Garden Tip: When not to fertilize shrubs and trees
by Leslie Cox; Monday; July 20, 2020
Stop fertilizing your shrubs and trees mid-July. Encouraging new growth through the rest of the season means they will not have time to harden adequately to avoid winter damage.
Garden Tip: Save your cooking water
by Leslie Cox; Monday; July 13, 2020
Save the water from your boiled and steamed vegetables. Cool it and use it to water potted patio plants, hanging baskets, window boxes and house plants. They will love the added nutrients in the water.
Garden Tip: Remove over-ripe fruit
by Leslie Cox; Monday; July 6, 2020
Over-ripe vegetables left in the garden are targets for pests. Best to remove them to the compost bin as soon as possible to avoid a pest outbreak amongst the newer vegetables on the same plant…and other plants in the row…which are coming along.
Garden Tip: Deadheading sticky rhodo blossoms
by Leslie Cox; Monday; June 11, 2018
Deadheading a rhododendron can be quite a chore at the best of times…especially if it is a tall one like our beautiful ‘Anna Rose Whitney’. And we have two of those!
Not only is ‘Anna Rose Whitney’ very tall, but the spent blossoms are very sticky. So sticky, they cling to your gloves, or bare hands if you prefer to deadhead without gloves.
One solution we have found is to don a pair of disposable gloves and slather our fingertips with Vaseline. Works like a dream…the spent blossoms don’t stick at all. However, there is one caveat…you have to keep re-applying more Vaseline.
There is a second solution which I have just recently discovered…deadhead the sticky rhodo blossoms on a rainy day. Preferably after it has been raining for a while and the shrub is thoroughly wet.
I usually stick to inside chores on big rain days in consideration for my arthritis. However, I was falling behind on garden chores so suited up into rain gear and ventured out to tackle some deadheading on the rhodos. I started with a non-sticky rhodo and then moved on to ‘Anna Rose Whitney’ right next to it…without switching to disposable gloves and Vaseline. What a pleasant surprise to find the spent blossoms were not clinging to my garden gloves! (If I could ignore the soaking I was getting from the rain, that is!) Seems wet gloves, as yucky as they are to wear, work every bit as well as Vaseline!
Happy deadheading on those rhodos!
Garden Tip: Dealing with an overload of zucchini squashes
You may be well and truly tired of zucchini by the end of summer, but keep picking. Shred them into two cup measures and transfer each batch into a freezer bag. Label with date and amount, then tuck them into the freezer. It is really nice to have this stash in the middle of winter when you would love a batch of rich Zucchini Chocolate Muffins, or a delicious Zucchini Lasagna to feed the gang after a hockey game.
