Gardening 101

So you think you want to learn how to garden?

I have been asked many times to start teaching gardening on my blog.  Knowledge is the key to having a great garden and every one is different so this is what makes gardening fun!   To see what folks select to put in their gardens is what makes life interesting.   I tell folks to just drive around and look at the gardens in their area.

I am not a master gardener nor do I have a Horticulture degree.   I have a love and passion for nature, I have learned by asking questions, reading books and listening to what nature is telling me.  Plants can be forgiving if you notice what they are saying to you.   What is your goal for your garden? These are questions you must ask yourself.  Do you have time to give to what you grow?   Start small and watch your garden grow!!  You can do it!! 

When folks come to me and ask where to start, I advise them to purchase the Sunset Garden book for their area.  It is a great resource for any gardener!!  Then there are libraries that have lots of books for one to read and do research.    Remember, gardening is about timing and knowing where plants will thrive.

10/5/18, finally rain!!  It will be a great day to play in the cyber garden today.  At least one won't get wet in here? 

Do you know the last and first dates of frost for your area?  How about the gardening zone you are in?  Do you know your property has many micro climates?  A sheltered area can either provide shade or warmth, it depends on the location.   It's about education of your own place and what will work best in that spot.  Do you know what type of soil and do you know how to test it?  Just some of the basic questions a gardener should know.  Watering is another important part of growing plants.   How much, when and not to over do it.    Do you know the signs of over watering or not enough?

Let's talk lawns for a minute here.  Is you grass green or do you allow it to go brown in the growing season?   Do you mow it once a month?   My bet is you just don't care!!   It's work, right?  NO!!  It is important to have it stay green but again I hear it's work.  Do you know what it means when your grass is blue in color?   That's okay, brown is beautiful, right?   With this years heat, why not just allow it to stay brown.   The rain will bring it back, right?   Think again!!   Dandelions are great?  NO!!   They will spread like wild fire and if you think they only stay in your yard, think again as you have just caused issues for blocks away.   How about thistle, you grow it because it's beautiful and I'm betting you think it's worth it.  Ask your neighbors what they think of it?   This year I can tell you I have dug up more dandelions and thistle than I have the past 30 years of living here.  Now I know why folks use chemicals!!  One flower bed alone had over 40 of these plants!!  Thank you neighbors for being so lazy in caring for your lawns!!   But again it's only your property values we are talking about, right?? 

I was talking to someone that googled our area and they were telling me about all the brown lawns!  Yep folks just google or look at the photos online of your property.  You are hurting the whole area with your lack of care.  Ya never know when photos will be taken.   Mother Nature isn't going to help you out either. 

As a young child I can remember one valuable lesson.  People will talk and if your yard and home isn't a reflection of what you are, you probably don't care about the foot print that you leave on life.
For those that read the Bible, we are the care givers of the world we were placed on, right??   If someone important would knock on your door what would they think of you?   I have been told many times it's nice to come to a home that is well taken care of, it does reflect on you!  It also tells folks that you care and know how to take care of what you own.   So are you being a good neighbor?

Back to gardening and caring for the planet.    Another pet peeve I have is those that put plants in that they do not care for or they allow it to cause issues with neighboring properties or even the County or City you live in.  Let's talk trees here as that is another topic folks scream about.  It's become quite clear that trees have more rights than you might know.  Especially here in WA with the Supreme Court ruling, the lack of knowledge of said trees or the placement on one's property.  Why do folks think they don't cause issues with adjacent properties when they are stupid and plant them on property lines due to they want to enjoy their property and are told they need to plant trees?  Should the laws be looked at and if you allow smaller lots do you honestly think a 80 foot tree is going to work?  Where are the roots going?  Do you have a septic tank and how smart is it to plant a tree on top of the drain field??  If you plant close to the house how smart is that?   Roots will seek out moisture and destroy your foundation.  See education is important when planting any thing that grows and one needs to know just how to maintain the said specie of plant.    Then there is the weather and knowing how deep the roots go.  If you have shallow rooted trees and high winds, don't ya think they will topple over??   Do you know you should prune or wind sail trees to make sure this doesn't happen?   But again it's comes back to knowing what you are buying or what is on the property before you move in.   Did you know you can do research on any given piece of property?
Which brings me back to knowing the soil conditions and what you are buying.    Don't leave it to your neighbors to clean up what your trees leaves.  Be a good neighbor and don't hide behind, "Oh I had no clue our trees were an issue."   You are responsible for your trees!   The county's own website will tell you if you blow your leaves into the street you are littering.  Plus if you do nothing to pick them up and allow them to blow all over the neighborhood, are you truly being a good neighbor?  Here it's folks just don't care and will tell you Mother Nature will do her thing.  It now costs us dearly to do the cleanup as we see them put it into the Stormwater fee.    You are also liable if your leaves cause an accident, so think about it.
 


More to come!!  Time to water the greenhouses..........

Pentunia

A member of the Solanaceae family is grown as an annual and can become leggy and some say should be pinched to make them compact.   But sometime they can get away from a gardener and
really start to look bad.   Did you know you can cut them back and they will regrow?  Yep, I have been doing this for years but let me warn you, they can fry and die if not done right.  Here is one thatI cut back a little over a week ago.  I did two at that time and this one was closer to the huge planter which gave it some shade.  The other got full sun and fried with our 90+ temps this past month.

So if you do cut back do not put them in direct sunshine if your temps are over 80!  I know petunias are to be grown in full sun but believe me, once you cut them back they can die.   Some folks will say these are cheap so why not just replace, if you have a beautiful one and you would like to regrow it, why not give it a try?   When cutting back go to the bottom of the plant and go up two leafs and make a cut.   I would wait a week before fertilizing the plant.   Most books will tell you to fertlize once a month but I do ours weekly.   If you don't want to cut them back and find seeds why not just plant some seeds you have found on the plant?   

If the bees do their job right, the seeds will be green in color until they pop open and turn brown.  When they grown and open, it's time to harvest them and save them for next year.  We here grow a few varieties but try to keep them a distance from the other Solanaceaes that we grow.   Some folks have moved to the Calibrachoa, 'million bells' that appear to look like petunias.   Either can be fun to grow and take about the same care.    With that stated the main goal here is the care and understanding the plant you have selected.    

Time to start Gardening 101?