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Happy St. Patty's Day!  For some of the 'older' gardeners, St. Patrick's Day was the kickoff for getting started in the garden with a few early crops of peas, sweet peas, planting potatoes, and maybe squeaking in a few cold crops like cabbage, broccoli, greens, etc.  So, why let it be a tradition for the 'older' ones?  Get out and carry on the tradition!  (Especially if you're a container gardener!)  Hey, Spring officially arrives next Monday, March 20.  Excited?  I am!

[Think you have a shamrock in that pot?  There are actually 5 plants that are portrayed as Shamrocks; white clover, black medic, wood sorrel, hop clover, and even 4 leafed clovers.]

*Whether it's the weather - Be careful what you wish for, as you just may get it.  Wished for some rainfall, and we sure did get it!  Yikes!  Well, that was one good soaking  for the arrival of spring (coming up on Monday).  Warmer weather along with the showers is really pushing early flowering plants along.  Cornus mas (Cornelian Cherry Dogwood) is now showing it's yellow flowers, along with red and silver maples in bloom, crabapples showing green buds, roses showing green buds, my ornamental pear is dropping the sheathing that covers the buds all over my sidewalk and driveway, chickweed and henbit has never looked better, and crabgrass seeds are stretching their legs and getting ready to grow.  Unless you stop them early!

[On average, there are 10,000 three leaf clovers for every 1 true four leaf clover.  The leaves of the four leaf stand for faith, hope, love and luck.]

*What's bugging you? - Not much yet!  If you were intending on dormant spraying (hort. oil or lime sulfur), you'd better get on it!  For those of you who have heavily infested scale on euonymus, the oil spray can help suppress scale populations, but pruning out heavily infested branches and pitching them out really helps!  Be sure to walk around the yard and look for things like bagworms that can be picked off now before they hatch, black knot on plums and cherries that can be cut off right now to help eliminate it.  MBWA - manage by walking around.  It applies to our jobs if we're in management and to our jobs in landscape management!

[You know you are living in 2006 when you enter your password on the microwave.]

*Question mark and the Mysterians - Here are a few gardening questions from this weeks emailed news bag:

"In your most recent newsletter, you reference edging beds.  Could inform your reading and listening audience as to the dangers in cutting bed edges 'too deeply'; that this can disconnect valuable roots and can be non-conducive to root establishment / reestablishment?"   -You just did!

"My roses are budding.  Shouldn't I be cutting them back now?"  -As of several years ago, our / my advice on spring pruning of roses changed after the Cincinnati rose doctor himself, Dr. Pottschmidt, taught us a lesson on spring pruning of roses.  He waits until early to mid April.  This way, he gets past a lot of the up's and down's in weather, and closer to more consistent temperatures (pruning really encourages new growth on roses quickly!).  If you want to uncover now, do so, but keep everything close in case the weather changes!  But plenty of time until pruning time.  Right, Doc?

"What's the name of the tall fescue you like so much?"  -Titan Limited.  Great fescue, with endophytes (insect protection) and rhizoming action! 

"Did I understand you correctly about feeding my spring bulbs, and to feed them when they're about 1/2 up out of the ground?"  Yes, that's good.  Feed them before they flower, and now is a good time.  By the way, after they have finished flowering, make sure they stay green for at least 6 weeks before cutting off the foliage.  The longer they stay green, the better off the bulbs are next year.  And forget that braiding and rubber banding stuff.  Leave them grow naturally!

"What sprays do I use for dormant sprays on my fruit trees, and then what do I use after that?"  -Bonide's Horticultural oil and or Lime Sulfur spray for dormant, and then use Bonide's Fruit Tree Spray (insecticide and fungicide combined) once into the growing season.  The bottle has a spray chart on it for you to follow.

[You know you are living in 2006 when you email the person who works at the desk next to you.]

This week's Success Tip for you garden - If you want to get an earlier start on the in ground garden, here's a little tip.  Simply cover the area you'd like to work and plant early, with a dark covered tarp or black plastic, and anchor it down.  The cover keeps off the rainfall as well as heats up the soil and gets it to dry quicker.  Then it's ready to go sooner.  You may do soil prep, then replace the plastic and plant through it, depending on what you're growing.  By the way, I highly recommend building raised planter beds if you have the option!

   Don't be too anxious to put down new mulch right now.  Fluff up existing mulch, but leave it at that for now.  Let the temperatures warm up, the soils dry out and warm up, and then do your mulching later.  1-3 inches maximum with mulch depths, less is better, and make sure you keep it away from the trunks of trees.  Mulching around a tree should look like a donut. 

*From the Garden to the Kitchen / Hey Rita, what's cooking? - Yardboy, I’m so excited about your new look (well, really not your personal look  but your cool new web page!) and also happy to be starting out the spring season with you and your readers.  A quick check of the herb garden held a big surprise:  salad burnet, chives, dill, and cilantro are all up several inches. The watercress in my little spring-fed pool is just big enough to add to our supper salads. And my herbs that have wintered over in containers are sprouting like crazy.  But before I start to talk about growing and cooking with herbs from the garden, let’s take a look at the herbs and spices that are still lingering in our pantries, some since last spring or even before. Remember, Yardboy, our homes are warmer in winter, so these aromatics can lose their pungency.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you and our readers, Yardboy, that my new website www.Abouteating.com is up and running.  So I hope everyone checks in often!

Stock up often. Start fresh! Remember, herbs and spices are at least 2 years old when you purchase them – it takes a year to grow and harvest, and a year to get to the grocery shelves.  Whole leaf dry herbs last at least a year; whole spices at least two years under optimum conditions.

Store carefully.  Exposure to light, moisture and air will quickly rob herbs and spices of their delicious flavors. Store in airtight containers in a cool, dry place, away from light. 

Cook spices a long time. Unlike most herbs, which flavor a dish almost instantly, spices are slow to reveal their real “personality” (sort of like you, Yardboy!). Give them ample time to release flavors.

Boost the flavor.  Toast spices briefly in a dry skillet until aromatic for the best flavor.

Why herbs and spices are good for you:

Eat more Cinnamon!  A very warming herb that helps regulate insulin levels and lowers cholesterol.

Dill and Cilantro: Good amounts of calcium.

Parsley: Like a vitamin pill in a plant!

Stevia:  A natural sugar substitute, 30 to thousands of times sweeter than sugar.  Non-caloric and diabetic safe.

Samphire, an herbal salt substitute and member of the seaweed family, is easy to grow and winters over, just like stevia, nicely.

Herbal and spice salt busters: Bay, savory, oregano, dill, lovage, and the lemon herbs are just a few herbs that deliver great flavor so you don’t have to shake on the salt. Sea salt, though, is better than regular salt.  It’s more flavorful so you’ll use less, plus it contains more minerals. 

-Rita Nader Heikenfeld, CCP / Macy’s Regional Culinary Professional / Herbalist / Author / Local TV and Radio Cooking Expert / Adjunct Professor U.C. Clermont College / Community Press Papers / Part time Witchdoctor and maker of strange potions [life@communitypress.com  attn: Rita]

*Yardboy's plant to ponder - Just coming into flower this week, is the Cornelian Cherry Dogwood (Cornus mas).  It's yellow flowers are out between the witch hazels and the forsythia, and last about 3 weeks or so.  This is an excellent small tree (20' or so) or large shrub, very adaptable to different soils and exposures (sun and shade), late fall color is a purplish red, and the red berries are a great late summer and fall show.  It should be used more in today's landscapes.

[You know you are living in 2006 when you pull in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if someone can come outside and help carry in the groceries.]

A little bit of this and a little bit of that - Spring officially lands here next week, and looking at the weather forecasts, it looks like its time for you to apply your pre emergent herbicides!  Pre emergent herbicides are seed killers, not weed killers.  They stop those pesky weed seeds from growing.  So by applying pre emergents now, before the seeds get growing, will save you time from extra weeding this spring and summer.

For the landscape beds, flower beds, and even some gardens, apply a pre emergent such as Preen.  Now, Preen comes in several flavors-Preen, Preen and Green (pre emergent as well as a fertilizer), and the all new Organic Preen, made from corn gluten.  No matter which one you are using, before you apply the Preen, be sure to take 5 minutes-that’s all it takes-to read the instructions.  There are some restrictions to its use, and there are some things you need to do to make sure it works.  It also tells you how it works, and why it doesn’t work if it isn’t applied correctly.  So read the label first!

Preen can be applied to bare soil, applied to existing mulch, or if you have a new bed that hasn’t been mulched, apply the Preen to the bare soil, then add the mulch.  For double coverage, add to the top of the new mulch as well.

When you’re finished, water it in, making sure you hose off any pre emergent that landed on the plants foliage or on the sidewalk or drive. And remember-Preen lasts about 90 days, so reapply about every 70 days or so.  For the organic Preen, it’s every 40 days or so.  Again, read the label. 

Remember, pre emergents stop weed seeds from growing, but do not kill existing weeds.  So it’s important to have your pre emergent in place, before the weed seeds start to germinate-which is coming up very shortly.  As a good general rule of thumb, have them in place before the forsythia finish blooming.  There are several pre emergents to choose for the lawn, so make sure you choose wisely!  Some are strictly pre emergents, used only for stopping seeds from growing-including ones that are organic like corn gluten meal.  Some have pre emergent and a fertilizer-this one I’m not too crazy about, as most lawns are growing so much in the spring, you’re already mowing twice a week to keep up-why add more fertilizer?  But if your lawn needs an early boost, this one will do it.  And for those of you who may have dormant seeded or intend on sowing grass seed this spring, a pre emergent for newly seeded areas combined with a starter fertilizer, which we all know is very important for the new grass seed to get started properly.  Now, the pre emergent in this one is not as effective as the others, but it does a descent job stopping many weed seeds, as well as feeding allowing your new grass seed to grow.  And for you folks who want to combine everything into one application, Greenview offers their Spring Formula Application, which is a combination pre emergent, post emergent, and extended feeding.  This one is applied anytime mid to late April through May.  Stops weed seeds that have not germinated, kills weeds that have started growing, and gives the lawn a 12 week feeding which is a nice late spring early summer boost.  So make sure you choose the right pre emergent for your lawn, and of course, take 5 minutes and read the label for directions and restrictions. 

Classes, Seminars, and upcoming Special Events - Civic Garden Center Calendar of Events and Programs:

March 23.  Flower Arranging at the Civic Garden Center, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm.  Learn the basics of beautiful floral arranging and some tricks of the trade from Vickie Wenstrup, professional floral designer. Create an arrangement of fresh flowers to take home. $50 per person. Class size limited. Registration deadline March 16; call 513/221-0981, Ext. 18.

March 25.  Growing Together Series: Keeping a Garden Journal at the Civic Garden Center, 10 am-Noon.  Staff members Corina Bullock and Cara Hague, present. Educators today agree that children are starving for outdoor nature experiences and that journaling is a key component in effective teaching.  In this exciting workshop, children will create their own garden journal and take a walk into the gardens here to inspire the first entry in their journals.  Adults will explore different journaling methods in order to best capture data and follow the progress the their gardening project.  $10/family.  Reservation required; call 513/ 221-0981, Ext. 18.

 March 29.  Community Garden Development Training Series: Constructing Your Garden Project at the Civic Garden Center, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm.  Part of a series for groups or individuals wanting to improve their neighborhoods by converting vacant lots into community-managed gardening projects. The program is free, but advance reservation is required; call 513/ 221-0981 Ext. 16.

April 1.  Neighborhood Gardens Kickoff, held in various community gardens (call for locations and directions), 8 am –  2 pm.  Join us as we prepare neighborhood gardens for the start of the growing season.  This event commences the celebration of the 25^th anniversary of the Neighborhood Gardens Program.  If you or your group would like to participate, please call 513/ 221-0981, Ext. 16.

 April 7.  Growing Together Series: Natural Easter Egg Dying at the Civic Garden Center, 10 am-Noon. Learn and have fun as we decorate eggs with natural dyes made from familiar plants, apply natural dried botanicals, and create a charming basket.   Wear old clothes or bring apron.  Adult supervision suggested.  $10/family.  Reservation required; call 513/ 221-0981, Ext. 18.

 April 8.  Bird Watching: the Garden / Wildlife connection at the Civic Garden Center, 9 am-1:00 pm. Dr David Russell, professor of ornithology at Miami University, will talk about what’s new in the birding world in preparation for spring migration. After a break for light refreshments, Casey Tucker of the Audubon Society in Columbus OH will present ideas on developing our gardens into backyard habitats. $25/person.  Reservation required; call 513/ 221-0981, Ext. 18.

 April 8, 15.  Community Garden Development Training Series: Preparing Your Garden For Spring, meets offsite, 9:00 am – Noon.  Part of a series for groups or individuals wanting to improve their neighborhoods by converting vacant lots into community-managed gardening projects. The program is free, but advance reservation is required; call 513/ 221-0981 Ext. 16.    

[You know you're living in 2006 when your reason for not staying in touch with family members and friends is because they don't have an email address.]

Okay, that's it for this week.  Have a great St. Patty's Day. And while you're at it, go out and have the best weekend of your life.  See ya.  RW, the Yardboy.

[Catch Natorp’s own grown yardboy Ron Wilson every Saturday, 6-9am, ‘In the Garden’ on 55KRC Thee Talk Station (home of the Big Dog Tony Bender and Joe "without Joe this show wouldn't go" Strecker) , every Friday morning 8:06am on ‘The Morning Show’ with Jerry Thomas and Craig Kopp (55KRC), every Thursday and Saturday morning on Local 12 –WKRC Homeworx Team, occasional appearances on 'Homeworx' (Sundays at 11:30am Local 12), and read his monthly column in your local Community Press Papers.]