Jessie Keith – Page 10

Everblooming Bedding Plants for Heat and Drought

Two Zinnias, ‘Macarenia’ and ‘Mazurkia’ , comprise the bright, heat-wise Sasiando Mix. (Photo care of National Garden Bureau)

Finding garden flowers that bloom effortlessly through the hot, dry summer months can be a challenge for those new to gardening. So many popular bedding plants are tender and water needy. Impatiens, coleus, dahlias and even petunias will quickly flag when the heat and drought ramps up. But, have no fear. Lots of bedding plants will make it through the worst of the summer weather. Some even shine—blooming effortlessly all summer long.

National Garden Bureau Agastache-Arizona-Sun — Arizona Sun is one tough, pretty bedding plant that offers continuous color and attracts hummingbirds. (Photo care of National Garden Bureau)

When choosing “hot” summer flowers, I like to think of their origins. Resilient selections come from sultry climates, like Mexico, Africa, the American South, and hot, dry regions in the Mediterranean. They’re adapted to hot weather. Agastache, angelonia, cuphea, salvia, marigolds, and zinnias are several excellent choices. Exciting varieties are generated each year, making it easy to fill the garden with beautiful flowers sure to shine.

Hummingbird Mint

Hummingbirds love the sunny flowers of agastache (otherwise known as hummingbird mint) and the blooms shine through summer in containers or garden beds. They’ve been a standby in my garden for the last 20 years because they are so beautiful, fragrant and easy. Many new resilient varieties make gardening and crafting colorful flower combos easier than ever. The new Agastache Arizona™ Sun and Arizona™ Sandstone, with their gold and soft orange blooms and foot-high statures, will bloom through hot, dry weather and mix well with many similarly tough garden flowers. Though hybrids, the parent plants originate from the American Southwest—a testament to their ability to take the heat.

vermillionaire2 — The bright flowers of Cuphea Vermillionaire continue until frost. (Photo care of Proven Winners)

Angelonia

The Mexican native narrowleaf angelon (Angelonia angustifolia) produces snapdragon-like spikes of white, purple and pink flowers through summer months. Of these, the carefree bloomers in the Serena™ Series have won multiple awards (Mississippi Medallion Award, Dallas Arboretum FlameProof Award, Louisiana Super Plants Award) for their high performance and ability to stand up to summer heat. The breeders claim: “Plants grow up to 50% larger in Floridalike conditions.”

Firecracker Plant

Gardeners with large, sunny, South-facing beds should consider planting the big, bushy firecracker plant, Cuphea Vermillionaire™. New from Proven Winners, the bushy plants reach around two feet and become laden with lots of orange-red, tubular flowers that are a hummingbird mainstay. A strong tendency to rebloom until frost makes this a superb bedding plant as does its high tolerance to hot, dry weather.

Scarlet Sage

In late summer, I always rely on colorful scarlet sage (Salvia coccinea) to add bright garden color up until frost. And, these natives of the American South and Mexico are made for hummingbirds! The tall species gently self-sows, so I simply dig the seedlings and place them where I want them, but that doesn’t keep me from planting a few choice varieties as well. The AAS- and Fleuroselect-winning varieties in the Summer Jewel™ series are compact (reaching one and a half to two feet), bloom continuously, and come in shades of red, pink, and white.

NGB Salvia_SummerJewelWhite-AAS2015-2-crop — The award-winning Salvia Summer Jewels White is a great continuous bloomer for hot, dry places! (Photo care of the National Garden Bureau)

Marigolds

Once established, marigolds are made for summer with their nonstop flowers in flame colors. The tall, Garland Orange African marigold (Tagetes erecta ‘Garland Orange’) bears huge, long-stemmed flowers on strong, bushy plants less apt to topple over in the wind. Plants reach three feet, making them a great choice for colorful, back-of-the-border fillers.

Zinnia

There’s always a place in my garden for zinnias. Not only do they make great cut flowers, but newer varieties flower effortlessly with little deadheading (removal of old blooms). The new Sasiando mix, which comprises Zinnia ‘Macarenia’, with gold and orange double blooms, and ‘Mazurkia’, with ivory and red double blooms, attracts butterflies in a big show of flowers. Both are high performers in sweltering summer weather and their bushy plants reach two to three feet. Deadheading is not necessary but may keep plants looking prettier.

Plant a few of these water- and heat-wise plants and your flower garden will be smiling through even the most scorching days of summer, with moderate care and watering. Give them a boost with an OMRI Listed flower food and top-dress with Black Gold Garden Compost Blend and keep the sunny blooms and bouquets coming!

A to Z Natural & Organic Rose Care

The new rose Take it Easy™ is highly disease resistant, and a great choice for organic rose growing. (Photo Courtesy of © Weeks Roses)

Roses have a bad rap when it comes to pests and diseases—causing ecologically minded gardeners to avoid growing these seemingly needy, unsustainable garden beauties. But this need not be so. With the dawn of more resilient rose varieties and better rose-care products, it is easier than ever to successfully grow roses naturally.

There are four rules of thumb for sustainable rose cultivation: 1. Choose resistant roses; 2. Follow good rose cultivation techniques; 3. Establish an IPM regime (monitor your roses); 4. use OMRI Listed products to manage pests and diseases.

Choose Resistant Roses

The golden blooms of Julia Child® shine through summer. (Photo Courtesy of © Weeks Roses)

Newer roses are bred to withstand all the most common rose problems in addition to having good fragrance and old-fashioned appeal. Sometimes older varieties are also surprisingly tough and resistant. Here are top selections for resistance, habit, and good looks:

A new introduction for 2015, Take it Easy™ is a beautiful floribunda rose that bears many clusters of velvety dark red flowers throughout the season. Hybridized by Christian Bédard, Research Director at Weeks Roses, this tough rose is described as having a “naturally self-maintained habit.” Its shiny dark green leaves are said to remain attractive and unhindered by foliar disease.
Old-fashioned looks and good disease resistance make the Romantica® Roses by Star Roses great selections for gardeners seeking classic garden roses for modern gardens. Many, such as the palest pink, fully double Colette™, also boast exceptional fragrance as well as highly disease-resistant foliage.
An AARS-award-winning floribunda rose with old-fashioned looks, Julia Child® is another Weeks introduction that bears fragrant double roses of palest amber. Its ultra-glossy leaves have excellent disease resistance, and the vigorous plants keep blooming all season long.
The compact heirloom polyantha rose ‘Gabrielle Privat’ (1931) is a top performer in my garden. It becomes covered with fairy-pink clusters of small double roses that bloom most vigorously in early summer.
Named for the famed English garden designer, Gertrude Jekyll® is a rich double pink David Austin rose with outstanding fragrance and disease resistance. The classic English shrub will add effortless heirloom charm to any garden.
A great hybrid tea is Hypnotized!®, the Jackson & Perkins 2013 Rose of the Year®. Its highly fragrant flowers are bright shades of pink with streaks of white and stand above very disease-resistant glossy foliage.

Follow Good Cultivation Techniques

A plant with Rose Rosette Disease (RRD), an incurable viral disease that requires plants to be removed to stop the spread.

Good site selection and pruning are at the heart of smart rose care. Choose a planting location with full sun and soil with good drainage and ample organic matter. Roses grow best in slightly acid to neutral soil (6.5 to 7.0), so check your pH before planting. Amend with Black Gold Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss at planting time as well as a fertilizer formulated for rose growing. I suggest alfalfa meal.

There is an art to rose pruning. First, time it right. Prune in spring right before branches have begun to leaf out. Forty-five-degree angle branch cuts should be made with clean, sharp bypass pruners. Cut stems around ¼ to ½ inch above outward-facing buds to encourage strong outward branching. Keep a bucket of water with 10% bleach on hand to clean pruners between plants, to protect against potential cross-contamination of diseased plants. Also, be sure to invest in a good pair or rose gloves to keep thorns from your hands and arms.

Start by removing any dead or unhealthy looking branch material. Next, cut back any crossing or large, ungainly branches that negatively impact the overall shape of the plant. Finally, promote airflow by pruning out any small, densely arranged branches. Good foliar airflow will helps keep foliage dry, which helps protect plants from certain foliar diseases. Read more about good rose pruning techniques by clicking here.

Establish an IPM Regime

Gertrude Jekyll® is a double pink David Austin rose with outstanding fragrance and disease resistance. (Photo courtesy of David Austin Roses)

Catching early signs of pest and disease damage can help you tackle small problems before they become big problems. Powdery mildew (white spots on leaf tops), downy mildew (purple, red, or brown spots on leaves), black spot (black spots on leaf tops and bottoms), rust (orange bumps on leaf bottoms and tops), and anthracnose (red or brown spots that turn gray or white in the center) are the most common foliar diseases cause by fungi. The best practice is to remove disease foliage immediately, in addition to removing foliage that may have fallen to the ground. Keeping plants physically clean will do wonders. The application of safe, OMRI Listed rose fungicides is also recommended (see below).

Viral diseases are a different matter. Leaf and branch distortions, leaf line streaks, unexplained leaf curl, and mosaic patterns are the surest signs that your roses carry a virus. Unfortunately, viral diseases cannot be cured, so the best action is to remove infected plants entirely. This is most imperative with rose rosette disease, which spreads and kills roses fast. It is also smart to choose “virus-free” plants at planting time.

Most insect pests love roses as much as we do. Some of the most common and destructive pests include Japanese beetles (skeletonize foliage), rose aphids (suck leaf juices from new growth and flowers), spider mites (suck leaf juices from mature leaf undersides), and thrips (attack flowers in bud causing bloom distortion). Several organic solutions are available for their management (see below). Native leafcutter bees are also known to cut rounded notches from rose leaves, but these friendly pollinators don’t do serious damage and don’t require management.

Nutrient deficiencies are common in roses but easily remedied with recommended doses of a good, OMRI Listed rose fertilizer.

Learn more about common rose diseases here, common rose pests here, and Japanese beetles here.

Choose the Right Products

The hybrid tea is Hypnotized!® was Jackson & Perkins 2013 Rose of the Year®. (Photo courtesy of Jackson & Perkins)

There are lots of effective, environmentally friendly rose-care products to choose from. For fungal foliar fungal diseases, there are lots of OMRI Listed options (see the full list here). I recommend GreenCure® for powdery mildew and Garden Safe Brand Fungicide 3® for all other foliar fungal diseases. Both are reliable and safe.

Early applications of insecticidal soap, dormant horticultural oil, or neem oil will help tackle problems with aphids, spider mites, and even thrips. As a protective measure, it is always wise to treat roses with dormant horticultural oil early in the season before plants leaf out. Neem oil and insecticidal soap can be applied through the season as needed. Larger pests, like Japanese beetles, are best picked off by hand and squashed or thrown in a bucket of water. In years when populations are high, smaller roses can be protected with summer-weight insect row cloth.

Follow these rose care guidelines, and you will have a beautiful rose garden. Your roses may still have thorns, but they will look and smell sweet through the season.

Growing Tomatoes from Seed to Harvest

Nothing is more gratifying than a big tomato harvest in summer!

Homegrown summer tomatoes simply taste better. That’s why they’re the most popular warm-season crop. They are inexpensive to grow and offer big payloads of delicious fruits, which are pricy at farmers’ markets and grocery stores. It pays to grow your own from seed because they are easy to start, and if you grow organically it’s the best way to know that your stock is pesticide-free. And, there are loads of wonderful tomato varieties only offered from seed.

Tomato Basics

Common Name: Tomato
Botanical Name: Lycopersicon esculentum
Days to Harvest: 65 to 85 days after planting, depending on the variety
Planting Time: After the last frost date
Light: Full sun
Soil: Rich, porous, well-drained loam
Water: Regular water for even moisture
Temperature: Fruiting is best with 78 -92ᵒ F days and 70ᵒ-80 F nights.
Fertilization: Quality fertilizer formulated for tomatoes

Pests: Tomato hornworms and Colorado potato beetles feed on foliage and fruits, causing significant damage.
Diseases: Plant wilt, leaf damage, fruit damage, or poor performance can be caused by many tomato diseases, including early and late blight, fusarium wilt, tomato mosaic virus, and verticillium wilt.
Disorders: Blossom end rot (caused by calcium deficiency), splitting/cracking (caused by excessive water or temperature fluctuations), and fruit toughness, cat-facing, and reduced productivity (caused by cool temperatures) are the most common disorders.

Days to Harvest Steps for Tomatoes

'Pomodoro' is a fantastic all-purpose tomato for fresh eating and cooking. — ‘Franchi’s Italian Pear’ is a fantastic all-purpose tomato for fresh eating and cooking.

Starting Seeds

It takes around six to eight weeks to grow tomatoes from seed to ready-to-plant seedlings. Start seeds indoors for the best results. Sow seeds in cells filled with OMRI Listed Black Gold Seedling Mix and lightly sprinkle a bit on top to cover. Gently moisten the cells with water, and then place the trays right under the warmth of grow lights. Keep the mix moist but never wet. In 5 to 12 days, your tomato seeds should germinate. Germination is best when temperatures are warm (68°-75° F (20-24° C)). A heat mat for seed starting will dramatically hasten germination. (Click here for more detailed seed-starting instructions.)

Tending Seedlings

Tomato seedlings are delicate and have two lance-shaped seed leaves when they first emerge. The true leaves, which are feathery and divided, appear in 2 to 3 days. At this point, feed seedlings with diluted, water-soluble tomato fertilizer. Keep the soil moist but not wet. Wet soil can encourage fungal diseases that cause seedlings to rot or “damp off.” To avoid leaf burn, lift grow lights up as plants get closer to the bulbs.

Tending Small Plants

Tomato plants should be around 8- to 10-inches tall and garden-ready after eight weeks. Indoor grown seedlings are tender, have weak stems, and need time to adjust to full sun. If directly planted outdoors, they will develop leaf burn and may die. To avoid this, they need to be hardened off for at least a week before planting. Hardening off means acclimating seedlings from their cushy indoor growing conditions to the windy, sunny outdoors where temperatures fluctuate.

To harden seedlings off, place the potted plants in a protected spot that gets a few hours of sun per day. Each day move them to a new location where they get a little more light and wind each day. After a week or so, they should be tough enough to plant in the garden.

'Matt's Wild Cherry' is a delicious, tiny cherry tomato with big flavor. — ‘Matt’s Wild Cherry’ is a delicious, tiny cherry tomato with big flavor.

Garden or Container Planting

Choose a good spot for your tomatoes. They require at least 8 hours of full sun and well-drained soil that’s fertile. Vining (indeterminate) types need caging or trellising, while bush (determinant) types need staking; both types benefit from summer pruning.

Before planting in the garden, amend beds by digging and turning the soil deeply and adding rich Black Gold Natural & Organic Compost Blend and an OMRI Listed tomato fertilizer. Plant tomatoes around 4 feet apart and mulch with another 2- to 3-inch layer of Black Gold Natural & Organic Compost Blend. Young plants can be planted deep, with only several leaves above ground–just be sure to gently remove the leaves from all stem parts that will be covered with soil. Water regularly to keep root moist. As plants grow, they will demand more water.

Tomatoes are such aggressive feeders and water hounds that you have to give serious attention to container-grown plants. Start with a really large pot. Determinant tomatoes are best, but indeterminates will also work if you keep them well caged and pruned. A good, water-holding potting soil is perfect for container culture. I recommend Black Gold® Natural & Organic Potting Mix, which also contains Resilience™ for stronger stems and better root development. Container-grown tomatoes need to be watered daily and fed more frequently, but if you give them ample attention, they should thrive and produce beautifully. (Click here to watch a video about how to grow tomatoes in containers.)

Harvest

Tomato fruits develop the best when days are warm (between 78 and 92 degrees Fahrenheit) and nights are warm (at least 70 degrees Fahrenheit). Tomatoes can be harvested green for fried green tomatoes and green tomato chutney, but they are best picked when they are fully ripe (well colored, slightly soft to the touch). Some tomatoes are naturally easy to pull from the vine when mature, while others cling. I always keep a pair of pruning sheers on hand for clingers. If you accidentally harvest a few fruits with a bit of green, let them stand on a sunny windowsill for a couple of days, and they will ripen up right away.

Pruning

Tomatoes can be cut and shaped to keep them from overtaking a trellis or container. Use sharp, clean pruners to cut whole branches back to main stems as needed. Try to maintain productive fruit and flower-laden branches, if at all possible. As a precautionary measure, it’s wise to dip pruners in a 10% bleach solution when pruning from plant to plant, just to avoid the possibility of spreading disease. Dip and wipe the pruners after pruning one plant and going to another. (Click here for a video about how to prune cherry tomatoes.)

Tomatoes to Try

'Gold Medal' is one of the best-tasting, prettiest beefsteak tomatoes. — Gold Medal’ is one of the best-tasting, prettiest beefsteak tomatoes.

Tomatoes come in all colors, shapes, and sizes and their flavors are surprisingly variable. In my garden, I always choose several slicers, sauce tomatoes, salad tomatoes, and cherries each year. Some of my favorite pickings include the heirloom red and yellow slicer ‘Gold Medal‘, the French salad tomato ‘Crimson Carmello‘, and orange beefsteak ‘Kellogg’s Orange Breakfast‘. My favorite sauce tomatoes are the Italian powerhouses ‘Red Pear‘, ‘San Marzano Redorta‘ as well as the salad-sized ‘Principe Borghese‘, which is touted as the best tomato for sun drying. My cherry tomatoes of choice are the sweet, golden ‘Sun Gold‘, tiny red ‘Matt’s Wild Cherry‘, and delectable yellow and red ‘Isis Candy‘. All are beautiful and have exceptional flavor.

Enjoy Your Tomatoes

This is the easy part. Lavish burgers with big, hearty tomato slices, eat them fresh in salads or make homemade tomato sauce and salsa. To extend the season, freeze whole tomatoes and sauce for winter. (This generally requires at least ten healthy tomato plants to provide enough to store through winter.)

Growing tomatoes is gratifying if you follow the proper steps and give them the best care. If you do it right, you should have more than enough tomatoes to enjoy and share. I wish you the best tomato season!

Follow these instructions and you'll have enough tomatoes for storing and sharing with friends. — Follow these instructions and you’ll have enough tomatoes for storing and sharing with friends.

Bold Poinsettias for the Holidays

Today’s poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) break the mold of the simple red or ivory potted holiday plant. Nowadays, they come in lots of bicolors as well as shades of pink, peach, yellow, and chartreuse. Many even have extra-large, double, or uniquely shaped blooms. These new poinsettias are a far cry from the leggy Mexican native shrubs that first became part of the American holiday tradition in the 18^th Century. Continue reading “Bold Poinsettias for the Holidays”

Bewitching Black Garden Plants

When it comes to showstopping flowers and foliage the high-performing Dahlia ‘Yellow Hammer’ is exceptional.

Garden plants with near-black leaves and velvety flowers are rare and wonderful. These bewitching beauties may grace our gardens all season long, but those that shine in autumn are perfect for fall, Halloween gardens, and container plantings. Mix them with orange, red, and white blooms for instant seasonal good looks!

Black Annuals

The starry lemon-yellow blooms of Zinfandel oxalis appear atop dark, dark leaves.

The most common black flowers for fall are black pansies. There are lots of different varieties, some with large flowers (pansy Halloween II) and small flowers (Viola tricolor ‘Bowles Black’), and all are very easy to grow from seed. Black pansies look beautiful when planted alongside cheerful Diascia Flirtation Orange with its brilliant tangerine flowers or the purple-black-leaved Zinfandel oxalis (Oxalis spiralis ssp. vulcanicola ‘Zinfandel’) with its small yellow flowers.

Fall nurseries and flower markets also offer pretty dark-leaved ornamental peppers with colorful fruits. The black-leaved ‘Black Pearl’, with its marble-sized hot peppers that turn from purple-black to deep red, is an extra nice variety to seek out. The lower-growing dark-purple-leaved pepper ‘Purple Flash’ is another festive pepper for the season.

Illusion® Midnight Lace is a fine-leaved black sweet potato vine that complements many garden plantings. (Image from Proven Winners)

There are plenty of interesting summer garden annuals with black hues to add interest to containers, beds, and flower borders. In recent years, many black-flowered petunias and calibrachoas have hit the market. Of these, Petunia ‘Black Magic’ is likely the darkest and purest black. The magenta- and black-flowered Calibrachoa Superbells^® Blackcurrant Punch^™ is another showstopper, sold by Proven Winners, that will bloom until frost with good care. (Read our article about Petunia and Calibrachoa care.)

Lots of dahlias have wonderfully dark leaves that contrast beautifully with their colorful flowers. The orange-yellow-flowered, dark-leaved ‘Yellow Hammer‘ and pure yellow-flowered ‘H S Party’ are two more complementary selections with blackish leaves that look sharp all season long.

All containers and summer borders are complemented by rambling ornamental sweet potatoes. Of these, try the deepest purple-leaved rambling vines from Proven Winners, Illusion® Midnight Lace, and Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Jet Black^™. Both are beautiful and high-performing.

Black Perennials

Calibrachoa Superbells® Blackcurrant Punch™ looks great through summer and fall. (Image from Proven Winners)

Perennials with a dark side include a suite of Heuchera that look nice from spring to fall. The Terra Nova offerings ‘Black Beauty‘ and ‘Black Taffeta‘ are both pretty and suited for shade gardening. Plant them beside variegated or golden-leaved plants, such as the golden hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola‘) and the red and gold Heucherella ‘Stoplight’. The perennial groundcover black mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’) has grassy looking foliage that contrasts equally well with other brightly colored perennials for shade.

Those looking for a drought-tolerant black-leaved plant for sun should consider the truly beautiful Sedum ‘Desert Black’ with its dark leaves and deep-magenta blooms. Plant this alongside low-growing Coreopsis, such as the classic variety ‘Moonbeam‘.

Rainbow Rhythm® Storm Shelter is a beautiful dark daylily for the garden. (Image from Proven Winners)

One that can’t be left off the black-flowered-perennial list is the tall (40″), midseason daylily ‘Ashwood Dark Side’. The summer bloomer has iridescent petals that shine like obsidian. A more colorful daylily on the black side is the mid-sized (24″), midseason Rainbow Rhythm^® Storm Shelter from Proven Winners, which has mauve and purple-black flowers.

Early summer is also when gardeners can enjoy the lacy black flowers of Centaurea montana ‘Black Sprite’ as well as the fragrant red-black flowers of Dianthus barbatus ‘Heart Attack’. Frilly German iris of all shades of black and purple are also easy to come by and most bloom and are available in late spring to early summer. Of these, the velvety ‘Hello Darkness’ and black and purple ‘Wild Wings’ are two of the best.

Cultural Tips

Container-grown plants should be grown in Black Gold® Waterhold Cocoblend Potting Soil, which is OMRI Listed for organic gardening. It holds water well to keep plant roots hydrated in the summer heat. A seasonal application of fertilizer formulated for flowers, such as Proven Winners Premium Water Soluble Plant Food, will also keep your plants performing to their fullest.

When designing with your dark-leaved and dark-flowered plants, opt for sharp color contrasts when choosing companion plantings. Garden flowers with warm oranges, yellows, and reds really light up when planted alongside darker-colored plants. White-flowered plants are also recommended for those interested in creating black and white gardens.

Black garden plants aren’t just for fall and Halloween, but they are the most fun at this time of year. So, add a little black magic to your garden this season.

Heuchera_Black_Beauty_2b — Plant the deepest purple *Heuchera* ‘Black Beauty’ with golden-leaved plants, such as golden creeping speedwell. (Image from Terra Nova Nursery)

The upright Sedum 'Desert Black' is tolerant of heat, drought in addition to offering unique garden color. — The upright *Sedum* ‘Desert Black’ is heat and drought tolerant. (Image from Terra Nova Nursery)

When To Fertilize Your Plants

Supertunia Royal Magenta, Salvia Leucantha and Lantana Camara - Jessie Keith — Feeding fall beds is important. This fall garden of Supertunia Royal Magenta, *Salvia leucantha* and *Lantana camara* is well fertilized and glowing!

It always pays to know when to fertilize your plants. Remember to use fertilizers only as directed. Avoid over feeding your plants, adding a little extra fertilizer is not a good thing. Always follow the directions!

ALL PURPOSE FERTILIZER

Plant Type	Application Rate	Frequency
Vegetables, Annual Flowers and Perennials	New Plantings: 4 cups per 50 sq. ft. 2 cups per 25 foot row	Fertilize at time of planting and every 6-8 weeks throughout the growing season. For perennials, feed at first bloom and then every 6-8 weeks.
	Established Plants: 3 cups per 50 sq. ft. 1 ½ cups per 25 foot row
Fruit Trees and Vines, Ornamental Shrubs and Trees	New Plantings: 2 cups per 16 sq. ft. ½ cup per 1 gallon pot 2 cups per 5 gallon pot	Fertilize at time of planting, and every 8 weeks throughout the growing season.
	Established Plants: 2 cups for every inch in trunk diameter (measured at 4-6 inches above the soil line). Mix thoroughly in the soil just inside the drip line of the plant.
Container Plants	New Plantings: 1 tablespoon per quart of soil or 1 cup per cubic foot of soil	Fertilize at time of planting and every 6-8 weeks throughout the growing season.
	Established Plants: 2 tablespoons per gallon of potting soil or ½ cup per 5 gallon container

ROSE & FLOWER FERTILIZER

Plant Type	Application Rate	Frequency
Roses and Flowering Shrubs	New Plantings: 2 cups per 16 sq. ft. 3 ½ cups per 25 foot row ¼ cup per 1 gallon pot 1 cup per 5 gallon pot Mix thoroughly in the soil to a depth of 6-8 inches	Fertilize about every 8 weeks throughout the growing season – first, at time of planting, or in spring before bud break, then again as first blooms fade, and then again in midsummer.
	Established Plants: 1-2 cups per plant depending on size 5 cups per 50 sq. ft. 1 `3/4` cups per 25 foot row Mix thoroughly in the soil to a depth of 6-8 inches, just inside the drip line of the plant
Annual Flowers and Perennials	New Plantings: 4 cups per 50 sq. ft. 2 cups per 25 foot row Mix thoroughly in the soil to a depth of 6-8 inches	Fertilize at time of planting, after first bloom and every 8 weeks throughout the growing season. For perennials, feed at first bloom and then every 8 weeks.
	Established Plants: 2 cups per 50 sq. ft. 1 cup per 25 foot row Mix thoroughly in the soil to a depth of 6-8 inches
Container Plants	New Plantings: ¼ cup per gallon of soil, or 1 cup per cubic foot of soil	Fertilize at time of planting, and every 8 weeks throughout the growing season.
	Established Plants: 2 tablespoons per gallon of potting soil or ½ cup per 5 gallon container

TOMATO & VEGETABLE FERTILIZER

Plant Type	Application Rate	Frequency
Tomatoes & Pepper	New Plantings: 3 cups per 50 sq. ft. 1 ½ cups per 25 foot row	Fertilize at time of planting and again at first bloom set.
	Established Plants: 1 cup per 50 sq. ft. ½ cup per 25 foot row
Other above ground vegetables: Lettuce, Bean, Squash, etc.	New Plantings: 4 cups per 50 sq. ft. 2 cups per 25 foot row	Fertilize at time of planting and in the middle of the growing season.
	Established Plants: 4 cups per 50 sq. ft. 2 cups per 25 foot row
Root Crops: Carrot, Beet, Radish, Potato, Onion, etc.	New Plantings: 4 cups per 50 sq. ft. 1 cup per 25 foot row Use half rate for carrots	Fertilize at time of planting and in the middle of the growing season. Feed carrots only at time of planting.
	Established Plants: ½ cup per 50 sq. ft. 1 cup per 25 foot row
Container Vegetables	New Plantings: 4 tablespoons per gallon of soil, or 1 `2/3`cups per cubic foot of soil	Follow guidelines listed above for the specific vegetables.
	Established Plants: 4 tablespoons per gallon of potting soil or 1 ¼ cups per 5 gallon container

ALFALFA MEAL

Plant Type	Application Rate	Frequency
Vegetables, Annual Flowers, Perennials	New Plantings/Established Plants: 5 cups per 50 sq. ft. 2 1/2 cups per 25 foot row	Fertilize at time of planting, and every 6-8 weeks throughout the growing season. For perennials feed at first bloom and then every 6-8 weeks.
Roses, Ornamental Shrubs, Trees, Fruit Trees, Vines	New Plantings: 2 1/2 cups per 16 sq. ft. 1/2 cup per 1 gallon pot 2 1/2 cups per 5 gallon pot

STARTER & TRANSPLANT

Plant Type	Application Rate	Frequency
Vegetables, Annual Flowers and Perennials, Groundcovers (includes plants and direct seedling)	1.5 cups per 10 sq. ft. 3.5 cups per 25 foot row	Fertilize at time of planting.
Ornamental Trees and Shrubs, Fruit Trees and Vines (includes transplants)	2 tablespoons per 4″ pot 1/4 cup per 1 gallon container 1 1/4 cup per 5 gallon container	Fertilize at time of planting.
Container Plants (includes plants and direct seedling)	2 tablespoons per quart of soil, or 1 cup per cubic foot of soil, mix thoroughly	Fertilize at time of planting.

CITRUS, AVOCADO & VINE FERTILIZER

Plant Type	Application Rate	Frequency
Citrus and Avocado Trees	New Plantings: ½ to 1 cup for the fill-in soil, then 1-½ cups in the area around the tree	Fertilize established plants in February and again in late May and August.
	Established Plants: 2 cups for every inch in trunk diameter (measured at 4-6 inches above the soil line). Mix thoroughly in the soil just inside the drip line of the plant
Container Plants	New Plantings: 1 tablespoon per quart of soil or 1 cup per cubic foot of soil	Fertilize every six weeks from January to April and then again in July.
	Established Plants: 6 tablespoons per gallon of potting soil or 1½ cups per 5 gallon container
Berries and Ornamental Vines	New Plantings: ½ cup for the fill-in soil	Fertilize established plants when growth begins in spring and again when flowers form.
	Established Plants: 1 cup around each plant. Mix thoroughly beneath drip line.

Easy, Garden-Fresh Summer Salsa

A mix of peppers, both hot and sweet, is homemade salsa. — A mix of peppers, both hot and sweet, is recommended for really good homemade salsa.

Warm, late-summer days mean lots of tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic and warm-season herbs for ardent gardeners and farmers market lovers. And what do these veggies all have in common? They’re the ingredients for homemade salsa—making this the best time of year for salsa making and canning. The bigger the batches you make, the more you have to enjoy through late fall and winter when summer is nothing more than a sunny memory. Continue reading “Easy, Garden-Fresh Summer Salsa”

Growing Strawberries with Success

Sometimes old-time gardening advice is the best advice. When I searched for the most complete tips for growing the best strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa), I eventually turned to two classic gardening books, How to Grow Vegetables and Fruits by the Organic Method (J.I. Rodale, 1961) and the Cyclopedia of Horticulture (L.H. Bailey, 1902). Both offered a wealth of information on strawberry growing. In fact, my new strawberry patch is already producing good fruit!

Preparing Strawberry Beds

A little bit of seed-free straw or hay makes a great bedding for strawberry plants. — Fresh strawberries for the picking

When preparing my beds for my strawberries, I took Rodale and Bailey’s advice and chose a large space, which I amended and mounded so the ground would be rich and light while offering superb drainage. According to Rodale, “Strawberries need rich, moisture-retentive but light soil in a warm position.” He suggested planting them on a South-facing slope, so I provided the next best thing by creating a mounded bed in full sun. This year I amended with Black Gold Garden Soil, which feeds plants for up to 6 months, and topped the beds off with a layer of Black Gold Garden Compost Blend. In the fall I will add a little fertilizer formulated for fruit and berries.

My mounded strawberry beds were raised to a height of 6 inches to ensure excellent drainage. Then I top dressed with a little seed-free hay to make sure any developing strawberries would not rot on the moist ground. I plan to add some hay or light mulch once again in the fall to keep plants protected through winter and in spring. Strawberry plants can be hit by spring frosts, so it pays to protect them for the season.

Spacing Strawberries

Spacing strawberries properly is important because better spacing will ensure larger berries. As L.H. Bailey put it, ” For the very finest berries, each plant is allowed a space or hill by itself.” Truly, cramming strawberry plants together will yield smaller berries, so for each of my plants I allotted an 18″ x 18″ space around each. This has proven to be ideal. My plants are already sending out new shoots and producing sizable berries.

Irrigating Strawberries

Keeping berries well irrigated is also essential for good crops. I make sure the soil is slightly moist to a thumb’s depth before watering again. Too much water can encourage root and fruit rot while too little can cause developing fruits to be aborted, so maintaining a good moisture balance is essential.

Choosing and Harvesting Strawberries

A bowl of freshly harvested strawberries.

Strawberries harvested at the right time should be sweet and red through and though Successfully growing strawberries starts with choosing a great variety. Some strawberries are June bearing (single season)–meaning they produce just one large crop early in the season–while others are everbearing (day neutral)–meaning they produce one large spring crop and then continue producing intermittently through summer and especially in fall. Additionally, varieties may be early-, midseason-, mid-late season-, or late-bearing. I turned to my favorite source for superb berries, Nourse Farms, based in Whately, MA. Their stock is reasonable, always healthy, and they have a great selection. This year I chose the flavorful, everbearing ‘Albion‘.

Replanting Strawberry Runners

Straw creates a nice protective base for strawberries.

The last important piece to understand about strawberries is how to maintain their runners and when to replant. Strawberry parent plants need to be replaced around every three years. Strawberries send out runners, each runner terminating in a new plant. The runners need to be managed to keep plants from becoming overcrowded (once again try to maintain reasonable space between plants to encourage larger berries), but the new plantlets produced by runners can eventually be nurtured to used to replace tired parent plants. Unwanted runners can simply be snipped away or moved to create an even larger berry patch.

A perfectly formed and ripened strawberry is a wonderful thing. Berries with fully developed sugars should be red through and through and have a balanced tart and sweet flavor. When strawberry season is on, I always take the time to make strawberry rhubarb crumble (recipe below). It’s my family’s favorite way to enjoy garden-grown strawberries, aside from eating them fresh with cream. There’s nothing like picking our own for whatever strawberry delight we might create during strawberry season. Thanks Rodale and Bailey!

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

RecipesforStrawberryRhubarbSeason — Fresh strawberry rhubarb crumble is a delicious way to enjoy garden-fresh strawberries.

Ingredients:

5 cups quartered fresh strawberries

3 cups thinly sliced fresh rhubarb

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup tapioca

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice and a tsp of finely grated zest

3/4 cup white whole wheat flour

3/4 cup old-fashioned oats

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

Pinch salt

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, sliced into thin pats

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a 7-by-11-inch baking dish.

Mix the strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, tapioca, lemon juice and zest together in a large bowl, and pour the mixture into the greased baking dish.

Add the flour, oats, light brown sugar, and salt in a medium-sized bowl and whisk together. Place the diced butter to the mixture, and work it together with your fingers until it’s crumbly. Evenly distribute the crumb mixture on top of the fruit.

Bake the crisp in the oven for 40 minutes. The fruit filling should bubble along the sides and the top should be golden brown.

Serve it with ice cream if warm or whipped cream if cold.

* The same filling can be placed in a double pie crust and baked for the same period of time, if you’d prefer pie.

Old gardening books can sometimes offer the best growing advice! — Old gardening books can sometimes yield the best growing advice!

School Garden Power!

Gardens are powerful teaching tools that feed kids in more ways than one. They get kids outdoors and teach them about healthy eating, science, sustainability, teamwork and mindfulness. School gardens supply students and their communities with fresh, wholesome food for better health. Every school—urban or rural—should have a thriving school garden. That’s why Black Gold has teamed up with the National Gardening Association (NGA) and KidsGardening.org to help put gardens in schools. This effort is also supported by the Today Show’s Carson Daly through the Shine a Light program; Carson has created a Crowdrise fundraiser to help support NGA school gardens. (Click here to donate to Carson’s Crowdrise campaign.)

Continue reading “School Garden Power!”

Classic Garden Trellising

September 06 Cloisters Longwood 034 The gardens at the Cloisters in New York, NY show some more classic and beautiful bamboo trellis designs. — The gardens at the Cloisters in New York, NY house some classic and beautiful bamboo trellis designs.

More often than not, gardeners need garden trellising to help solve space issues or to simply add a vertical element to the garden. For sturdy perennial vines or lianas (woody vines), more sturdy permanent trellises are required. In the vegetable garden, functional and seasonal trellises for pole beans, peas, vining cucumbers and gourds are all that are needed. Simple, appealing trellis designs that let the plants take center stage are generally most desirable. Creating trellises with free or inexpensive materials makes home trellising solutions even more doable.

Continue reading “Classic Garden Trellising”

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