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April gardening calendar
The following is your garden calendar for April:
The First Half of April:
Feed shrubs and roses -- read label directions for special instructions.
Take a soil sample to determine the exact amount of nutrition the soil needs to grow and produce flowers and vegetables.
Mow lawn if grass is over 2-1/2 inches tall. The ideal mowing height is two inches. Closer cutting weakens the lawn and opens it to invasion by crabgrass and other weeds.
Allowing the lawn to grow too tall gives it a ragged appearance, may create problems with accumulated clippings, and will cause matting if played or trampl....
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Germinating Old Seeds
April is fast approaching and many of us will soon have our gardens amended and prepared for the new growing season. And if you are like me, you have seeds left over from last year, the year before and some seed packs dating back four or more years.
When you have old seed packs, you have to ask yourself, “Should I plant these, throw them out or test them for quality and germination rate?” My answer would be to test them. I remember my dad testing seeds in our kitchen before he would make any decisions on their fate.
To do a germination test, count out 10 to 20 seeds. Then spread the seed....
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Planting Potatoes
Boy, after this winter and all of the snow, we gardeners are more than anxious to get our garden soil ready for the early spring cool season plants and seeds. Unfortunately, most soils are going to be too wet for tilling and preparing a seed bed. How can we tell if our soils are too wet? Go to your garden site and scoop up a small handful of soil, put it in the palm of your hand and squeeze it; if it stays in the palm shape, it is too wet. If, when you open your hand and the soil ball falls apart, that’s good news. Your soil is dry enough to be worked.
One early spring crop that the old ....
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Start Seed
I always look forward to March. My seed orders have arrived and it is time to get a jump on the growing season by starting my seeds indoors. Starting seeds is relatively easy. In most instances, following the directions on the back of seed packs will lead to a successful garden.
Not sure when to start your seeds? The seed pack will tell you this, too. It says, “Start 8 weeks before setting out in the garden.” Grab your calendar and count backwards. That is the date or week you should start your seeds.
Many types of containers (peat pots, peat pellets, plastic trays, and cell flats) a....
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A Changing Political Climate on Climate Change
Despite intense, sometimes contentious negotiations -- most recently at a meeting of world leaders in Denmark -- the likelihood of a binding deal on global carbon emissions appears remote. Virtually all nations agree about the potential severity of climate change, but tremendous apprehension remains about how best to fight global warming.
A quick look at the economics of climate change reveals why. Most climate economists believe that unregulated emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases pose significant risks. But the economic costs of many of the strategies for combating clima....
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Building a cold frame
One gardening activity that is perfect for this time of year is cold frame construction or reconditioning your old cold frame. This small unheated, wooden structure or greenhouse with a removable plastic or glass top has many uses. For example, you may use it for propagating cuttings, forcing early spring flowers, starting seeds and/or plants early in the spring, growing salad greens (lettuce, onions, radishes, or chives) in the late fall or early spring for table use, and hardening off seedlings and cuttings.
The heat source of the cold frame is the sun. When the sun shines, this concen....
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2010 Forcing Flowering Shrubs
As I drive through town and walk around my back yard, I notice that deciduous shrubs and trees are absent of leaves and flowers. Well, what do I expect? It’s January in Delaware. Us gardeners need to see green and experience flowers growing and blooming to help us get through cold winters. One way to do this is to cut a few branches from spring blooming shrubs and bring them indoors to “force” them into blooming.
Forcing flowering shrubs to bloom indoors is easy. The following rules will make it easier:
The branches will bloom easier and quicker if you cut and bring them indoors closer t....
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Over watering house plants Sussex County
Caring for houseplants in the winter is one of my gardening weaknesses. I either forget to water them when they need it, or water them too often. Proper watering of houseplants is one of the trickiest areas in that over-watering promotes root rot, while under-watering in most cases will result in plants drying out and possibly dying.
The amount of water a plant requires depends on the type of plant, soil and lighting conditions, environmental temperatures and the humidity in your home, as well as the plant’s growth cycle. During the plant’s active growth period, it absorbs more water th....
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Gardening calendar for February
Here’s your gardening calendar for February.
For the First Half of the Month:
.Order seeds through catalogs to take advantage of early-bird discounts.
.Leave mulch on perennials continually; unfortunately, there are probably more cold days ahead.
.Prune ornamental plants like oak, yew, pine, juniper, and arborvitae to shape. Remove dead or unattractive parts of the tree such as branches and crotches that have crossed and sprouts or suckers growing at or near the base of the trunk. Also, remove branches broken due to winter winds and storms.
.Remove honeysuckle and other weedy vines from de....
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Deicing roads, driveways & walkways
One problem I have with winters in Delaware is that we never know how mild or severe the weather will be. Even the weather forecasters have trouble predicting what kind of storm we will have. Who would have thought we would have had snow at the beginning of December?
When winter storms result in icy conditions, de-icers are sometimes used to help relieve some of the dangerous effects. However, precautions must be noted prior to their use.
De-icing salt, rock salt or sodium chloride is very effective in making our ice-covered roads and sidewalks safer on which to travel. Unfortunately,....
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Gases de efecto invernadero amenazan la salud pública y el medio ambiente
WASHINGTON—Mediante una revisión exhaustiva de la evidencia científica y una consideración cuidadosa de los comentarios públicos, y en víspera de las conversaciones globales climáticas en Copenhagen, la Agencia de Protección Ambiental de EE.UU. (EPA, por sus siglas en inglés) anunció hoy que los gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) amenazan la salud pública y el bienestar del pueblo estadounidense. EPA también encuentra que las emisiones de GEI provenientes de vehículos que transitan por las carreteras contribuyen a esta amenaza.
Los GEI son el propulsor primordial del cambio climático, el cual....
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Holiday gift idea
The holidays are soon approaching and stores are filled with all kinds of gift ideas. But for a gardener there is nothing better received then a gardening related gift. I have a big wish list of great garden gifts that may help you select a present for your plant and wildlife lover too. The following list offers just a few suggestions:
A gift certificate from a local garden center or your favorite gardening supply catalog.
A gift certificate for a massage at a local spa for those aches and pains after a day in the garden.
A gift certificate for a hand massage and manicure.
A gift cer....
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Selection of Christmas tree
If you are looking for a fun family activity and you are planning to use a real Christmas tree this year, why not visit one of the many Delaware Christmas Tree Grower’s farms to find that special tree and tag it.
Tagging will hold it for you until you return a few days before Christmas to cut it down and take it home to decorate. For those of you who may be interested, here are some common varieties of Christmas trees grown and sold in Delaware and guidelines to help you select the perfect tree.
• White pines have silvery blue-green needles that are soft to the touch. Needles are group....
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The constant gardener: Sussex gardens in December
The December calendar is as follows:
First Week
• Collect pinecones, old bird nests, any remaining seed heads, etc. to be used in making wreaths and other holiday decorations.
• Spray seed heads and dried flowers with hair spray to keep them intact.
• Clean and sanitize (mixture of 1 part bleach and 10 parts water can be used) emptied seed flats before storing so that they will be ready when needed in the early spring.
• Make herbal presents like herb vinegars and/or potpourri for the holidays.
• Select your tree early and tag it while visiting your local Christmas tree farm.
• Chan....
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Firewood pests
November is here and we all have to face the facts that colder temperatures are demanding that we turn on our home heating systems or light our woodstoves and/or fireplaces. At our house, we have had our cut firewood stacked by the hedgerow since spring. Who knows what will crawl out of it when it is warmed by indoor temperatures!
If you also bring in wood to burn in your fireplace or woodstove, you may have noticed a few insects emerging from the wood. They are living in wood or just under the bark where they are over-wintering. As the split wood becomes room temperature, insects are fo....
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