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| Windflowers |
It’s a nice day in the low 70’s here. The plants are
starting to look better. They are
greening up and starting to recover from the hail and cold damage. I was
beginning to worry as some things were looking a little sad late last week. It’s
a wonder what a little warmth can do in just a few days. The tips of the emerging
hosta are still looking a bit cold damaged and I have had a bit of deer sampling
on the tulips. Not too much munching and I think I’m not going to bother
putting up the electric wire unless they start munching closer to the house.
The windflowers are in bloom beautifully here and my
trilliums are starting to bloom. It seems early for them, but there they are.
The fritillaria will be in bloom soon, including my new yellow one. I have lots of different daffodils in bloom,
a few species tulips, grape hyacinths, and regular hyacinths. Bye the way, deer
seem to avoid hyacinths. The honeyberry is in bloom. It has flowers like a
honeysuckle, since it’s in that family. Forsythia is in bloom and the lilacs are
starting to leaf out.
I have some plants being shipped to me and I hope they aren’t
delayed too much in the mail. They notified me 2 days ago they were shipped. I am going to be ordering some more perennials
tomorrow, there are lots of good deals right now online. I just need to decide
where to plant these good deals and how much I can squeeze in.
Yesterday I finally potted my dahlia bulbs. There are
fifteen pots. I kept putting it off, although I potted up some smaller bulbs a
few weeks ago. I debated whether I should just wait and plant them in the
ground but this way I’ll get a month’s head start anyway. I have the pots in a
wagon so I can pull it inside the barn if we get colder nights. I can throw a
blanket over them also if needed.
We have been cleaning up the vegetable garden and redoing
one of the raised beds. Lots to do there still. We got our mowers running this
week, but I have yet to mow. It will need to be done soon though. My
hummingbird feeders haven’t been visited by hummers yet although I see the house
finches, those little birds that look like a sparrow dipped in grape juice, are
drinking out of the nectar feeder that I made from a chick waterer.
Since I have been getting my groceries as a curbside order
and the feedstore part of my country store has been closed until the last few
days, it’s been hard to get sunflowers and suet for the birds. I am happy to
say that today I scored a 50-pound bag of sunflower seed and a case of suet cakes.
I’ll be able to get those feeders filled again.
I hope all of you gardeners have been able to get out and do
some gardening. If you are bored or sad
getting outside is the cure. I always feel so much better when I am able to be
out in the sun. I am getting my farmers tan already.
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| Honeyberry flowers |
Serious bacterial
disease found in Michigan greenhouse
When you are shopping this spring avoid purchasing a pink
geranium called ‘Fantasia’ if you see one. They should be removed from
greenhouses, but you never know. The USDA has confirmed that the plants were
infected with Ralstonia solanacearum race
3 biovar 2 (RSr3b2). This is a serious bacterial disease that can spread to
other species of plants and is quite deadly to plants. It is also known as potato brown rot disease.
While the
disease was first found in a Michigan greenhouse, 288 greenhouses in 39 states
also received cuttings from Guatemala infected with the disease. The USDA
is visiting all of the greenhouses to destroy the plants and check other
plants. RSr3b2 causes a sudden wilt and death of plants. There is no good
control and no cure. It can affect geraniums, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant,
peppers, strawberries, and some other crops. It can wipe out whole fields of
crops in a short time.
At this
point only one type and color of geranium grown from cuttings is known to be
infected. If the geraniums were grown from seed, they won’t be infected, and
other colors and types of geraniums are safe to buy. Pink geraniums of other
cultivars are safe to buy.
RSr3b2
does not infect people or animals. It cannot harm you. RSr3b2 has not been found in the US since
2004. Is there something about 2020 that’s causing these serious diseases?
Caring for
spring blooming bulbs
When the crocuses are in bloom, I usually add some slow release
fertilizer to all my perennial beds, where the spring bulbs are coming up. A fertilization in spring when bulbs are
growing foliage and blooming keeps them healthy and strong. It’s good for most
perennials in the beds around them too.
Bulbs need their foliage to mature, for them to come back
and bloom next year. It turns yellow after blooming is done and withers. Don’t
cut it down early, even if it looks messy. The trick I use to hide fading bulb
foliage is to plant a lot of my bulbs where emerging perennial foliage, such as
hosta or daylilies will quickly cover it up.
You can cut the flowers of spring bulbs without it harming
the bulb, just don’t remove much of the foliage. It’s a good idea to cut the
faded blooms off too, you don’t want the bulbs to put energy into seed
production.
The bulb catalogs have begun to arrive at my house. Yes, it’s
time to think about what to order later in the summer so next spring’s garden
will be even more glorious. I find it hard to order now when I am still buying
perennials and annuals to plant this spring. But what I do is to look carefully
and decide where I might need some
additional color, or I decided I need more of something. I take pictures and I
also make notes on the top of the September calendar page.
This year my notes include buying some more yellow crocus
because I can’t seem to see many this year. And I want some of the pink species
tulips I used to have among the blue and white windflowers. It seems they have
disappeared. They were so pretty with the blue and white windflowers.
Tulips are one of the things you should really plant every
fall. Some tulips do return each year,
but you lose some every year, so adding some new variety each year keeps the
tulip show going.
Can you plant pots of blooming bulbs you got as gifts?
This time of year many stores have pots of cheerful spring blooming
bulbs that people can buy or that they get as gifts. After you have enjoyed the
flower show you can plant the bulbs in the garden if you like. Don’t disturb
the foliage but cut off the dead flowers. Plant the bulbs in the garden as soon
as possible, cold weather won’t harm them now.
Separate the bulbs in the pot so each has about 6 inches of space around
it in the ground.
Some of these bulbs may survive and return to bloom next
spring. They won’t bloom again this year. Don’t be surprised however, if they
don’t return next year. Some of these forced bulbs don’t have enough energy
reserves to make it to another year. It’s worth a try, however.
Some garden stores even carry flats of blooming bulbs you
are meant to plant into the garden in spring, but some of these, especially tulips,
won’t return next year either. It’s best to skip the blooming bulbs and plant
bulbs in the fall for next springs garden.
Can you plant bulbs you forgot to plant last fall?
If you found a bag of bulbs you forgot to plant last fall
when you bring out your garden supplies this spring, you may be wondering if
you can still plant them. If they still look plump and firm you can but if they
are shriveled, soft and moldy throw them out.
Expect the bulbs you plant to bloom next spring. Some may put up foliage
but are unlikely to bloom. These types of bulbs require at least 6 weeks of
temperatures below 40 degrees F to set blooms for the spring.
You could try chilling the bulbs in your refrigerator for 6
weeks then planting them. But by this time, it will be warm weather and after
planting it will be another 4-6 weeks before they bloom. They will look out of
place, especially since the foliage must be left to mature for another month or
so. And the heat will make it hard for the bulbs to produce roots and prepare
for the next season.
Manure in
the garden
When I was a child there were always a few warm spring days
when mom was complaining about not being able to open the windows because grandpa
had just dumped loads of cow manure in the garden. His garden was only about 20
feet from our kitchen windows. He had a friend who was happy to deliver loads
of that fragrant manure every spring. He spread the manure everywhere, from
vegetable bed to rose bed.
I know my grandfather was one of those gardeners who waited
until around Memorial day to plant so I guess adding that manure in April would
have given it time to age enough that it wouldn’t burn the plants. And back then
people didn’t worry so much about salmonella and other manure carried
pathogens. Or maybe the manure was well aged when it was delivered, I don’t remember.
We are pass the point in most parts of the country when
adding manure to the vegetable garden is a good idea. And any manure you add to
flower beds should be well aged, so it won’t burn plants. (Well-aged is manure that’s
several months old.) The burn effect comes
from both an overabundance of nutrients such as nitrogen and the actual heating
up of the manure as it decomposes. Plants will turn yellow and brown and can
quickly die if too much fresh manure is applied near them.
Rabbit and goat manure is not as likely to burn plants even
when applied fresh. But it will contain lots of pathogenic bacteria. Poultry
manure is probably the worst manure for “burning” plants when fresh. Manure
from other animals falls somewhere between.
Aged manure may not burn the plants, but it can still carry bad
bacteria. It’s debatable whether we have more problems with salmonella, listeriosis,
and other food borne pathogens than we did fifty years ago. But we are more knowledgeable
about the diseases they cause. Manure in food gardens should be applied long
before the garden is planted, preferably several months before, to prevent bacterial
contamination. This is especially true for root crops and leafy greens.
Manure is less likely to change soil pH than common
fertilizers, it improves soil structure as it provides lots of organic matter,
especially if mixed with animal bedding, and it usually is high in
nitrogen. Manure improves soil
aggregates, the way soil sticks together, which lessens erosion and makes a
better place for plant roots.
Manure is great for the compost pile and composted manure
and bedding mixtures makes an excellent soil amendment. But, it’s an inefficient
way to supply plant nutrients. Unless you have it tested, you don’t know what
nutrients the manure actually provides. What type of animal produced it, what
it ate, what bedding the manure is mixed with, how long the manure was stored
and how it was stored all effect the nutrient content of manure.
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| Moving manure- if you have this much use it! |
There are other drawbacks to manure. Manure increases soil electrical
conductivity, which helps soil hold on to mineral elements. Some of these are
salts, which over time, can build up in the soil and harm plants. If manure washes off it can
run into surface water, contaminating it.
And it can even contaminate ground water in certain circumstances. Don’t
apply manure on slopes or close to bodies of water, ditches, or drains. Keep it 50 feet away from any wells.
In recent times some manure may contain chemicals that harm
plants. These were applied to hay the
animals ate and are excreted in manure. And manure often has lots of weed
seeds, especially if it came from horses. A horse’s digestive system moves food
through it so quickly that many weed seeds survive the journey. Horses consume
weed seed both from pastures and from hay.
The best time to apply manure to flower beds, perennial
crops and the vegetable garden is after the plants are dormant and the ground
cold, but preferably not frozen. You could apply 6-8 inches of manure if you
have it. If manure is applied before perennial
plants are dormant, they may start growing again and that new growth will be
winter killed, wasting plant resources.
Manure applied to frozen ground is more likely to run off
nutrients which contaminate nearby water. And if the ground is frozen the
nitrogen in the manure will largely disappear before the spring thaw. Adding
3-4 inches of manure before the ground freezes will keep it from freezing for a
long while and let soil microbes work it into the soil.
Manure is bulky, heavy, messy and smelly. It takes a lot of
manure to supply the same nutrients just a sprinkling of fertilizer produces. If
you have manure from animals you raise or some one gives it to you every year
free then it’s worthwhile to add it to your garden and compost pile. If you don’t
know how the manure was produced and stored, and you have to buy it, I would
pass.
Cheese
and chives scones
Are you into baking while stay at home is in place? These cheese
and chives scones will go well with almost any meal. I find rosemary the
perfect herb to use with chives for these scones, but you can use other herbs
such as thyme or sage or just use the chives. Chives are coming up in the garden
now, so it’s a perfect time to make these.
If you don’t have buttermilk add 1 tablespoon melted butter
to a ½ cup of cream or milk for almost the same taste.
Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 egg lightly beaten
1 egg white lightly beaten
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup finely grated cheddar cheese (or your choice of
cheese)
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons of finely diced green chives
¼ cup finely diced red sweet pepper
1 tablespoon water
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
12 sprigs of fresh rosemary
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with
parchment paper or spray lightly with cooking spray. I use a copper no stick
grill sheet.
Mix together flour, baking powder and soda, pepper, salt.
In another bowl mix together the buttermilk, whole egg,
cheese, red pepper and onions.
Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the egg-milk
mixture. Mix together just until ingredients are blended and moist.
Turn dough out onto floured surface. Knead lightly, folding
dough over several times. Dough should look smooth when kneaded enough.
Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a circle about 5
inches across. Cut each circle into 6
wedges.
Place wedges 1 inch apart on the baking sheet.
Mix together the remaining egg white with the water. Brush
the tops of each wedge then add a sprig of rosemary to the top of each. Brush
with egg white mixture again, coating the rosemary.
Bake for about 15 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm.
“There is no glory in star or blossom till looked upon by
a loving eye; There is no fragrance in April breezes till breathed with joy as
they wander by.”
— William Cullen Bryant
— William Cullen Bryant
Kim Willis
All parts of this blog are copyrighted and may not be used without
permission.
And So On….
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