Mulching in Northern Gardens

Mulching has many benefits to plants and soil, from conserving moisture, encouraging earthworms to stopping mud splashing on leafy plants during rainstorms. Mulch also keeps the soil cool during the summer, this is not advantageous in the springtime to a northern gardener anxiously awaiting the soil warming up for the transplants. Early in the spring season rake the mulch back in the areas you plan to place warmth loving plants like tomatoes and beans for a week or two so the soil can warm in the sunshine. Once the transplants are tucked in the warm soil spread the mulch back and enjoy the new growing season.

New Vegetable Varieties and Spring Preparation

My website, www.naturesgardenheirlooms.com, is being updated with some exciting new varieties and should be ready to view in the next week or two. I am expanding the tomato, pea, bean, lettuce, cucumber and pepper varieties with many more great choices for us northern gardeners.
The starlings are back and picking through my gardens for newly emerging bugs. Moths are gaining in nighttime population and butterflies have started to flit through the warming sunny days. I even thought I saw a frog bounce from the beaver pond mud flat into a grassy hummock. Though the temperatures are going up and down, spring is here, we just have to wait until it.... ripens.
The garden soil is still nice and crumply from the snow and ice melt which makes it a great time to weed. Roots are pulling effortlessly right now making the job faster and so much easier than it will be once those April showers flatten and compact the soil again.
Time to get out and enjoy those sunny days, getting gardens prepared for spring planting is a bonus. For me there is another good reason to weed now, I am trying to beat those immense clouds of marauding black flies. Wildlife in the countryside comes in all sizes!

An easy way to dig a new garden

Planning on starting a new garden this spring? A little preparation now will make the digging and turning so much easier.

Mark out the area you want to turn into your new garden site then cover it with black plastic. Garbage bags work well for this held in place with a few rocks. Three or four weeks later all the plants under the plastic will die and the soil will be soft, moist and easy to dig. A new garden site could not be easier to prepare.

Some seedlings need warm soil to be transplanted into, to warm up the garden soil simply cover with clear plastic. This warms the ground while allowing the light to pass through so the garden will be ready for your transplants as soon as the seedlings and the weather permit.

Pest Control

We all struggle at one time or another with insects and bugs in the garden or in the home. There are many ways to deter pests, deal with the possibility before they become an issue, or after the fact with natural or chemical intervention.

Once again I found an article I would like to share on, well, what not to do. Sometimes an infestation can be so severe it is hard to think straight.

Uncle John’s BR 22nd edition brings us an article showing the level of exasperation a person can be brought to and the lack of common sense that may ensue.

“Tone Pina’s apartment in Citrus Heights, California was infested by thousands of cockroaches.

Because there were so many roaches, Pina got a lot of bug bombs. He said about 8 to 10; the police (I thought you would notice that) later said there were probable as many as 18. (One or two is usually recommended.) Pina set them all off at the same time and rushed out of the house.

A spark from his refrigerator (this is where I started laughing) ignited the fumes, triggering an explosion (now I was in full tears) that separated the building’s walls from its roof, caused three families to lose their homes, and cost more than $1 million to repair. Pina still has cockroaches.”

Well, what more can I say, besides the obvious, it's smart to read the directions?

The Receding Snow

The snow has just receded from the little patch of catnip I planted in 2006 for my three cats to party in. This morning I moved the fallen leaves and sticks underneath the dried stalks and actually picked a few fresh green leaves, and this in March zone 4b! Spring is coming, though probably not before another snowfall or two. For me, however, Spring is now fully ensconced in my heart, while my gardening fingers are itching. I already tried weeding, note to self: dig the dandelion’s root out in the spring once the ground has actually thawed.

Short Cuts: Planting with Easy Compost for Small Spaces

Gardening is forgiving, if a plant is not growing well in one area you can move it to another, but to have time to relax and enjoy your garden nothing beats a little planning and organization.

When you are thinking of adding a tree or shrub to a garden preparing the area in advance will make the transplanting go smoothly, lowering the trauma to the plant and yourself. It takes time and attention to add larger varieties successfully; this is the time to make sure the mature plant and the location are a good match, for both the plant and you.

Compost is so beneficial to transplants. Having a good nutritious hole to pop it into will save you a lot of work later on. Compost in the bottom of the planting hole will help to maintain moisture as well as provide vital nutrients to the new root mass. Many people do not have a compost pile in their yard to access for transplants but that does not mean you have to go out and buy it by the bag.

The summer or fall before you plant, pick the location for the new addition keeping in mind light and space requirements of the variety you have chosen when mature. Dig the hole. Make it larger than it will need to be, this will be your new in ground compost pile. Layer the bottom of the hole with composting materials: vegetable kitchen scraps layered with grass clippings, fall leaves, soil, sticks and twigs broken up small, any “brown” composting materials, water to keep damp but not soggy. You do not have to maintain a huge composting deposit, just enough for 12” – 18” of materials so they will compost down to a good 6”-10” for the spring planting. If you have pets who may be too interested in the new lovely scented hole, place a wire screen and couple baseball size rocks on top of the compost pile, you don’t want to squash the contents or block the air, just enough to be a bother to animals. This usually deters inquisitive creatures since the compost is in a pit and they can’t move the rocks or screen out of the hole to get down to the kitchen scraps. Late fall give it a good final mix and turn to aerate, make sure it is damp, then top with a layer of leaves or grasses and your screen and rocks again. If you have clover in your yard grass clippings this is especially good for the compost as it is high in nitrogen and wonderful for plants. Leave it over the winter, but plan on turning the contents when you are able to as spring approaches. No need to add more to the contents as you want these to be fully broken down to friable soil for your new addition.

When you are ready for your lovely anticipated tree or shrub, the hole is already dug with wonderful nutrient rich compost in the bottom. This also has given you time to assess the location. You live with the hole for a while so you can be sure of its placement, if not, dig another in a better location, shovel the compost out of the original hole and into the new. It is a lot easier to do it at this stage than relocating later.

Another tip for tree or large shrub planting: place the tree on a large piece of burlap. Some plants take two or three people to maneuver them into place, when it is on burlap you can pull it around or lift it with less trauma to the plant, and yourself. Next: fill the hole with water before you pop it in. If you put the tree in a dry hole it stays where it’s put, float it in water & you can give it a quick spin. So often I find a plant in a great location but the “better” side is facing the fence!

Some jobs are big but with planning they can go smoothly. A job is well done when you have time to sit and enjoy your work.

Happy planting.

Weed Removal

I am always looking for good tried and true shortcuts and tips to make the gardening season easier so more time can be spent enjoying the results of my efforts.
As well as tried and true I am also very interested in know what Did Not Work. Sometimes it is a minor “didn’t work” and I know with changes and a little alteration I can make a benefit of the method. However, the big Did Not Work’s can be a source of learning and of course, entertainment under the “Glad that wasn’t me” category.
I will let you decide which definition works best for you in the article I am including next.
According to Uncle John’s BR 22nd edition a German gardener was having an issue with weeds growing between his hedges and no doubt tried everything to control them.
“While it is not uncommon for gardeners to use a small blowtorch to clear weeds from cracks in a driveway or sidewalk, it’s not recommended when the weeds are growing among giant hedges. But that’s what this 54-year-old gardener tried to do.
The hedges caught fire….
….then the tool shed…
… then, the roof of his house.
Unable to extinguish the blaze with his garden hose, the man called the fire department. By the time they put it out, his house was so damaged that it was uninhabitable.”
I will file that under things not to do in the garden, especially during the fire ban time of a hot dry summer. Yes, a summer of sun, not rain!

Where are the Finches?

Well, 59 days late and still no show. Where are the Redpolls?

Of the 6 Januarys I have spent here three times the finches arrived on or very close to January 5th. Once they were about 10 days later and another year I did not notice the exact day of arrival. While inquiring of many people I meet a gentleman said the last week of February he read in the paper one had been seen in Lively (40 km west of me). It made the paper!! I am not the only one watching the nyjer feeder and wondering where these beautiful little birds are.

Last year a field sparrow arrived on March 10th and the starlings are pretty regular arrivals by mid March, (last year on the 16th). There are two Canada geese who nest at our pond each year, they land solidly on our driveway between March 23rd and 29th to claim their territory for the spring and summer. Later in the month between the 26th and 31st the amazing sound of the woodcock echo through the woods and bringing up the rear between March 28th and 31st is the traditional sighting of the robin.

March is the month of moths, last year they were at the nighttime window on the 12th. The last days of the month last year brought us iris and hawkweed aka my lawn!

There are lots of arrivals to look forward to in March. It will be interesting to see if the other birds are on schedule, but, I will still be wondering... Where are the Finches???