growingwisdom's Blog
GrowingWisdom's Blog
Last Post 71 days, 7 hours Ago
Aug 1, 2008 | 9:57 AM PST
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Growing Wisdom:The Perfect Herb Garden Planting from seed can be incredibly rewarding. It can also be very frustrating trying to plant all the seeds the correct distance apart from one another, get them deep enough but not too deep and then thinning the plants. Johnny’s Selected Seeds has solved this problem with their seed disks. Made of biodegradable material these disks make growing your favorite herbs nearly foolproof.
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Aug 1, 2008 | 9:54 AM PST
Tags: tomatoes , gardening , growing wisdom , epstein , vegetables
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Growing Wisdom:Pruning Tomatoes
Pruning tomatoes is one of the easiest and most beneficial things you can do to increase fruit size and help lessen the chances of disease. First, let’s talk about which tomatoes to prune. Indeterminate (climbing) tomatoes should be staked, trellised, or caged, and pruned for best results. Determinate (bush) tomatoes do not need pruning and may be grown with or without support. Now what is the difference?
The fruit of determinate tomatoes ripens within a concentrated time period. The fruit of indeterminate tomato varieties ripens over an extended period, and will continue to grow until they are affected by the first hard frost. For example, you may have purchased a container tomato plant for your patio. Typically, the tomatoes commercially available in containers are determinate and do not need pruning. However, you still should give it some support. On the other hand, the cherry tomato plant in your garden is most likely an indeterminate plant – if you don’t keep it in check, it might take over!
The basic method of pruning is to remove the suckers from the leaf axils of the tomato plant. The sucker is the growth that comes up between the main leader of the plant and the side branches. There are a couple of schools of thought on removing suckers. Some people remove all the suckers. Some leave the first sucker after the first set of flowers. This gives you two leaders. I do the latter.
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Nov 8, 2007 | 5:57 PM PST
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Plants For A Meditation Garden
I recently headed over to a meditation garden at West Woods in Westwood, MA. The garden was designed by my friend and mentor Gary Koller. Gary has taught me a lot about garden design and has a love of plants that surpasses most of us.
Gary's love of plants can be seen in this garden and the variety is just amazing. The video that we shot highlights many of these plants. The great thing about these plants is their versatility and reliability in the garden. I especially like the plants that stay green deep into winter and/or those that provide winter interest even though they may turn brown.
A meditative garden like this relies on simplicity and clean lines to give it that special quiet feeling. There are no real rules to designing such a space in your own yard. Do what makes you feel relaxed.
Plants used in this segment are as follows:
Sedum Spectabile or showy Sedum
Geranium Brookside
Sedge or Carex morrowii 'Ice Dance'
Boxwood or Buxus 'Tide Hill'
Hakon Grass
Christmas Fern or Polystichum arostichoides
Barren Strawberry or Wadsteinia
Allium
Mint or calamintha nepetoides
Thyme
Apr 20, 2007 | 5:39 PM PST
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Now that the weather feels more like April and not March we can get out into our gardens. I was at the nursery today and picked up some pansies. They look really great.
I am putting in blue and yellow this year. Its sort of a French theme and looks really cheery especially before the leaves come out.
I have been edging my gardens the past few days. I like to have a nice clean edge and I actually remove the dirt along the edge to prevent the grass from growing back into the garden.
I have one area with some river stone as the border. This also works pretty good.
I am going to plant some peas this weekend and perhaps some summer bulbs as well.
There is so much to do in the garden!
Dave
Apr 17, 2007 | 6:41 AM PST
Tags: rosemary , dill , dave epstein , cilantro , herbs , containers , parsely , sage , wcvb , kitchen garden
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The great thing about growing herbs is you really do not need much space. If you have a spot with 6 hours or more of sunshine then you are good to go.
Basil, dill, cilantro, rosemary, parsley, chamomile, chervil, sweet marjoram and summer savory are herbs that are called annuals. These need to be replanted each year as they die with the cold weather. You can try to move them indoors for the winter, but its pretty difficult to have them thrive. There are other perennial herbs which come back each year.
Some examples are mint, thyme, sage, tarragon lemon balm, lavender and sorrel. If you are new to gardening start with plants rather than seeds, it is just easier and will save you weeks of waiting. Let's start with some of the most commonly used herbs:
Parsley is biennial, which means that it grows for two seasons and then dies and needs to be replaced. You can find curly and Italian types. There are other hybrids as well. Its great in soups.
Sage - perennial – I use mine in the rock garden because of the great color of the leaves. Its wonderful with pork and lamb. Hardy in Zones 4-8.
Rosemary - perennial – This is one of the oldest herbs known to mankind. I try to bring mine in each winter, but its really difficult to keep it looking great. This herb loves sunshine and do not over water.
Thyme - perennial – I have much of my thyme planted amongst a walkway. It’s a great groundcover and the lemon variety is particularly scented.
Basil - annual – Of all the herbs this is many peoples personal favorite. Pesto, sauces, on top of a big beefsteak tomato is all good. Do not plant this outside until the weather is warm. It hates cold damp weather and will die.
Chives - perennial – I use chives in eggs, salads and tuna. I also let some of my chives bloom because the purple flowers are great in June.
Dill - annual – Another herb that is great in eggs and on a grilled salmon, it’s easy to grow but does not like too much heat.
Oregano - perennial – I have an oregano plant that is well over a decade old. I use this in sauces and on chicken. It stays in a nice clump and come back year after year. Hardy in Zones 5-9.
Mint - perennial – I recommend growing this in containers as it LOVES to spread and will take over your garden. Hardy in Zones 4-10.
Step By Step Planting Instructions.
1. Choose a sunny spot close to the kitchen if possible. If using containers choose three of manageable size. a. If you have a container fill it with good potting soil and mix some time release fertilizer in the soil according to directions.
2. Plant when the sun is low and the weather cool.
3. Dig a hole about 1.5 times as wide as the plant.
4. Gently remove the herb from the store container
5. Plant the herbs 18” apart, (12” if in a container to save room) Do not plant any deeper than it was in the original pot.
6. Place taller herbs, like sage, rosemary and marjoram, towards the back of the garden or pot. Parsley and cilantro are good for the front.
7. Water your newly planted herbs with a liquid fertilizer at ½ the recommended strength. Once established, make sure your herbs get an inch of water each week throughout the growing season.
8. You can begin to harvest your herbs as they grow, but take only small amounts so that you leave most of the plant in tact.
9. Keep the tops of the herbs pinched back through early summer, this will promote a bushier plant.
Apr 9, 2007 | 5:21 PM PST
Tags: roses , rosebuds , pruning
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I pruned my roses today and even fed them in spite of the cold. When you prune be sure to look for the bud coming out of the main stalk and prune about 1/4 inch above that.
Happy gardening
Dave (Growingwisdom)
Apr 8, 2007 | 12:03 PM PST
Tags: video , gardening , tomato , seeds , containers , flowers , shrubs , lawns , weeds , crabgrass , peas , hydrangea , deer
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This week I started some seeds of romaine inside in the house. The main reason to start seeds indoors is to give them a jump on growing outside. In spring the weather is cool and the seeds often have trouble germinating. Also, if you plant certain seeds, like a tomato in the ground directly you run the risk the plant will never get mature enough to yeild a tomato.
Seed starting kits are, in my opinion, the best way to go. I like the ones that have a little plastic cover because they create a mini greenhouse. You can also add a seed starting mat under the kit to increase the heat.
Be sure to place the kits in a sunny window. You can make your own mix to plant in or do the easy thing and buy a starting mix.
If you reuse your kit year to year sterilize the containers with hot soapy water. You can even use a bit of bleach, just be sure to rinse them out well.
Start your seeds indoors according to the directions on the back of the packet. Many seeds require 4-6 weeks of lead time before putting them outside. I have found that sees of carrots, peas and beans do not do well being started inside and then moved.
Lettuces, melon, tomatoes, peppers, and other warm weather crops are best started early.
Its a Cold Week Ahead
4/9/2007
It’s been a cold spring so far and this is going to continue through mid-April. I see the jet stream continuing to bring cold air in from Canada. Therefore, we have to hold off on some things we would otherwise be doing. The winter month caterpillars, a problem in the Massachusettes area, will be slow to hatch with this cold weather. Do not spray unless you are sure they have hatched. I have still not planted my peas or some of my other cold weather crops. With the daytime highs in the 40s it will be hard for much to germinate. If you have a cold frame or other covers for the seeds you can plant as they help mitigate the cold. Continue to clean up the lawn and perennial beds. Cut back your perennials.
You can prune summer blooming shrubs now. I cut back my rose-of-sharon hard this time of year. It will produce great blooms in August.
