growing other plants of the brassic family, such as cauliflower or cabbage, you might get some unexpected results next season because they are prone to cross-pollination. For this reason you might consider just purchasing seed or starter plants and harvesting your broccoli for eating. As for eating the flowers, apparently they are editable and there are even recipes for broccoli flower soup.

Good luck with your broccoli harvesting.

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Planting Mums and other Good Ideas for September

Fall is a time for taking stock, and battening down the hatches for winter. But it is also a great time to plant perennials, shrubs, and trees. In this issue, we’ll let you know what chores need to be done to prepare for the next growing season, and we’ll also fill you in on planting mums, the world’s most popular perennials, which we have on sale until September 25. Order before then and get a 15% discount by entering the code FM09 at checkout.

Your Farmer’s Almanac

First to the chores….one interesting one that is often neglected is to write down what worked and what didn’t work in your garden this year. If you can figure out why and write it down, that’s even better. By taking these kinds of gardening notes, you’ll be able to learn from your mistakes and won’t have to rely on memory to reproduce your successes. Get yourself a notebook and start your own “farmer’s almanac.”

Out With the Old

Now is the time to pull up what’s left of crops you’ve harvested. Pests and disease spores can overwinter in the residue, so it’s best to get rid of it now. Likewise in flower gardens, you’ll want to remove any dead plants or plants infected with powdery mildew. Otherwise, the infections will recur in the spring. Likewise for potted plants, plus you’ll also want to remove any used (and thus depleted) potting soil. If you were using any ceramic pots, prevent them from breaking by putting them away in a place where they won’t freeze.

Keep Mowing

Grass grows quickly in the brisk fall weather, so you’ll want to keep mowing your lawn until that first freeze. Position you blade to be at least 2 inches high, and if you have partially decomposed roots and stems matting up your lawn from previously cuttings, you’ll want to get rid of them also. Naturally, you’ll want to rake your lawn regularly to prevent the autumn leaves from suffocating your grass. By the way, we have a new product called a Lawn Sweeper that really makes raking a pleasure. (More about this next month.) If your lawn has any bare spots, there is no better time to reseed. Many people also fertilize their lawn in September.

Compost What You Can

This is also a fine time to start a new compost pile with your grass clippings and the leaves that have started—or will soon start—to fall. If you shred those leaves with your lawnmower, they’ll break down faster, and be more absorbent. This will increase their nutritive value by making their carbon more available. It also gives them the capacity to soak up excess water. Some people with low levels of carbon in their soil keep a garbage pail full of shredded leaves in their garage, and use it as garden mulch. You can also compost any dead but otherwise healthy plants, as well as weeds as long as they don’t have seed heads.

Add Fall Color

Now we come to the fun part: planting perennials! The perennials you want to plant are the kind which bloom in the fall, so you won’t have to wait until spring to add some much-needed color to your garden. The most overwhelming popular of these are mums, which, as we said at the start, are on sale until September 25th.

Both our Belgian Mums and Yoder Mums will do well in the fall and winter, with the Belgian being the most hardy. If you live in the southern part of the country (hardiness zones 7,8, 9) you could opt for Yoder, which are the most popular of all the mums we sell, while people in the northern regions (hardiness zones 4,5,6) will do best with Belgian, which are also wonderful.
The Belgian Mid Mums and Yoder Mid Mums should burst into bloom next week and continue blooming through the beginning of October, while the Belgian Late Mums and Yoder Late Mums bloom in early October and stay in bloom throughout the month. Lighter colors bloom a little bit earlier, while the darker reds and purples bloom are the last to bloom, so you might want to pick a variety of colors so that there’s always something opening up. We ship all of our mums in 8 inch pots, so they’re all ready to go, and are guaranteed to arrive healthy and ready to plant. Use the code FM09 at checkout to receive your 15% discount.

If your mums arrive in full bloom, know that, unlike certain other flowers, it’s fine to transplant them. Just be sure to give them plenty of water at the beginning. At the same time, you might want to order some to keep in pots, as they make attractive additions to decks, porches, and patios. In this case, water them sparingly to avoid root rot. The only place mums won’t flourish is indoors—they need full sun to keep from becoming yellow and droopy.

Finally a word about asters—these are also a great choice right now if you can find a variety that has yet to bloom. We’re happy to report that we have one: the gorgeous blue Aster Peter III which blooms in late September. Wouldn’t it be nice to wake up and see these lovely flowers? So, remember, if you don’t want to limit yourself to mums, there’s always a morning aster! (snare drum roll, cymbal crash).

In our upcoming newsletters, we’ll give you more tips on dealing with fall leaves, and we’ll go into detail about tree planting and tree care in general. Until then, be well, and enjoy the change of seasons. As summertime slips away, we can all look forward to the delightful sights, sounds, and smells of autumn.

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I work on a property in Brisbane and was wondering if you could give me any tips on how to grow papaya from seeds. I’ve got a heap of seeds drying out at the moment and have been looking for info on how to go about germinating them. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Regards Abby

Answer: If you have harvested the seeds, then I will assume you have washed and cleaned the outer coating from the ripe seeds, the darker ones. The drying process should take place in a cool place. Dusting the seeds with a fungicide is recommended, as is planting the seeds as soon as they have dried. Papaya seedlings do not transplant well; it is best to start with a large container so that you will only need to transplant once. Of course, you could just start them outside in the bed to completely avoid the stress of transplanting. Papaya seeds, unfortunately, are also prone to ‘damping off’; using a light, sterile planting mix is highly recommended. The seeds will take about fourteen days to germinate, so be patient.

As the seedlings develop, remove the weaker ones. Once they begin to flower, you will want to remove the majority of the male plants, just leaving a few to pollinate the flowers on the female plants. How do you tell the difference between male and female?  The male plants will flower earlier than the females and you can thin them as they bloom, always keeping the strongest. Their flowers will have long, thin stalks with several smallish blooms, while the female blooms are singular, larger, and closer to the trunk of the tree. One male plant can pollinate approximately fifteen plants.

I hope this helps and that you have a bountiful crop of tasty papayas.

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