Weekend chores
There is no end to garden chores....
Special thanks to the folks at Weekend Gardener for today's list of things to tackle this weekend.
- Dig, divide, and replant crowded summer and fall flowering perennials like agapanthus, garden phlox, astilbe, aster, bleeding heart, coral bells, daylilies, and shasta daisies.
- Plant spring flowering annuals like forget-me-nots, dianthus, English daisy sweet William, and viola.
- Set out nursery plants of warm-season edibles.
- Wait until end of month to set out frost tender plants.
- Repot houseplants that have grown too large for their containers. Cut back leggy plants to encourage compact growth.
- Fertilize plants that are starting to grow actively like annual flowers, berries, citrus, roses, and established trees and shrubs with a balanced fertilizer such as 15-15-15, or a 5-5-5.
- Apply a pre-emergent herbicide before lawn weeds get started. These work by preventing the seed from germinating. Therefore, it is important that they are applied in early spring, before growth of the weed seedlings.
- Prune evergreen shrubs before growth starts. Prune spring-flowering shrubs after flowering is completed.
- Keep and eye out for aphids and get them before they take over your plants Use either a strong stream of water or use safer soap products.
- With the rain, come the slugs and snails! Control them by eliminating their hiding places clean up leaf litter, and use bait. Or sprinkle crushed egg shells and coffee grounds around their favorite targets, such as hosta.
- In your flower arrangements, avoid mixing cut daffodils with tulips. Daffodils produce a chemical "slime" that injures tulip blooms. If you want to use these two flowers in an arrangement, place the daffodils inanother container for a day after cutting, then rinse off the stems and add to the vase of tulips. Adding 6 drops of bleach to each quart of water also helps.
Comments
Wow, Susan! I'm tired already and I haven't even left work, yet. Such a list! I am hoping though, that you meant to include the use of organic products and not those too rich in substances harmful to our beautiful bay. After all, it just earned another low grade; C- I think. We all need to do our best to avoid runoff from too much fertilizer, etc. Love your list, though! Let's hope we can make hay while the sun shines this weekend.
Linda.
You are right about the bay, Linda. And I will be blogging soon about how to be bay-friendly gardeners. Stay tuned. -- Susan
Posted by: Linda | April 3, 2009 1:31 PM
Wow what a list this really does seem like a "chore" as you put it gardening should be about fun and relaxation.
Any gardener will tell you there is plenty of joy in gardening...but plenty of good old-fashioned work, too. -- Susan
Posted by: hydroponics | May 19, 2011 8:13 AM