Friday, July 13, 2007
Heath and Heather
Thursday, July 12, 2007
A Garden Symphony
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Geraniums
Geranium Trouble Shooting
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Successful Seedlings
Provide adequate moisture. Seeds need a uniform supply of moisture during germination and seedling development. Excessive amounts may cause damage or damping off.
Regulate temperature. Most plants need temperatures of 65-75°F to sprout. Check requirements for individual plants.
Check planting depth. Small seeds are frequently covered too deep. Very fine seeds need little or no covering. Air is as essential as heat and moisture for germination.
Control harmful insects. Small, tender seedlings are easily destroyed by insects and need to be protected from them. Insecticidal soap is a safe, gentle product for controlling most insect pests.
Guard against damping off. Seedlings grown indoors are subject to damping off. This disease is favored by overwatering, too much heat, not enough space, or too little light and is characterized by the rot and collapse of seedlings at ground level. This soil-borne virus is one of the biggest causes of seedling loss. Using a sterile medium and a good fungicide can prevent seedlings from contracting this disease.
Check your growing conditions. When seeds sprout, move them to a spot where temperatures are moderate. The most vigorous plants are usually grown at about 60-65 ° F. Use heat mats, in early Spring, where necessary. Plants need 10 to 12 hours of good sunlight each day or they will become spindly.
There are a number of factors that affect seed germination. Check the seed packet to determine if all the requirements for temperature and light were met. If the soil was cold and excessively wet, the seeds may have rotted. Dig up one of the seeds and examine it. If it is swollen and soft, the seed has rotted and you'll need to start over. If the soil was too dry, the seeds may not have germinated or may have sprouted and then dried up.
Plants grow tall and leggy when there is insufficient light. If possible move your seedlings to a sunnier location or use grow lights. You can also lower the temperature in the room and reduce the fertilizer to slow the plants' growth.
- Mold is an indication that the soil or growing medium is too wet and won't harm your plants as long as you can improve the growing conditions right away. Withhold water for a few days and try to increase the air circulation around the containers by adding a small fan or opening a door. You can also scrape some of the mold off or try transplanting into fresh growing medium.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Laying a Flagstone Path
- PLANNING THE PATH In planning a path, consider its purpose. Jogs or curves slow footsteps and might be what is needed where you want to encourage a prolonged look at a choice planting. Where footsteps will be hurried, such as from the back door to the vegetable garden, lay out a straight path. Bear in mind that two people strolling together along a major garden path—even two intimate people—need paths four to five feet wide. Eighteen inches is adequate for a small, secondary path for one person. Sprinkle pulverized limestone on the ground to outline the proposed path. For a straight path, guide yourself with strings and stakes. To achieve smooth bends on a curved path, use two garden hoses to mark the edges, and measure across at intervals to keep the path’s width constant.
- DIGGING OUT THE SOIL Remove existing soil to a depth of at least four inches. If the site is soggy (especially in winter), allow for more drainage by digging out more soil, up to 12 inches if necessary. You won’t need the excavated soil, so shovel it directly into a wheelbarrow. Sprinkle this excess soil between the layers of a compost pile, or stockpile it for use in potting mixes.
- ESTABLISHING A BASE Shovel porous drainage material such as coarse sand or stone dust into the excavated area, tamping and smoothing it with a board as you proceed. This material will provide a solid base for the path and prevent water from collecting and freezing beneath the flagstones.
- Fill in with enough drainage material so that the topsides of the stones will be a half-inch above ground level after they’re set in place. Make the center or one side of the path an inch higher than the rest so that surface water will run off.