Home
Up
Harvesting tips
Compost
Mulch
Planting
Water
WEEDS
Birds
Trees | |
Q. how do I prep. my garden soil and make sure it is healthy?
A. Building Healthy Soil
Soil preparation is one of the most important steps in growing any type of plant
-- vegetables, flowers, trees and shrubs. Your plants will only be as healthy as
the soil in which they grow. Here are some important points to keep in mind as
you prepare your soil for planting.
* You can have your soil tested every couple of years. Cooperative Extension
Service offices often have a soil testing lab, or they can help you locate one.
Home test kits are available as well, but if this is your first garden, it's a
good idea to have an expert perform the test and make recommendations for the
particular type of crop you'll be growing. A test will tell you the levels of
key nutrients in the soil, and what fertilizers or amendments you need to add.
A soil test will also tell you your soil's pH, which is simply the degree
of acidity or alkalinity in a range from 0 to 14. When a soil is too acid
(low pH) or too alkaline (high pH), certain nutrients are bound up and
unavailable to your plants. The test will also give recommendations for the
addition of lime or sulfur to bring the soil into the proper growing range for
the plants you'll be growing. Lime "sweetens" or neutralizes the
soil's pH, and sulfur makes it more acid.
* As soon as the ground can be worked in the spring, till or spade your
garden (with a shovel, heavy spading fork, or rotary tiller) to a depth of eight
to 10 inches. If the soil is soggy from melting snow or spring rains, wait until
it's dry enough to work. To test your soil, squeeze a handful of it into a ball.
If you can break the ball easily by poking it with your index finger, your soil
is dry enough to be worked. When you've thoroughly worked the soil, it should be
loose, friable and free of clumps.
* If you're breaking up lawn or areas that have been in sod, make sure that the
clumps of grass are turned over so that the roots are facing the sun. This will
help prevent the unwanted grass from making a reappearance in the garden.
* The best method for enhancing any type of garden soil is to incorporate
organic matter: old leaves, hay, grass clippings, compost, biodegradable kitchen
scraps or even harvested pea and peanut vines. Organic matter serves as a glue,
holding sandy soil particles together. In clay soils, it wedges in between soil
particles, loosening or lightening the soil, allowing water and air to reach
plant roots.
Q. How can I tell if my soil is mostly clay or sand?
A. Pick up a handful of moist soil. If you can form it into a smooth ball,
and it stays in that shape without crumbling, it's probably clay. Sandy
soil doesn't hold together. Another sign of clay soil is when puddles form on
the surface after watering and the water is very slow to percolate through the
soil. Water moves rather quickly through sandy soil. The ideal soil is loam -- a
mixture of clay and sand.
Q. How often should I fertilize my cottage garden?
A. About two weeks after the seedlings emerge, water
them with a fertilizer diluted in water, mixed at half strength.
Use this solution every week or so throughout the summer.
Q. I started acorn squash from seed in mid-April and transplanted them
into
the garden in late May. I'm having trouble knowing when the fruit can be
harvested. The seed packet says 70 days, so that would mean harvesting in
July for a winter squash. How will I know when to harvest the fruit?
A. The days to maturity on the seed packet are correct. Add about 10 days
for seed germination, and the fruits should be ready to harvest in just under
three months. You can leave the squash on the vine until the vines begin to
shrivel, or you can harvest the earliest fruits when they're a reasonable eating
size. Cut the squash from the vine leaving about one inch
of stem, and allow to air cure in the field for 7-10 days. Winter squash really
means that the squash stores well over the winter, if kept at 45F to 60F degrees
in an area with good air circulation.
Also see Harvesting in the fall garden
section.
Q. Will bulbs naturalize in my zone 9 garden?
A. Certain bulbs should be treated as annuals in the deep south because
they don't easily naturalize. These include Allium neapolitanum, Dutch
iris, snow crocus (Crocus chrysanthus), paperwhite narcissus (Narcissus
‘Ziva'), and star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum).
Q. What flowers are edible for salads, Etc.?
A. Growing Edible Flowers
Adding flowers to food has long been a custom in many
cultures around the world. For centuries, Chinese cooks
have used lotus, chrysanthemum, and lily flowers or buds
in their recipes. Some flowers provide a nutritional boost
as well as flavor. Nasturtiums, for example, are high in
vitamins A, C (10 times as much as in lettuce), and D.
You may be growing an array of edible flowers in your
garden already without knowing it. If you grow calendulas,
chrysanthemums, dandelions daylilies, Johnny-jump-ups,
lavender, marigolds, nasturtiums, pansies, roses, scented
geraniums, squash blossoms, or sunflowers, you have an
edible flower garden.
Here are some tips for using the blossoms to add beauty,
pizzaz, and flavor to your meals.
1. Taste the flowers before you harvest them. The flavor
may vary depending on the plant, the soil, and weather
conditions. You may find flowers in one part of your
garden taste better than the same flowers in a different area.
In general, flowers that receive excess water will not be.
2. Flowers are best used on the day they are picked. Gather
them in the cool of the morning after the dew has evaporated.
Choose flowers that are at their peak, avoiding those not yet
open and or wilted.
3. Wash flowers thoroughly and gently, and store them
between layers of paper towels. You can also place them
in plastic bags in the refrigerator until later in the day.
4. In most cases, the petals taste the best, so discard the
sepals and other flower parts inside the petals, such as the
pistils, ovaries, and stamens. You can eat the entire flowers
of Johnny-jump-ups, violets, honeysuckle, and clover.
Roses, dianthus, English daisies, Signet marigolds, and
chrysanthemums have a bitter white portion at the base of
the petal where it was attached to the flower, so remove
that before using them.
5. All edible flowers will enhance a salad, and many are
tasty in viniagrette dressings. Add them to soups, pasta
salads, and stir frys before serving. Squash blossoms are
tasty battered and fried. For more recipe ideas, consult books
on edible flower gardening, such as Edible Flowers, by
Cathy Wilkinson Barash.
6. Lastly, some words of caution: Choose only flowers that
have been grown organically and have no pesticide residue.
Avoid florist flowers because they have likely been sprayed.
Do not eat flowers if you have asthma, allergies, or hay fever.
Q. Which edible flowers can be grown in containers on a balcony?
A. Chives, lavender, Johnny-jump-ups, marigolds, nasturtiums,
pansies, and geraniums are only some of the edible flowers that
can thrive in containers. You might interplant them with herbs,
such as thyme, sage, and parsley, for added benefit.
Q. Does columbine seed require any special treatment
to help it germinate?
A. Columbine seed germinates best after it has received
a cold treatment. The seed should be sowed in a pot or
tray which is then placed in the refrigerator for 3 weeks.
Then place the seeds in a 70-degree F location. It may
take several weeks for the seeds to germinate. Some
other seeds have similar requirements, so check the
seed packet and catalog for recommendations.
Need help picking just the right plant for your space? Our
company , 6 page, plant selector guide will help you avoid costly errors.
Includes light requirements, and more. Buyers can also contact us for specific
instructions or advice on their plantscape. Free with any other order or
service... contact us!
 Got
Brass? Click here for beautiful planters in any material, size or style.
|
