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Click here to view Melinda's "A Fabulous Garden in Five Easy Steps" brochure. |
Whether you are hoping for a big harvest, a beautiful landscape, or a little stress relief, knowing the when and how of gardening will help you be a success. Use these timely garden tips to eliminate some of the guesswork. For more gardening tips, check out Melinda's books.
Installing Patios, Walks & Walls
Sponsored by:
Wisconsin Green Industry Federation
Growing GreenGive mom the gift of your time and energy while being kind to the environment. Offer to weed and mulch her gardens. Pull or cultivate existing weeds. Place a layer of woodchips or shredded bark around trees and shrubs. Be careful not to pile the mulch over the trunk or stems of the plants. Use shredded leaves, evergreen needles or herbicide-free grass clippings for flowers and vegetable gardens. Is it too early for this work in your part of the country? Give mom a coupon for a future workday. This provides the added benefit of another visit and perhaps a home cooked meal.
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FlowersSpring is my favorite season, a sign of beautiful gardens to come. Take some time to enjoy the lovely blossoms and make a few notes on where you could use a few more next season. Many bulb catalogues are out so you can order now and have them delivered to your door for fall planting.
Allow the leaves of tulips, daffodils and other spring flowering bulbs to naturally yellow and dry. This gives the plants a chance to produce and store energy for a beautiful display next spring. Mask fading foliage by interplanting bulbs with annuals and perennials.
Thin out one fourth of the stems of perennials prone to powdery mildew, such as garden phlox and bee balm. This allows more air and light to reach the stems, reducing the risk of disease.
Place cages and grow-through stakes over plants as soon as the leaves break through the soil. The plants will quickly grow and cover the cages. I would rather look at the cage for a week or two than try to shove the large plant into the small opening - this is easier on the plant and gardeners with too much on their to-do list. Those in the south and west may need to use twigs and twine to stake plants that are already too big to be corralled into cages.
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EdiblesPick asparagus when the stems are 6 to 8 inches long. Pick three-year-old plantings for 4 weeks and older plantings for 6 to 8 weeks. Don't have an asparagus plant? Check with your local garden center - many are now selling two-year-old transplants ready for the garden.
Harvest rhubarb leaves when they are 12 to 15 inches high. Limit picking to two weeks on two-year-old plantings and eight to ten weeks on established plants. Summer picked rhubarb is not poisonous - it is just better for the plant to leave the energy producing leaves intact throughout the growing season.
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Trees, Shrubs and RosesThis is a great time for planting trees, shrubs and roses. Plant trees with the root flare (areas where roots taper away from the trunk) at or slightly above the soil surface. Plant trees in the existing soil. Research has found that adding lots of peatmoss and compost to the planting holes makes it difficult for the tree roots to break through the surrounding soil and become established. Digging a wider hole will help loosen the soil, making it easier for plants to get established in heavy soils.
Treat mugo pines infested with pine needle scale (looks like flecks of white paint on the needles) when the vanhoute (bridal wreath) spirea are blooming and lilac flower buds start to swell. Use insecticidal soap, ultrafine oil, or other products labeled for their control. If you missed the treatment window this year, mark your calendar for 2009. Note the normal bloom time for these indicator plants and make a note to treat the infested pines.
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Lawns and GroundcoversThe hot dry summer of 2007 helped crabgrass populations grow and flourish in lawns across the country. Reduce future problems by keeping the grass tall throughout the growing season. Grow cool season grasses like bluegrass, fescue and ryegrass 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 inches tall. Warm season grasses like bermudagrass, carpetgrass, centipedegrass and zoysia should be grown at 1 to 2 inches tall, while St Augustine should a bit higher, 2 to 3 inches, for best results. Crabgrass per-emergent should be applied when the soil temperatures are 55 degrees. This is about when the vanhoute spirea are blooming. Treat problem areas and a few feet beyond. Corn gluten based herbicides such as Amaize provide about 50 percent control over a 3 year period. This is a good alternative for gardeners looking for a more environmentally friendly product. Remember these products also prevent desirable grass seed from sprouting, so check the label and in most cases you will need to wait until late summer to overseed treated lawns.
This may be the year to stop fighting a losing battle. If you can't get grass to grow under your large shade tree or along the north side of your house - consider replacing the failing grass with shade tolerant ground covers. Be careful not to disturb the tree roots in the process. Consider growing deadnettle (Lamium), Canadian ginger, hosta, astilbes, ferns and other perennials that can tolerate the shade and create a beautiful garden where there once was a thinning lawn.
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IndoorsContinue caring for forced bulbs and gift plants. Grow in a sunny window, water as needed and fertilize with a dilute solution of flowering plant fertilizer.
Forced daffodils, hyacinths and tulips can be moved into the garden once the plants have gone dormant or danger of frost has passed. Plant in a sunny well-drained location. You may only get leaves next spring, but your efforts will be rewarded with beautiful blooms the following spring. Sound like too much work? Recycle the plants in the compost pile - just another way our plants keep giving.
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MELINDA'S GARDEN MOMENT VIDEOS - In need of more gardening tips that can visually walk you through the process? Click here to watch online streaming video of my nationally-syndicated gardening tip segments.
PODCASTS - Listen to my weekly garden podcasts.
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