6 Bulbs for Beautiful Summer Flowers.
Preparing for spectacular dahlias, cannas, lilies and other colorful flower beauties.
How to Plant Vegetable Seeds with Success
Figfip? That would be Food Gardeners’ Fine Points (FGFP), a new occasional series inspired by my friends Matt and Shannon, who wrote: “We have some very exciting news. After nearly three years on the waiting list, Shannon and I now have a plot in the community garden next to our apartment building!!!…. Naturally, I have a mile-long list of vegetables I’d like to grow….” He meant it; it is a mile long, ending with: “Are there any realistic choices for two newbies from that list? We’re prepared for failures and setbacks. But we’re also giddy with enthusiasm.” Who could resist an appeal like that? M&S may be newbies but they’re certainly not dummies. They already have the usual gardening manuals and an unusually large ability to conduct web searches. They even have a resident sage at the community garden. But a lot of “how to” leaves out choice tidbits. Some information does get dated. And I don’t always agree with the sage, even though he’s right with them in Washington, D.C. and I am in New England. So from now on, when I’m doing something in the garden and it makes me think, “I ought to tell Matt and Shannon about this,” I will. And as I have just been planting vegetable seeds, that’s where we’re going to start. Success With Growing Vegetables From Seed *Read the fine print when choosing seeds from retail racks. Most of those pretty envelopes appear to vary only in decoration and price, but in fact there are big differences in quantity and quality. One way to tell at a glance is to see how much information is offered about: Quantity – Is there a measurement or do you have to feel up the packet? Viability – Is there a germination percentage , with a testing date? This is more likely with European seeds and those from good mail order sources, but it doesn’t hurt to look. Percentages may be anywhere from 65 to 95%, which is obviously relevant, and having a number implies that the retail company tested the seeds before packaging them, always a good sign. Freshness- There should be a “packed for” year on there. It’s usually just a stamp; and it’s often stamped right where you’re going to tear off the top of the envelope when you try to open the flap and it won’t. If the date is on the flap, write it somewhere else on the packet as soon as you get it home (otherwise, if you’re anything like me, you’ll forget all about it until you’re out there in the garden far from the indelible pen you should be carrying at all times but probably aren’t). Planting Instructions – The more detailed they are, the greater the likelihood that the company is eager to have you come back.
How to Fight Late Blight on Tomatoes Organically
It’s a major challenge, all right, but after losing all the tomatoes in New York, we’re trying to see if at least one of the Maine tomato patches can fight off late blight (Phytopthera infestans), one of the most devastating vegetable diseases. It’s the one that led to the Irish potato famine and it’s just as deadly almost two centuries later. P. infestans is always around, but it came early this year, and more ferociously than ever before. Farmers and home gardeners from Maine to South Carolina — and quite a way west — have already lost their crops to what has turned out to be the most widespread outbreak in U.S. history. If you see any signs of late blight, experts advise destroying all infected plants at once, to stop the spread of spores. And if you live in an area where there are gardens or farms that have not yet been hit that is the advice to take; late blight is highly contagious. But if everyone else already has it and yours is the garden that’s hanging in, you might as well join us in employing: The Organic Gardener’s Arsenal: Fungicide Fertilizer Being There Being Careful Being Realistic And — at least in our case — Being a Procrastinator. If I’d done all the tomato grafting I’d planned to do, there wouldn’t have been any leftovers in the greenhouse. Luckily, the tomato plants in the greenhouse (pictured) have so far escaped the blight. * The Fungicide we’re using is Serenade, available at well stocked garden centers or online at suppliers like Peaceful Valley Farm Supply. It’s approved for organic gardening and is a fairly effective prophylactic as long as it’s applied frequently. Late blight can’t be cured, and if it’s well established it can’t be stopped. But if it hasn’t yet taken hold it can be held at bay by Bacillus subtilis, the “good” bacteria that is Serenade’s active ingredient.
Meet the Sexy New Star Bringing Green Mainstream
Learn from the latest green guru of design, food and lifestyle, Evette Rios.
