Garden Tip: Rescue drowning plants
by Leslie Cox; Monday; October 18, 2021
Be sure to check your potted plants after a heavy rainfall. Plants…any species that are not marginal (ie. those that prefer a spot by a pond or stream)…can develop crown rot if they are wallowing in a puddle of water in their pot.
Here in the Pacific Northwest, crown rot is one of the main causes of plant deaths through the fall and winter seasons. (Sadly, we lost this beautiful saxifraga to crown rot two years ago.)
Take away the trays under the pots to allow for free drainage. Or, if there are no trays underneath but the plant is still water-logged, place a couple of wood blocks or flat rocks underneath the pot to raise it up off the ground. If the plant is still swimming in water, knock it out of the pot, check the drainage hole is not plugged and re-pot the plant with up to one-third sand or small grit added to the new soil mix to increase the drainage.
Tomato ‘Red Robin’
Lycopersicon esculentum var. cerasiforme (ly-koh-PER-see-kum ESS-kew-len-tum var. see-ras-if-FORM-ee) Family: Solanaceae Common name: ‘Red Robin’ |
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Days to maturity: 55 days from transplant Description: An open-pollinated, dwarf bush (determinate), high-yielding variety with deep green potato-like leaves. Clusters of globe-shaped, red fruits measuring 1 to 1¼ inch (2.5 – 3 cm) in diameter, weighing ½ oz (14 gr) in mid- to late summer. Special Notes: This variety is perfect for containers for growing outdoors on a balcony or small patio. It is also suitable for growing indoors although the yield will likely not be as high as if it were grown outdoors. Benefits from being staked to support the stalk. Fruits are full of flavour and very juicy so be sure to pop the whole fruit in your mouth before you bite down. How to use: Snacks; salads In our Zone 7a garden: The first year I grew this variety, I transplanted the seedlings into 6-inch (15 cm) pots and placed them on my porch railing. I had to move them down to the porch step when a high wind knocked a couple of the pots off the railing.
It was interesting to find all descriptions I have come across about ‘Red Robin’ have noted its size as anywhere from 7 – 12 inches (18 – 30 cm) tall. My plants were 20 – 22 inches (50 – 56 cm) tall. I do not have an answer to this discrepancy other than perhaps it was the soil mix I make up for all of my potted plants because I certainly did not give them any other fertilizer than what I initially put in the pot.
Posted on September 8, 2021
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Garden Tip: Learn from your mistakes
by Leslie Cox; Monday; September 6, 2021
You might make mistakes in the garden, but learn from them.
We sometimes will lose a plant…even when we have done our due diligence and researched the needs of the plant. Unfortunately, things happen. Perhaps you gave the plant too much full sun, or you planted it in a “cool pocket” in your garden, or you did not test the soil pH.
Say a prayer for your plant and try to figure out how your plant died so you do not make the same mistake again. Then try again.
There is a saying: “Class is always in session in a garden.” Decades later, I am still learning new things about gardening.
Hepatica nobilis
Geranium phaeum ‘Samobor’