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Whether It's The Weather
Rain -
yes it finally rained! And did we need that! Please don't
forget with all the new growth coming along on our plants,
if we don't get that 1 inch of rainfall every 10 days or so,
you will need to supplement. And when you do, make sure you
water deeply. This is an important time to make sure your
plants have good soil moisture, so monitor the rainfall in
your yard. And the best way? Place a rain gauge in your
yard!
[My mind works like lightning. One brilliant flash and then
it is gone.]
What's Bugging You?
Spiders
bug me. Today, I was looking at some bagworm bags hanging
on a pine tree. I started to grab one and see if it was
full of eggs, and noticed a hole in the top of the bag.
When I grabbed the bag, a spider came out of the hole, ran
across my hand, up my arm, and onto my shirt. No, it was
not funny. I hate spiders. (good bugs, good bugs, good
bugs) I have gotten a few enquiries concerning the
aerial sprayings being done to help control gypsy moth here
in Cincinnati. Yes, it is a very safe product being used.
I talk about it all the time. "Bt" There are different
stains, but this product is available for you to purchase at
most local garden stores. Very much environmentally safe.
This week, I was able to locate the larvae of Lady Beetles
on a hawthorn tree and show them to a group which I was
speaking to about gardening. Not many folks realize what
they look like, and as ugly as they are, would probably be
inclined to spray and get rid of them! (They're a good bug
so don't spray them!). I kept the piece of hawthorn branch
in my van to show another group the next day, and come the
next day, surprise! It had partially pupated into an adult
Lady Beetle! Very, very cool stuff!
This
week, Buggy Joe Boggs (OSU Extension) is reporting sawfly
leafminer adults laying eggs on birch, elm and hawthorn
leaves, March flies hovering over lawns, Junebugs knocking
on screen doors, continued reports of termites swarming,
scale crawlers beginning to release, boxwood and holly
leafminer adults are out and about, calico scales are
becoming pumped up and ready to secrete honeydew all over
your car, aphid populations reaching unbelievable numbers on
just about anything with new growth, forest tent
caterpillars continuing to haunt neighborhoods and wooded
areas, and, being the turf expert that he is, BJB also
wanted to note that now is an excellent time to core aerate
the lawn if you so desire.
Catch
the "Buggy Joe Boggs Report" Saturdays at 8:42am on 55KRC
radio.
[The hand that turneth the knob, opens the door.]
Questionmark and the Mysterians -
Your Questions Answered
"Are
Knock Out roses bug resistant?" -Nope. But they are bug
tolerant. They'll still get aphids and rose slugs and
Japanese beetles, but they take a licking and keep on
ticking. Feel free to apply a 3 way Rose Systemic around
the plants to help ward off insects. Or keep an RTU of
Insecticidal Soap or Horticultural oil on hand in case you
may need a little bug spraying.
"Why
didn't my daffodil bulbs flower this spring?" For this
question, I always refer back to my daffodil expert and
friend Mr. Bill Lee's answer to the possibilities why: 1.)
Too much shade and not enough sun to make next years
flower. 2.) Foliage cut off too early the previous year, or
bundled up so no foliage was exposed to sunlight. Daffodil
foliage needs a minimum of 6 weeks of sun after blooming,
before removing the foliage. 3.) Clump is too crowded and
needs to be divided, which happens about every 10-20 years!
4.) Soil is exhausted of nutrients to feed the bulb. Feed
now! -all these possibilities "assume" healthy stands of
foliage, without disease, bulb fly, or wet conditions during
the summer.
"When
should I prune my lilacs?" -If needed, prune lilacs within
2-4 weeks after they finish flowering. Or, you may get by
with simple deadheading.
"When
should I prune my azaleas and rhododendrons?" -After they
finish flowering. For the rhodos, pinch out the old flower
heads just above the new growth buds popping out below the
flower. For azaleas, feel free to cut them back 1/4 to 1/3
for a fuller plant and more flower buds next year. Feed
them now with Espoma's Holly Tone.
[Transvestite - A guy who likes to eat, drink and be Mary.]
Success Tip of the Week
Coffee grounds are a great way to wake up your garden! They
add organic matter, help improve soil texture and moisture
retention, they're a great source of nutrients, help speed
up the composting process, help lower the soil's pH - and
the earthworms, well they just love coffee grounds!
Add
coffee grounds around acid loving plants like hollies and
azaleas, hydrangeas and most evergreens, or use them in
compost piles, in your houseplants soil, or in your garden
soil.
Hey,
Rose growers have been using coffee grounds around their
roses for years!
As
usual, use coffee grounds in moderation, and do a pH test
regularly to monitor your soil's pH.
[333 - Only half evil.]
From the Garden to the Kitchen
"Hey
Rita what's Cooking?"
Yardboy,
this week I've had a couple of calls regarding Tarragon,
that beautiful and somewhat mysterious French herb. Now
there are actually two kinds of tarragon: French and
Russian. French is what you want. The French is cultivated
from cuttings or divisions since French tarragon does not
produce viable seeds and this tarragon gets about 2 ft tall;
the Russian tarragon does produce seeds and this is what you
sometimes find in packets. It grows real tall but there's
little flavor. You can trust the tarragon at Natorp's as
it's always French.
Tarragon
can be a bit fussy in the garden, so give it good soil, lots
of sun - it will die back in the winter but will come up
each spring if it doesn't suffer when wet feet.
So take
a taste to make sure: true French tarragon will actually
numb your tongue for a few seconds, and it has a very
intense anise like flavor. Tarragon is a great herb to help
lower your blood pressure, Yardboy.
When you
cook with tarragon, add it at the end for an explosion of
flavor.
SAVORY
CHEESE AND HERB FRITTATA
Preheat
oven to 375.
4 large
eggs, room temperature
Salt and
pepper
2
tablespoons butter
Chopped
fresh herbs: Couple tablespoons each: chives, parsley and
tarragon
3/4 cup
Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup
white cheddar, shredded
Separate
eggs. Whisk yolks with a decent amount of salt and pepper,
until thick and fairly light.
Beat
whites with a dash of salt until stiff but not dry. Pour
yolks over whites and gently fold them into whites.
Melt
butter in a 10" nonstick skillet and heat just until
starting to foam but not brown. Pour egg mixture into
skillet, spread evenly and smooth top. Cover pan with a lid
whose underside has been sprayed to prevent sticking. Cook
over low heat for about 5 minutes. Remove cover and
sprinkle omelet with cheeses and herbs.
Put skillet in oven until top is set, about 3 minutes or
so. Remove from oven and sprinkle with herbs. Cut into 8
wedges.
-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 / Maker of
strange potions /
www.abouteating.com
["I'm confused. No wait, maybe I'm not" -Rita Heikenfeld]
Yardboy's "Plant to Ponder"
If
you've got a planter or container in a sunny - hot - baking
location that you just can't seem to get anything to grow,
all you need to do is think "tropical". "Tropical" as in
tropical plants!
-Euryops,
or 'Golden Shrub Daisy'- grown as a shrub or small tree
form, this tropical plant has great fern like foliage with
outstanding yellow daisy like flowers all summer long.
-Star
jasmine, it's actually a tropical evergreen vine with
wonderful glossy green foliage, but no doubt it's the
fragrant white star shaped flowers that sets this plant
apart from the others - love that smell!
-Pink
Bower Vine - another evergreen vine that loves the sun, and
will produce lightly fragrant funnel shaped white to pink
flowers, again all summer long.
-Bougainvillea - who doesn't know this plant? Again
actually an evergreen climber, this popular tropical has a
great show of flowers all summer ranging in a wide array of
colors, including the popular reds and purple.
-Tibouchina
or Princess Flower - even if it didn't flower, its fuzzy
foliage is a winner. But this large tropical shrub will
flower all summer, and again, are available in a wide array
of colors.
-Mandevilla
- another great tropical vine that grows like a weed, loves
the sun, and will flower for you all summer long. This is
one of my favorites for easy to grow summer colors. Give
this tropical vine room to grow and it'll vine colors in
your sunny containers non stop.
-Tropical Hibiscus - I've always felt these and the
mandevilla are the two best bangs for your buck when it
comes to flowering tropical plants. Glossy green foliage,
single and double flowers, wide array of colors, tropical
hibiscus just keeps on flowering all summer long - in the
sun and in the heat.
Now
although these tropicals do well in the hot sun, they still
need regular watering. To help keep moisture around these
plants roots, and to help cut down on your watering
schedule, be sure to add 'Soil Moist' to your potting
soils. Tropical flowering plants - perfect for those
containers in a hot sunny location.
[The other day I asked for "minimal" lettuce on my
sandwich. The person behind the counter said he was sorry,
but they only had iceberg.]
A Little
Bit of This, A Little Bit of That
Get
Those Kids Gardening! The closest most kids get to
gardening is being 'rooted' to the floor watching TV or
playing video games! And when they get older and have a
home of their own, are they going to know what to do with
their garden, lawn or landscape? Probably not, unless we
can get these kids involved in something green, like
plants! To get kids involved in gardening, remember the 3
golden rules of kid's gardening:
1.)
Make it easy.
2.)
Make it fast.
3.)
Make it fun.
Here are
a few suggestions for kid's gardening: Growing a vegetable
garden can help teach young minds valuable lessons about how
the natural world works. It also gives them first hand
experience at gardening, and a great excuse to get dirty.
If you have a spot in your yard for growing a garden, keep
these tips in mind:
-Select
a sunny spot, and let the adults do all the hard work
(tilling, raking and initial weed pulling)
- Let
the kids do the planting. The adults should show them how
far apart and how deep to plant seeds and plants.
- Use
can't fail veggies from seed like beans, radishes,
cucumbers, squash, lettuce and spinach, as well as zinnias
and sunflowers. From plants, peppers, tomatoes, marigolds,
petunias, snapdragons, and of course, herbs!
- Find
plants with funny names like balloon flowers, strawflowers,
spiderwort, money plant, and catnip.
-Who
said plant in straight rows? You can, but if you want to
make it a little more fun, try planting in circles or
patterns. Maybe plant their initials. And label plants
with painted rocks or wood or labels purchased at the garden
store. And sign it, as in who this garden belongs to!
Container gardening: Don't have room for an in-ground
garden? No problem; try container gardening! As a matter
of fact this may be the best way to grow. Give the kids
their own containers and let them grow their own plants.
Try an upside down tomato, taters in a basket, herb gardens,
salad bowl add-ons, or an entire mini garden in a large
tub. Be creative, 'cause if it grows in the ground, chances
are the kids can grow it in a pot, and even better! (Check
out our tip sheets on container gardening)
[Can
vegetarians eat animal crackers?]
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