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Tuesday, April 4, 2017

April 4, 2017, Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter


Hi Gardeners

Crocus
We had a beautiful weekend here in Michigan.  I have crocus, winter aconite, and iris reticulata in bloom.  The buds are swelling on the trees, forsythia will be blooming soon.  Frogs are singing lustily.  Today it’s cooler and rainy, but I am not going to complain because the weather has been so much worse in other areas.  After all, April showers bring May flowers.

I was outside cleaning up the flower beds this weekend, removing some of the mulch, taking down dead stems, and fertilizing everything just before the rain came.  I use an organic based general purpose fertilizer on all the flower beds about this time each year.  Some things will get a second dose of fertilizer in late May-early June.  That’s it for the flower beds.  Annual flowers may get some extra fertilizer when planted and mid-summer.  Container plants get fertilized once a week.  For the evergreens and blueberries I use acidic fertilizer.

I started seeds this past week too.  Some are up already.  I still have more to go, probably tomorrow.  I need to get the plastic stapled back up on my little lean to greenhouse on the south side of the barn.  Once some of these seedlings have a couple sets of leaves and the weather looks settled they’ll go out there. 
 
Iris reticulata
My deer control experiment

I know I have talked about this before in the blog but I’d like to report on my experiment with using solar “twinkle lights” to keep the deer from eating my plants.  I hesitate to even say this thinking it may jinx me but it seems to be pretty successful.  Now this is by no means a large, carefully controlled scientific experiment and I’m not going to tell you that it will positively work for you.  You may not want to be the crazy old lady with Christmas lights on months after Christmas either, but here goes.

I had a number of solar light strings I bought mainly on Amazon as lightning deals and most of the strings cost less than $10.  They were of several light shape configurations, some were solid colors and others were multicolored.  You need no electricity. Solar lights use a small solar panel you place in the sun somewhere.  They can usually be put about 6 feet from where you have the lights begin.  They charge during the day and the lights come on after dark and stay lit for a long time, usually until morning.  They go off in daylight.  I found that even a partial day of sunlight charged them and they usually came on for a short while at least, even after cloudy days.

I was having trouble with deer eating my arborvitae hedge and munching on several other shrubs in the winter, including a huge beautiful evergreen euonymus.   In the spring they eat the tulips and emerging daylilies in some parts of the yard.  The daylilies recover but the tulips don’t get to bloom.

So this year I decided to try something.  I strung red solar light strings around the arborvitae hedge trees and set them on blinking mode, so they flashed all night.   I also put up black netting 4 feet high, a few feet from the hedge.  I did the same thing to the euonymus, with a multicolored light string. 

While the netting stretched around all the hedge trees, the lights stopped short of one tree, closest to the house.  Last year, without any protection this tree hadn’t been touched although there was lots of damage to the north side of the rest of the hedge trees.

This year, although the netting got knocked down in a place or two, the hedge trees with a single string of red blinking lights strung right on the trees, about 4 feet from the ground, were not eaten- except for the tree that did not have the lights on it.  The north side of that tree was eaten – quite a bit, even with netting still in place.  I guess they reached over it or went through a spot were the netting was down and passing the lighted trees, went to the unlighted one to eat.
Deer damage to euonymus last year.

On the euonymus the same thing happened.  Last year the deer concentrated on the side facing away from the house.  I did not have enough netting left to circle the whole shrub, its 25 feet around easily, and the light string didn’t reach all around it either.  I had the unprotected side facing the house, actually it was only a small area- but guess what?  That’s the only place the deer ate on the shrub.

I was encouraged by my evergreen results so last month when the ground thawed I added solar light strings strung on electric fence posts above 3 places where I had tulips eaten last year.  The tulips are up, I am even seeing some buds, but so far, knock on wood, no deer damage.

I have most of my vegetable garden fenced and don’t have trouble with deer there.  After the grass is up and growing well, and the trees leafed out I don’t usually have damage to the flower beds or shrubs either.  So the solar lights will probably come down then.  Maybe they’ll be used as path lighting.

So, as I said this may not work for you.  But if you have deer trouble this is an inexpensive, easy, totally safe thing to try.  You may have to explain to neighbors what you are doing.  If you try it I suggest using the blinking or chasing mode that most of these light strings offer, instead of steady lights.  I think the movement illusion helps keep the deer away.  If you do try this let me know how it works for you, good or bad results. 

April almanac

April’s full moon is April 11th and is known as the Pink moon, egg moon or grass moon. The perigee falls on  the  27th and the moon apogee is, April 15th .  

Holidays in April are Golfers day the 10th, National Pecan Day 14th, National Garlic Day 19th, Earth Day 22nd ,  Executive Administrative day and Zucchini bread day the 23rd,  Arbor day 25th, International Astronomy Day the 28th .  You get two extra days to file your taxes this year because of Easter.  Tax day is April 18th.

April is National Lawn and Garden Month as well as Keep America Beautiful month.   It’s also National Humor month, National Pecan month and National Poetry month.  April’s birthstone is the diamond and the birth flower is the sweet pea.  In the language of flowers the sweet pea means either goodbye or blissful love, depending on who’s translating I guess.



April Lawn Care

April is National Lawn and Garden month so here’s some tips for maintaining your lawn.   Lawns of course, aren’t for every gardener in every area.  And some of us just mow whatever’s there and call it lawn.

Begin mowing when the grass reaches 4 inches and cut it back to 3- 3-1/2 inches.  Cutting grass too short weakens it.  Keep it between 3-3 ½  inches even if it means mowing twice a week in late spring.  This is one of the best ways to obtain a dense, lush lawn which crowds out weeds.

Sharpen those mower blades and use a mulching mower.  Dull blades leave grass tips split and tattered, which doesn’t make for a smooth look and makes grass more susceptible to disease than a clean cut.  Returning grass clippings to the lawn with a mulching blade is less work for you and highly beneficial to the grass.  Decaying clippings return nutrients to the ground and you’ll need less fertilizer.

Fertilizing

All lawns can benefit from some nitrogen in the spring.   MSU recommends 3 lbs. of nitrogen per 1000 sq. feet.  Whether you need other nutrients should be determined by a soil test.  Michigan and some other states have banned the use of phosphorus in fertilizer unless you have a soil test that shows you need it.  Most fertilizers on the store shelves will not contain phosphorus, so you will need it buy it separately, probably at a farm supply store.   Fortunately few home lawns will need it. 

Apply fertilizer according to the label directions and be careful not to use too much or spill it on the lawn or you will burn the grass.  Do not get fertilizer on hard surfaces like sidewalks, where it can wash off into drains.  Don’t fertilize within 15 feet of lakes, ponds and other natural water features. This keeps the fertilizer from polluting the water.

If you just like something green to cover the ground you don’t need to fertilize the lawn at all.  After all, fertilization just makes the grass and weeds grow faster so you have to mow more often.  All lawns will benefit though, if lawn clippings are allowed to remain on the lawn after mowing, which returns nutrients to the lawn.

Weed control

If you aren’t leaving the flowers for the bees and the clover for the bunnies, April is a good time to apply weed control, either in combination with fertilizer or as a separate application.    Make sure you don’t get weed control fertilizer or other weed killers anywhere you want flowers or vegetables to grow.  These fertilizers cannot differentiate between dandelions and lettuce or clover and roses.  They kill all broad leafed plants.

To kill crabgrass in lawns use a special “crabgrass preventer”.  This doesn’t kill crabgrass that’s started growing; if it did it would also kill your lawn grass.  Instead it keeps crabgrass seed from germinating.  Crabgrass is an annual plant which comes back from seed each year and it doesn’t germinate until the weather is quite warm.  In zone 5-6 maybe 7, April is the best time to apply this preventer.   You cannot put crabgrass preventer on a lawn that you are trying to patch with new grass seeds or where you are totally re-seeding a lawn, because the lawn seed won’t grow.

I don’t know if there is any scientific research to support this but many gardeners believe that if clover is allowed to remain in the lawn rabbits are less likely to eat other cultivated plants in the landscape.  This is because clover is highly nutritious and a favorite rabbit food.

Of course an environmentally friendly way to weed lawns is to do it by hand.  There are tools that help you pop dandelions out of the ground. 

Grub control

Homeowners do not automatically need to use grub control products every year.  If you don’t have a lot of grubs it’s best to forget the grub control.  Turf should survive a small amount of grub damage. Some of the grub control products aren’t effective in spring, even though they are marketed as such, and you’ll be wasting your money.  And most of these products will kill other soil creatures, and bees and other pollinators which may visit weed flowers in the lawn.  These products can also poison pets that walk on the lawn or eat the grass.  

Here’s how to check for grubs. In early spring the grubs of European Chafer beetles and Japanese beetles will have overwintered, and be quite large.  If you notice patches of lawn that seem browned and not growing well you can lift a section of sod, slide a shovel under it and try to lift it off like a piece of carpet.  If you do have extensive grub damage this will be easier to do.  The grubs of both beetle species are similar looking to the average person, whitish fat worm-like creatures with darker heads, usually curled into a C shape.  You may see them laying on the soil when you pick up the sod piece you cut out.  Turn the sod piece over and examine the roots and soil there for grubs too.  If you see more than 12 grubs in a foot square area, treatment may be indicated.

If you have a lot of lawn damage and you are sure it’s from grubs, you may want to treat lawns in spring. Be aware that spring treatment of lawns is not a preventative; it only kills existing grubs from last year’s hatch. Even if you treat your lawn for grubs in early spring and kill them all, adult beetles will come from other areas when they mate in the early summer and lay eggs on your soil.
 
European Chafer beetle
Photo credit MSU Turfgrass
Preventative products are applied after the adult beetles lay eggs this year, those products are applied in late summer.  Turf specialists think preventative products, applied in late summer, are more effective than spring grub control.   And unless your area has lots of grub damage you do not need to apply preventative products either.

For killing grubs in spring, check the ingredient list on the product bag for these chemicals; chlorantraniliprole, carbaryl and trichlorfon (usually just one of these).  Use these exactly as the label directs.  Grub control products with these ingredients; imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, or clothianidin   will not kill grubs in the spring; they need to be applied in late summer to work well.  Don’t let salespeople tell you differently.  Those products are in the store every spring with stores hoping you’ll buy them, and then buy them again later.  Don’t apply useless chemicals to the environment where they do more damage than good.

According to Michigan State University other useless products for grub control are lambda-cyhalothrin, gamma-cyhalothrin, bifenthrin, deltamethrin, cyfluthrin, permethrin, or spectracide- Triazicide.  If these are the only active ingredients listed for grub control don’t buy the products. 

When you use insecticides on the lawn (grub control), mow the lawn short first to get rid of any flowers in the lawn that might attract pollinators.  Be prepared to water the products into the soil. MSU turf experts say that a good watering in of the product is critical to success.  Keep pets and kids off the lawn at least the recommended time on the bag/product label.  I’d keep them off longer; I have heard about and seen too many cases of pet poisoning from these products, even when directions were followed.  Don’t let lawn care people tell you these products are safe as soon as they dry.

What about organic, or natural predator grub control?  There is no effective organic product for grubs. Soap solutions, vinegar, cinnamon, diatomaceous earth, all of the home remedies often touted, have been proven to be ineffective on grubs.  Milky Spore disease and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora nematodes are natural pests of grubs that can control the population.  You buy these and water them into your lawn.  The problem is that it usually takes several years and several applications of these products to obtain any noticeable results.  Milky Spore works only for Japanese beetle grubs and researchers believe many Japanese beetles have developed immunity to the disease.  In many areas European Chafer beetles are more prevalent and damaging than Japanese beetles.

Keeping your lawn healthy by mowing and fertilizing it correctly and irrigating it when it’s dry will be enough to help it survive most grub damage.

Reseeding lawns

April is an excellent time for homeowners to plant grass seed. If your lawn problems seem overwhelming it may be time to start over with a clean slate.   You may just have a few bad spots and these can be patched with seed.  Small patch kits are sold that have a mulch and seed combination and these can work well.  Otherwise just follow the directions for re-seeding below on a smaller scale.

Choose your grass seed carefully.  A bluegrass mixture is recommended for most sunny  zone 3-8 lawns.  Grass seed labels tell you the percentage of each type of grass.  The mixture should contain less than 10% annual ryegrass and /or perennial rye grass.  It should be mostly varieties of bluegrass.  If your area is shady look for shade grass mixes.  These will have grasses like fine fescue along with shade tolerant bluegrasses.

Homeowners should not use bentgrass seed.  Also zoysia “plugs” do not grow well in the northern states ( below zone 8).  They are not suited for cold climates. Buffalo grass is low maintenance but is clump grass and doesn’t look like your traditional lawn.

Remove the old sod and put it in the compost pile.  Sod is removed by slicing under the roots and peeling it off.  You can rent a tool that will make sod removal easier.  If the ground was nearly bare you can skip the removal and just turn any vegetation into the soil.

Roto-till, plow, or spade up the lawn area.    If the soil is poor, incorporate lots of compost into the soil.   Do not just add a couple of inches of topsoil on top of poor soil; work it into the existing soil.  Topsoil varies tremendously as to quality and fertility and color is no indication of good topsoil.  Compost is the better choice.

Smooth the lawn surface and rake out lumps and rocks.  Fill holes and hollows.  Now scatter the lawn seed evenly over the prepared ground.  Rolling the seeded surface with a lawn roller half filled with water gets seed in contact with the soil.  You can rent lawn rollers.  Don’t worry about covering the grass seed with soil.

New seed seems to do better if covered lightly with mulch.  Straw, preferably chopped, is the cheapest option for large areas.  Bags of green fluffy mulch material are often sold in garden stores for smaller areas.  After mulch is applied water carefully, making sure not to wash the seed off or into clumps. 

April is normally a wet, cool month here in Michigan but if it’s turns dry and hot where you are, newly seeded areas need to be watered at least once a day.  Don’t let newly planted seed beds dry out for the best germination.  If the soil does not feel cool and moist it needs to be watered.

Sod and hydro-seeding are two other options for lawn renewal.  Hydro-seeding is done by a company that applies a slurry of grass seed, mulch and water.   Sod is strips of growing grass.  Homeowners can lay sod but is generally better for this to be done by professionals.   Both sod and hydro-seeded areas will still need to be watered if the weather is dry.

Growing citrus as houseplants

When I was a girl I was always starting citrus trees from seeds of an orange, tangerine or grapefruit that I had eaten.  I had some of these trees for many, many years and some of them got quite large.  But they never gave me flowers or fruit.  Had I moved to Florida or California and planted them in the ground they may have given me fruit, but as a houseplant that wasn’t going to happen.

I see many people writing about planting citrus seeds they get from table fruit and wondering how to care for them. Like me as a child, they are probably going to get plants, but unless they live where they can plant them outside (Zone 8 and above) or they have a large heated greenhouse they probably aren’t going to get fruit or even flowers.  Since citrus do make nice looking house plants if cared for and pruned correctly that may be all right with them. 

But there are citrus varieties that gardeners can grow inside in tubs and if you are lucky you will get sweetly scented flowers and possibly fruit.  I have yet to see a plant outside of a greenhouse that looks like the pictures in the catalogs, loaded with full sized fruit, but I have seen plants, including my own, that will produce flowers and a few fruits for you.

There are naturally dwarf citrus trees and citrus that has been grafted onto dwarf rootstock.  These smaller trees are better for home environments, and will flower and fruit more reliably and at a younger age than full size citrus.  You’ll probably have to buy plants or start a cutting from a natural dwarf variety.  Seeds from a natural dwarf, like the Meyer Lemon may produce a nice plant for you, but seeds from grafted plants will produce full sized trees that will take many years to bloom, if ever.

Some good varieties of citrus for indoor growing are Meyer Lemon, dwarf Key Lime, Red Finger Lime, Kaffir Lime, ‘Bearss Seedless’ lime, ‘Mexican Sweet Lime’ Changshou Kumquat, ‘Christmas’ Loquat, Citrus ‘Limequat’, Myrtle Leaf orange, “Sanguinelli’ blood orange, ‘Vaniglia Sanguigno’ blood orange, Calamondin orange, ‘Autumn Gold’ navel orange, ‘Washington Orange’,  ‘Trovita’ orange, ‘Miho Wase’ Satsuma Mandarin orange, ‘Tango’ Mandarin orange, Clementine orange,  ‘Oroblanco’ grapefruit, dwarf tangerine.

Meyer lemon
en.Wikipedia

How to grow

When growing citrus indoors use a good light weight potting mix.  Make sure the containers you select have good drainage.  Don’t put a small plant in a pot that’s too large for it.  When you first bring home a small potted plant let it adjust to conditions for a couple weeks before re-potting it.  Then move it to a new container only slightly larger than the one it was in.  You’ll probably have to re-pot your citrus every year, or every other year, until you reach the largest pot size you can handle.  Then you’ll prune the tree to keep it a reasonable size for the pot.

Because clay or ceramic pots are heavy and citrus plants need consistent moisture, I prefer plastic or lightweight fiberglass type pots for larger plants.  As long as you can move it and it drains well though, use any pot that appeals to you.

Citrus must have very bright light inside.  They must be right in front of a south or southwest window if no artificial light is used.  Sunrooms and south facing bay windows are excellent.  If you don’t have good southern light you’ll need a grow light suspended a foot from the top of the tree.  The citrus trees need about 12 hours of good light a day.

Citrus trees must also have plenty of space.  Yes those catalog pictures of 2 feet tall trees with fruit are cute, but not common.  Even though most indoor citrus are considered to be dwarf plants they get to at least 5-6 feet tall in most cases.  They need large pots at this size, which adds to the height.  They will also get wide- especially if pruned to reduce height.  At maturity expect them to be 3-4 feet wide.

Probably the best way to grow citrus is to move them outside in full sun (with acclimation), after there’s no danger of frost and leave them there until just before first frost in fall.  This will generally produce the healthiest, most productive plants outside of a warm greenhouse environment.  The trees with a good summer vacation may drop some leaves when moved back inside but will generally survive the shadier winter conditions fairly well.

When you are ready to move the plant outside, you should first place it in a lightly shaded location for a few days to let it acclimate.  Some protection from wind is desirable, such as in front of a fence or a few feet from a wall.

Citrus plants need even, consistent watering.  Outside in containers they need to be watered quite frequently, maybe once a day in hot weather.  Inside you’ll want to let them dry slightly before watering.  The leaves will roll inward and droop a bit if the plant is too dry.  Don’t over water citrus though, too wet soil will cause rotted roots, which can be fatal.  Trees that are over watered may look limp or lose all their leaves because the roots have rotted.

To get flowers and fruit you’ll need to fertilize your citrus plant.  Since citrus likes slightly acidic soil I use acidic fertilizer for mine.  You can buy citrus fertilizer in some areas, in the north look for fertilizers for blueberries or evergreens.  When you are re-potting a plant you can work some acidic granular, slow release fertilizer into the soil and this will last several months.

After that time is up and between re-potting use a water soluble acidic fertilizer on your citrus from March to November.  Mix according to label directions.  Don’t fertilize in the lowest light periods of November to March.

Sometimes potted citrus will develop light green leaves with darker green veins. This can indicate an iron deficiency.  I find this is less likely to happen when acidic fertilizer is used, but it still happens sometimes.  You can buy chelated iron for plants in a good garden shop or on line.  This is mixed in water according to label directions and used to water the plant.  The plant should become darker green after two or three watering’s, and you can discontinue use of the iron supplement. 

Other problems of citrus indoors can be scale, aphids, and whitefly. Scale usually looks like brown bumps or scabs on the tree branches and leaves.  If the tree is outside you can spray it with 1% horticultural oil.  Don’t spray when the tree is flowering.  Inside use a mild solution of insecticidal soap and a soft toothbrush and gently scrub the scales off.  Aphids and whitefly can be caught with sticky traps.  A spray of insecticidal soap may help. If the tree isn’t flowering and has no fruit other insecticide sprays can be used.

The yellowing and dropping of a few leaves every so often is normal for citrus trees.  This is more likely after the plant has been moved and conditions have changed.  Cold temperatures can cause leaf drop too.  Keep indoor citrus above 50 degrees.

Pruning

Pruning citrus can be done at any time, although I would avoid it when the tree is flowering.  Prune off any broken, dead or unusually spindly looking branches. Look for the graft bulge on the stem of a grafted plant and remove any sprouts that develop under the graft.  

Usually indoor citrus are pruned to maintain a manageable size.  Cut back the height to the size you prefer each year and trim back some of the width if desired.  Use clean, sharp pruning shears and don’t take off more than 1/3 of the tree at any time.  Make your cuts just above a leaf node on the stem, on a slight slant.  You don’t need to seal cut ends.

Flowering and fruit

It can take several years for a citrus plant to flower even in ideal conditions.  If it doesn’t get enough sunlight and proper watering and fertilization it may never bloom.  Citrus can bloom in the spring or fall or both, depending on the species and variety.  Most citrus blooms are white and small.  Sometimes they go unnoticed unless you notice the sweet smell most citrus flowers give off.

Citrus are generally self-fertile which means you only need one plant to get fruit.  But they have to be pollinated to get that fruit, and in nature, insects pollinate citrus flowers.  If your tree is outside when it flowers bees may pollinate it for you.  Inside you have to stand in for the bees if you want fruit.  In northern areas you may want to pollinate the flowers yourself even if the plants are outside when they bloom.  Bees may not notice unfamiliar flower odor or shape for a while.

To hand pollinate flowers get a small paintbrush.  Brush it across the yellow anthers of one flower and then across the stigma- female part of another flower. The stigma is usually in the center of the yellow anthers, has a flat “top” and will look glossy or sticky when ready to accept pollen.  Be like a busy bee and do this back and forth between all the flowers once a day until they close or fall.

If you are lucky and the flowers got pollinated small fruit will begin to form.  This is where patience comes in.  If there are a lot of fruit forming it’s natural for some of it to fall off, called self-culling.  Low humidity can also cause fruit to abort.  It’s a good idea to mist citrus plants with fruit several times a week if your indoor humidity is below 50%.

Citrus fruit can take from 6 months to 18 months to ripen, depending on species.  Normally it will change color to the normal ripe color of that species fruit.  When it’s deeply colored try lifting a fruit slightly.  If it comes off the stem easily it is ripe.  All fruit may not ripen at the same time.

Don’t expect a large crop from any indoor citrus plant.  Most people are pleased to get a few fruits each year.  It’s my experience that these indoor citrus fruits are smaller than outdoor grown fruit of the same type, but they taste perfectly fine.

A citrus tree can make a fine houseplant and a great conversation piece if it flowers or fruits.  It’s a challenge to some gardeners to grow their own delicious fruit inside.  Start with a healthy, nursery grown plant for best results.  And remember when you start growing your own citrus fruit it’s probably time to consider that sunroom or greenhouse.

Natural Easter Egg Dyes

I am going to post this a week early so you have time to gather supplies if you need to.  You can make Easter egg dye with food colors, which are safe to consume, but it’s fun to try something different and these are green options. If you have laying hens now is the time when your egg production is high.  Many home egg producers have hens which lay brown eggs or even blue and green eggs. White eggs work best for dying, but light- to medium-brown eggs can also be colored.  You could also change the color of those blue and green colored eggs.  Of course starting with colored eggs your dyed eggs may turn out differently than you thought, try one or two before going to a bigger batch.
Natural eggs, as they come from my hens.

Eggs are also cheap in the stores at this time.  You can buy white eggs just for coloring.  Don’t worry about buying those more expensive organic,free range eggs if you aren’t going to be eating them, many people don’t eat dyed eggs.

Children love this egg dying project but natural dyes can leave permanent stains so make sure everyone wears an apron.

To make egg dyes, mix two cups of water and 2 tablespoons of white vinegar with any of the items noted in the following list for various colors. You can mix the ingredients listed below to create your own shades or use them separately. The colors you get will be softer than commercial dyes and each egg will be unique. All of the natural ingredients are safe to eat.

For blues, purples: Use any of the following:
 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, crushed
 2 cups shredded red cabbage
 1 cup concentrated grape juice
 1–2 cups red onion skins

For reds, pinks, oranges: Choose from the following:
 1–2 cups chopped fresh red beets
 2 tablespoons paprika
 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, crushed
 2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries, crushed
 1–2 cups of frozen concentrate for cherries, cranberries, or raspberries

For Greens: Use either of the following: 
 1 cup of blueberries mixed with 2 tablespoons turmeric
 2 cups fresh spinach leaves, crushed

For Yellows, golds: Choose from the following:
 2 cups yellow onion skins
 1 cup concentrated orange juice
 3 tablespoons cumin
 3 tablespoons turmeric
 1/4 cup celery seed

You can dye your eggs using either of the following methods:

Boil the eggs right in the pan with the dye products. If you want to cook the eggs in the dye you must simmer the mixture for about 8 minutes to thoroughly cook the eggs. The mixture should cover the eggs, so you may need to add additional water and vinegar. Add the eggs before heating the dye and cook slowly so the eggs don’t crack. Let the eggs stand in the hot water for 10 minutes after turning off the heat.

Or boil the eggs and make your dyes separately, and then soak the hard-boiled eggs in the dye. To make the dye alone, bring the ingredients to a boil and then simmer for about 2 minutes. Strain the dye mixture. Hard-boil the eggs separately. Then soak the eggs in the dye until they are as colored as you want them. If you soak them for more than 30 minutes, set the pan or bowl with the eggs and dye in the refrigerator.

After coloring, allow the eggs to dry and refrigerate them if they’re going to be eaten later.  If hard boiled eggs have been outside the refrigerator for more than 2 hours do not eat them.

Better with bacon egg salad

Those of you producing backyard eggs need recipes to use up springs abundance. Even the local farmers market may offer good deals on farm fresh eggs since the hens are producing full force in the spring.  Any time you need a fast, fresh idea for a meal count on locally produced eggs.

Most people serve egg salad as a sandwich but it can be served on a bed of spring greens.  Tender baby spinach leaves are wonderful paired with egg salad.  If you make it a sandwich, toasting the bread that egg salad is served on adds a tasty touch.  You can also wrap egg salad in a flour tortilla or put it in a pita pocket.

Ingredients

6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup of minced green onion (chives or any other onion can be substituted)
1/4 cup of finely diced celery
1/4 cup of cooked crispy, finely crumbled bacon
1/4 cup of Miracle Whip® or similar salad dressing

1½ tablespoons of sweet pickle relish
1½ teaspoons of mustard
salt and pepper to taste.

Blend all of the ingredients together. Garnish with sweet paprika.  Refrigerate any egg salad that isn’t eaten immediately.

You can cheat and use bacon bits from the store but use the real thing, not a bacon flavored bit.  Add a teaspoon or so of grated or finely shredded cheddar cheese to each serving as a top garnish.   It will add calories to the recipe but it sure tastes good.

Omitting the bacon gives you a basic egg salad recipe.  You could substitute finely cubed ham.  To add some heat use chopped jalapeño pepper in place of celery and a bit of red pepper.

This recipe makes about 4 servings.  Each serving will have about 240 calories.

Note:  It’s normal for hardboiled eggs to have a green ring between the yolk and the white. To help prevent it cool eggs quickly under running cold water. You can use dyed Easter eggs if they were kept properly refrigerated. Some color may have leached into the white.  If normal food coloring or natural dyes were used, these are safe to eat.

“Behold, my friends, the spring is home; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love.” Sitting Bull

Kim Willis
 “He who has a garden and a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero

© Kim Willis - no parts of this newsletter may be used without permission.

And So On….
Do you have plants or seeds you would like to swap or share?  Post them here by emailing me. You can also ask me to post garden related events. Kimwillis151@gmail.com

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Here’s a seed/plant sharing group you can join on Facebook

Newsletter/blog information

If you would like to pass along a notice about an educational event or a volunteer opportunity please send me an email before Tuesday of each week and I will print it. Also if you have a comment or opinion you’d like to share, send it to me or you can comment directly on the blog. Please state that you want to have the item published in my weekly note if you email me. You must give your full name and what you say must be polite and not attack any individual. I am very open to ideas and opinions that don’t match mine but I do reserve the right to publish what I want. Contact me at KimWillis151@gmail.com

I write this because I love to share with other gardeners some of the things I come across in my research each week. It keeps me engaged with people and horticulture. It’s a hobby, basically. I hope you enjoy it. If you are on my mailing list and at any time you don’t wish to receive these emails just let me know. If you know anyone who would like to receive a notification by email when a new blog is published have them send their email address to me.  KimWillis151@gmail.com

The information in this newsletter is copyrighted.  Feel free to share the blog link but if you wish to reprint anything you find on this blog site please ask for permission.  This includes photos with my name on them.


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