Identifying problems in your garden

You can prevent most disasters in the garden by simply spending time in the garden and observing the changes that occur.  On a daily or weekly basis you should be spending some time in the garden.  It may be as little as 10 – 30 minutes or an afternoon cutting flowers.  Spending time in the garden will call to attention issues that will arise and need attention. An added benefit of spending time in your garden can be keeping you fit, relaxing your soul, and making your neighbors jealous.

OK, so you identified a problem, what do you do?  Instinct may be to cut off a chunk of the plant and race to the nearest nursery.  That trip may be unnecessary and a little premature.  There are two variables you will need to consider, is it an internal or external problem.  Internal problems like diseases usually start towards the center of the plant and move out.  Whereas external issues such as bugs or humans begin at the edges of the plant and move their way inward.

Internal problems usually refer to disease.  Diseases can come from soil but more often it comes from air borne disease that blows in the wind.  Soil borne diseases in general are more dangerous and usually result in removing the plant and soil to eliminate the problem.  You will want to make sure you have a soil borne disease before you start removing your plant.  This can require lots of effort and expense in replacement cost, and to do it unnecessarily is just a waste.  Technology has come a long way in developing sprays and soil drenches to deal with soil borne disease.  These sprays usually are systemic and synthetic which means they work from the inside of the plant out.  These are not safe for editable crops.  Synthetic means it is not organic or human made, something you will want to keep in mind if you practice organic gardening.  

Wind carried disease are usually managed with sprays or removing a portion of the plant.  The weather can help or hurt you when dealing with wind borne diseases.  Wind borne disease usually sit on top of the leaves and branches and can be wiped away in some cases, this will not fix the problem though.  One of the most common wind borne diseases is powdery mildew.  Powdery mildew is a white powdery mold that forms on the leaves of infected plants.  There are as many cures for powdery mildew as you can think of.  There are even some home remedies that may help.  There are many organic and synthetic remedies for wind borne diseases, check with your local nursery for the best product.  Once you have identified the disease you can seek a cure.

If you don’t know what the disease is, place a portion of the infected plant into a sealed plastic bag and take it to your local garden center.  It is very important that you place it into a sealed plastic bag.  Your garden store may want to help you fix your ailing plant; they don’t want to share in its illness.  Also note do not mistake the hardware store or big box store for a garden store.  Garden stores are stores not departments!!!

External issues refer to bug, animal, and human damage.  Identifying which external predator is ailing your plant can be difficult.  You will want to take in as much information about your problem as you can to get the best remedy.  Identify where on the plant the damage has occurred, how much damage has occurred, and how fast it happened.  Bugs will often eat parts of leaves or sections of your plant.  Animals work much faster taking a larger share of the plant.  Deer can completely deplete a plant of its leaves in a mater of minutes.  Gophers can kill a plant without you ever suspecting there is a problem.  A gopher kill is easily recognized by the plant dying often over night and the plant is easily pulled out of the ground.  This is because the gopher has eaten all the roots.  If you are unsure contact your local nursery.  Again if you bring a portion of your plant to a nursery please place it into a plastic bag before you leave your home.  Explain all the data you can to an educated nursery employee.  Remember to check your pride at the door.  The fact is 90% of external plant issues are in part human caused.  You can prevent most plant issues by watering properly.  Check with your local nursery for your plants water needs.

Cockspur Coral Tree

Erythrina crista-galli

Cockspur Coral Tree

Shrub or tree to 15–20 ft. tall and as wide in nearly frostless areas; perennial to half that size in colder part of range. Native to South America. Many-stemmed, rough-barked plant, with 6-in. leaves divided into 2–3-in.-long leaflets. First flowers form after leaves unfurl in spring, when each branch tip flaunts a big, loose, spikelike cluster of velvety, birdlike blossoms in warm pink to wine red (color varies with the plant). Depending on environment, there may be as many as three

Pruning and Fertilizing Rhododendrons

Fertilizing rhododendrons


After your rhododendrons bloom is the time you want to fertilize your plants.  I like using an organic fertilizer because it allows your plant to absorb nutrients at a slower pace, which is healthier for your plants.


Pruning rhododendrons

Rhododendron

Right after your Rhododendrons bloom they begin to send up shoots.  You will want to prune and shape your plants at this time.  Don’t wait too long because your plants will be setting blooms for next year soon.  If you wait too long you will be cutting off next year’s flowers.  Right below this year’s faded blooms new shoots will begin to form.  If there are two or less shoots break them off with your hands.  Leaving two or less shoots will lead to long leggy plants with few leaves and branches.  If there are three or more leave them alone.  This will make for a more compact and fuller plant.

What to do if your plants are already long a leggy.  Now is the time to cut them back too.  But you will need to leave a set of leaves on each branch.  This may mean you cannot cut them back as far as you would like.  Cutting back all the leaves may lead to the branch dieing.  Try to avoid this when ever possible.  This makes the pruning procedure all the more important.

If your plants are not blooming there are some steps you may need to take to encourage blooms.  Rhododendrons need some light to bloom.  Morning sun with filtered light in the afternoon is ideal.  You may need to move your plant to get blooms or trim trees around your yard to get the proper sunlight.  If your plants are getting the proper light requirements they may be missing nutrients.  Super Phosphate 0-20-0 will greatly improve your chances of getting your plant to bloom.  Remember to dig Super Phosphate into the soil around the root zone, be gentle when doing so as to not hurt the roots.  Phosphate needs to be dug into the soil because it does not penetrate the soil as easily as other nutrients. 

Rhododendron Holden
Rhododendron PJM Elite
Rhododendron Purple Passion

Fern Leaf Yarrow

Achillea Moonshine

Easy to grow beautiful upright perennial with canary yellow flower clusters. Attractive addition in borders or mass plantings. Flowers may be cut and dried for bouquets. Plant in full sun. Foliage grows to 1 foot and flowers to 2 feet. Hardy to minus 30 degrees F.

Tomato Planting Guide

Tomato Planting Guide

First lets understand some terminology, many have heard of indeterminate and determinate tomatoes. But do you know what that means? Determinate tomatoes varieties tend to reach a fixed height and ripen all their fruit in a very short time. Some examples include many of the paste varieties, “Ace”, “Celebrity”, and “Patio.”

Most of the tomato varieties grown in home gardens are indeterminate vining tomatoes. They will continue growing until they are killed by frost and keep setting fruit throughout the growing season. Some examples are “Beefsteak”, “Big Boy”, “Brandywine”, and “Early Girl”.

Heirloom and Hybrids are other words commonly spoken when discussing tomatoes and vegetables. Heirloom tomatoes are vegetables people had saved the seeds and replanted each spring continuing the line of the plant over many years. Heirlooms are openly pollinated vegetables, which means they can produce seeds that can produce the same tomato the following year. Openly pollinated also means they can cross breed with other tomatoes in the area making a different tomato from the resulting seed.

Plant breeders cross breed compatible types of plants in an effort to create a plant with the best features of both parents. These are called hybrids and many of our modern plants are the results of these crosses. In the agriculture industry farmers are looking for more disease resistance to protect their crops. As a result many hybrids are more disease resistant. But farmers are also looking for fruit that hold up better to shipping and look real good in the stores, at times this has come at the expense of taste. Ultimately the decision is yours. 

Wait until Mother’s Day to plant your tomato plants outdoors. You can start your tomatoes indoors earlier, but resist the temptation to plant them outdoors earlier than Mother’s Day. 

Plant your tomatoes in Gardner & Bloome Harvest Supreme, its 15% chicken manure and earth worm casting will provide enough fertilizer to get your plants off to a good start. After a month you will need to start a fertilizing routine. Tomatoes are hungry plants; use Gardner & Bloome Tomato Food for an organic choice. Now is a good time to add agricultural lime to your soil, this will help in preventing blossom end rot. Blossom end rot is the brown leathery spot on the bottom of the tomatoes that can form from lack of calcium. 

Pick a very sunny location to plant your tomato. Pull or cut the leaves off the bottom 3rd of your tomato and plant it deep enough to bury that portion of the plant’s stalk. 

Watering your tomatoes is very important and the amount of water will very based the plant’s location, weather temperature and humidity. If using a pot ensure there is plenty of drainage for your tomato. In the hottest weather you will most like have to water everyday. It is important to maintain a consistent soil moisture to prevent fruit problems. Consider adding a small deep watering stake to aid in putting water and fertilizer directly on the roots of the plant.

Consider planting marigolds around your vegetable garden to aid in keeping bugs off your plants. This technique will not stop all bugs, but it will add some visual interest to your vegetables.

Snow Angel Coral Bells

Heuchera Snow Angel

This hardy perennial grows 10 to 12 inches tall in full to part sun. Brightly variegated, creamy white and green leaves and and bears medium pink flowers in spring and early summer. Hardy to minus 30 degrees F.

Lavender Lady Lilac

Syringa Vulgaris

A truly outstanding lilac noted for its large trusses of pink blush flowers. Captivating fragrance is a bonus. Grows full to part sun to 10 feet tall and 6 feet wide. Hardy to minus 30 degrees F.