Gardening Tips (14)
The community of Highland, Utah, has announced it will host a farmers market this summer. It is looking for vendors to participate.
The Provo Herald has this article about the announcement. Below is a quote:
"The city is looking for local craft and produce vendors. The city is hoping the market will promote Highland's Shop Local program. The city has not yet announced the place or dates for the market, but hopes to nail those down in upcoming weeks, Wells said."
(Editor's Note: These tips were provided by McCord's Garden Center)
If you didn't prune your roses in March do it now. Cut out all dead and damaged canes and remove those canes that are growing toward the center of the plant. You want your canes to be growing into a vase shape (pointing out from the center of the plant.)
The time to feed your bulbs is when they are just pushing up green leaf shoots.
If you dug up your canna and dahlias and other summer flowering bulbs that aren't hardy through the winter here, now is the time to get them out and pot them up inside for a headstart before putting them in the ground after danger of frost.
Remember, don't prune your spring-flowering shrubs like lilacs, forsythia and quince until AFTER they have bloomed. It's not too late to prune summer bloomers like spirea, potentilla or leptodermis.
There's still time to plant one more crop of peas and radishes before the heat sets in and you can continue to plant greens like spinach, chard and lettuces. Broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, cabbages and artichokes can be planted now. It's still too early for tomatoes and peppers unless you plant them in a water wrap or cover them with frost cloth. If you're going to start your own tomatoes and peppers from seed indoors, now is the time. Most of them are best started 6 weeks before frost danger is over and here in Utah County that date is May 15.
Bare-root plants should be planted while it is still cool. We have lots of raspberries bare-root or potted up already and they should be planted now.
April is the perfect time to be planting trees, shrubs and perennials. They love the cool nights and their roots will grow faster in cool nights and warm days. While you are waiting for the weather to be warm enough to set out your favorite annuals, take a look around and see where you might enhance your yard with a new tree or shrub. Planting perennials pays off because they come back bigger and more beautiful every year and you only have to plant them once:) We have lots of ornamental perennial grasses this year and they can really put a sparkle in your landscape.
Stay on the paths in your yard while you are working to avoid compacting the soggy soil. Soil compaction turns soil into concrete (or at least it will feel like it!) and kills tender roots. Wait until the soil dries before walking into beds or on grass.
Summer and fall-blooming perennials can be divided now but wait until after bloom to dig your spring-flowering perennials.
Most years here in Utah County you shouldn't be watering yet unless you are planting but we had a dry winter and our trees, lawns and other plants need a good deep watering. Don't over-water though. One good watering now and then keep an eye on the weather and hopefully Mother Nature will fill in until it warms up.
We have a bounty of beautiful bleeding hearts, hostas and spring-flowering perennials that you should be enjoying in your yard right now. And the peonies are leafing out and showing big, fat buds. The fruit trees are blossoming and so are some of the ornamental trees, too. It's pretty exciting here at the garden center!
The Salt Lake Tribune has this good article about how to plan your garden. Here’s an excerpt:
“List your plants from largest to smallest and then draw them, to scale, on your garden map. As a general rule of thumb, you will want to place the tallest, widest plants at the northernmost end of your garden bed, and the smallest, squattest plants at the southernmost end. This way, the tall plants won’t shade the small plants as the sun makes its way across the sky.”
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Inadvertently Testing the Cold Tolerance of Sugar Snap Peas
Written by Glen Webb
In the article Growing Sugar Snap Peas in a Container, I commented on the variety I selected being cold tolerant down to 28 degrees. I inadvertently tested that claim. I have the peas growing in 12" x 18" grow-boxes on the patio. I cover them with gardening fabric at night. Well, I took off for the evening without covering the peas. A fast moving snow storm rolled in and dumped three inches of snow on the ground - including my patio. The peas sat in the dark under that cold blanket of snow for four hours before I got home. I looked at the snow covered peas and was sure it was colder than 28 degrees and that I had killed them. I quickly brushed the snow off the peas and covered them for the night - hoping for the best and fearing the worst. Well, the new day dawned bright but cold. After a few hours the patio had warmed up to 38 degrees. So, I took the cover off the peas to find them tall, perky and no worse for having been smothered in snow. It's wonderful to grow a vegetable plant tough enough to survive my neglect.
An early March snow storm reminded be of why I love container gardening. The last week of February I planted sugar snap peas in 5 1/2" x 12" x 18" ceder grow-boxes. I chose a variety of sugar snap peas that grow 24" tall, doesn't need to be supported and is cold tolerant down to 28 degrees. The seed package indicated the seeds would sprout in 7 to 14 days. I was hoping to do better than that so I placed two of the grow-boxes on a heated seed starting mat. I put a third grow-box on a shelf in front of a south facing window. Using the seed sprouting mat the peas were up and going in 4 days. The grow-box in the window had peas up and going in 6 days. The grow-boxes are small enough they are easy to move if necessary. Now that the peas are about 4" tall, I'll leave them outdoors and just cover them at night with gardening fabric. If we get more snow I'll move the grow-boxes onto a covered porch. I hope to be eating fresh garden peas by the middle of April.
Many of us have plants growing in window boxes in our houses. I have garden greens that are doing well, as long as I remember to water them.
If you keep the window box in a spot where you see if often, it is no big deal to water it. But if you have several boxes, or if you keep them in a room off somewhere, it is easy to neglect the plants.
This article describes an easy way to make a self-watering box using inexpensive materials you can find at a hardware store.
The system puts a reservoir of water under the potting soil. A wire rack covered with felt supports the soil above the water. Water can filter down through the soil and into the reservoir below.
A small pump circulates water from the reservoir up into the soil. The pump can be put on a timer so it automatically circulates for a pre-set time every day.
The system could easily be modified to water several boxes.
It is worth considering if you are getting serious about indoor grow boxes.