When it is hot and dry, you need to think about your plants. When it is hot and dry then you should take extra care to make sure that weeds are pulled up so that the weed roots do not soak up any water that can help you plants. Watering plants with weeds and grasses around the bottoms is silly. In fact it may harm your plants since the aggressive weed roots will soak up most if not all of the water and allow the weeds and grasses to just grow bigger plants and roots to soak up water and nutrients your plants need to mature and even survive. So, before you water your plants you should pull up the weeds around them. Perennials and annuals should have weeds pulled out a foot or more all the way around the plant. Shrubs and trees should have 2-4 feet of weed/grass free area from their base.
After the weeds and grasses are gone, water your plants heavily. Make sure the ground is well soaked with water so that the plant will be able to take in drinks of water until you water again. For some plants that produce fruits, a soaker hose is advisable for better fruits and yields.
Don't over fertilize when it is hot and dry. When it is hot and dry your plants might start to droop and look bad but, all they need is a good drink of water. Fertilizers, particularly those with high nitrogen numbers (the nitrogen number is the first number on a bag of fertilizer) your plants may be burned, stunted or even killed if you apply nitrogen when there is a drought.
Showing posts with label CARE OF GARDEN PLANTS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CARE OF GARDEN PLANTS. Show all posts
Monday, July 30, 2012
Monday, April 30, 2012
BEST YIELDS: LEAVE ROOM BETWEEN YOUR PLANTS
It is so tempting to look at the plants in your garden and believe that the more plants you have the better you vegetable yield or the better your flowers will look unfortunately; the plants seem to have a different idea. Cramped plants will often not reach a nice size or produce an abundant amount of flowers and/or fruit. Even plants that do not have flowers or fruit will often become dwarfs and never reach their full maturity. Any experienced Michigan logger knows you must thin out your trees so you can grow some giants. That is all about managing a woodlot. I manage both gardens and a woodlot and in areas of my woodlot that I have kept the trees thinned out the remaining trees have become giants. The neglected areas of my woodlot have many stunted trees that are the same age as the giants in other parts of my woodlot.
My gardens adhere to the same law of management as my woodlot. When I plant my tomatoes plants two feet apart vs. planting them 1 1/2 feet apart the yields increase as the plants are healthier and simply produce more and heavier fruits when they are given just a bit more room. Likewise, all my other plants do much better when I keep them thinned. Now thinning to many implies you just pull up the extra plants to allow more space between the remaining ones. However, you can transplant some of these plants into other areas of your yard or even into containers so that you will still get some benefits. For instance, I always transplant my squash and pickle plants. Sometimes I have an area where the seed either did not take or the seeds were eaten up by varmints. So I fill the holes with an extra plant that was growing up too close to its kin plants. I also use container gardens as a way to make up space and hence, I fill my containers with extra tomatoes, pepper etc., and plants.
Most plants and seeds come with instructions on the distance you should plant your plants and information on future culling of plants to realize the best yield. It is important that as a gardener you make a commitment to reading and becoming more educated so that you can make the right decisions of life and death concerning the plants you have to cull.
My gardens adhere to the same law of management as my woodlot. When I plant my tomatoes plants two feet apart vs. planting them 1 1/2 feet apart the yields increase as the plants are healthier and simply produce more and heavier fruits when they are given just a bit more room. Likewise, all my other plants do much better when I keep them thinned. Now thinning to many implies you just pull up the extra plants to allow more space between the remaining ones. However, you can transplant some of these plants into other areas of your yard or even into containers so that you will still get some benefits. For instance, I always transplant my squash and pickle plants. Sometimes I have an area where the seed either did not take or the seeds were eaten up by varmints. So I fill the holes with an extra plant that was growing up too close to its kin plants. I also use container gardens as a way to make up space and hence, I fill my containers with extra tomatoes, pepper etc., and plants.
Most plants and seeds come with instructions on the distance you should plant your plants and information on future culling of plants to realize the best yield. It is important that as a gardener you make a commitment to reading and becoming more educated so that you can make the right decisions of life and death concerning the plants you have to cull.
Monday, April 23, 2012
DIRECT SEEDING OR TRANSPLANTS?
In Northern Michigan it is important to know what kind of vegetable or flower to plant, when to plant, where to plant and, what form of the item should be planted? The type of plant you can plant in Northern Michigan can be found on the back of most seed packets or from the little white instruction stakes that come with live plants you purchase in your local garden center. The seed packets and garden stakes will also often list when you should plant the item and where it should be planted e.g. full sun, partial sun, shade, well drained soil etc. If you cannot find this information on the stakes or packets that come with your plants and seeds, ask your local garden center manager, try the internet or, contact the nursery that packaged the seeds or grew the plants.
The one bit of information that may be hard to come by except by talking to someone with a lot of experience growing various plants is northern regions is whether or not you should sew your plants from seeds directly into your garden or if you should plant plants that are a few weeks old? Seed packets might tell you to sew directly into the soil however; this advice should be given with the following caveat: Many plants have very long growing periods and both the beginning of spring and the beginning of winter are very fluid in places like Northern Michigan. After about the third season of planting, people in Northern Michigan take a much more fluid approach to their planning and try to plan for very late and very early frosts that tend to doom the growing season just as plants are at their peak in the fall or, stunts the plants for a few extra weeks in the Spring while you wait for warmer weather.
A general rule is that plants that grow below ground like potatoes, carrots, beets, onions, radishes, parsnips, rutabagas and, turnips, can be seeded directly to the soil in the spring. Greens like lettuce, kale, spinach, collards and Swiss chard do very well in Northern Michigan when seeded directly to the soil. All forms of summer squash, pumpkins and hard shell squash, beans, corn and, pickles will do quite well when seeded directly to the ground however, you might want to start a few seeds of pickles inside or buy a tray of plants since, the pickles plants won’t grow until it is really hot and I like to get a few early pickles to go along with my other early vegetables. The pickle plants you start indoors, in your cold frame or green house will have a 2-4 week advantage over the ones you plant from seed. Just make very sure there is no chance of frost before you plant them to your garden.
Other plants that can be seeded directly in Northern Michigan but, tend to produce better results when planted as seedlings are: cabbage, Brussels sprouts, melons and, egg plant. These plants need lots of rich soil to grow quickly (manure). The normal top soil of Northern Michigan does not lend itself to growing these crops to maturity before the first hard frost. My neighbors who keep cows and horses have no problem growing beautiful crops of these vegetables from seed each year. Far be it from them to share any of their “gold” with their fellow gardeners. They want to keep their bragging rights for the giant ebony egg plants they produce.
Finally, there are the plants that just do not seed well in Northern Michigan and have to be transplanted from your indoor window, greenhouse or cold frame. A cold frame is a wooden frame constructed outdoors with glass or plastic doors you can lift up when it rains to water your plants or close to keep your plants warm. Many people have to heat their cold frames and green houses since it can get down in the 20 something degrees Fahrenheit range at night right up until Memorial Day.
The plants that should be transplanted are: tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers
and large varieties of watermelon (the small round varieties grow well from seed if the soil is rich enough). In Southern Michigan you can get a few tomatoes from plants that come up from seed (volunteers) however, in Northern Michigan it stays too cold in the spring so the volunteer tomato plants never mature enough to produce anything.
The one bit of information that may be hard to come by except by talking to someone with a lot of experience growing various plants is northern regions is whether or not you should sew your plants from seeds directly into your garden or if you should plant plants that are a few weeks old? Seed packets might tell you to sew directly into the soil however; this advice should be given with the following caveat: Many plants have very long growing periods and both the beginning of spring and the beginning of winter are very fluid in places like Northern Michigan. After about the third season of planting, people in Northern Michigan take a much more fluid approach to their planning and try to plan for very late and very early frosts that tend to doom the growing season just as plants are at their peak in the fall or, stunts the plants for a few extra weeks in the Spring while you wait for warmer weather.
A general rule is that plants that grow below ground like potatoes, carrots, beets, onions, radishes, parsnips, rutabagas and, turnips, can be seeded directly to the soil in the spring. Greens like lettuce, kale, spinach, collards and Swiss chard do very well in Northern Michigan when seeded directly to the soil. All forms of summer squash, pumpkins and hard shell squash, beans, corn and, pickles will do quite well when seeded directly to the ground however, you might want to start a few seeds of pickles inside or buy a tray of plants since, the pickles plants won’t grow until it is really hot and I like to get a few early pickles to go along with my other early vegetables. The pickle plants you start indoors, in your cold frame or green house will have a 2-4 week advantage over the ones you plant from seed. Just make very sure there is no chance of frost before you plant them to your garden.
Other plants that can be seeded directly in Northern Michigan but, tend to produce better results when planted as seedlings are: cabbage, Brussels sprouts, melons and, egg plant. These plants need lots of rich soil to grow quickly (manure). The normal top soil of Northern Michigan does not lend itself to growing these crops to maturity before the first hard frost. My neighbors who keep cows and horses have no problem growing beautiful crops of these vegetables from seed each year. Far be it from them to share any of their “gold” with their fellow gardeners. They want to keep their bragging rights for the giant ebony egg plants they produce.
Finally, there are the plants that just do not seed well in Northern Michigan and have to be transplanted from your indoor window, greenhouse or cold frame. A cold frame is a wooden frame constructed outdoors with glass or plastic doors you can lift up when it rains to water your plants or close to keep your plants warm. Many people have to heat their cold frames and green houses since it can get down in the 20 something degrees Fahrenheit range at night right up until Memorial Day.
The plants that should be transplanted are: tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers
and large varieties of watermelon (the small round varieties grow well from seed if the soil is rich enough). In Southern Michigan you can get a few tomatoes from plants that come up from seed (volunteers) however, in Northern Michigan it stays too cold in the spring so the volunteer tomato plants never mature enough to produce anything.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
HOT AND DRY WEATHER: WEED AND WATER
When it is hot and dry, you need to think about your plants. When it is hot and dry then you should take extra care to make sure that weeds are pulled up so that the weed roots do not soak up any water that can help you plants. Watering plants with weeds and grasses around the bottoms is silly. In fact it may harm your plants since the aggressive weed roots will soak up most if not all of the water and allow the weeds and grasses to just grow bigger plants and roots to soak up water and nutrients your plants need to mature and even survive. So, before you water your plants you should pull up the weeds around them. Perennials and annuals should have weeds pulled out a foot or more all the way around the plant. Shrubs and trees should have 2-4 feet of weed/grass free area from their base.
After the weeds and grasses are gone, water your plants heavily. Make sure the ground is well soaked with water so that the plant will be able to take in drinks of water until you water again. For some plants that produce fruits, a soaker hose is advisable for better fruits and yields.
Don't over fertilize when it is hot and dry. When it is hot and dry your plants might start to droop and look bad but, all they need is a good drink of water. Fertilizers, particularly those with high nitrogen numbers (the nitrogen number is the first number on a bag of fertilizer) your plants may be burned, stunted or even killed if you apply nitrogen when there is a drought.
After the weeds and grasses are gone, water your plants heavily. Make sure the ground is well soaked with water so that the plant will be able to take in drinks of water until you water again. For some plants that produce fruits, a soaker hose is advisable for better fruits and yields.
Don't over fertilize when it is hot and dry. When it is hot and dry your plants might start to droop and look bad but, all they need is a good drink of water. Fertilizers, particularly those with high nitrogen numbers (the nitrogen number is the first number on a bag of fertilizer) your plants may be burned, stunted or even killed if you apply nitrogen when there is a drought.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
HERB GARDENS: SAVE MONEY IN A SMALL SPACE
Do you have a small space and want to get a big bang for your buck. Try a herb garden. Herb gardens are easy to grow and many herbs are perennial in Northern Michigan(will come up next year without replanting. Fresh herbs are especially expensive in stores where a few stalks of oregano, sage, chives etc., can be $2.00 or more.
Some favorite Northern perennial plants you can grow in your herb garden are: sage, mint, chives, oregano and catnip. Basil is a popular herb to grow but, it is an annual in Northern Michigan. Dill will sometimes seed down and come up the next year but, I don't count on it.
All of these plants can be purchased in most garden centers (sometimes in produce departments in some supermarkets), and are easy to grow. Just plant in well drained soil and keep them watered enough so they won't dry out. Remember though, keep your basil plants covered when it freezes. Also, remember that oregano spreads by roots and is a prolific seed producer so, you will need to keep it contained from the rest of your garden and yard or, it will cover your entire property.
Herbs are great for container gardening so if you have a sunny patio or window sill, you are ready to start herb gardening. From window sill to sauce or frying pan gives you the freshest herbs you can get for your favorite dishes.
I like to plant my herbs with my other perennial plants like rhubarb and asparagus. That way, with all my perennial plants in the same area, I know which garden to clean off first in the Spring.
Overall, herbs are easy to grow, will save you lots of money, and give you a fresh garden to kitchen flavor in your cooking.
Some favorite Northern perennial plants you can grow in your herb garden are: sage, mint, chives, oregano and catnip. Basil is a popular herb to grow but, it is an annual in Northern Michigan. Dill will sometimes seed down and come up the next year but, I don't count on it.
All of these plants can be purchased in most garden centers (sometimes in produce departments in some supermarkets), and are easy to grow. Just plant in well drained soil and keep them watered enough so they won't dry out. Remember though, keep your basil plants covered when it freezes. Also, remember that oregano spreads by roots and is a prolific seed producer so, you will need to keep it contained from the rest of your garden and yard or, it will cover your entire property.
Herbs are great for container gardening so if you have a sunny patio or window sill, you are ready to start herb gardening. From window sill to sauce or frying pan gives you the freshest herbs you can get for your favorite dishes.
I like to plant my herbs with my other perennial plants like rhubarb and asparagus. That way, with all my perennial plants in the same area, I know which garden to clean off first in the Spring.
Overall, herbs are easy to grow, will save you lots of money, and give you a fresh garden to kitchen flavor in your cooking.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
DEEP SNOW: TIME TO PLAN FOR FRUIT TREES AND BERRY PATCHES
Although the snow is really deep and, Winter seems like it will never end, it is time to plan for which fruit trees and berry patches you will be planting in the Spring. Of course what you plant will be what you like but, you have to also take into account things like space, sunlight, how long it takes to generate fruit and, care of the plant.
Space is simple enough to take into account. You just have to know what you are planting and how much room the plant needs. In the case of trees, you might want to make sure the tree will not be too close to a building or overhead wires. In the case of planting berries you not only have to consider the potential size of the plant but, whether or not the plant may spread. Raspberries, blackberries, strawberries etc, could far outgrow the original area in a few years. You must decide how far you want these plants to spread and make that literally a cutoff point. Anything that sprouts up outside of that area, if you can't or don't want to transplant it or give the plant away, must be considered a weed or else, your lawn or other gardens will suffer greatly.
Plants should always be planted with whatever sunlight is recommended by your garden center or from the label on the plants. Most plants do best in full or at least partial sun. Remember, plants like raspberries and blackberries when planted in full sun need a lot of water or the berries will dry up. Using a soaker hose is highly recommended.
Most berry patches bear fruit in 2-3 years, grapevines around 3-5 years and dwarf fruit trees in 5-7 years. Non-drawf fruit trees may take 10 or more years and nut trees could take up to 20-50 years (better hope your grand kids will like nuts). So make sure you do some research on your potential tree, bush or vine. Berry patches and fruit trees take a commitment of years not just one season.
Commitment to taking care of the fruit tree or berry patch is the last consideration to be covered (though it is by no means the last consideration you might have). Two major commitments are to weed and water. Berry patches should be watered everyday once they begin to grow in the spring. When the berries start to form, soaker hoses are recommended to keep the berries from drying up until only the seeds are left. When it comes to trees, make sure you remove any grass or weeds from around the bottom, leaving a circle of 2-3 feet on each side of the tree, depending on the trees size. Mulching is of course recommended for both trees and berries.
Finally, do some research first before you buy anything. Most seed catalogues have excellent information on the various types of fruit trees and berry bushes (vines) and what's great is, most seed catalogues are free. Make sure the plant will fit your area for both length of season and soil type (sandy, clay, wet or dry). And, you must have a long term commitment to your plants.
Space is simple enough to take into account. You just have to know what you are planting and how much room the plant needs. In the case of trees, you might want to make sure the tree will not be too close to a building or overhead wires. In the case of planting berries you not only have to consider the potential size of the plant but, whether or not the plant may spread. Raspberries, blackberries, strawberries etc, could far outgrow the original area in a few years. You must decide how far you want these plants to spread and make that literally a cutoff point. Anything that sprouts up outside of that area, if you can't or don't want to transplant it or give the plant away, must be considered a weed or else, your lawn or other gardens will suffer greatly.
Plants should always be planted with whatever sunlight is recommended by your garden center or from the label on the plants. Most plants do best in full or at least partial sun. Remember, plants like raspberries and blackberries when planted in full sun need a lot of water or the berries will dry up. Using a soaker hose is highly recommended.
Most berry patches bear fruit in 2-3 years, grapevines around 3-5 years and dwarf fruit trees in 5-7 years. Non-drawf fruit trees may take 10 or more years and nut trees could take up to 20-50 years (better hope your grand kids will like nuts). So make sure you do some research on your potential tree, bush or vine. Berry patches and fruit trees take a commitment of years not just one season.
Commitment to taking care of the fruit tree or berry patch is the last consideration to be covered (though it is by no means the last consideration you might have). Two major commitments are to weed and water. Berry patches should be watered everyday once they begin to grow in the spring. When the berries start to form, soaker hoses are recommended to keep the berries from drying up until only the seeds are left. When it comes to trees, make sure you remove any grass or weeds from around the bottom, leaving a circle of 2-3 feet on each side of the tree, depending on the trees size. Mulching is of course recommended for both trees and berries.
Finally, do some research first before you buy anything. Most seed catalogues have excellent information on the various types of fruit trees and berry bushes (vines) and what's great is, most seed catalogues are free. Make sure the plant will fit your area for both length of season and soil type (sandy, clay, wet or dry). And, you must have a long term commitment to your plants.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
STOP!!! BEFORE YOU GET READY TO SEED-MAP
Before you even start to buy seeds for your garden first sit down and draw up a proportional map of your garden so that you know how much room you will have. Then write down a list of items you want to grow.
Now, take your list to your local garden center and take a look at the seeds available. Chances are they will only carry seeds that will grow in your area but, you should always read the back of the pack especially if you live in a climate like Northern Michigan since, we are right on the border for growing a lot of crops and have a season much shorter than even in Southern Michigan. If you are buying your seeds at an elevator store and are unsure of what will grow, just ask for help and they will probobly be able to tell you what grows best and how much to buy to fit into a certain size row.
You should check to see how far rows and seeds have to be spaced if you buy your seeds in packs. Most packs will tell you the length of each row the pack will plant. Buy enough seeds for your season taking into consideration that some items like peas and lettuce, you can plant more than once. Remember, you may not be able to purchase those seeds like peas and lettuce latter in the season when you want to replant them since the displays and seeds are often taken down around the 4th of July and sent back to the seed company for storage and retesting for the season. Over buying seeds is not a good idea unless you are going to plant them someplace else. The seeds are hard to keep from year to year in their packages and tend to get moldy. If you do have left over seeds, try keeping them in an air tight container like a glass jar with a screw down top. I like to use a coffee jar for all my air tight storage.
Now that you have your seeds, you can make a detailed map of just how you are going to plant your seeds with the knowledge that you must plant your crops so that the really tall plants don't crowd out the sun of the smaller ones. For example, in my garden I plant the pole beans in back of my carrots and lettuce so they can also have full sun.
Making a general map of your garden to see what kind of room you have to work with before you buy your seeds makes a lot of sense and, much easier to know how much to buy. Furthermore, mapping out where you are going to plant your seeds will make Spring planting much less stressful. It's hard to think clearly when your doing a lot of heavy labor getting your garden ready. No need to stress out when your tired, trying to decide what you should plant where?
Now, take your list to your local garden center and take a look at the seeds available. Chances are they will only carry seeds that will grow in your area but, you should always read the back of the pack especially if you live in a climate like Northern Michigan since, we are right on the border for growing a lot of crops and have a season much shorter than even in Southern Michigan. If you are buying your seeds at an elevator store and are unsure of what will grow, just ask for help and they will probobly be able to tell you what grows best and how much to buy to fit into a certain size row.
You should check to see how far rows and seeds have to be spaced if you buy your seeds in packs. Most packs will tell you the length of each row the pack will plant. Buy enough seeds for your season taking into consideration that some items like peas and lettuce, you can plant more than once. Remember, you may not be able to purchase those seeds like peas and lettuce latter in the season when you want to replant them since the displays and seeds are often taken down around the 4th of July and sent back to the seed company for storage and retesting for the season. Over buying seeds is not a good idea unless you are going to plant them someplace else. The seeds are hard to keep from year to year in their packages and tend to get moldy. If you do have left over seeds, try keeping them in an air tight container like a glass jar with a screw down top. I like to use a coffee jar for all my air tight storage.
Now that you have your seeds, you can make a detailed map of just how you are going to plant your seeds with the knowledge that you must plant your crops so that the really tall plants don't crowd out the sun of the smaller ones. For example, in my garden I plant the pole beans in back of my carrots and lettuce so they can also have full sun.
Making a general map of your garden to see what kind of room you have to work with before you buy your seeds makes a lot of sense and, much easier to know how much to buy. Furthermore, mapping out where you are going to plant your seeds will make Spring planting much less stressful. It's hard to think clearly when your doing a lot of heavy labor getting your garden ready. No need to stress out when your tired, trying to decide what you should plant where?
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