Buy Spring Bulbs While They're Fresh

Garden centers, nurseries and big box stores have been receiving shipments of new things for the garden. Many, like Lowes, Home Depot and Wal-Mart, have already put their bulbs and packaged bare root plants on display.

I have a bad habit of not looking at their offerings until late in the season when prices are marked down. By then, the packaged bare root plants are either growing out of the packages, or dead. Bulbs have turned into little, round mummies with no sign of life. Even at half-price, those are no bargain if they don’t grow.

This week I found 2 clematis I didn’t have in my garden, at one of the box stores. Clematis have notoriously tender stems and it’s easy to break them off from the roots. By the time a few hundred shoppers have dug through the display, lots of the plants will be damaged. But this week they were in pristine condition, and at a good price, so I bought them. Because they were bare root, in a bag with peat moss, I opened the bag and potted the plants. I’m keeping them in an unheated room to slow down their growing until time to plan them in the garden.

Bulbs such as gladiolas, callas and other summer bulbs, don’t do well when exposed to the dry, 78 degree air inside stores. Bulbs do best when stored around 40 degrees until planting time, so what happens in the store displays is that either the bulbs start sprouting, trying to grow, or they die. So if you wait until the close-out half-price sale, you can expect disappointment. It’s better to buy what you want now, while the plants and bulbs are fresh and undamaged.

When buying bare root plants, such as bundled strawberry, onion or leek plants, it’s a good idea to soak the bundle in water for half an hour before you plant them. The bundled plants are dormant and by soaking them briefly, they begin to wake up, breaking dormancy and will perk up faster once you plant them. The same holds true for bare root asparagus, berry plants or grapes. Keep those in a cool place with some damp newspaper or sawdust around the roots until ready to plant, then soak them in a bucket of water for half an hour.

If you are tempted by the inexpensive rose bushes sold in a bundle of sawdust, keep in mind you don’t want them breaking dormancy this early. While the tops have been dipped in wax to somewhat keep them dormant, should you bring them indoors where it’s warmer, they will start growing. It would be better to keep the bushes outdoors in a protected area to keep them from trying to grow too early. Otherwise the new growth will get damaged by freezes and frosts yet to come and that can sometimes kill back a new plant like bundled rose bushes.

Happy gardening!

Wood Chips, Good for Gardens?

Wood chips are in abundant supply across the Ozarks. From road crews and electric companies grinding up trees and limbs, it’s easy and tempting to use chipped wood in the garden. But if you choose to use wood chips, there are some cautions about how you do it.

Wood chips do an excellent job of blocking out sunlight, preventing weeds and holding in moisture. However, as the chips decompose and break down, they rob large amounts of nitrogen from the soil and can weaken or damage your plants. Additionally, some kinds of wood chips can damage the plants in other ways. You can’t always tell what kind of wood has been chipped, and if there’s walnut or cedar mixed in the chip pile, both of those contain natural growth retarding chemicals. (That’s why you don’t see weeds growing under cedar trees, for example).

The bigger issue, though, is the nitrogen robbing that fresh wood chips cause. It’s part of the decomposition process for the wood breaking down, but as a mulch, fresh wood chips are not good for garden plants.

A safer method for using wood chips is to let them compost for at least a year before applying them to the garden. Two years is even better as that allows for any cedar oils or walnut oil (known as juglone) to leach out of the wood. Then you can apply the rotted wood chips as a mulch or soil additive and not be in danger of robbing the nitrogen the plants need.

Much of the soil in my garden has been created from, or with, wood chips. My method 30 years ago was to haul in piles of fresh wood chips and spread them in pathways in my garden. The chips would remain there for 2 years, then I would till up the rotted chips, mix them with well-composted manure and build new raised beds. (In the photo above, I am now using gravel in my pathways as I no longer need to create new soil).

If you do choose to use wood chips around your shrubs, berries or vegetables, use chips that are at least a year or two old. Mix them, half and half, with composted horse, chicken or cow manure, as long as the manure has been composted at least a year, also. That will add some nitrogen but in levels safe enough for your garden plants.

Wood chips are an excellent source for building new soil for beds. If mixed with manure and left to rot for 18 - 24 months, then tilled into existing soil, it can help the soil hold moisture and add fertility. Just be aware that if you use freshly chopped wood chips on the garden, you are likely to have weakened plants, slow growth, lots of fungal problems in the mulch and possibly even dead plants. Always use caution when using fresh wood chips around plants.


Copyright 2013 Jim Long

Planting Potatoes, Onions and Peas

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My orders of seed potatoes and onion plants should arrive this week. Since I always plant both crops before Valentine’s Day, I order from companies that will ship to me when I’m ready. Most seed companies selling potatoes and onion plants have the caption, “Will ship at the correct planting time for your region.”

I’ve learned over the years that seed companies rely on their wholesale growers to ship to them first, before the catalog folks can ship to me. Years ago I decided to go right to the source and skip the seed catalog completely. Since the wholesale growers already have their onion plants and seed potatoes in stock, they’ll ship anytime the customer wants them shipped.

For the last several seasons I’ve order from Wood Prairie Farm in Bridgewater, Maine (woodprairie.com; 800-829-9765). They sell to gardeners as well as wholesale to other companies. I want my seed potatoes shipped the first of February, and it’s not a problem for them, and they don’t give me the runaround about “planting time in my area.” By ordering from these folks, I have a considerably larger selection of potato varieties than will be available in garden centers in a month or so. I like Rose Gold and Yukon Gem, both yellow-fleshed, good producing potatoes. I also grow the red-fleshed Adirondack Red, all of which produce well in the Ozarks.

Super Star onions

I order onion plants from Dixondale Farms in Carrizo Springs, Texas (877-367-1015; dixondalefarms.com). They are a commercial grower for the seed catalogs as well as shipping to garden centers, hardware stores and nurseries. They are also happy to sell to the home gardener and offer a good variety of onion plants. You can order by what grows best for your region (based on day-length). The Intermediate-Day varieties do best in the Ozarks and I order both a mixed selection or super sweets and red varieties, along with Super Star, the only onion to win the All-American Selections award. I’ve had great results with those in the past.

I’ve done comparisons in previous years, planting onion sets and onion plants side by side on the same date. Plants are always ready about 10 days earlier than sets in my garden, but lots of people still prefer sets.

If we have a repeat of last year’s heat and drought in mid-summer, as predicted, the best bet for good crops is early planting. By planting both in mid-February, potatoes and onions will be mature and ready for harvest well before the drought begins.

According to Ozarks tradition, peas should be planted on Valentine’s Day and I have mine ready to go. I’m planting 4 varieties this year, some for early harvest and others for later. Even if we have frigid weather, all three of these crops will survive just fine. Happy spring!

To see more garden stories, visit my gardening adventures blog http://jimlongsgarden.blogspot.com

Ozarks Gardening, Copyright Jim Long, 2013

Ozarks Garden Planting Schedule

It’s always interesting to listen to someone who’s moved to the Ozarks from states farther north, talk about when they intend to plant their garden. The Ozarks climate is different than even northern Missouri, and with the repeating pattern of heat and drought in mid summer, here are my recommendations for planting schedules. Actually these are the times I use every year, but with the climate changing, it’s even more important to take advantage of early planting.

Beginning in early February (Valentine’s Day is the traditional time in the Ozarks), I plant peas, onions and potatoes. It’s also the month to trim back sage and lavender plants by half to encourage better blooming and production, and to prune grape vines. Peach and apple trees should be pruned in mid to late February, as well, but wait until late March to prune rose bushes.

March is time to sow parsnips and the first plantings of lettuce and radishes. Planting more lettuce and radishes every  2 or 3 weeks insures a continuous supply of those. Spinach and kale can be planted this month, as well.

In April, I till the garden beds, getting ready for peppers, tomatoes and carrots, even though I won’t plant those until about the third week of the month. Our average last frost date in much of the Ozarks (except for valleys or lower elevations) is May 1. For the past 2 years, the last frost I’ve had in my garden was in the last week of March.

I like to have my first planting of corn and beans in the ground by about the 20th of April.  I use a soil thermometer to check the soil temperatures. If it’s still too cool, I wait on planting corn for a few more days, otherwise the seed will rot.

Dark-colored beans can be sown in the garden in April but white-seeded beans need more soil warmth to germinate so I wait until after May 1 to plant those. By the end of April or first of May, any garden crop can be planted safely.

This year I’m looking at varieties of vegetables that are listed as, “does well in dry conditions.” Look at the descriptions in your seed catalogs. Check especially in Seed Savers, Johnny's Selected Seeds, Southern Exposure catalogs. Here are some varieties I'm planting this year, that are better suited to dry and hot conditions.

Beans: Cherokee Trail (Seed Savers); Empress (Seed Savers). Most beans do well in hot summers.
Okra: all okra varieties do best in hot summer conditions.
Tomatoes: virtually no tomato will set fruit when temperatures are above 94 degrees, but these can take more heat than some other varieties: Early Girl, Super-Sioux, Legendary (which is a determinate tomato). Cherokee Purple.

Malali watermelon

Watermelon: Malali, a variety that requires hot, dry conditions, from Seeds of Change. 

New Year's Resolutions for Gardeners

As a new garden season approaches, here are some suggestions for making the gardening experience a better one than last year. They’re like New Year’s resolutions, but for the garden.

1 - I will not blame myself for past gardening failures. Last year’s drought was Mother Nature, not me. Just because my tomatoes or other crops didn’t grow, the circumstances were beyond my control.

2 - This year I won’t be afraid to ask questions. A simple Google search can answer most any question I might have about crops, pests or fertilizers. Neighbors, garden center employees and our local Extension Service, all have information to share if I will just ask.

3 - I will try something new. Just because I’ve planted the same tomato or carrot varieties for the past several years, doesn’t mean they are the best ones for my area. By looking in the seed catalog or on-line, I can find vegetables and herbs that are drought-tolerant and best suited for this region.

4 - I will share my knowledge with others. With encouragement, most children can learn about growing and eating homegrown vegetables and herbs. Maybe you will be the reason your grandchildren learn to like food from the garden.

5 - I will make a better effort at composting kitchen scraps. Instead of sending vegetable kitchen scraps to the landfill, I can just as easily make a composting spot - even a small hole in the garden, where the scraps get buried (no meat, no bread or other things that will attract varmints). Composting makes my garden soil richer and more fertile.

All very simple resolutions, meant to help us forgive ourselves for past mistakes, and give encouragement for the garden season ahead.

Kids learning how to safely use a knife when cutting fresh herbs.

If you would like to help a kids garden project, visit my website (www.LongCreekHerbs.com) and click on the “Order Seed, Help Kids” button, on the lower left corner of the page. It is linked to Reneesgarden.com and for every packet of seed you buy from her, she will donate 25% to the Health, Environment and Wellness Children’s Garden project, which is helping kids, grades 1 through 6 to learn about gardening. Happy gardening!

Kids working in the school garden kitchen.

Visit my Gardening Adventures blog, http://jimlongsgarden.blogspot.com for what's happening in my garden this week.

Copyright, 2013 Jim Long

Rosemary Christmas Trees Indoors

I looked around the web to see what was being written about keeping rosemary indoors in winter. Since lots of the Big Stores (including Home Depot and Lowes) are offering potted rosemary plants trimmed into Christmas-tree shapes, I wanted to see what the so-called “experts” are recommending.

Some of the recommendations I found on-line, are laughable. One website suggested rosemary plants indoors should be given a half cup of water every day. Another said that keeping the pot in a saucer of water was the answer. Those folks have obviously never been successful in keeping rosemary indoors (and one site even admitted to consistently failing).

I’ve kept rosemary plants indoors for over 20 years, and often buy one of the pruned rosemary holiday trees at this time of year. Here’s what I have learned that works best.

First and foremost, rosemary is not an indoor plant. It’s an evergreen shrub and has a period of winter dormancy. So if you buy one for an indoor Christmas tree, put it in the coolest room of your house. If that’s not possible, use the tree as a Christmas tree for only about 10 days.  During that time, water the plant no more than once, giving it about 1 pint of water and absolutely no fertilizer of any kind. If possible, set it outside on a porch during the daytime, then bring it back indoors for decoration at night. The goal is to keep the plant from breaking dormancy and starting to grow, which is not healthy for the plant in winter.

As soon as the Holidays are over, move the plant to an unheated room, such as a garage or an enclosed back porch. The plant is normally dormant and doesn’t grow during the winter months. Water it only every two weeks, with about 2 cups of water.

The quickest way to kill a rosemary indoors is to keep it in a warm room. The next worst thing you can do is to water it too much. Rosemary is native to the Mediterranean region and you’ll find it growing in the wild in rocky soil, even clinging to the edges of rocky cliffs. Rosemaries are tough, hardy plants, easily grown, provided you observe the precautions about water and temperature.

After I’ve kept the potted rosemary indoors in the unheated room for the winter, around the first of April I take the plant out of its pot and plant it directly in the garden. This has been my successful method, as I said, for over 20 years.
Copyright©Jim Long, 2012

How Poison is Christmas?

Every year we hear warnings about how poison some of the Christmas season plants are said to be. Some of the fears have some merit, while others don’t. For example, poinsettias - stores sell these plants with a warning, “Don’t allow children or pets to eat the leaves because they are poisonous.”

The truth is, poinsettia leaves taste simply awful. Not just because the growers spray the plants with lots of chemicals to keep away insect pests, but more importantly, the sap from this plant is bitter and burns the tongue. Puppies and children aren’t likely to eat anything that tastes so bad, and current studies have shown that a toddler would have to ingest 250 poinsettia leaves to cause a serious problem. The solution? Don’t put the plants down where kids and pets can get to them.

Mistletoe also has a bad reputation. Nearly all the mistletoe you’ll find in stores is plastic, but if you were to go out into the Ozarks woodland and find your own mistletoe, here’s the scoop on that so-called, “poisonous” plant. If the white berries fall onto the floor, sweep them up. Even a few berries can be dangerous for a toddler, but if you’ve ever noticed fresh mistletoe, there aren’t many berries on a sprig of mistletoe. Solution? Pick the berries off before hanging, or sweep them up immediately when they fall.

Holly is said to have “potentially poisonous” red berries. If someone eats several, it’s true, they’ll have a reaction - vomiting. Hollies are botanically speaking, in the Ilex family of plants. That includes one variety named, Ilex vomitoria, meaning, it causes vomiting and was used by doctors in the 1800s to induce vomiting, believed as a cure. One berry, eaten by a kid or pet, isn’t likely to cause problems, but 20 berries could be fatal to a small child if left untreated. The solution? sweep up the berries or keep them away from toddlers.

Bittersweet

Bittersweet, which grows along our roadsides is also listed as poisonous. The unripe berries are the more toxic part and contain solanine which can slow heart rate and cause drowsiness and headaches. They are also quite bitter. Toddlers or small puppies could possibly taste the berries should they fall onto the floor. With roadside spraying and fence clearing, it’s not that easy to find native bittersweet any more.

Using common sense, like keeping these plants away from toddlers and puppies, is a good choice. If berries or plant parts fall on the floor, sweep them up. None of these plants are poison to the touch, none are tasty or tempting from their flavor and should be enjoyed for their color and long tradition as festive holiday plants.

Visit my garden blog: jimlongsgarden.blogspot.com for other gardening stories. Happy holidays to all!
Ozarks Gardening; Copyright©Jim Long, 2012

 
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