Echter's Garden Talk

The cooler temperatures of fall  are ideal for planting. Perennials, shrubs and trees will establish more easily than when stressed by summer heat. Aside from the more comfortable temperatures, you can take advantage of some great fall values for your garden. Sure, there are perennial and nursery sales around, but there is no greater bang for your flowering buck than bulbs.  Fall is the only time to plant those early spring flowering bulbs, like hyacinth, daffodils and tulips.  Ideally, they need to be planted between Labor Day and Halloween.  Bare root iris, however, should be planted in the first couple of weeks of September.  They desicate quickly, so get them in the ground soon to protect your investment.  Bulbs can be planted amid existing perennials, along borders or even in large containers. The flowers produced by bulbs are often the first sentinels of spring.  

Tips for successful bulbs:

As with any plant, amend the soil using compost before planting.

Choose bulbs that are firm and healthy.

Use a bulb food or super phosphate at the time of planting to promote longevity.

As a general rule, planting 3 times the depth of the bulb works well. 

Plant with the root side of the bulb down into the soil, allowing the stem to emerge from the top of the bulb.  If you are uncertain which side is up, plant them at an angle and the stem will find its way. 

Plant in groups, using an odd number of bulbs, for informal plantings or when adding bulbs among existing perennials and shrubs.  It is easier to dig several large holes and plant in clusters, than to dig many holes for single bulbs. 

If you must plant individual bulbs, using an auger that attaches to drill will make planting easier.

Often in early spring, we’re asked  for tulips and daffodils when they are seen blooming.  This is one time we really have to think ahead, though.  Spring flowering bulbs need to experience the cold winter temperatures in order to perform well.   Most bulbs are harvested at the end of summer and rarely store well outside of the ground.  All the more reason to put them on your fall planting list.  As an old friend of mine used to say “you’ll get lots of flash, for not much cash!”

Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor storm winds blowing will keep a gardener from planting and growing – ever. All gardeners face challenges, throughout the year, in every season. Learning to accept that Mother Nature has her own plans and how to cope can keep a gardener from throwing in the trowel.

Summer rains can become problematic when they occur with great frequency and soil does not get a chance to dry partially. Your plants can literally drown.  Consistently heavy rains can also leach fertilizer from the soil, reducing or even inhibiting a plant’s ability to absorb much needed nutrients.  Late season heavy rainfall encourages plants to grow, grow, grow……but not necessarily to fruit.  Since there isn’t a stop-rain dance (that I know of), there are some other things that can help. The most important thing any gardener can do is amend the soil to improve its ability to drain properly. Saturated clay soils may as well be an impenatrable wall surrounding the roots. The roots can’t possible penetrate the clay and excessive amounts of moisture exacerbate the problem. Well amended soil will allow moisture to penetrate and drain away with out creating concrete around the roots. Amend with what, you ask? Compost will break up the clay and should be worked into the soil in both fall and spring. Once the soil no longer clumps when wet, compost can be reduced to annual applications. If you know a particular area receives more moisture in the garden, perhaps due to a slope, choose plants that prefer higher moisture levels. Plant selection, whether for dry or moist areas, can be the difference between success and failure.

On occasion, our gardens are pelted by nasty little nuggets of ice, a.k.a. hail. When small, there is little damage to worry about, but when they reach dime size and larger, the damage can be devastating. Obviously, large sized hail is likely to reduce any garden to mush, but smaller sizes don’t always end the garden season. The worst damage is most visible on large leaved plants, like hostas or tomatoes. Clean up is an important step toward salvaging the season. Remove broken limbs and debris from ground surrounding the plants. Broken limbs will only waste energy the plant could be using for new growth. Debris surrounding plants provides a perfect hideaway for pests that thrive on weakened plants. And remember to remove damaged fruit to decrease the risk of attracting pests. Once new growth begins, a low rate of organic fertilizer can be applied to help get things back on track. The harvest may not be as bountiful, but in most cases, there will still be a harvest to enjoy.

It seems like every year, about this time in winter, I’m asked how to get rid of black gnats, flying around indoors.  Fungus gnats are annoying, but rarely do significant damage to your plants.  Nevertheless, it’s a good idea to get them under control quickly before they infest all your plants. 

Fungus gnats enjoy the same temperatures we do, making our homes a perfect refuge from the winter cold.  They lay their eggs in the soil of our houseplants.  The eggs hatch, growing into larvae that uses the roots of our plants as a food source, ultimately becoming the irritating gnats flying around our homes. 

How we go about watering our plants is the most common contributor to the problem.  Often we forget that the water needs of our plants are dictated by available light, temperature, air circulation, humidity levels and the rate of current foliar and root growth.  The potting mix and type of pot are also contributing factors.  Most of these factors are ever changing, meaning your plants water needs will change also.  In winter the days are shorter and temperatures are cooler.  Plants usually require less frequent watering during this time.  In summer, the days are long and temperatures are warm.  We often have windows and doors open or fans running, increasing air circulation.  These factors, combined with actively growing plants, will increase the need for water. 

Allowing the soil of your plants to dry at least 2″ deep before watering and emptying any drainage trays that hold standing water are the keys to controlling fungus gnats.  They thrive in warm moist soil.  Drying the soil makes the your plants an inhospitable home.  Remember that in winter months, plants will need less frequent watering.  More often than not, the watering schedule we set for ourselves sets up the ideal conditions for fungus gnats.  Most people tend to water weekly, on specific calendar days.  Calendar watering is seldom a good idea because the needs of the plants change frequently throughout the year. 

Sticky traps may also be used to catch adults.  Larvae is still maturing in the soil and eggs are still hatching, though.  So the problem remains.  Sprays with an active ingredient of pyrethrin work well toward eliminating these future generations.  After watering, spray the top of the soil until it glistens with a pyrethrin spray labelled for indoor plant use.  The pyrethrin will be drawn into the top few inches of soil, putting an end to the larvae.  It’s important to apply the spray following the next 3 to 4 waterings to regain control of the population.  Pyrethrin is derived from a particular chrysanthemum and has proven to be helpful in the control of many different insects on indoor and outdoor plants.  As with any insecticide, organic or not, it’s important to read and follow the instructions on the label.  If your fungus gnats remain persistent, it may be helpful to remove the top 2″ of the soil and replace it with fresh potting mix.

     The nights are getting cooler and fall is upon us. Jack Frost is lurking out there, just waiting to sneek up on our gardens. It’s time to bring in any houseplants that may have enjoyed an outdoor summer vacation. As they are brought indoors, it’s a good idea to isolate them from other indoor plants until you can be confident that “univited guests”, a.k.a. pests, have not hitched a ride into your home. Spraying the foliage of your plants with water, in the morning hours, will help wash away some potential problems. Remember when your plants come indoors, there is less air ciruculation and even the brightest windows don’t provide the same light as outdoors. These changes, combined with the shortening of daylight hours mean your plants will need less frequent watering. Less frequent watering doesn’t equate to less water applied to the soil. Complete saturation of the soil should occur with each watering. This will help reduce dry pockets of soil where roots can perish.    

      Because plants have summered outdoors, they may have had a little growth spurt and you might be tempted to repot them. Keep a couple of things in mind. First, most plants will slow their growth from November until March. Fertilizing them should be reduced during this time. Repotting is best done when plants are actively growing, as in early spring. Second, the foliar growth of a plant isn’t the sole indicator of the need to repot. Roots should be growing down the sides, and beginning to wrap at the bottom of their present homes before a larger pot is used. Pots should be no more than two inches larger than the root mass of the plant. Larger pots require greater soil volume. Pots too large will leave your plant with a lot of wet soil where there are no roots to make use of it yet. Plants will drown, despite your intentions. I try to think of pots like childrens’ shoes. We know they are going to need big shoes eventually, but it’s not the right size now.  Third, choose pots that provide adequate drainage.
     There are some plants we think of as summer annuals that make wonderful houseplants during the winter months. Coleus, while truly an annual, can live a longer life if it is kept from flowering. Geraniums can be pinched, grown in a sunny window, and enjoyed during the dead of winter. New Guinea Impatiens can flower for months in a sunny window. There are also several varieties of begonias that winter indoors with ease.

A few other tips:
Empty drainage trays of standing water to prevent root rot.
Allow about 1/4 of the depth of the soil to dry before watering most plants. This will reduce those pesky fungus gnats and the risk of overwatering.
A little Pokon Leaf Shine will have your plants showing off their foliage with minimal effort.

Newly introduced Tomaccio tomatoes, a.k.a. “sweet raisin tomatoes”, are thick skinned cherry tomatoes that become a tasty sweet treat when dried. These plants are possibly the most vigorous cherry tomatoes I’ve ever grown.  The plant is filled with more small fruits than I can count.  It’s outgrown it’s trellis and become something of a monster plant, in a good way.  Soon all those beautiful round balls of flavor will be ripening, leaving me pondering how to best to dry them so I can enjoy these much talked about treats.  So, here’s what I found out:

Let the fruit ripen and begin shrinking on the vines, then harvest.  Put them on a rimmed baking sheet.  Place in a 100F oven and let them dry for 3 to 4 hours.   Enjoy!

Getting your pond ready each spring can seem like a daunting task. Yet there is no need to rush to get your pond to perfection, as water temperatures are too low in early spring for beneficial bacteria to help get things balanced and most plants have not come out of dormancy.
Start by cleaning out as much of the muck as possible. Scoop out the bottom of the pond, any streams and waterfalls and clean out the worst of it in the biological filter. If your filter media needs replacing early spring is the best time. Clean, check for wear and test any pumps before reinstalling them. If you use a UV filter set it up to run only during the day and optimize the water flow through the unit.
Trim and remove any dead or overgrown plant material. Now is also a great time to divide many pond plants. Fertilize any flowering plants including water lilies. Add frost sensitive plants as temperatures allow.
The important final step is to test your pond’s pH and ammonia levels. Adjust as necessary and then inoculate your pond with beneficial bacteria. Check periodically as your pond rebalances and continue to adjust as necessary.

The number one question we hear is, “I already cleaned my pond. Why is my pond green?”
Here on Earth, water + light = algae. There are no exceptions. Adding chemical algaecides are a temporary fix and are not good for other plants. Since we can’t get rid of the water in our ponds we must eliminate or reduce light entering the water. Floating plants and water lilies work best as they both block light and consume nutrients used by algae. A good guideline for keeping water clear is to have at least half of the surface covered with plant material.

When lawns begin to green in the early spring many homeowners see a different kind of grass begin to grow in their lawn. The grass is wide bladed and quite vigorous, and what was a small patch last year is now gaining ground and spreading. Many homeowners make the assumption that this is the dreaded crabgrass and hope that an application of “crabgrass preventer” will solve their problem. In fact, crabgrass is an annual plant that does not appear until toward the end of May or first of June. It germinates from seed in the soil when it warms, thrives through the summer, deposits seeds into the soil and dies to the ground at the first hard frost.

The culprit grass is usually Quackgrass (Elytrigia repens) or sometimes Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense). These are perennial plants that both grow from vigorous rhizomatous roots. The only effective control of these grasses once they establish is to apply a non-selective herbicide such as Roundup or HiYield Killzall to the plants. These products are best used when the temperature is above 60 degrees. The spray should be allowed to dry on the foliage and stay dry for 8 hours without rain or water. The conditions should be windfree to avoid drift of the herbicide. Careful applications can also be brushed or painted on the foliage. It will usually take 2 or 3 applications to kill these grasses completely. The applications can be made at 5 to 7 day intervals.

Once the unwanted grass is dead the area can be cleaned up and reseeded with desirable grass or sod can be planted.

Lawns should be fertilized 4 times a year. The first application should be in early spring, anytime from late March through mid to late April. The second application should be in late spring, anytime from mid to late May to mid June. A summer application is best anytime from late July to mid August. The final application is best anytime from late September to mid October. If there is an ongoing weed problem, you can fertilize and control weeds at the same time. The early spring fertilizer with a preemergent herbicide will inhibit the germination of broadleaf weed seed as well as crabgrass seed. The second application of fertilizer with a post emergent herbicide will help control actively growing broadleaf weeds in the lawn.

Wishing for tulips, hyacinth and daffodils? Often these bulbs are requested in spring months, as we see them popping out of the ground. These plants require a bit of planning though. Bulbs for tulips, daffodils and hyacinth are harvested in the late summer months and available for gardeners to plant as soon as they’ve made their Atlantic voyage in the early fall months. They need to experience a process called vernalization. This means they need to go through the winter cold in order to perform well in the garden.

Fall bulbs are those planted in the fall months and bloom the following spring. Spring bulbs are those planted in the spring and bloom during the summer months. So mark your calendar and watch your e-news and newsletter for the best selection of fall bulbs. They’re usually here around the first of September.

Our perennial department has some varieties growing so you will be able to plant a few this spring, if you just can’t wait. Like their friends in the garden, they are just beginning to burst through the soil and will flower at a similar time to those in the garden.

The most common question I hear this time of year is “Can I plant this now?”. There are plants that can color our patios and yards early in the season. Pansies, alyssum, snapdragons, flowering kale, diascia, dianthus, and dusty miller will stand up to a spring chill. A more complete list is available on our website. View our Frost Hardiness Chart. Any plant needs to be hardened off prior to planting. This early in the season, it’s particularly important.

The next question is usually “What is hardening off?”. This is a simple process of acquainting your plants with the great outdoors, allowing them to adjust to the changing elements over the course of several days. Plants can be placed outdoors in a protected location with filtered sun for the first couple of days, and brought into the garage or indoors for those nights. The next couple of days, place the plants in a bit more light during the day and move into a protected location against the house at night. Each day, exposing the plants to more light and less protection at night. This process can vary between 3-7 days, depending on the time of year and severity of weather fluctuations. Remember the plants in greenhouses have led pampered little lives. Hardening them off can prevent them from suffering transplant shock and sunburn. It’s still a good idea to keep a frost blanket handy in the event of a sudden snow.

To get a jump start on tomatoes and peppers, set up season starter walls 10 days prior to planting. The water filled cone walls create warm the soil and protect seedlings from spring weather. Your neighbors will be envious as you begin to harvest tasty treats long before most.