Leave the Leaves but Not the Invasives

 

November 2023

 

Pickaway to Garden

Leave the leaves but not the invasives

By Paul J. Hang

 

In just two months we will be celebrating the New Year. It’s time to take stock of the old and prepare to welcome the new in the yard and garden. The latest advice from the scientific horticulture community is to not do a lot of fall clean up and leave the leaves, with some exceptions. Take the leaves off the lawn. Leave the leaves around the shrubs and trees and in the flower beds. This adds mulch, organic matter and fertilizer to the soil. It also provides a place for overwintering frogs and toads, bugs’ and insects’ larvae, eggs, and pupae, this includes butterflies and bees.  Remember, most bugs and insects are beneficial.

 

Shredded leaves can be placed on vegetable beds as mulch and to add organic matter. Leave most stems and seed heads of perennials for food and shelter for birds and overwintering bugs and insects. The stems of Anise hyssop, Coreopsis, Purple coneflower, Black eyed Susan, Monarda (Bee Balm), and Asters are especially useful. Come spring these stems can be cut back to 12” to 18” until warm temperatures awakens the slumber of overwintering residents. Whatever you cut down can be left as free mulch and fertilizer and more habitat.

 

I know this will distress some readers but shrubs such as Asian bush honeysuckles, privet hedge and burning bush have proven to be invasive as are vines such as English Ivy and Winter creeper. Fall is a perfect time to consider removing them and replacing them with natives in the spring.  According to the School of Environment and Natural Resources at The Ohio State University, “A species is considered invasive when it is both non-native to the ecosystem in which it is found and is capable of causing environmental, economic or human harm.” They can be cut to the ground and the stumps treated with an herbicide. For more information, search controlling invasive species at ohioline.osu.edu.

 

Things to do in the Garden:

 

Now is a good time to do soil tests. You have time (3 to 6 months) to amend your soil if required. You will avoid the spring rush. To obtain soil sampling instructions and kits along with specific recommendations contact the local Cooperative Extension Office 740-474-7534.The Helpline is also available at the same number. It’s not too late to plant spring flowering bulbs. Spring bulbs look best in a cluster. Try excavating an area rather than planting them in single holes. Lift tender bulbs (caladiums, dahlias, glads etc.) and store for the winter. Sow seeds of hardy annuals (calendula, bachelor’s buttons). Mums can be “tidied up” but don’t trim back until spring.

 

Tender roses should be “hilled up,” mound the soil a foot deep around the base to protect the crowns. Also a wire cage filled with leaves surrounding them as protection can be added. Final pruning should be done in the spring, but long spindly canes can be trimmed off now. Climbing roses or ramblers should be tied to prevent injury from being whipped around by harsh winter winds. Do not fertilize. Clean up all dead and diseased rose leaves and put in the trash. Peonies can be cut to the ground to control the fungi and disease for which they are prone to develop. Dispose of the stems and leaves in the trash.

 

A fall fertilization of your lawn can be done now. Do not allow leaves to form a matted layer on the lawn. Rake and compost heavy layers of leaves. Running the mower over the rows of leaves at right angles a couple times will reduce them to half inch pieces which earth worms will pull into the soil. The latest recommendation is to continue to cut your lawn at 2.5-3 inches as long as it continues to grow. Run the gas out of your lawn and garden machinery or add gas stabilizer for storage.

 

November is a good month to plant most trees. For two short informative videos, go to; http://bit.ly/PlantATreeCbus. When your trees go dormant you can view; http://bit.ly/PruneATreeCbus and see how to prune them properly.

Make sure leaves and mulch are not heaped against the trunks of trees. Bring the mulch a few inches to a foot away from the trunks of all trees. You may also want to stake newly planted trees from the winds of winter and early spring storms. Generally new trees more than 2” diameter don’t need staking. Consult ohioline.osu.edu for staking and other gardening information. Evergreens and shrubs should be watered deeply. Apply an anti-desiccant to broadleaf evergreens after it freezes. Wait until dormant to do any normal pruning. Do not prune spring flowering shrubs (lilac, forsythia, spirea etc.) if you want them to bloom this spring.

 

Take stock by taking notes and map your garden while you can still remember where the plants were. This is particularly important for the vegetable garden. Remove the stalks from asparagus when they turn yellow or brown and mulch the strawberries with straw. You can still plant garlic. Clean your gardening tools and put them away. A coat of oil can prevent rust. A light coating of linseed oil on wooden handles prevents splitting due to weathering and drying. Drain garden hoses and store. At the very least disconnect from the outdoor spigots. Make sure underground irrigation lines are drained or blown dry with a compressor.

 

Remove the dead plants from containers and, if not diseased, compost. Unglazed terracotta pots must be stored indoors or they will be destroyed by freezing. The same goes for fragile garden ornaments. Synthetic containers can be left outdoors. Stop or reduce fertilizing indoor plants. Weed the vegetable garden and compost non-diseased debris. Place diseased materials in the trash. Remove stakes and cages, clean and store. Plant a cover crop or cover with mulch, no bare ground..

 

Consider leaving the stems and seed heads of perennials, Rose of Sharon is an exception. Nature is not compelled to neatness. She leaves cover for pollinators and butterflies to overwinter themselves or their pupae and eggs. You can clean up in the spring. Cut off dead annuals and, if not diseased, compost them. Now your beds are tucked in and settled down for a long winter’s nap.

Fall in the Garden

 

October 2023

Pickaway to Garden

 

Fall in the Garden

By Paul Hang

 

I often think of a title before penning these remarks.  “In the Fall Garden” or “Fall in the Garden” were my choices this month. I was going to write about all the chores this season requires but that is covered later. Fall in the garden sounds dangerous. The word fall also connotes a feeling of being out of control as in, falling for a plant such as asters or falling in love with a flower like anemones or a person. This season is the only season with two names. And one of them has many meanings. Other seasonal names, summer, autumn and winter pretty much are univocal and unambiguous. Spring has a few different meanings but fall has many meanings and definitions in addition to naming this season. .

 

The word fall can function as an adjective, a verb or a noun as in, Fall leaves fall from trees in the fall. In the Encarta dictionary there are 18 different definitions for fall. Here are a few examples of fall in the garden:  The season: Fall is between summer and winter when the leaves fall from the trees. The act of falling: The clay pot fell to the walk and shattered. The amount: Not much rain has fallen for at least a month. Become lower: The price of wood mulch has fallen. Be draped: The alyssum falls over the stone wall. Take place: Night fell earlier after the Autumnal Equinox. Display disappointment: The Master Gardener Volunteers’ faces fell when they heard the class was cancelled. Stop to look: Her gaze fell on the display of roses. Begin to be in a specified state: The birds fell silent when I went to the feeder. Slope: The land falls gradually to the garden. Start: The volunteers fell to work pulling the invasive garlic mustard. Geography: We took a trip to Cedar Falls. Hairpiece: She wore a fall which showed under her gardening hat. Plants: The fall on the iris bloom was a stunning purple. Fail: My attempt to grow fennel fell flat. Collapse: She fell to pieces when the frost killed her dahlias.

 

And, there is always, spring forward and fall back. As you go about the things to do in the garden this fall be careful. Don’t rapidly go from vertical to horizontal in the autumn garden.

 

Things to do in the garden:

 

Hot caps and covers should be made handy in case a frost or freeze is forecast. Remember that the coldest temperature usually comes a little after sunrise. The earth radiates heat away and the sun hasn’t climbed high enough to begin heating us. If you can protect your plants now, a couple more weeks of warmth is likely to follow, with more vegetables and flowers to harvest. Average first frost for south central Ohio is October 23.

 

Bring in the houseplants. Make sure you don’t bring in any bugs with them; a good blast of water from your hose can wash most of them off. Bring the pots into a sheltered spot for a week or so to help the plants acclimate before shocking them with the warmer temperatures of your home. Look up how to overwinter geraniums, begonias, coleus and other summer bloomers.

 

In October, and even into early November, you can plant garlic and shallots. Cloves from store-bought garlic may not work as some are treated to delay sprouting. You can also order favorite varieties from seed catalogs. Separate the cloves and plant 4 inches apart. They will sprout a few inches and take off in spring.

 

Dahlias, glads, tuberous begonias and cannas should be dug and stored in a cool dry place. Most basements are too warm. Caladiums, on the other hand, should be stored at 65 - 70 degrees. Go to ohioline.osu.edu and bring up Factsheet HYG-1244-92 to get specific information on storing Summer Flowering Bulbs.

 

You can still divide day lilies and iris. Cut back the iris leaves to four-inch fans. Stop feeding your roses but don’t stop giving them water. Consider cutting back your roses halfway if they stop blooming. If you have dormant roses you can still plant them. Spring bulbs can be planted as soon as you get them. Plant them at a depth three times their length; place some bulb food in the hole with them. For a better display plant them in odd numbered groups, not single file. For more impact, plant them in a triangular shaped group with a point facing the spot from where they will be viewed.

 

If you planted trees this year (it is still a good time, until the ground freezes) protect the trunks from gnawing rabbits and other varmints with hardware cloth or the plastic wrap made for this purpose. Even older trees can benefit from this if you’ve experienced this damage in the past. Research the variety you want to plant. Some trees including evergreens are best planted in the spring.

 

It is still the best time to fertilize your lawn. Use a high nitrogen soluble product. You can still sow grass seed. Leave seed heads of native coneflowers and Black-eyed Susans for the birds. Also leave stems for overwintering insects. You can put off most cleanups (but not in the vegetable garden) until next spring! Add mulch around perennials after the ground freezes, assuming it will. Leave the leaves under trees and planting beds. Rake them off the lawn for mulch or the compost heap.

 

You can have the soil tested and apply the recommended amendments to

be working their way into the soil before spring. Contact the OSU Extension office for instructions and bags for samples. The office can also be contacted with your gardening questions at 740-474-7534.

Fruits and Nuts

 September 2023

Pickaway to Garden

Fruits and Nuts

By Paul Hang

Recently, I have written about the flowering of plants and their pollination. What is the purpose of all this? It is the process of reproduction, the production of fruits and seeds to carry on the next generation. Why fruits? In scientific terms  ”…a fruit is any plant organ that contains seeds.” Only flowering plants produce fruit. Two major functions of fruit are to protect and nourish the seed as it develops. When the seed matures the fruit changes and ripens. An apple becomes larger, usually blushes red, is juicy and sweet, and is ready to be eaten. Animal dispersion of seeds is an important method for plants to move their offspring “out of the house.” As a bonus the seed gets a dose of manure.

Pollination results in the ovule of a flower being fertilized with the sperm cell of a grain of pollen. Seed development closely follows fruit development. Each ovule will develop into a single seed. The single fertilized cell divides forming more cells. Those cells begin to differentiate into the beginning forms of a plant e.g. root cells and other specialized cells like the seed coat that will protect the seed.

The seed continues to grow in size as the cells grow and proliferate. The seed also stores food reserves for it may be a long time until it germinates and then it must have reserves for the emerging plant to develop its roots, stems and leaves. The fruit cells and the seed cells expand and mature at the same time. The developing seed has an umbilical connection to the protective fruit. The seed cells biological activity slows down and it becomes dry and harder, even changing color to the usual dark brown or black.

Seeds, once mature, can survive in the soil because they are dormant. They germinate when conditions are right. Seeds are living organisms with a limited life span. Weeds also produce seeds that go dormant and can last in the seed bank for years. You can prevent their germination by keeping the soil covered so light does not reach them. Mulch, no hoeing or tilling will help reduce weed seeds from germinating. And, don’t let weeds go to seed.

Beans, nuts, the seed heads on perennials, pine cones, nuts, corn on the cob, peppers and berries, grapes, peaches, apples and yes, even tomatoes, are fruits. We call tomatoes, and other unlikely fruits, vegetables because of the way we use them in our meals. Botanically they are fruits. Tomato pie anyone?

Things to do in the garden:

As annual plants die consider leaving them in the garden. If they are in the vegetable garden, pull them up. If perennials, you may leave them for their winter interest or to preserve them for overwintering pollinator eggs, larvae, pupae or cocoons. Dispose of non-diseased plant debris in a "hot" compost heap to kill the seeds. If diseased, bury them or put them in the trash. In the butterfly garden leave the host plants as they are harboring the overwintering eggs and larvae of next year’s butterflies. Those plants that you don’t want to re-seed remove the seed heads before their seeds are scattered. Or, leave them for the birds. Clean up old fruit from around fruit trees.

If you collect, dry, and store seeds for next year, use only heirloom varieties, hybrids will not grow true. Harvest and cure mature winter squash, pumpkins and gourds if they are ready. Leave a two inch stem. Gourds should be finished with growth before you cut them from the vine, store indoors at 60 degrees.

September is the best time to plant grass seed whether you are re-seeding, patching or establishing a new lawn. If you only fertilize your lawn once a year, fall is the best time to do it. Cooler (slows evaporation), wetter fall weather promotes good root growth and your grass will start out next spring healthier. Fertilize in September and then again around Thanksgiving. Read directions for amounts and settings on application equipment. You might also want to consider shrinking your lawn to save on fertilizer and mowing costs.

In those areas in the vegetable garden that are not to be fall planted, plant a cover crop or “green manure” that will be turned in in the spring. Buckwheat, annual rye, sweet clover, winter barley, wheat, soybeans, alfalfa, and hairy vetch make good green manures.

Now is the time to buy and plant spring flowering bulbs. A good rule of thumb is to plant bulbs at a depth about three times the height of the bulb. Most spring flowering bulbs look best planted in a group not in single file. Plant in a triangle, with the point facing the viewer, for most impact. Planting irises and peonies this fall takes advantage of the warm earth. They should be planted about 2 inches deep. If your peonies haven’t bloomed well because of shade from nearby competing trees, now is a good time to move them to a sunnier place in the yard. Cut deciduous peony leaves to the ground and discard.

Watch for yellowing of gladiolus leaves. Dig the corms and hang until the tops turn brown. Then store in a cool, not freezing, well ventilated basement or garage. Do the same with caladium, cannas, and dahlias when their tops turn brown. Fall is a good time to divide Lily of the Valley, primroses, peonies, day lilies, coral-bells and bleeding heart. Adding bulb food and humus will be rewarded in the spring.

You can plant onion seed now for early green onions and bulbs. Yes, onions are bulbs. You can still plant cool season vegetables. It’s not too late to start beets, carrots, kale and lettuce, maybe even bush beans! If you have row covers, or can make them, you can have these for Thanksgiving dinner. This assumes we don’t have a hard freeze. If we do, prepare to cover the plants. If you can find transplants of broccoli, cabbage and cucumbers you can still get a harvest. Order garlic bulbs now for planting later.

Pot up plants of herbs, chives, parsley, rosemary for a sunny window. Bring in houseplants. Check for insects and treat as necessary. Reduce water and fertilizer for houseplants

Now is a good time to test your soil. The prescribed amendments will have time to work their way into the soil and be available to the plants for the next growing season. Information on soil testing is available at the OSU Extension Office as well as the Helpline at 740- 474-7534 for general questions.

Flower Power

 

August 2023

Pickaway to Garden

Flower Power

By Paul J. Hang

We garden for flowers. Either because we like to look at and smell them or because they turn into something we like to eat. The Poet William Wordsworth asked, “How does the meadow flower its bloom unfold?” What causes a plant to flower?

In his book “Plant Science for Gardeners,” Robert Pavlis gives many of the requirements. First, a plant must reach a certain level of maturity. It must grow large enough. Second, the plant must be healthy and receive enough light. “Anything that prevents a plant from growing to its full potential may prevent flowering.” Even when all these criteria are met, plants need certain triggers to flower. Once we understand these we may understand why some of our plants aren’t producing flowers.

Plants sense the duration of darkness and so are able to measure time. Plants are in one of three categories: long night, short night or night neutral. Chrysanthemums are long night plants that need at least 12 hours of darkness for a length of time before they bloom. They bloom in the fall or can be “tricked” into blooming in a light controlled greenhouse. Poinsettias and Christmas cactus are other examples. Roses are night neutral. They begin to grow in the spring and when they are big enough they flower. Some only bloom for a few weeks while others bloom until frost. Bloom duration is controlled by genetics.

Fruit trees bloom in the spring when there are about 12 hours of darkness and 12 hours of light. This also happens in fall but they do not flower then because of a factor called vernalization. They need two things to bloom a long night and a period of cold. Plants requiring vernalization require a period of cold long enough and a temperature low enough. This varies from plant to plant. Many bulbs require vernalization and this can sometimes be accomplished in a refrigerator. Rainfall can also be a trigger event. Desert plants often do not bloom until a certain amount of rain has fallen.

We also know that the accumulation of heat, measured in growing degree days, must be reached for plants to bloom. The amount varies with each plant species. Plants’ ability to monitor darkness can be interrupted by light from street lights and home lighting and interfere with blooming. If your light level is high enough and it is the right wavelength, your Christmas cactus will be the coal in your stocking. There are many things that cause a plant to flower or not. Wordsworth’s fellow poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson sums it up:

I hold you here, root and all, in my hand,

Little flower—but if I could understand

What you are, root and all, and all in all,

I should know what God and man is.

Things to do in the garden:

August is Tree Check month. Water if we don’t get at least an inch of rain each week. Water at the base of the plant and do it in the morning. Water trees and shrubs planted in the past two years or if they look distressed. If you see lichen on your trees, rejoice it’s a sign of clean air.

You can still have a fall garden. Plant healthy looking broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage plants early in the month. Direct-seed beets, spinach, turnips, and snap peas mid-month. Other vegetables that grow well in cool weather but should be planted a little later are lettuce planted through August and September, carrots and radishes in September.  Count the days before the average frost (mid-October), veggies that have that many days to harvest can still be planted. Check the seed packet. Given our milder winters don’t be afraid to experiment. Keep the seeds and soil moist for best germination.

Harvest vegetables and herbs in the morning for best results. Dig potatoes if the vines have died. Harvest onions when the tops fall over and cure in the sun for a few days. The more you harvest the more you will get. Consider donating excess to the food pantry.

As plants die back or stop producing in the vegetable garden remove them so bad insects and disease don’t have a place to over- winter. Some landscape plants, such as coneflowers and those with hollow stems, also native ornamental grasses, can be left alone for insects and for seeds for wintering birds or for visual winter interest. Put the debris of healthy plants in the compost bin, diseased plants in the trash. Pull crabgrass and other weeds before they go to seed.

This is the time to renovate or build a new lawn. Do your research at ohioline.osu.edu. Start cuttings of coleus, begonias, geraniums and impatiens for growing indoors this winter. Move houseplants to a shady spot to prepare them to move indoors. Disbud and fertilize your dahlias for bigger blooms. Fertilize (side dress) peonies and roses with a balanced fertilizer such as 10-10-10 or 12-12-12. Order garlic and spring flowering bulbs, plant biennials. Divide, transplant or give away perennials that are overgrown and plant new container grown ones. Add new mulch where needed. Pull weeds before they go to seed.

By the end of the month consider disbudding your tomato plants. Remove the growing tips of each branch and pinch out all the blossoms that bloom. It takes six weeks from blossom to fruit. This results in bigger tomatoes and prevents those marble size tomatoes that never reach the table. Experiment! Try this with melons and winter squash.

Consider picking tomatoes before they are completely ripe. They will ripen off the vine if they show a blush of green on an otherwise red, purple or yellow tomato. Totally ripe tomatoes still on the vine can burst with a glut of water from rain or the hose. They can be sampled by birds and mammals. Follow this advice and you will enjoy more and better tomatoes.

Monitor for pests. Check under the leaves. Use organic methods first. Remember, 97 percent of insects are either good or neutral. Use the digital method, in this digital age, to eliminate some bugs. The two-step stomp technique can be quite effective.  Or, just flick them into a cup of soapy water. No bug species has developed a resistance to these tactics.

Need gardening advice? Call the Gardening Helpline at the OSU Extension Office 474-7534. Other resources are ohioline.osu.edu and Buckeye Yard and Garden Line (bygl.osu.edu).

The Nerds and the Bees

 

July, 2023

Pickaway to Garden

 

The Nerds and the Bees

 

By Paul Hang

 

If you grew up before this century you probably heard the talk about the birds and the bees as a way to explain where babies come from. I don’t think either are very adequate examples of how humans reproduce.  For plant nerds like me bees are barely adequate examples for explaining plant sex and the only birds that I know of involved in pollination are hummingbirds. Pollination is really another word for plant sex, how plants reproduce. I think if I stick to plants’ sex maybe this column will not be banned by fearful politicians.

 

Bees and other pollinators like spiders, beetles, wasps, butterflies, moths and flies (most important after bees) move pollen from the male parts to the female parts of the flowers of plants. Plants can have either or both male and female parts. The male parts of the flower are called the stamen which includes the pollen producing anthers. The female parts are called the pistil which includes the stigma which receives the pollen and a tube called the style which connects the stigma to the ovary. The ovary contains one or more ovules which contain one egg each.

 

80% of the plants on earth produce flowers, seeds and fruits and that include the vast majority of our garden plants and the foods we eat, vegetables, fruits and grains. Without pollination we wouldn’t survive. Pollination, plant sex, is best described by Robert Pavlis in his book “Plant Science for Gardeners.”

 

“Pollen grains from anthers land on the stigma. If the stigma is mature it’s sticky, and the pollen grains will stay on the stigma. A pollen grain contains one tube cell and one sperm producing cell. The tube cell will produce a tube that grows down into the style and eventually reaches an ovule in the ovary. The sperm cell then travels down the tube and reaches an egg in the ovule. The sperm fertilizes one egg, which develops into a seed. After fertilization, the ovary develops into a fruit which protects the developing seeds.”

 

The bird (humming) and other pollinators (bees and “bugs”) act as carriers transporting pollen from one plant’s flower to another. Some plants, like tomatoes, have perfect flowers, which mean they have male parts (Stamens) and female parts (Pistils) in the same flower. They are self-fertilizing and don’t need bees or other insects to help fertilize them. Other plants have male and female flowers. Only plants with mature flowers and pollen will work. The stigma must be ready to accept the pollen and may only be receptive for a few days or hours. The pollen and the stigma must be compatible. If the plant determines the pollen is from a different species, a close relative or an unfit partner, the stigma will release a toxin which prevents the pollen tube from growing.

The birds and the bees story might be better replaced by the flowers and the flies. Have gardening questions? Call the Gardening Helpline 740-474-7534. To read about problems facing those of us who “grow things,” check out bygl.osu.edu.

 

Things to do in the garden:

Are you waiting on cucumbers and squash to start bearing fruit? Remember, they get male flowers first then later the female flowers come on. Then, after pollination, the fruit can form. This is the time to dry herbs. Harvest just before they flower. Pick on a sunny dry day and in the morning. Tie them in small bundles with rubber bands. Hang them upside down in a hot, dry, dark, well ventilated spot in an attic, barn or shed. It is time to harvest garlic. Hang them or lay them out to dry and cure. Harvest when leaves are turning yellow but there are still one or two green leaves.

 

Weeding, deadheading and watering are high on the list of routine activities. If July turns out to be bone dry water the equivalent of one inch per week. Don’t let your plants wilt. This will cause blossom end rot in tomatoes and other solanaceous plants like peppers and eggplant.  Mulch to conserve moisture and keep down weeds. If you haven’t mulched yet do so after a soaking thunderstorm or a good watering. Vegetables higher in water content need more water e.g. tomatoes, watermelons, onions, vs. green beans.

 

Keep your mower blades sharp; cut your grass long, 3-4 inches is ideal. If you use a pesticide for grubs you are also killing the ones that produce fireflies. Consider organic methods if you have a grub problem.  Kill Japanese beetle scouts before they let their comrades know about your garden. Brush them off into a cup of soapy water or alcohol (not Jim Beam). Repeatedly letting the lawn go dormant and reviving it by watering can kill the grass. Either keep watering or wait for Mother Nature to do it for you. Don’t forget to water your compost heap. It needs to remain moist for fast decomposition.

 

Going on vacation? Water well before you leave. Place container plants in a shady area. They should do fine for a week depending on the weather. If you will be gone longer have someone reliable come over and water regularly. Container plants in the hot sun may need watering daily.

 

If grafted trees or roses are suckering below the graft, cut the sprouts off. Keep picking seed pods off the annuals and clipping spent flowers (deadheading) to encourage bloom all summer. Pinch back mums July 15^th for the last time. Thin out fruit on heavily laden fruit trees. Prune climbing roses after bloom. Divide bearded Irises and do not plant too deep. Plant gladiolus up to mid-month. Add soil to potatoes as they grow.

 

Always read the labels on your plants for fertilization. Most woody plants have completed their growth and their buds for next year so fertilizing trees and shrubs after early July is a waste of money and may harm the plant. Keep watering trees and shrubs planted in the past 2-3 years. Ten gallons for every inch in diameter every week is good.

 

Consider planting a fall garden this month. Plants such as cabbage, broccoli, spinach, collards, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts (plant seeds now, seedlings later), kale, Swiss chard even beets and parsnips thrive in our fall weather. Consider starting your plants indoors (except for root crops). Acclimate seedlings to the sun before putting them out in the garden. You can still plant beans, cukes, summer squash, greens and corn.

Baby It's Too Late

 

June 2023

Pickaway to Garden

Baby, it’s too late.

By Paul Hang

For Carol King it was too late to rekindle old love. For gardeners, it’s late, but not too late. It is not too late to start a garden. Plants of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant are the best bet for early June transplanting. Plants that can be planted from seed in early June are: green beans (successive plantings every three weeks can extend the harvest), beets, carrots, Swiss chard, corn (depending on the variety), cucumber, lettuce, lima beans, muskmelon, winter and summer squash. Transplants of most flowers can still be planted. Seeds of biennials can be planted.

Some seeds are too late baby. Read the label on the seed packet. If the date to harvest or flowering is further away than the average first frost date for your area (here in Zone 6 it is mid-October) then you will be pushing your luck to get fruit or flower before the frost kills the plant. This is true especially if the plant is tender and susceptible to frost. Again, read the seed packet. Of course you can experiment. What with climate change you might luck out.

If the plant’s seed packet you are thinking of planting says it is 144 days to harvest or flowering and you plant it the first full week of June you have about 134 days to the first average frost date here in Zone 6. The first average frost date means there is a 50/50 chance the first frost will occur in mid-October. That’s like flipping a coin. Not bad odds unless you are betting the money for the kid’s new shoes.

When planting seeds follow the directions for planting depth, spacing, thinning and the amount of sun needed. Once planted, tamp down the soil over the seeds and water well but carefully. You don’t want to wash away the seeds. Keep the soil moist until germination. That time is also on the seed packet.

When planting transplants ease the plants from their containers by squeezing the containers from all sides. Turn the container over and give it a tap making sure your hand is over the top to preventing the plant from falling to the ground. Inspect the roots. If you can see lots of roots “tease” out some of the roots by pinching the bottom of the root “ball.” Plants grown in containers can develop circling roots that, if not interrupted, can continue circling and strangle the plant. You want the roots to spread out and search for nutrients.

Plant with the crown of the plant slightly above ground level. Tamp in the soil around it gently. Pull mulch to the plant. Always water-in the plant to eliminate air pockets. You may see bubbling. Now just wait, water at the base of the plant when we don’t get at least one or one and a half inches of rain in a week. No need to fake it it’s not too late Baby.

Our annual Master Gardener Volunteer Founders Day celebration returns, after Covid, on Wednesday June 28^th, 6:00 PM at the Starkey Pavilion at Mary Virginia Crites Hannan Park. Kathy Smith from OSU, Program Director, Forestry, will talk about our trees and forests. Please bring seating as there is none at the Pavilion.

Things to do in the garden:

To avoid the wilting of cucumber and melon vines cover the new plants with row cover material until the plants flower. Then remove the cover so that the pollinators can do their work. Use row covers on all vegetable plants that do not need to be pollinated: cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, lettuce, onions and root crops are examples. We eat them before they flower and go to seed, thus no need for them to be pollinated. I have begun to do this on more vegetables and it keeps most pests away. Mulch vegetables in mid-month after the soil has warmed up. You can fertilize all vegetables, corn two times, this month.

Weed and thin plants. Crowding plants more than is recommended results in all the plants doing poorly. Water deeply (not a little each day) one inch per week all summer.  Apply the water to the base of the plants rather than on the foliage. If you use a sprinkler, water early in the day so the foliage can dry before nightfall. Wet foliage overnight encourages fungal diseases to develop.

Remove seed heads from perennials. Don’t allow fancy hybrids to ripen and self-sow as their offspring will not come true. Deadhead flowers for more blooms. Iris can be divided and replanted after blooming. Pinch back mums once they are 4 to 6 inches tall. Continue to pinch back until mid-July. If your daffodils or other bulb plants didn’t bloom well it could be because they are now growing in the shade of larger grown trees or shrubs. Or, perhaps they are too crowded? Once the foliage turns yellow you can dig up the bulbs and divide and/or move them.

Fruit trees often shed small fruits in early summer called June Drop. Thin after this occurs. Thin apples to one fruit per cluster and one fruit every four to eight inches. Other tree fruit can be thinned a little less. This will cause bigger fruit. Don’t thin cherries. Pick up all fallen fruit. Only compost fallen fruit if you have a “hot” heap. Otherwise dispose of diseased fruit in the trash.

If you notice a “volunteer” tomato plant in your garden, yank it out or transplant it. Good gardeners, like good farmers, rotate their crops. A volunteer growing in last year’s tomato area allows disease to accumulate in that spot. Mulch under tomatoes keeps the soil from splashing up on the fruits. Soil on the fruits promotes disease. If you don’t stake, trellis or cage your tomatoes and let them sprawl on the ground, mulch will keep the fruit off the bare ground. Mulch keeps the ground from drying out, suppresses weeds and moderates the soil temperature. Several layers of newspaper topped with organic mulch, leaves, untreated grass clippings, coarse compost, shredded bark etc. should do the trick. Never let your tomatoes wilt. Uneven watering causes blossom end rot.

Water your roses well but hold off on the geraniums. They will bloom best when kept somewhat dry. Roses sprouting from below the graft should be replaced. Peonies should be fertilized after they finish blooming. Newly planted trees and bushes should be watered well each week for the first two years if the weather turns dry. Give them a good soaking. Don’t give them a booster feeding of fertilizer this year. Force those young roots to search for food by stretching out into the soil. Mow the lawn high, 3-4 inches, it crowds out weeds and needs less water, and mowing.

The Master Gardener Volunteers Helpline is open for your gardening questions. Call 740-474-7534 with your question or go to www.Pickaway.osu.edu, click on "Ask an expert."

Come and Get It

 

May 2023

Pickaway to Garden

Come and Get It

By Paul Hang

 

 

May is Garden for Wildlife Month. I don’t mean to sound cynical but, don’t we garden for wildlife every month? If we mean by wildlife bugs and insects in addition to the usual critters, then certainly every month we garden we are doing it for wildlife whether we do it intentionally or not.

 

A lot of us would like to keep wildlife in our gardens to a minimum, whether in our vegetable gardens or our flower beds. Deer, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons and ground hogs can ruin a gardening season. Even birds, dogs and cats can qualify, not to mention caterpillars, aphids etc. Of course, there is the neighbor who always knows when we are not at home. Thankfully, most of us don’t have to contend with all of these all of the time. But when we do have to, one or two or some for a time, it can be less than inspiring.

 

Deer, of course, will eat just about anything if they are hungry enough. They absolutely love tulips and hostas and it is discouraging to see them tasting the blossoms of daylilies only to spit out those that don’t meet their gourmet palates. You can look up lists of “plants deer tend to avoid.” They will mention plants with strong scents and tastes as well as fuzzy or prickly leaves. The only sure way to keep them away is a fence, electric or 8 feet tall.

 

Squirrels and raccoons seem to have an appetite for tomatoes and corn. Most fences can’t keep these acrobats from sampling a bite or two out of seemingly every fruit and ear. Tomatoes will ripen if picked just as a blush of pink appears. Like bulls, squirrels are attracted to the red of ripe tomatoes. Rabbits munch on leafy vegetables and the young shoots of just about everything in the vegetative kingdom. They say a fence just 18 inches high can foil their case of the munchies.

 

Probably the most destructive of all is the ground hog. They can burrow and they can climb. Yes, you can occasionally drive by a field and see a ground hog sitting on a fence post or up a tree. They seem to be omnivorous when it comes to being herbivorous. For a lot of these four legged critters trapping or a 22 caliber solution seems appropriate but both pose legal and safety hazards. I think it depends on where you live and garden.

 

Birds like to eat our berries and cherries, sample other fruits and crops. Loud intermittent noises, fluttering sparkly things, “big eye” balloons work, for a while. Nets help but pose a hazard for other critters. Dogs and cats seem to have some favorite foods or dig for other reasons. Keeping them indoors or on a leash helps. One of the most effective deterrents to wildlife in our gardens is not repellents but a physical barrier. I have found row covers to help. Agricultural row covers come in different weights. They let in light and water but keep out most critters.

 

Row covers even keep out bugs and insects, which can pose a problem. If your “crop” is being raised for its flowers or a fruit and seed or pod (ornamental flowers, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and peas) it must be pollinated and so, when in flower, the cover must be removed. If your crop is being raised for a bud, stalk, leaf, root, tuber or bulb (broccoli, celery, lettuce, carrot, potatoes, onion) it does not need to be pollinated and so the cover can remain.

 

I don’t intentionally garden for most wildlife. I do raise native plants for those critters that rely on them. Some people raise a garden for themselves and one for wildlife. If I had the room I might try that. Until then, I will remain undercover and try to coexist.

 

The Master Gardener Volunteers are having their Plant Sale on May 20, 9am-1pm in the parking lot at the Pickaway County Library on N. Court St. Lots of plants, including heirloom tomatoes, are for sale. Our Helpline can be reached by calling the OSU Extension Office at 740-474-7534.

 

Things to do in the garden:

 

Everything! The merry, merry month of May is a busy one. You can direct-seed corn, beans, potatoes, melons, cucumbers and squash. Place cheesecloth or row cover cloth over vines until they bloom. With any luck you will have prevented the cucumber beetles from invading the plants. This also works on the caterpillars of cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts.

 

You can set out tomato, pepper and eggplant plants if the soil is warm (60 degrees). There is still a chance of frost but each week the chances become less and less. Be prepared to cover those tender plants if frost threatens. Don't be tempted to over-fertilize tomatoes, extra nitrogen will delay ripening and produce more vine than fruit. Remember tomatoes can be planted deep with the top few branches of leaves above ground. Roots will form along the buried stem. If you stake your tomatoes put the stakes in before you plant. Consider pruning your tomatoes and peppers.

 

If you plan to put houseplants outside for the summer, a period of transitioning to the new environment will help assure their health and vigor. Fertilize and place in the shade. You can divide and move perennials. As the soil warms (50 degrees) you can plant summer-flowering bulbs such as caladiums, cannas, dahlias, and gladioluses. You can begin spraying roses for black spot following the directions on the product.

 

Cut the seed pods off your lilacs (after the blooms fade), but do not prune the stems. If your lilacs are getting overgrown and leggy, cut a third of the old stems this year at the ground. Do this to a third next year and the final third the year after that. This way you will rejuvenate the bushes. Stake or cage floppy perennials like peonies. For bigger peonies, remove small buds near the larger ones.

 

Thin apples, peaches and other tree fruit (not cherries) to a fruit every six inches. Remember "June drop." It is a time when fruit trees rid themselves of excess fruit. This is a natural process. Pines can be pruned back. Cut just half of new “candle” growth.

 

Mulch your beds after the soil has warmed. When you set out those tender plants protect against cutworms that can chew off new transplants. Use collars of aluminum foil, plastic, cardboard or other material to encircle the stem. The collars should extend into the soil an inch and above an inch or two. There are pesticides that can help control these pests (Google "cutworms extension”). I have also placed a toothpick in the ground right next to the plant stem with success.

 

This is a busy time for pollinators. When you spot a bug identify it before reaching for the spray. Fully 97% of the bugs in our gardens are beneficial or of no threat. Singular bugs are almost always beneficial predators. Crowds are often pests. Know your enemy! Finally, it’s not how fast you mow but how high. Mow at least 3 inches high for a healthy lawn.