FALL GARDEN TASKS FOR A BETTER SPRING GARDEN

 FALL GARDEN TASKS FOR A BETTER SPRING GARDEN

The milder fall weather is usually enough to get gardeners back into the swing of things, looking for things to do in the garden. Soon enough we'll have to let our plants get a well deserved rest for the winter. But if you want to get a head start on spring, consider doing a few more last minute tasks in the garden NOW.
It's the perfect time to remove any diseased foliage. Get it out of the garden now, so the problem doesn't linger into spring. Your garden will look that much the better for it too. It's also the perfect time to make sure your cold frame is ready to go when you need it next spring. (Or to build one if you forgot about it during your busy summer.)

10 Tips for Cutting and Displaying Roses

10 Tips for Cutting and Displaying Roses

There is no flower more suitable for cutting than the rose. Strong, sturdy stems, buds that open slowly and elegantly and the bonus of fragrance make roses a favorite in a cutting garden.
Hybrid teas especially lend themselves to cutting. Hybrid tea roses generally produce one perfect blossom at the end of the each stem. Virtually all hybrid tea roses are repeat bloomers throughout the growing season and each blossom may have over 60 petals and be as large as 5 inches across.
Whatever your rose preference, enjoy your blooms even longer with these tips for cutting roses.

1. Cut roses in after 3 in the afternoon, when they are highest in food reserves.
2. Chooses rose buds that have already begun to open, but that are no more than 1/3 to ½ fully open.
3. Always use clean, sharp pruners to prevent damaging the rose canes and spreading disease.
4. Leave at least 3 leaves on the stem, to feed the plant.
5. Remove all leaves that would be below the water line.
6. Get your roses into water as soon as possible. Bring a bucket of water with you when you cut. If you cut the roses outside without water, re-cut the stems indoors either underwater or immediately plunge them into water.
7. Use either a floral preservative or add a splash of a lemon/lime soda or even a squeeze of lemon and a tablespoon of sugar to the water in the vase.
8. Change the water whenever it starts to get dirty.
9. Let your cut roses have a few hours in a cool spot out of direct sunshine before you display them. This conditioning extends their vase life.
10. If your roses seem to be wilting, water is not able to flow through the stem. Re-cut the stem bottoms and submerge them in very warm, (not so hot you can’t touch it) water and let them sit for about an hour before replacing them in the vase.

RIPENING GREEN TOMATOES

 RIPENING GREEN TOMATOES
There are always green tomatoes left on the vine in the fall. Deciding when to either pick the tomatoes green or let them get hit by frost, is a tough call. And then there’s the problem of how to get green tomatoes to ripen.
Most tomatoes need temperatures above 60 degrees F. to finish ripening and some days can be better than others. But once the days begin to shorten and cool, you are going to need to take some precautions to prevent losing your final tomato harvest.
Here are some tips to keep your tomato plants healthy into the fall season and for getting those green tomatoes to ripen on the vine or how to salvage the obstinate green tomatoes you actually have to pick while still green.

1. Don’t panic. Your tomato plants aren’t meant to last forever, so be thankful for the crop you've gotten and start planning for next year.
2. It’s not really worth spraying for diseases at this point in the season. Just remove any diseased leaves and dispose of them.
3. Give your tomato plants a last dose of food. Some compost tea or fish emulsion should give them the energy to finish up the season.
4. Once night time temperatures start dipping into the low 70s, you probably aren’t going to get any new fruits forming. To speed up ripening of the existing green tomatoes, pinch off any new flowers.
5. If a light frost is predicted, cover your plants with a row cover or sheet. You can leave the row cover on during the day, but the sheet is too heavy and opaque, so remove and replace as needed.
6. If you still have green tomatoes well into the cool days of fall, you can lift the entire plant and hand it in a dry, sheltered location, like the garage. The fruits will continue to ripen and will still have some of the benefits of ripening on the vine. Try and take some roots with the plant, but you can shake off any soil. Also, you don’t want to hang the plants in direct sunlight or total darkness.
7. You can also go the old tried and true route of picking the more mature green fruits and ripening them in the house. Mature green tomatoes will have a tinge of color at the blossom end and feel a little softer than the solid young fruits. Options for ripening green tomatoes indoors include:
   
   • Placing them on a sunny window sill. This is a hit or miss solution. You’ll have much better luck ripening mature green tomatoes. Although the tomatoes are more stable sitting on their stem side, they will rot less readily if you can place them blossom side down.
   • Wrapping individual green tomatoes in newspaper and layering in a box, no more than 2 layers deep. Place the box in a dark, dry spot and check weekly for progress. It usually takes 3-4 weeks for the green tomatoes to ripen, but check frequently and remove any fruits that show signs of rotting.
   • Placing the green tomatoes in a paper bag with a ripe apple. The apple gives off ethylene gas, which speeds up ripening. Check the bag daily.
8. And finally, you can always eat your green tomatoes.

There are always green tomatoes left on the vine in the fall. Deciding when to either pick the tomatoes green or let them get hit by frost, is a tough call. And then there’s the problem of how to get green tomatoes to ripen.
Most tomatoes need temperatures above 60 degrees F. to finish ripening and some days can be better than others. But once the days begin to shorten and cool, you are going to need to take some precautions to prevent losing your final tomato harvest.
Here are some tips to keep your tomato plants healthy into the fall season and for getting those green tomatoes to ripen on the vine or how to salvage the obstinate green tomatoes you actually have to pick while still green.

1. Don’t panic. Your tomato plants aren’t meant to last forever, so be thankful for the crop you've gotten and start planning for next year.
2. It’s not really worth spraying for diseases at this point in the season. Just remove any diseased leaves and dispose of them.
3. Give your tomato plants a last dose of food. Some compost tea or fish emulsion should give them the energy to finish up the season.
4. Once night time temperatures start dipping into the low 70s, you probably aren’t going to get any new fruits forming. To speed up ripening of the existing green tomatoes, pinch off any new flowers.
5. If a light frost is predicted, cover your plants with a row cover or sheet. You can leave the row cover on during the day, but the sheet is too heavy and opaque, so remove and replace as needed.
6. If you still have green tomatoes well into the cool days of fall, you can lift the entire plant and hand it in a dry, sheltered location, like the garage. The fruits will continue to ripen and will still have some of the benefits of ripening on the vine. Try and take some roots with the plant, but you can shake off any soil. Also, you don’t want to hang the plants in direct sunlight or total darkness.
7. You can also go the old tried and true route of picking the more mature green fruits and ripening them in the house. Mature green tomatoes will have a tinge of color at the blossom end and feel a little softer than the solid young fruits. Options for ripening green tomatoes indoors include:
   
   • Placing them on a sunny window sill. This is a hit or miss solution. You’ll have much better luck ripening mature green tomatoes. Although the tomatoes are more stable sitting on their stem side, they will rot less readily if you can place them blossom side down.
   • Wrapping individual green tomatoes in newspaper and layering in a box, no more than 2 layers deep. Place the box in a dark, dry spot and check weekly for progress. It usually takes 3-4 weeks for the green tomatoes to ripen, but check frequently and remove any fruits that show signs of rotting.
   • Placing the green tomatoes in a paper bag with a ripe apple. The apple gives off ethylene gas, which speeds up ripening. Check the bag daily.
8. And finally, you can always eat your green tomatoes.

There are always green tomatoes left on the vine in the fall. Deciding when to either pick the tomatoes green or let them get hit by frost, is a tough call. And then there’s the problem of how to get green tomatoes to ripen.
Most tomatoes need temperatures above 60 degrees F. to finish ripening and some days can be better than others. But once the days begin to shorten and cool, you are going to need to take some precautions to prevent losing your final tomato harvest.
Here are some tips to keep your tomato plants healthy into the fall season and for getting those green tomatoes to ripen on the vine or how to salvage the obstinate green tomatoes you actually have to pick while still green.

1. Don’t panic. Your tomato plants aren’t meant to last forever, so be thankful for the crop you've gotten and start planning for next year.
2. It’s not really worth spraying for diseases at this point in the season. Just remove any diseased leaves and dispose of them.
3. Give your tomato plants a last dose of food. Some compost tea or fish emulsion should give them the energy to finish up the season.
4. Once night time temperatures start dipping into the low 70s, you probably aren’t going to get any new fruits forming. To speed up ripening of the existing green tomatoes, pinch off any new flowers.
5. If a light frost is predicted, cover your plants with a row cover or sheet. You can leave the row cover on during the day, but the sheet is too heavy and opaque, so remove and replace as needed.
6. If you still have green tomatoes well into the cool days of fall, you can lift the entire plant and hand it in a dry, sheltered location, like the garage. The fruits will continue to ripen and will still have some of the benefits of ripening on the vine. Try and take some roots with the plant, but you can shake off any soil. Also, you don’t want to hang the plants in direct sunlight or total darkness.
7. You can also go the old tried and true route of picking the more mature green fruits and ripening them in the house. Mature green tomatoes will have a tinge of color at the blossom end and feel a little softer than the solid young fruits. Options for ripening green tomatoes indoors include:
   
   • Placing them on a sunny window sill. This is a hit or miss solution. You’ll have much better luck ripening mature green tomatoes. Although the tomatoes are more stable sitting on their stem side, they will rot less readily if you can place them blossom side down.
   • Wrapping individual green tomatoes in newspaper and layering in a box, no more than 2 layers deep. Place the box in a dark, dry spot and check weekly for progress. It usually takes 3-4 weeks for the green tomatoes to ripen, but check frequently and remove any fruits that show signs of rotting.
   • Placing the green tomatoes in a paper bag with a ripe apple. The apple gives off ethylene gas, which speeds up ripening. Check the bag daily.
8. And finally, you can always eat your green tomatoes.

Definition: A true annual

Definition: A true annual is a plant that completes its life cycle in one year. This means it goes from seed to seed and then dies off, during the course of one growing season. The whole mission of an annual is to produce seed and propagate. That's why deadheading or removing spent flowers before the seed matures, produces more flowers and therefore more potential seed. Some tender perennials are grown as annuals in colder climates. For a perennial to be worth growing as an annual, it must flower profusely in its first year of growth. Pansies, lantana and alyssum are all actually tender perennials.
There are also plants considered to be hardy annuals. This just means that they are able to withstand a little frost without being killed off and will continue to bloom and set seed into the next year, but they will eventually expire. Bachelor Buttons and Salvia Victoria are examples.
Annuals can be further divided into cool season and warm season. Pansies will fade as the summer heats up. Zinnias won't even get moving until the nights stay warm.

Healthy hands are the Gardener's Best Tools

Healthy hands are the Gardener's Best Tools

Here are the major reasons why one should consider getting a pair of trusty gardening gloves:

Gloves protect your hands from blisters, thorns and cuts while doing rough work like digging or pruning in the garden. Investing in one or more pairs of quality gloves is a good decision.

Here are some tips on how to choose the pair that will suit you best:  
1. Look for quality leather gloves with a cloth back; this will let the gloves breathe and keep your hands dry, cool and comfortable.

2. If mud bothers you, select rubber gloves with cotton lining.

3. When spraying pesticides or chemicals choose gloves that are made from neoprene. Gloves made from latex or any type of plastic may not offer the best protection.

4. When pruning roses, use gloves that reach up to the arms.

5. If you usually operate large garden machinery, buy gloves in brown instead of red as the latter may dye your hands.

6. Light cotton or even fingerless gloves may be useful for transplanting seedlings. They will allow more dexterity and so help to prevent the tiny roots from being crushed.

7. And of course, make sure that the gloves you buy actually fit your hands. If you have small hands, try the children's gardening section. there's nothing worse than trying to garden is gloves that are too big.

Your gloves must be comfortable as well as give protection to best serve your gardening needs.

Getting Rid of Problem Plants

Monday August 30, 2010

Whether you are reviewing the overgrown jumble of you garden at its peak or just gearing up for spring, there always seems to be a plant or two that just will not behave. Either something you planted and now regret, something the birds dropped off or a thug, pushing its way in.
Vines are a great example. Too often, when we need a vine, we go for the quickest climbers. However quick climbers can also be aggressive plants, in general. Case in point, the lovely Trumpet Vine. You can never have just one Trumpet Vine; it pokes its head up everywhere. So, first cure: How to get rid of Trumpet Vine.
Then there are the literally invasive plants, like Oriental Bittersweet. Several plants go by the common name of bittersweet and a couple of them deserve it. Although beautiful, Oriental Bittersweet is destructive. Think twice about giving it free rein in your garden. How to get rid of Bittersweet.
And finally, the most annoying vines of all, poison ivy and oak. These weeds seem to be getting hardier and smarter about spreading. They are a great reason for wearing gloves in the garden. How to get rid of Poison Ivy and Poison Oak.
I know this is only the tip of the iceberg. What do you regret planting? And I also know there are times and places where fast growing vines are just the ticket and I would be curious to hear How you use vines, in your garden.