Growing a Vegetable Garden

Summer sunshine is closer than you think! Plan and prepare now for a bountiful harvest of healthy, home grown vegetables. Soil preparation, plant selection, fertilizer, water and sunshine will provide an abundance of vegetables throughout the spring and summer. Stick with your garden and eat well!

Soil Preparation: Select a sunny, well drained site. At least eight hours of full sun is necessary. Place your garden where it is very handy for you to get to on a daily basis. If your soil is heavy clay, consider a raised bed. Build a frame of 2” X 6” X 8” planks. Size is determined for ease of reaching in. Treated lumber will last longer. Fill with top soil.

If not using raised beds, examine your soil. If it is loose and mealy in your hand and a rich dark color, consider yourself lucky. Such soil will reward you. Good soil has some sand; some rotted organic material and clay. Less than 20% sand or organic material means you should amend your soil with organic material like compost, sawdust, leaf mold or other organic material. This will aerate your soil, making it easy for roots to grow downward

Cultivate your soil loosely with shovel and hoe or a power tiller. Leave clumps no smaller than 2 to 3 inches. Cultivating soil too finely will cause it to compact more easily. Plan how you will water your garden. Place a sprinkler in the middle and plan to run a hose to it. Your garden will need at least a weekly deep watering in the heat of summer. A deep watering means about one hour of full sprinkling that soaks in freely.

Sketch your garden plot on paper and plan your plantings. Put the taller plants together, either in the middle or to one side. Plan taller plants where they shade other plants the least. Plant cool weather plants along the edges where they can be easily reached and when harvested can be easily reseeded with hot weather plants. Plan your plot with an eye for beauty as well as convenience. Add border of low growing flowers or a row of zinnias for cutting. Place a teepee trellis’s for beans in the middle for shading cool weather plants and to height and visual interest to the middle. Or put a birdhouse in the middle after your seeds sprout. Birds will eat bugs.

Plant seeds and plants in rows or squares. Label them with popsicle sticks or plastic spoons. Planting seeds is much less expensive. However purchased plants will give you a head start. Vining plants like cucumber, squash and melons require room to spread out. Plant them in a small hill for each plant. Tomatoes plants of all varieties can be planted two to four inches lower than the top of their root ball to give deeper roots. Tomatoes have unusual stems that will produce roots when transplanted more deeply.

Peppers, radishes, carrots, tomatoes, sweet corn, green beans and peas are good plants for the beginning gardener. These grow readily from seed. Plant according to seed instructions, but most seeds can be started outdoors in Eastern Kentucky in mid April. If you live in a valley, you will be affected by frost a week or so later. Lettuces, broccoli and other cool weather plants can be started in late March to early April. Be prepared to cover them if frost is warned.

Fertilize when seedlings are 2 inches high. Dilute fertilizer by one half until plants are 5 inches tall. Use an all purpose vegetable garden fertilizer at package recommended intervals. Dry fertilizers can be broadcast into the soil before planting. Organic fertilizer such as fish emulsion can also be used. Fish emulsion must be diluted so follow package instructions carefully. It has a strong odor that will fade in a day or two.

Mulch seedlings with straw, grass clippings or shredded commercial mulch. Underlay with a layer of newspapers. Don’t use plastic or landscape mesh. This will control weeds and maintain moisture more readily in the soil. Prepare to weed, although much less if you mulch. If you allow weeds to develop the weeds will compete with your plants for moisture and sun. Trust me the weeds will win unless you keep after them early and regularly.

An 8 X 8 plot can yield a lot of vegetables. Double that and you will be kept quite busy. More than that and you will have lots to preserve or give away.

Raising a vegetable garden is a rewarding experience. Involve your children. Ripe tomatoes warm from the sun have no equal. Enjoy the fruits of your labors through the summer and share with your friends. Freeze and can in late summer and truly recoup a large investment. Stand in amazement at the nourishment a few feet of well tended earth will yield. A vegetable garden gives an earthy, touchable meaning to the notion of God’s bounty. Being fed from your own backyard will give a renewed appreciation of the value of the earth, rain and sun.

Community Gardens: Don’t have space or know how for a garden? Community gardens are now being cultivated near the Recycling Center. These are available to everyone. Contact David Dummer at 780-0076 for more information.

Prune Roses Now for Spring Blooms

Many roses need pruning in late winter. As the snow melts and the weather hints of spring, take a look at your roses. Many are already showing bud development.

Pruning depends on the type of rose. Pruning early will save the growth energy for the pruned plant. Late pruning can cut off a lot of the plant’s effort that cannot be replaced in time for blooming. Provide roses a sunny, very well ventilated location with good drainage and attentive pruning for best results.

When to Prune: Repeat bloomers like floribunda, hybrid tea, hybrid rugosa and shrub roses are classed as modern roses. Unlike ‘old’ or ‘antique’ type roses, which bloom once on last year’s wood, modern roses usually bloom on new wood. Old roses may only bloom one time per year. Modern roses bloom repeatedly or constantly.
Trimming the modern rose in late winter or early spring will encourage new, healthy growth filled with many blooms. Old roses however, should be pruned after blooming. To encourage the most growth on the modern rose in Kentucky, pruning can begin as early as late February, and no later than early April. Pruning modern roses after early April may dwarf the plant, removing a lot of growth that will not be replaced in time for blooming.

How to Prune: Using sharp pruning cutters, make cuts ¼ inch above a strong, outfacing bud. Don’t leave stubs or deface the bud. The bud will then produce branches that will grow outward from the plant rather than crowding the center of the plant. Remove canes smaller than pencil diameter. Prune for a natural shape unless a rigid style is sought. Deadhead all season, removing blooms back to a stronger stem, with five leaflets when reasonable.

Hybrid Teas and Floribunda: A hybrid tea can be pruned severely, to 12 to 18 inches high. Taller will create smaller, more plentiful flowers. Leave 4 to 5 canes. Hybrid teas are pruned to create specimen flowers and a lightweight plant, not to create a bushy shrub. Floribundas are leggy bushes to shrub type bushes with short stemmed flower clusters. Prune leggy varieties severely as you would hybrid teas. Prune the shrub type floribunda later in spring and more lightly.

Climber and Pillar Roses: Climbing roses that bloom once are pruned after blooming. Repeat climbers are pruned in late winter. Prune one fourth of the old canes of all climbers and trim lateral shoots back to two or three buds. Retain a handful of healthy, strong canes. Further trim for size and shape. During the blooming season, deadhead repeat bloomers to encourage more roses.


Shrub and Rugosa: Prune modern shrub roses after two or three years of growth. Remove dead or crowded canes. Cut back by one third and trim for shape. Hybrid rugosa repeat their blooms and have dense, arching canes. Rugosas have colorful hips (fruit). Cut out old canes and shorten remaining canes by one third.

Knock Out Roses® are popular, very hardy shrub roses that demand less care than most roses. In Kentucky, in early April use hedge trimmers or loppers to cut the plant down by about one third to one half its height. Don’t take the plant to less than 12 to 18 inches in height.

Pruning will enhance the growth of roses considerably. As winter ends go outdoors and dream of sunny days while preparing your roses for spring. You will be rewarded with breathtaking blooms full of color and fragrance.

Get an Early Start on Spring - Start Seeds Indoors

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Starting seeds indoors is simple, fun and inspirational. So much life is packed in those tiny little seeds. Water, a sunny window and some soil media will work wonders and save money. Although there are many easy ways to start seeds, we will focus on simple plastic biodomes available at home centers. The inexpensive biodome will let you plant seeds in a peat plug that can then be planted in a larger pot or directly into the soil in the spring growing season.

Soil Media Biodomes are a plastic tray that holds water and has shallow pockets that hold peat pellets. The dome (or ‘greenhouse’) is a clear plastic lid to retain moisture. The peat pellets are compressed peat mix wrapped in a thin net. When water is added to the peat pellets they quickly expand about 5 times their size. The pellet is encased in a nifty netting that holds the soil together. Biodomes are available in many sizes, holding anywhere from a dozen to 72 peat pellets. This year a narrow tray is available that will fit neatly into a window sill

Seed Selection Select annuals, perennials and or vegetables. Trees can be started too. Tomatoes, peppers, lettuces, broccilli all start well indoors. Black-eyed susans, Shasta daisy, petunia, allysym, foxglove, delphinium, cleome, zinnia, marigold, dianthus, cone flower and household herbs will flourish in the biodome. Spruce, sycamore, and maple will also do well.

Planting the seeds Fluff the peat pellet soil with a tooth pick. Tiny seeds like petunia or foxglove are just tapped into the top of the soil, not covered. Misting the top of the petunia plugs is helpful until germination. Other seeds are covered to a depth of two times their size. The seed package will detail the planting depth. Small seeds can be put in a small spoon and tapped into the peat plug with a tooth pick. Put two or three seeds in each plug. Label your seeds.

Water and Light Always water from the bottom of the plug, do not water the tops of the plugs and plants. The peat will soak up the water easily. Pellets should be damp but not sitting in water. Keep the biodome lid on until half of the seedlings emerge. Then remove the lid. Add water when pellets turn light brown. Seeds need light overhead. Use either a bright, southern exposure window or a fluorescent light 4 to 5 inches above the seeds for 14 to 16 hours per day. Less light will cause leggy, weak plants.

Fertilizing A few days after germination (seed breaking soil surface) use a water soluable fertilizer at half strength. Use a 15-30-15 formula. Water from the bottom.

Damping Off & Hardening Off Seedlings that fall over at ground level have ‘damped off’. They are stricken by a fungus and will die. Remove the plant and peat plug and dispose of it. If more than a few damp off, remove the afflicted, and spray the rest with fungicide. Damping off is caused by too much moisture, not enough light, or high temperature. Seedlings need day temperatures from 60 to 70 degrees and night temperatures at 50 to 60 degrees is fine. Remember, spring is cool.

Hardening off comes when you are ready to plant your seedlings, usually in late April or early May. Place your tray of seedling, which may be a few inches tall by then, outdoors in the shade for a few hours. After a couple days, give them an hour of dappled sun, and increase sun exposure over a few days. Indoor seedlings need time to produce more chlorophyll to handle sunlight. If you don’t harden them off the seedlings will die.

Thinning & Transplanting Select the strongest seedling in each plug. Snip the other seedlings with manicure scissors. Don’t pull them out as you will disturb the roots of the seedlings you wish to keep. Remaining seedlings can be pinched back, removing the second set of leaves to encourage branching. In April, or earlier if plants get over 4 to 5 inches tall, you can transplant seedlings to larger pots with potting soil. They can then be planted outside in late April and early May. Transplant the plug directly into the potting soil or garden soil. The beauty of the biodome is the ease of planting plugs. No big holes to dig! Many plants will survive until planting time in the biodome. However, if plants get leggy and spindly, they will benefit from the more nourishing potting soil of a transitional container.

Seedlings usually germinate in 4 to 10 days. From the day of planting they have been sending down roots. With soil, water, light and your care they will make lovely seedlings ready to plant in April and May. Their determined progress from their tiny beginnings are the miracle of spring. You as gardener are part of the living reassurance of which we are so privileged a part.

Basic Landscaping III – Landscape Plan

In our last two columns we have made a landscaping sketch and explored possible styles. Now we are ready to finish the plan for your yard. We will consider plantings suited for our area.

Shrubs: A home is usually surrounded by foundation plantings arranged in beds. These visually anchor the house to the ground. Without them a house looks like it has bare ankles. Evergreen shrubs are the backbone of these beds. Yew, juniper, boxwood, holly, rhododendron and azaleas keep leaves or needles all winter in eastern Kentucky. Shrubs back lower growth. These shrubs are usually trimmed two to three feet tall. Taller, conical Arborvitae accent corners and insets of buildings.

Mixing in flowering deciduous shrubs will add color and fragrance in the warm months. My neighbor has a row of viburnum on the east side of their house and the delicious scent fills spring evenings. Lilac, forsythia, weigela, shrub crepe myrtle, spirea, mock orange, flowering quince, fire bush and shrub roses are practical, fast growing choices. Deciduous shrubs will fill in more quickly while you wait for slower growing evergreens.

Trees: Many trees grow well in our area including white oaks, however oaks grow slowly. Plant these first and then add fast growing hardwoods like tulip poplar, silver and red maple, sweet gum and clump river birch. These all grow well in our dense clay. White pine, black pine and hemlock grow quickly and fluff out a yard beautifully, providing privacy and windbreak. Ornamental specimen trees like Cleveland pear, pink and white dogwood, eastern redbud, flowering crabapple and magnolia are the joy of spring and add such color to your yard. Crepe myrtle thrives in Kentucky and gives color in July and August after all the spring trees have bloomed.

Perennials: Plan space for blooming herbaceous perennials. These flowers will reward you for many years with cheerful blooms that will spread each year. Spring bulbs and creeping phlox are intensely welcomed in spring. Daylily, foxglove, roses, shasta daisies, garden phlox, black-eyed susans, cone flowers, columbine, clematis, bee balm, coreopsis, blanket flower, sweet william, iris, and lilies are all summer bloomers that will give years of delight. Most of these require a sunny location. Pick a color scheme and carry it through the yard. Plant perennials in drifts rather than one or two of an item. Many can be started from seed indoors in February. Try to plan for a few things blooming throughout the warm season. Gardeners love to trade perennial starts.

Annuals: Finally plan a little room for annuals. Maybe you will reserve annuals for pots and hanging baskets of petunias or impatiens, because they will perish in the winter. But their short lives are a riot of blooms requiring only faithful watering, sun and plant food. Place your annuals strategically, around doorways, mailboxes and other focal points in the front and back of your house. You will be surprised how much you enjoy them. Even our undomesticated bachelor relative used to dote on a fabulous wave petunia on his front porch, to the welcome of all.

Don’t forget your vegetable garden. If you feel timid about vegetables, plan for some patio tomatoes in pots, or some potted herbs outside your kitchen door. Once you experience the freshness of basil in a tossed salad or your own sun-ripened tomatoes, you will be hooked.

Include trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals in your landscape plan. Select what suits your taste. Remember, what is on paper can be changed. Complete your plan to scale as we discussed in Landscaping I. You now have a plan for spring!

Basic Landscaping Design II – Style

Spring will come, fortunately much sooner than we think. Let’s be prepared by adding some style to the basic landscape plan we developed last week.

Where do I put features in my yard? That depends on style. Style is formal or informal. Formal tends to be symmetrical and balanced. Formal is usually more square and cornered than curved. In our illustration, symmetrical balance shows the same plants on either side of the door and house. The plantings are the same size. Things match. Informal is balanced in terms of visual weight and mass but not equal matches. Informal landscaping has curved beds, softer lines and balance obtained by visual weight without exact symmetry.

Style should complement and coordinate with the house and yard. A Victorian house tends to invite a more formal style. So does a traditional colonial. A log home, a country French, Tudor, ranch, cottage or any country style house invites informal, asymmetrical style. Informal is considerably more common than formal. The White House is formal. Our beautiful Kentucky log homes are informal. Most homes fall somewhere between. Symmetry has its place in country style landscaping but the materials or plantings might have a more casual air.

An informal home may have symmetry in its architecture. Informal landscaping will add interest to the symmetry. Formal landscaping will continue the symmetrical trend but might either crowd the house or be too repetitive. Asymmetrical home-style works well with informal landscaping. There are outsets and insets that are natural places for foundation beds.

Tall homes like tall trees. Low slung ranch style is flattered by rounded landscaping that blends with long, low rooflines. Tall landscaping on the edges of the lot give the feeling of spaciousness and make a home appear larger. Avoid crowding large plantings near the front door, start with lower plantings and gain height as you move the design to the outer reaches of the yard.

Artful landscaping creates visual interest. A curved sidewalk or a straight walk with an extra angle is much more interesting than a straight shot. Everything in your yard is an invitation; to your door, to your back yard, to a secluded area in your back yard. Create a sense of place and destination whenever you can. An outdoor table and chairs or a bench create a place. Things that suggest a leisurely walk like a path or stepping-stones create destination.

The front door is the focal point of any house. If there is a porch, use this fortunate feature to add additional welcoming items. Place inviting chairs, flowerpots, evergreens in pots and plantings in beds around the porch. Change some of your front door landscaping with the seasons. Each day a front door will welcome and invite you cheerfully into your home. Your guests will feel it too.

Consider your chosen style when finishing your landscape plan. Take a photo of your house and make copies of the photo. Sketch some variations on the copies. Add this style to the landscape overview we did last week. This will give your landscape plan personality. Next week we will discuss plantings to fill out your landscape plan that fit with your chosen style.

Basic Landscape Design I

Getting cabin fever? Use long winter days to plan your garden. We will draw sketches and plans of your yard so that you can greet spring with a plan for home improvement. This keeps you on track over time, helping you to focus on goals.

On blank paper sketch your yard boundaries. You can go outside and measure (brrr!) or pull out your appraisal from your mortgage. The latter will give your lot boundaries and home exterior dimensions. A land survey will provide the same information. Sometimes your deed will provide these measurements. Or you can estimate. Our goal is a rough sketch.

Draw the outline of your house, patio or deck, outbuildings, major trees, flowerbeds, shrubs and your vegetable garden if you have one. Sketch in the driveway and sidewalks. Notice the
view from all directions, especially from your windows. Make note of appealing views and things you would rather not see. Note your doors, windows, outdoor condensers, and trash areas. Are there areas that you would like more screening for privacy? Where are the electric and gas lines and buried cables and sewer lines? Mark North so you can track the sun, shade and wind patterns. You now have a preliminary site analysis.

Next you can make a landscape plan. Select graph paper to layout a scale drawing of your site and the present elements of your home and garden. Select a scale of ¼ inch equals 5 feet. You can use any scale, but this will fit well on a sheet of paper for the average yard. Transfer all the elements of your sketch to the graph paper. Then make some copies of your site plan, either on a copier or using tracing paper. Be sure to preserve the original scaled landscape plan. Use the copies to sketch ideas and create your final plan.

Consider what you would like. What do you want to add, modify or remove? Maybe it is not financially feasible this year, but if you include it your plan now, the area will be available and not covered by a storage shed or tomato patch. Do you need more trees, a storage shed, a potting shed, a secluded garden, a privacy hedge or foundation plantings? How about window boxes, a stone path, a wildflower area, wind break, drainage improvement, water feature, fire pit, gazebo, dog kennel, or a clothesline? Maybe there is an area that is all weeds or a spot where nothing will grow. Include your hopes in your plans. Over time you can make separate projects of them and make them happen.

After you sketch your wish list into your plan your landscape drawing becomes your roadmap. Use it to mold your yard into your own creation. It can be simple, ornate, relaxed, whatever style you wish. Good planning and landscaping add enjoyment to your home and value to your property. In our next column we will discuss how to work in your ideas to coordinate with your house and present landscaping.

Forcing Paper Whites

January is traditionally the time to clear out the holiday decorations. But things then seem so bare! But forcing paperwhite narcissus gives a lovely floral display that is something special to anticipate. No special gardening skills are required.

Paperwhites, (narcissus tazetta), are the most simple spring bulb to force. Forcing bulbs indoors makes them bloom earlier than normal. Within four weeks you can have a fragrant spring display. Start now and you can have this display by February or earlier. Wow! Think how welcome fresh flowers will be in the depth of winter!

Begin with a shallow dish, three to four inches deep. For an eight to ten inch dish use at least six bulbs. Lay gravel, pebbles or marbles on the bottom of the dish. Place the bulbs on the gravel pointed end up. Crowd them in. The flat base of each bulb should be level with the other bulbs. Surround them with the gravel to stabilize the bulbs. Add enough water to touch the bottom of the bulbs and no more. Place in a moderately lit, cool area of your home. Continue to water, keeping the water at the same level. When the roots are growing and the bulb shoots are one to two inches tall, place in a sunny location, usually in front of a window. Avoid very warm locations as this will cause the stems to get floppy.

After the first week, pour off the water. Replace with a solution of 1 part rubbing alcohol, (isopropyl alcohol) 10 parts water. Bring the water/alcohol solution again to the bottom of the bulb. Extension Service research shows that the alcohol solution keeps the plant from getting too tall and leggy. Continue to water with the alcohol/water solution, keeping the water level at the bottom of the bulb. After the blooms appear, move to indirect lighting rather than full sun.

Although paperwhite bulbs can be planted in soil to force, the risk of root rot is considerably higher. The method above assures you of the most success.

You can start batches of paperwhites every two weeks for a continuous display throughout February, March and April. Bulbs can be found at most home and garden stores. Cultivars available in Kentucky stores should force very well. After the blooms have died, the bulbs can be planted in the ground. However the success rate is not good as the bulb has been spent in forcing. The forced bulbs may not bloom for a year or two, if at all. You may simply want to place the bulbs on the compost pile.

Enjoy your blooming paperwhites on a sunny window sill or table. Give them as a gift. The joy of flowers before the arrival of spring is appreciated by all.

Use Poinsettias for a Vivid Christmas Display

Poinsettias are vibrant plants to display at Christmas. As a centerpiece on a dinner table, in a basket on the floor, or in a grouping on a coffee table they make a dramatic display. They can be lovely grouped in an unused fireplace or sitting on a table or chair in a foyer. For the price, they pack a lot of color and decorating impact. Paired with pinecones and ever-greenery, poinsettias make not only a holiday display but also look festive all winter. Striking as always in deep red, poinsettias are now available in pink, creamy white and or coated with glitter or powder to look like snow. Sometimes they are even mixed in with other houseplants, all in one container. When potted as a single plant they usually are sold with a plastic foil wrap around the pot. When bringing it home from a store, keep the plant itself covered to protect it from cold. Poinsettias are semi-tropical plants and don’t like temperatures below 55 degrees. Below that temperature they will drop their leaves.

With proper care a poinsettia will keep its colorful bracts, the red leaves that give it color, for months. When purchasing, look for healthy plants, avoiding plants with curled leaves or browned leaf tips. Water the plant when the first two inches of soil is dry. Don’t let the pot sit in water, especially in plastic foil. Un-drained, it will quickly develop root rot. But if it dries enough to curl the leaves, quite a few leaves and bracts will drop off. Fertilize with houseplant fertilizer after the first month, fertilizing every two weeks thereafter. Keep in a very sunny location for at least six hours a day. Low light will also cause leaf drop. Keep from cold drafts or touching cold windows.

Poinsettias are not poisonous to people or pets, although this is a popularly held notion. Careful testing by Extension Services has demonstrated that eating poinsettia might upset the stomach but it is not poisonous.

Who has not seen a pitiful, leggy poinsettia in early February, with most of its leaves dropped? The plant has either been under or over-watered or not given enough light. It can be trimmed back and resurrected by the care described above. Poinsettias grow year round in Florida and further south and will grow outside in pots in Kentucky over the summer. They will get three to four feet tall if repotted and will continue to bloom. Bring them indoors in September. Continue fertilizing and watering the plant and it will reward you with its vivid colors for as long as you wish to keep it.

Gifts from the Garden

Gifts from and for gardeners are novel and appreciated. Don’t overlook garden gifts just because gardening is a warm weather pastime. Gardeners are usually longing for warm weather, thinking about next summer’s flowers and fretting about weeds in their flowerbeds that won’t freeze.

Gifts from the garden are unexpected and give a long time. Give a hanging pot with petunia seeds. Take an 8 or 10-inch diameter hanging pot. Fill it with potting soil. Potting soil is still available in home and garden stores. Sprinkle with petunia seeds. Cover seeds with ¼ inch of soil. Wave© petunia seeds are readily available and the most prolific petunia. Water the pot by sprinkling very gently. No need to soak it. Cover with kitchen plastic wrap. Tie a bow around the rim of the pot, securing the plastic wrap and decorating the pot. The plastic stays on until the seeds sprout. Instruct the gift recipient to place in a sunny window. Include the seed packet with the gift. These will be ready to place outdoors in April and bloom on schedule for spring. Flower enthusiasts will love it.

Christmas themed gifts of greenery are treasured all winter long. Pine and cedar blanket our mountains and trimming inconspicuous boughs for gifts will do little damage. For centerpieces wire a few sticks together, leaving a space in the middle. Tuck greenery into the sticks and secure with wire. Add a red or gold candle to the middle. Wire in some small, colorful Christmas ornaments and a bow. You have a centerpiece that makes a lovely hostess gift. Care must always be taken to avoid fires.

Pine swags decorated with pinecones and red plaid ribbon are versatile. Everyone has a mailbox and most mailboxes could use a pine swag. Bunch the greenery with wire and trim with ribbon. Outdoor greenery gifts will last all winter and be remembered kindly, long after Christmas.

Seed packets themselves make wonderful gifts. The miracle of seeds makes everyone want to garden. People like to start seeds indoors in February, so gifts of seeds get the gardener dreaming early. Seed starter kits are also available. A few seed packets tied with raffia make a nice gift or the packets can be tied to a gift package. Attractive flower seed packets can even be matted and framed and have a special beauty to the gardening enthusiast.

For the gardener, gardening hand tools and gloves are treasured. Most can use an extra hand spade or a hand pruner. Most gardeners like some fertilizer for flowers. Baskets and tool trays are welcomed to keep their tools handy as they move around their yard. Hose nozzles, hose repair kits and hose timers would be a useful surprise. Novelties like decorated stepping-stones, cone shaped vine trellises and flowerpots catch the gardener’s eye. What is popular in spring and summer will bring a smile to your favorite gardener.

Bring the Outdoors Inside – Botanicals of Pressed Flowers or Leaves

Remember the leaf scrapbooks we made in grade school? Who would imagine the simple techniques we learned then could create exquisite art? Or you could make something so lovely without having artistic talent. Nature is the consummate artist; we are the preservers of beauty literally showered upon us.

Pressing flowers and leaves starts with picking attractive plants. Roses are still in bloom and some colored leaves remain on trees. Interesting weeds and ferns abound. These press well. Pick the brightest colors and the most interesting leaf shapes. Compound leaves do well also. Pick extras.

Use thick books to press. I have an old set of encyclopedias that are really great. Lay the flowers in the pages and gently open the flower up as much as it will. If petals fall off you can attach them later. Lay the leaves flat on the pages as well. Don’t lay any plants on top of each other. Close the book and lay a few heavy books on top. Several plants per book will work. Leave undisturbed for a couple weeks. Low humidity is best.

If you are in a hurry you can press the plants between wax paper with an iron. Use a low temperature. Press lightly until you are satisfied with the results. Remove the wax paper gently.

Pressed flowers and leaves are sometimes called everlastings, ephemera or botanicals. Your pressed ephemera can be framed, applied to the outside of frames, glued on cards and invitations or decoupaged onto furniture surfaces. The applications are numerous. In pressed plants you have true natural art with beauty all its own. Use your imagination.

Inexpensive frames and mats can be purchased to match your décor. Depending on your frame size, scrapbook papers make attractive paper to affix your plants. Lay out the flowers or leaves and arrange them with the mat in place so that you know how large your actual lay out space is. Arrange the plants delicately as they are very fragile now in their dried state. Use toothpicks and tweezers to move them. Trim off some leaves from flowers that look too busy. Make arrangements of 2 to 3 flowers, like a freshly gathered bouquet. Arrange fall leaves to capture their falling motion or line them up like a scientific study.

When you like the arrangement, place a tiny dot of lightweight glue under each plant and its petals, stems or lobes. Press lightly and allow drying overnight. Place in their mats and frames. Botanicals fascinate because they are real. Botanicals are often hung in a series, either in a row or a series of rows. To buy them in quantity from a store is expensive. If you make them you will save a lot.

These make lovely hostess and Christmas gifts. From a single leaf or flower to a group in a frame, or combined with a photo or poetry, botanicals are a gardeners gift from nature. From you, the gardener, they’re a natural!

Fall Lawn Care

Fertilizers: If you plan to fertilize once a year, make it in the fall. Cool weather grasses like tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass are the most frequent lawns grown in Kentucky. These grasses grow best in the fall, especially their roots. Fertilizing at this time builds the root base to prepare the grass for the hot summer months. You can still fertilize in December if you missed in the earlier fall.

Fertilizers contain three main nutrients, Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K). Once applied, phosphorus and potassium remain in the soil for several years. Nitrogen washes out. These nutrients are expressed in ratios on fertilizer packaging, to represent N-P-K. A ratio of 10-10-10 in a 30lb. bag of fertilizer means 10 pounds of nitrogen (N), 10 pounds of phosphate (P) and 10 pounds of potash (K). The fertilizer is called ‘balanced’ when the three numbers are equal. When a proper level of P and K is reached in the soil, little additional P or K may be needed for several years.

A new lawn will need a balanced fertilizer. An established lawn will need a fertilizer higher in nitrogen. Regular fertilizing helps prevent weeds. “Weed and Feed’ fertilizers contain herbicides as well. Those containing crabgrass and other grassy weed killers should be applied in mid-April to mid-May. Broadleaf herbicides can be applied in fall and spring.

If you have not had your soil tested before, take two pints of randomly gathered soil to the Extension Office (Rowan County Courthouse or Carter County Courthouse for these two counties). For a few dollars you can get a soil profile that tells you if your soil needs phosphorus (P), potassium (K) or lime. The acidity level of your soil is also analyzed. Based on the Extension recommendation you can apply the needed nutrient to your lawn. You will also add nitrogen. If you are familiar with farming fertilizers, these are cheaper. However they are harder to apply, more apt to burn a lawn and are not formulated to pop right into your spreader. Use these only if you truly know how to use farm fertilizers.

Mowing: Mow often, mow high and keep the blade sharp. Cutting grass too short is the most common damage done to grass. Grass grows more in spring and fall and needs more mowing at those times than in the heat of summer. Kentucky bluegrass should be mowed 2 to 2 ½ inches high. Tall Fescue and Creeping Red Fescue should be mowed 2 to 3 inches high. Mowing shorter than these heights restricts root development, and grasses become easily diseased, or heat and drought damaged, not to mention more easily infested with weeds. Here is a general rule to follow: Mow often enough so that no more than 1/3 to ½ of the grass leafage is removed at any one time. If the grass grows too tall, raise the mowing height, and mow again in a few days. Don’t mow it all at once. You will damage your grass.

Fall Preparations: Raking, Mulching, Pruning and Planting

Our leaves just fell yesterday, as sudden a leaf fall as I remember. A large cold front blew in rather fiercely and downed all the leaves. The chill in the air is our notice to prepare the home landscape for winter. In preparing for winter you will probably want to leaf rake, mulch, transplant or plant and evaluate trimming and pruning.

Raking: If you have oaks, leaves fall all winter! Our large oaks seem to have a perpetual supply of leaves strategically released after we get the last batch raked. As much as I love the look of leaves on the ground, for the home landscape, leaf raking is a necessity to preserve the lawn. Leaves left on the ground will smother grass creating bare spots in spring. Bare spots invite weeds. Mulch mowers help at first but as leaves pile up too much leaf mulch will kill grass. So as much as you may not want to, rake your leaves. Leaves that pile around shrubbery and tree bases can serve as winter mulch and can be left in place. Raking a couple of times instead of saving it up makes the job easier. Use a steel tined rake to prevent leaves getting stuck in the rake.

Leaf raking does rob soil around trees of a continuous supply of nitrogen, and detracts from natural soil building. But unless you have a naturalized area where grass growing is not your goal, you leaves should go. Leaf burning is restricted in some areas so consult your local forest service. Leaves deposited in a nearby woods release their stored carbon much more slowly and are therefore are better disposed ecologically than burning.

Mulching: Leaves can be used for winter mulch on a vegetable garden and around shrubs. For landscaping appearance however shredded bark mulch is most desirable. Mulch in summer controls weeds and retains moisture. In winter, mulch insulates plant roots against early freezing, before the plant fully enters dormancy. Roses benefit from mulching over their graft union. Two to three inches of mulch will usually suffice for most plants. Usually heavier mulch is applied to contour the shape and height of the bed, rather than for needs of the plants themselves. Mulch purchased by the truckload from mulch companies or landscaping concerns is much less expensive than purchased by the forty pound bag. If you are mulching an area larger than ten feet by ten feet, mulch by the truckload will save considerably.

Planting and Transplanting: Fall is a good time to plant or transplant trees and shrubs. Nurseries and home improvement stores make a large selection of these plants available at this time of year. Trees and shrubs planted until the ground freezes, which is usually mid to late December in Kentucky, will fare well over the winter and be ready to get the full benefit of spring growth. Plants in containers transplant the best. If transplanting directly from the ground, plant as early in the fall as September or October to give the plant roots time to recover and grow additional root endings. When a plant is transplanted from the ground its terminal roots and root hairs are usually damaged. As these are the areas a plant absorbs water and nutrients, these are the root areas most important to reproduce themselves. A little time is needed for root growth. Trees and shrubs in pots experience much less root damage and can therefore be planted later into the fall. Plant as you normally would but do not fertilize. You only want the roots to grow, not the plant above the soil line.

Pruning & Trimming: Pruning in fall should be kept to a minimum. Roses can be trimmed of their last flowering, but most other trimming should wait until spring. Trees and shrubs enter dormancy based on length of daylight. No daylight savings time for them! Part of their preparation for dormancy involves the setting of terminal buds, which helps the plant not grow anymore until spring. A late fall trimming shears off the terminal buds and confuses the plant. It will try to grow new terminal buds and delay dormancy. This can cause parts of the plant to be damaged by freezing. Prune woody plants and trees in spring and again in summer if you like. Shrubs can be trimmed many times in summer, but make the last trim in late August or early September.

If you accomplish all of the above you will have done a lot to put the landscape to bed for the winter. A final mowing and string trimming of the lawn in mid-November will add to the neat appearance of your home all winter. Bring the birdfeeders closer to the house so you can see them from your windows. Set out some dried, shelled corn for the squirrels, deer and wild turkey. Enjoy the panoply of fall and winter from indoors knowing that as you sit snugly indoors your yard and garden have been nicely buttoned down for the winter.

For additional information visit www.uky.edu/Ag/HLA/homehort2.html.

Planting Spring Bulbs in Fall

Fall is such a vibrant time of year, so colorful, bracing and chock full of events. Even though it is nature’s way of putting plant life to bed, it is our time of starting things anew. So you could be forgiven if planting bulbs for spring is really low on your list of priorities. However, by January and February, the dramatic beauty of fall is a waning memory. The hunger for spring and the cheer of flowers reaches serious proportions by March. A brief effort now and daffodils, tulips or crocuses can be peeping out around your doorway, cheering you and all who enter.

Planting bulbs is not too complicated. Tulips, daffodils, hyacinth, crocus and snow drops all surface very early, poking through ice and snow. Purchase them online or at a home center. Now is the time to plant them and they can be planted until the ground freezes, usually early December. Bulbs will grow roots during the fall and winter. Select a sunny, well drained location. Avoid wet, low-lying sites. Plant them a depth of two to three times the diameter of the bulb, although this will usually be specified on their packaging. Daffodils and tulips will be planted at about 8 inches deep and smaller bulbs will be 3 to 4 inches deep.

To plant, prepare a hole to hold a few bulbs, spacing the bulbs 2 to 3 inches apart, using 10 to 15 bulbs per hole for a small area. Dig larger holes or trenches for larger areas of bulbs. This is easier than trying to dig a hole for each bulb. Bulb planters will usually bend in Kentucky clay. If you are determined to dig individual holes, consider a bulb auger, an attachment to an electric drill. This digs holes very quickly! But it does not prepare the soil as well. Otherwise, loosen the soil a few inches below the prescribed depth. Amend your soil with organic matter. Add some bone meal. The prescribed depth of the hole is measured from the bottom of the bulb. The tapered end of the bulb points upward. Cover the bulbs with soil, add two inches of mulch and water well.

After spring bloom, don’t mow the bulb foliage until it turns yellow. The foliage is making carbohydrates in the bulb to store for next years growth. Premature mowing will interrupt this process and weaken the bulb, making the next flowering smaller. The reliable return of bulbs is the part of the fun. So plant them in ground cover, around shrubs, trees or perennials. Or hide their spent foliage with annuals. Let them blend in and reward you well the following year.

Some bulbs naturalize, which means multiplying and spreading. Others do not. So if naturalizing is your wish, be sure the bulbs you buy specify naturalizing. Keep your bulbs cool, dark and dry until planting. Tuck a few bulbs into flower boxes sheltered well by your house. Imagine the cheer of spring flowers in April in your window boxes! So pick a sunny, fall afternoon and devote it to planting some bulbs. The reward in spring will return for years to come and seal the promise of yearly renewal. You will never regret a flower!

Fall Mums

As Fall approaches we look forward to outdoor decorating with mums, fodder shocks, and pumpkins. Who hasn’t wondered why they can’t seem to salvage those beautiful pots of mums after they pass their prime bloom time? If you have had trouble raising mums experiment with the following tips.

Fall Chrysanthemums can be displayed in pots and will hold their blooms for two to three weeks or more. They will not bloom much more than this initial flush of blooms for the season at hand. However they can be planted and enjoyed for a few years to come. Be sure buy plants that are designated ‘hardy’. Water every other day when they are in containers. If you buy plants with buds they will open in a few days.

Keep in mind that the mums bought locally in Kentucky are bred for container life and not all are hardy. They have more foliage than root, which does not support fall planting. To make them grow in the ground it is necessary to realize two mum preferences. First, mums like to be planted in the Spring. You can try fall planting, I have had reasonable success. Or the mums can be over-wintered in the basement or garage and planted in the spring. In spring they have a better chance of survival. To over-winter, trim back the spent foliage in late October or early November and place in the garage with exposure to daily light. Water enough to keep the roots moist, once a week should be plenty. Plant in April, fertilize monthly and pinch back when the shoots get about six inches long. Continue pinching or trimming back until late July. Two major trims are adequate.
Second, regardless of when you plant them, mums do not like wet roots in the winter. That is a problem in Kentucky, much more so than any cold temperatures. We have very wet winters and locally we have a lot of heavy, clay soils that don’t drain well. This is particularly true close to houses and front porches, where mums are often planted. The disturbed soil from the digging of home foundations and basements contributes to root rot.

To compensate for this drainage problem, try planting mums in raised beds of very well drained soil. Mums will even grow in raised beds of fine mulch alone. What won’t work as well is filling a hole with good top soil and planting your mum in the amended hole. You just created a bowl that doesn’t drain well. Instead, dig a shallow hole, about half the depth of the root ball. Keep half the plant a few inches above the original soil level. Mound a small bed of loose soil around the plant, if not using a raised bed. This gives the plant raised, loose soil to spread its roots. Do not take the mulch above the crown (where the plant meets the roots) if drainage is going to be a problem. It is not necessary to mulch the mum heavily to keep them warm or moist. Your goal is good drainage. If you have had trouble with mums it is probably because they were smothered with mulch and clay in an effort to keep them warm. Forget that! Keep them drained.

Armed with this knowledge, you can safely decorate with potted mums and still have a strategy for growing them the following year. So decorate your lamppost or mailbox with fodder shock. Tuck in some pumpkins and gourds –and fall mums!