Category Archives: My Homeplace

Bloom Day March 2011

Posted on March 22, 2011 by | Comments Off on Bloom Day March 2011

Bloom Day March 2011 was grey and cloudy. And then, there was a windy day that was just exhausting said the daffodils. But this is their time to shine so I can’t simply ignore bloom day.

Almost every year I get asked what the difference between daffodils and jonquils?

Is narcissus the same as daffodil?

Narcissus: (Narcissus sp.) All daffodils, jonquils, and paperwhites are Narcissus genus. The genus Narcissus is a member of the Amaryllis family. Many folks use the word Narcissus when they are talking about paperwhites.

Daffodils: is the common name for all Narcissus bulbs. All daffodils are narcissus. When I hear the word “daffodil,” those large, trumpet-shaped flowers Narcissus pseudonarcissus come to mind.

Jonquils: are a specific type of daffodil known as Narcissus jonquilla. They are most easily identified by their dark green, tube-shaped leaves as compared to other types of daffodils which have flat leaves.

So, all jonquils are daffodils but not all daffodils are johnquils.

There are about a gazillion folks particpating in Bloom Day. You can’t see them all every month unless you are unemployed, retired, or a speed reader.

To visit other Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day participants, visit our host Carol at May Dreams Garden.

I always wanted to live somewhere where I could grow pine trees and magnolias. Really, I have lived most of my life in that area of the country, or very close to it. Of course, the little ones I planted will surely out live me. This little magnolia tree is loaded with bright white blooms and barely 3 feet tall.

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Posted in My Gardens, My Homeplace, Oh Grow Up!

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What is soil temperature?

Posted on March 21, 2011 by | Comments Off on What is soil temperature?

Wait until the soil warms to 70 degrees Fahrenheit (70°)  to plant peppers and tomatoes.

Plant tomatoes  when soil temperatures are above 60°. Temperatures below 50° are like a polar bear plunge to your lovely tomato plant.

soil thermometers

Warm season crops, like tomatoes and eggplant, need warm soil temperatures. If you plant tomatoes before the ground warms sufficiently they will not grow. The tomatoes will just stand in the soil and wait for warmer days.

Push a soil thermometer 4 inches into the soil where you plan to plant tomatoes.

Test the soil for 3 or 4 days. The soil temperature is the soil average. Measure the temperature in the mornings or before 10:00 a.m.

When the soil temperature is 40°, plant cool season crops kale.

50° – plant leeks and onions

60° – plant broccoli and cabbage

70° – tomatoes and basil

Measure the soil temp. and put the thermometer away.

You can plant the whole garden based on soil temperatures. Be sure to store the thermometer in a safe place. I only remind you because I “lost” my little thermometer last week, when I left it in the garden.

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Posted in Herbs in the garden, My Gardens, My Homeplace, Oh Grow Up!

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Supertunia® Giant Pink Petunia

Posted on March 20, 2011 by | Comments Off on Supertunia® Giant Pink Petunia

Look for this plant

 

If you haven’t grown petunias in a while, look again. These Proven Winners bloom continuously with no need for deadheading. Hummingbirds stopped by daily. Butterflies and birds love these flowers.

 

Giant Pink Petunias are heat and drought tolerant. To survive in my garden, flowers need to be care free and low maintenance. My opinion of petunias has changed. I love these bright pink annuals.


 

Supertunia®

 

 

Supertunia® Giant Pink Petunia hybrid

If you haven’t grown petunias in a while, look again. These Proven Winners bloom continuously with no need for deadheading. Hummingbirds stopped by daily. Butterflies and birds love these flowers.

 

Giant Pink Petunias are heat and drought tolerant. To survive in my garden, flowers need to be care free and low maintenance. My opinion of petunias has changed. I love these bright pink annuals.

Supertunia

 

Not to be deterred, this little wren moved in and raised a family right beside the Supertunia®

Supertunia® Giant Pink Petunia

It was my pleasure to trial these plants for Proven Winners last summer.

Proven Winners are easy to find in our area. You could imagine my shock when I read the back of the plant label this spring: “BUY THIS! Even Patsy Bell Hobson did not kill it.” I don’t know if this is a regional marketing strategy or a National Campaign. Let me know if you see this tag in your store.

The Supertunias® were regularly watered, but not fertilized.

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Posted in My Gardens, My Homeplace, Oh Grow Up!

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Gardeners solution to dry hands

Posted on March 16, 2011 by | Comments Off on Gardeners solution to dry hands

Working in garden soil sucks the moisture out of my hands. Frequent hand washing only dries my hands even more. I tried Udder Ointment to soothe the dryness. I like Dr. Hess Udder Ointment in the 4 ounce tube. I keep a tube in my garden tool box.

Owner Polly Tribe also sent a sample of the Udder Stick, a Lip Balm with SPF 15. I was happy indeed to discover the flavored lip balm in Original Vanilla, Mango, Pomegranate and Vanilla Mint. I think it lasts longer than the usual over the counter brand of lip balm I used to buy. The Udder Stick is my new everyday spf 15 lip balm.

The Great Grand Daughter, Polly Tribe now owns Dr Hess Products. Read the story of udder ointment on their website. Originally developed in 1893 for treating chapped teats and udders of dairy cattle, farmers were soon remarking as to the healing effect it had on their own hands.

I use Udder Ointment on my hands and feet at night before bed. Magic happens overnight.

Go to the website to learn where you get your hands on Dr Hess Products.

Dr. Hess Products, LLC, 23 N Scenic Hills Circle, North Salt Lake, UT 84054, Fax – 801.295.7313

Dairy farmers discovered this ointment helped their dry hands.

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Posted in Gifts, My Gardens, My Homeplace, Oh Grow Up!, Ozarks Travel Examiner, Product reviews

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Ground-hugging Minus Thyme

Posted on March 13, 2011 by | Comments Off on Ground-hugging Minus Thyme

Minus Thyme Thymus praecox articus ‘Minor’

Minus Thyme Thymus praecox articus 'Minor'

Minus Thyme is a perennial, hardy in zones 5-9. The evergreen, ground-hugging thyme is covered with pink flowers in late spring. One of the lowest growing thymes, it never exceeds 1”. Minus can take light foot traffic making it a good choice along pathyways and between stepping stones.

I bought a plug pack of 12, two years ago from Richters Herbs. The plants did so well, I ordered another plug pack last spring. Then, I divided the tiny thyme that I had planted between stepping stones. It is growing enthusiastically between stepping stones and is easily divided.

The spaces need weeding until the thyme fills in. This very slow process will take a couple more years to fill all the spaces between the stepping stones. I could speed the process by dividing the thyme clumps more often.

Minus Thyme with Cobra for size comparicon

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Posted in Herb Everything, Herbs in the garden, My Gardens, My Homeplace, Oh Grow Up!, Ozarks Travel Examiner

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Goldilocks Rocks™ Bidens & Alligator Tears™ Coleus

Posted on March 1, 2011 by | Comments Off on Goldilocks Rocks™ Bidens & Alligator Tears™ Coleus

Look for these plants

 

Goldilocks Rocks™ Bidens Bidens ferulifolia

ColorBlaze®Alligator Tears™ Coleus Solenostemon scutellarioides

Bidens and coleus

Goldilocks Rocks™ Bidens Bidens ferulifolia

ColorBlaze®Alligator Tears™ Coleus Solenostemon scutellarioides

I watered the container but did not fertilize it. The bidens is self cleaning, takes full sun or part sun and looks good in this combination. Alligator tears doesn’t need constant pinching and looked full, not leggy in the pot.

It was my honor to trial these plants for Proven Winners last summer.  Proven Winners are easy to find in our area. You could imagine my shock when I read the back of the plant label this spring: “BUY THIS! Even Patsy Bell Hobson did not kill it.” I don’t know if this is a regional marketing stategy or a National Campaign. Let me know if you see this tag in your store.

I planted three pots of Alligator tears in the planter under the mail box last summer. The hose rarely made it out that far. I did not add fertilizer.

ColorBlaze® Alligator Tears™ Coleus Solenostemon scutellarioides

Both plants, bidens and the coleus, performed all summer.

Proven Winners

 

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Posted in My Gardens, My Homeplace, Oh Grow Up!

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Build A Butterfly Garden

Posted on February 18, 2011 by | 3 comments

Invite butterflies to live their full lifecycle in your garden. Provide host plants for laying eggs and for caterpillar food.

Butterflies lay eggs that hatch in 3-6 days. A caterpillar pupates in 3-4 weeks then in 9-14 days, a new butterfly emerges.

1. Locate your butterfly garden in full sun. Butterflies need sun to warm their bodies to fly.
2. Plant butterfly-attracting flowers that have strong scents and bright colors.
3. Include plants in your garden for butterflies lay their eggs and for emerging caterpillars to eat.

Bright colors and fragrance attract butterflies.

Select native plants and they will attract local butterflies. Watching a butterfly emerge from a chrysalis is reward enough for all the chewed leaves missing in the garden.

Puddling –

By sipping moisture from mud puddles, butterflies take in salts and minerals from the soil. This behavior is called puddling, and is mostly seen in male butterflies. Placing stones in the garden, or shallow bowls filled with sand and water are perfect for puddling.

Herbs attract butterflies and caterpillars.

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Posted in Gardens (not mine), Go Away, Herbs in the garden, My Gardens, My Homeplace, Oh Grow Up!

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K State Says Bug Off

Posted on February 18, 2011 by | Comments Off on K State Says Bug Off

K-State Study Takes No Static From Bugs

uninvited guest

For years, master gardeners have claimed that placing Bounce® original brand fabric softener dryer sheets into the pockets of clothing repels mosquitoes. A new two year study from the researchers at KSU suggests there may be some truth to claims that by tucking a Bounce® sheet in your pocket keeps the insects from bugging you.

Some gardeners have been using Bounce® for years, but experiments by researchers at Kansas State University and the University of Illinois revealed scientific evidence that support the claims of gardeners. Raymond Cloyd, professor, K-State’s Department of Entomology, decided to follow up on the claims of gardeners that Bounce® sheets repel insects.

“Being a scientist, I didn’t just shrug it off,” he said. “I thought about it, cogitated on it and decided to test this out quantitatively.” Bounce® fabric softener dryer sheets either directly or indirectly repel adult fungus gnats in the laboratory.

In the rearch discussion “It is interesting to note that the citrosa plant (Pelargonium citrosum ‘Van Leenii’), which is said to repel mosquitoes, contains 6.8% linalool (Matsuda et al., 1996). Citronellol [3, 7-dimethyloct-6-en-1-al (C10H18O)] is a monoterpene found in many plants, including rose geranium, citronella, European pennyroyal, and lemon balm.”

If the scientist or herbalist in you wants to know more, Read the research at Bounce® Fabric Softener Dryer Sheets Repel Fungus Gnat by Raymond A. Cloyd

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Posted in Herb Everything, Herbs in the garden, Herbs in the kitchen, My Gardens, My Homeplace, Oh Grow Up!

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‘Ruby Frost’ Coreopsis

Posted on February 16, 2011 by | 1 comment

Look for this plant

Repete bloomer great for the butter fly garden

This fringed hybrid tickseed is a scarlet color with white edges. It is a survivor of last years dreadful record breaking heat. It loves full sun and is hardy in zones 6-9. This is not your normal sunny yellow tickseed. The plant wizards at Terra Nova have exploded the Coreopsis color pallet with major breakthrough colors.

Really, if a plant can make it in my gardens, it definitely thrives on neglect. All these long bloomers got from me was water and a rare light feeding. Deadhead old flowers and you will be rewarded with repeated blooms all summer.

Break through color in coreopsis

I’ll be looking for Coreopsis ‘Ruby Frost’ again this year. It was a bright spot in a full sun raised bed sorrounding the patio. Bees and butterflies love it. Go to the Terra Nova site to find the closest retailer. Terra Nova has a bright selection of Coreopsis, and some real standout Heucheras.

Terra Nova are the creators of the Echinacea ‘Tomato Soup’ and Echinacea ‘Now Cheesier’. Don’t even get me started on coneflowers – these breeders have raised the bar on Echineacea.

Bee and butterfly magnet, Ruby Frost

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What is Succession Planting?

Posted on February 15, 2011 by | 1 comment

Stretch your garden harvest by planting the same crop ten days later, and then again in ten more days.

lettuce and spinach will be suceeded by pepper plants

Another method is to replace one crop with another. For example, I’ll plant spinach in the early spring. As the weather gets warmer, I’ll plant green beans where the spinach was. I’ll plant half the row, and then, ten days later, I’ll finish planting the row with more green beans. Later, I’ll plant turnips in the row that grew green beans.

This method of gardening maximises your garden space. Even a tiny garden or big container can be used in this way.

Early peas will be replaced with green beans

Renee’s Garden has one of the most productive guides to using and reusing your garden space.

Renee’s Kitchen Garden Design Plans designed to maximize space.

Renee’s FAQs site gives you an organic gardeners short and sweet answer, not a science lecture. Her site is especially helpful on ferilizing and storing seed.

Zoning In

Find your plant hardiness zone. Use this guide to buy plants and learn when to sow seeds. I think the line between 6a and 6b runs right through my front yard. Depending on the investment – how much money I spend on the tree or plant –  I go back and forth, my answer could be different on any given day. I live in zone 6a. Or is it  6b?

US National Arboretum “Web Version” of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

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Posted in Herbs in the garden, My Gardens, My Homeplace, Oh Grow Up!

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