GardenSpotlight

Last time we talked about starting your spring plants indoors. If it’s too much for you to consider, or you just don’t have the room, you can always visit your favorite local garden center to purchase plants for your garden in the spring. You should keep in mind a few points while making your choices. Look for local growers as their plants will adapt more readily to your garden since they are grown here. There are many retailers who bring plants in for sale from out of the area, usually from areas where they have longer, earlier grower seasons. Because diseases and insects have specific life cycles, and because the growing season begins earlier in these other locations than here in the North, there is the strong possibility that plants from these regions can transport diseases and/or insects into the Northern zones, before their natural cycle would normally begin in our area. Such was the case with Late Blight just a short time ago in 2009. Late blight is a fungus of which mainly tom...

Soil fertility is a key component in growing healthy plants.   There are many different factors which affect soil fertility and as a result, the soil makeup is constantly changing.    There are at least 16 nutrients which are necessary for plants to grow and complete their life cycles.   Of those 16, non-mineral elements are used in the largest amounts and are found in air and water.   Those non-minerals are carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.     Plants rely on the sun’s energy to convert carbon dioxide (carbon and oxygen) and water (hydrogen and oxygen) into food.   This process is known as photosynthesis.    The rest of the elements (minerals) are known as macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients and can be either found in the soil or added as fertilizer or lime.   The 3 primary macro-nutrients are nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K).    These are most commonly supplied as fertilizers and come in different ratios to ac...

Did you know that purchasing your food locally has many benefits, not only to you, but to your community as well?   Here is a short list of the benefits of buying food directly from the farmer: 1.        Produce and other products are much more fresh and nutritious because they have been recently harvested, usually within 24 hours. 2.        It strengthens your local economy. 3.        It benefits the farming family. 4.        It helps provide food to underserved communities. 5.        You learn about how and where your food is raised by getting to know the farmers. That being said, there are many ways you can purchase local food fresh.   One is by going directly to the farm.   The majority of farms in this county are family owned and operated and the growing trend for smaller farms is marketing directly to the consumer, ...

Many diseases of plants can be kept at bay with good cultural practices.   Keeping plants healthy actually begins with choosing the right plants for your location.   It also includes proper watering and nutrition and cleaning of plant material and the surrounding areas. When choosing plants for your garden, what type of lighting conditions prevail where you are planting?   Is it shady all day or is it sunny?   Perhaps the area only gets sun in the morning or afternoon for part of the day.   This affects not only the types of plants that will perform well in those conditions, but also how much watering you’ll need to do during the season.   If the area remains wet all the time, it will predispose the plants and soil to disease.   So for a shady garden, you will not need to water as frequently as you would for a sunny location.   It is also important to water in the morning, or at least well enough in advance so that the plants are not wet at nigh...

Last time we talked about starting your spring plants indoors.   If it’s too much for you to consider, or you just don’t have the room, you can always visit your favorite local garden center to purchase plants for your garden in the spring.     You should keep in mind a few points while making your choices. Look for local growers as their plants will adapt more readily to your garden since they are grown here.      There are many retailers who bring plants in for sale from out of the area, usually from areas where they have longer, earlier grower seasons.   Because diseases and insects have specific life cycles, and because the growing season begins earlier in these other locations than here in the North, there is the strong possibility that plants from these regions can transport diseases and/or insects into the Northern zones, before their natural cycle would normally begin in our area.   Such was the case with Late Blight just a short time ag...

OK…we’re getting a break in the weather finally and starting to see some warmer temperatures than we’ve had all winter. This makes most of us itch for spring so we can get out in the garden. There are many seeds that you can start indoors and then transplant outside when the air and soil temperatures are warmer and there is no longer the threat of frost. Start by gathering some seed catalogs or look online to get some ideas for your area. Germination rates, seedling growth, transplant dates and time to maturity or flower vary by the plant. Check the descriptions in the catalogs or on the seed packets to see how soon you’ll need to start the seeds indoors before they are of sufficient size to plant outdoors in warmer weather. You’ll need the proper growing materials as well. Seedlings are very delicate; you should purchase sterile planting medium, such as a seed starter mix or compressed pellets that expand when watered. If using last year’s containers, they should be sterilized. You...

Many times I am asked how to rid gardens of pests of the four-legged variety. This can prove to be a very challenging task and I like to recommend that gardeners contact their local Cooperative Extension office once other methods have failed. I have done some research and offer you the following tips for keeping pests out of your garden. It is important to remember here that it is best to combine different strategies with stubborn pests and to rotate them so that the animals in question do not get used to any one particular defense. The first is repellent that can be sprayed. You will likely find several types at your local garden center or hardware store. Be sure to read labels carefully so you are purchasing the correct product for your needs and applying it properly. Many repellents will need to be reapplied after a soaking rain or if, during the growing season, the plants have outgrown the efficacy of the product. You can also use sound deterrents, such as ultrasonic or sonic de...