Happy Garden - March 20, 2008

Vol. 3, Num. 12, March 20, 2008 (Read It Online) This week we have tips from readers, Ellen Brown answers more reader requests and we have an article about Making Seed-Starting Pots From Newspaper. If you have a gardening tip or photo to share, please submit it on one of contest pages. Thanks for reading, Susan Send to a Friend! Submit Your Gardening Tips Submit Photos of Your Garden Submit a Gardening Request Edit Your Subscriptions: To edit your ThriftyFun subscriptions, click the Update Profile/Email Address link at the bottom of this newsletter. Today's newsletter contains: Photos: Harvest Basket From Australia Scenery: Thieving Deer No Gardening Yet in Maine! Tips and Articles: Making Seed-Starting Pots From Newspaper Leaves on Chili Plant Turning Brown 20 Year Old Jade Tree Growing Tiny Shoots Putting Citrus Peels in Your Compost Pile Pruning Gabriel's Trumpet Plant Getting Rid of Weeds with Salt Use Copper For Tomato Blight Planting Dwarf Fruit Trees in Pots Use Copper, Slugs Be Gone! Gardening Tips That Recycle Inventive Clothes Line and Post Straightening Dog and Cat Hair for the Garden New Requests: Can You Eat Celandine Tubers? Advice For Growing Cornflowers Curing Cow Manure Bamboo Stalks Are Yellow Do I Need Two Apple Trees To Get Fruit? Planting Morning Glory in Pots Can I Sell Bamboo? Pruned Maple Tree is Dripping Sap Converting Aquarium into Terrarium Today's Sponsor: Crafting for Fun and Money! If you are an avid crafter, capable writer and own a digital camera, you are eligible to participate. Submit your craft projects to ThriftyFun and we will pay $15 for any crafts that we publish. More Information: Click Here: http://www.thriftyfun.com/post_craft.ldml Photos: Harvest Basket From Australia At the end of our long, dry summer this harvest basket was my winning entry in our local Garden Club competition. We had 9 weeks without any recorded rain and the garden was so dry. It is amazing what can still be found to eat in this arid food garden. By Scarecrow from South Australia Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf83782094.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Scenery: Thieving Deer My pet thieves? Notice the deer shaking the bird feeder to empty onto the ground? By Ronda from Midland, MI Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf71402868.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print No Gardening Yet in Maine! My gardening tip for Northern Maine is to wait a few more weeks until the snow is gone. By Carol from Northern Maine Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf50712226.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Tips and Articles: Making Seed-Starting Pots From Newspaper By Ellen Brown If you are like most gardeners, you probably have a mound of plastic multi-pack containers growing in the basement or piling up behind the garage. You know, the dirty, crumpled flats right next to all of those gallon pots you plan to reuse. Sure, you may be able to reuse them once or twice, but when they eventually break down, most will end up in a landfill. Here is an old idea for inexpensive, do-it-yourself seed starting pots made from newspaper. When your seedlings are ready for the garden, just pop them in the ground-pot and all. View This Article: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf76607998.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Leaves on Chili Plant Turning Brown Question: My chili plant was producing lots of healthy flowers and fruits, but now the leaves are turning brown and dying even the new growth. The chilies are still growing but the flowers are dying too. What's wrong? Hardiness Zone: 9a Toni from Essex, UK Answer: Toni, Hmm... this is a tough questions to answer without seeing your chili plant, so it is going to take some detective work on your part by answering the following questions: Do you see any signs of insects (check the undersides of the leaves)? Spider mites, white flies, and aphids will be your biggest threats. Are you still meeting all of their growing conditions-lots of light (at least 6 hours daily), well-drained soil, plenty of warmth (even at night), keeping soil a bit on the dry side moist, and regular feedings (about once every three weeks)? Could your chili plant be taking a break? Chili plants have a longer growing season than other peppers and you can usually keep them going for most of the year. Eventually though, they will need to take a break. Chili plants usually go through dormancy in the winter, during which time they start to drop their leaves, turn pale green and generally start to look a bit ragged. This is a good time to trim back the stems an inch or so and cut back on watering until growth starts to resume in the spring. Has you plant outgrown its pot? A 10- to 12-inch pot will probably be large enough to grow a small chili plant. For larger plants use a 16- to 18-inch pot. Is your water heavily treated with chemicals? Filtered or bottled water is best. Dont use distilled water as lacks important trace minerals needed to maintain plant health. Best of luck! Ellen Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf51023206.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print 20 Year Old Jade Tree Growing Tiny Shoots Question: I have a Jade tree that is over 20 years old. For the past few months, it has been dropping its big leaves, and growing tiny spindly little shoots instead. I haven't done anything different with it at all. I do put it outside in the summer, and bring it back in in the wintertime, but that I have been doing for years as well. There does not seem to be any insects of any kind, or spider mites, although I did see spider webs when this first started. However, I have seen that before as well. I thought Jade trees were indestructible, but apparently not. Also, whatever this is affects several younger Jade trees that I have as well, and the smaller ones have all died. Any ideas? Hardiness Zone: 2b Louise from Nipawin, SK, Canada Answer: Louise, Has this tree been in your care the entire 20 years? If so, you have obviously been giving it great care. Has ANYTHING changed lately, like the light exposure, soil, temperature conditions, or even the type of can you use to water it with? Is there a possibility of chemical drift from a new cleaning product your using around the house? If not, I suspect a watering problem. Succulents need to dry out between watering, and too much water is the usual culprit causing leaf drop. Root rot is common in Jade plants and is sometimes evident by changes to the root crown (it gets pulpy looking). The tiny, spindly little shoots your plant is sending out are called aerial roots. Growing aerial roots is a common reaction in succulents (especially in humid areas), but this behavior is seen less often in Jade trees. Sending out aerial roots could be a sign your plant needs to form new roots. The question to ask is why? Are the potted roots water logged, pot bound, etc.? Are the leaves drying up before they drop? Perhaps the soil roots are not able to absorb water properly. How long has it been since you repotted this plant? I would recommend repotting it to a pot filled with a neutral soil formulated especially for succulents. If you find any, remove any soft, decaying root material with a clean, sterilized knife. Good luck! Ellen Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf98985438.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Putting Citrus Peels in Your Compost Pile Question: Can you put orange or grapefruit peels in your compost pile? Hardiness Zone: 6a Peggy from Chillicothe, OH Answer: Yes, definitely! You can successfully compost all types of fruit and vegetable peelings from the kitchen. Meat scraps, dairy products, and high-fat foods like salad dressings and peanut butter can be composted too, but it is generally better to avoid them. They produce a rancid smell when decomposing that repels neighbors and attracts animals. To speed up decomposition, food scraps should be chopped or cut up into small pieces and eggshells crushed. Here are some examples of items that can be composted. Some of them may surprise you: Food Waste (cooked & raw) Breads, candy, coffee grounds (& non-bleached filters), eggshells, fruit & vegetable peelings, microwaveable popcorn bags, Popsicle sticks, nuts, paper food wraps & ice cream boxes, paper plates, napkins and towels, pasta, pizza boxes, tea leaves & tea bags, muffin liners, wine corks. Yard Waste Brush, grass clippings (not chemically treated), hay & straw, leaves, pine cones/needles, plants, roots, sawdust and wood shavings, twigs & branches, weeds (not recommended). Other Waste Shredded cardboard, dust bunnies, feathers, human hair, newspaper, etc. Happy composting! Ellen Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf55726985.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Pruning Gabriel's Trumpet Plant Question: I need to prune a Gabriel's trumpet plant/tree to a canopy instead of straight up and down. Any advice? Pam from DNA Point, CA Answer: Pam, The idea behind pruning an Angel Trumpet plant, rather than letting it do its own thing naturally, is to force it into growing more limbs-therefore producing more flowers. This is done by leaving the new growth alone, and cutting the old growth back close to the trunk. To give your Angel Trumpet tree a more busy shape and thus create a canopy of sorts, you will need to cut some of the lateral (side) branches. Pruning the top branches will only stimulate growth on the top branches. Ideally, the branches of your Angel Trumpet were allowed to grow into a "Y" before the plant received its first pruning. This would have left you with plenty of lateral branches to shape in the future. Unfortunately, sometimes these plants have already been trained into an upright growing habit before they are sold. If this is the case with your plant, you could try trimming a bit of the roots to try to simulate new lateral growth. Sometime this works, sometimes it doesnt. If trimming the roots fails to simulate the type of growth your looking for, you may want to consider getting another Angel Trumpet to plant along side your current plant. When young, the stem of the new plant can be easily wrapped around your current plants trunk to create a double trunk effect (hold it in place with pantyhose). Over time, this will create a unique look and its branches will eventually grow and fill in to create a bushier look. Ellen Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf43649560.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Getting Rid of Weeds with Salt Question: I have a large area (about 5 acres) that is overgrown with huge (12' +) wild marijuana weeds (from WWII days) and an overabundance of sticker bushes. This area is where my horse lives. I have heard of using rock salt and water to kill these nasty weeds. Is this safe for my horse and what is the quantity of water to salt? Does anyone know? Hardiness Zone: 5a Gayle from Almena, KS Answer: Gayle, I do not recommend using rock salt over such a large area. Salt is nonselective-meaning it will kill everything-including the grass. It also has a lasting negative effect on soil chemistry. Five acres is obviously a large area to cover, but digging, hand-pulling weeds and mowing them down repeatedly to prevent the weeds from maturing and spreading seed is probably the safest bet for your horses. I have heard of "safe" herbicides for use in grazing areas, but of course, you should talk to your veterinarian to find out the latest information on what is considered safe. I would also recommend talking to your local extension agency to find out if they have any information on pasture management. Many do. When weeds invade and take over an area, it is usually due to a lack of soil nutrients or because over time, grazing practices have created conditions that favor weed growth. In some cases, it is more advantageous to have someone come in and completely remove what you have, and reseed the area with appropriate grasses. If feasible, another idea is keeping a few goats around as a non-toxic way to help keep weeds at bay. Take out an ad. Maybe you could rent or borrow some for a while. Goats are especially good at helping control weeds. They prefer broadleaf and woody plants to grass (like thistle, knapweed, tansy, leafy spurge, toadflax, etc.) They also make superb equine companions. Ellen Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf64960958.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Use Copper For Tomato Blight For early blight, once the tomato plant is established, I always put a piece of copper wire through the stem, just above the soil. However, this will not stop late blight, as it comes from the air not the soil. Butch Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf75434980.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Planting Dwarf Fruit Trees in Pots Question: I recently purchased ultra dwarf fruit trees stating they will only grow 5 to 6 feet. I want to put them in 15 gal pots. what is a good commercial potting mix and some specific feeding and watering schedules. Hardiness Zone: 10a Oorah from Oceanside, Calif Answer: Oorah, Almost any commercial potting soil should work just fine for growing dwarf fruit trees. Also, if you want to mix your own, just use a 1:1:1: ratio of sand, peat and vermiculite or perlite. You want the soil to be loose enough for adequate drainage, without being so loose that water runs right through the pot every time you water. Refresh the soil by replacing the top 2 inches of soil with fresh compost each spring. As far as feeding, any plants confined to a container will need to be fed more frequently than those grown in the ground. Look for a fertilizer especially formulated for citrus trees or fruit trees to use from spring through mid summer. Start by feeding once every two weeks and adjust the frequently according to how the plant is responding. I always recommend using a liquid or water-soluble fertilizer at half strength to start with for plants in containers. Most people tend to overdo it, and in the case of fruit trees, too much fertilizer will give you lots of plant growth, but be detrimental to fruit production. When watering, keep compost moist (not wet) during the active growing season. Do not allow the roots to stand in water. Check water daily to prevent the soil from drying out, and remember that the plants will require less water in the winter. Poke your fingers down through the top two inches of soil. It should always feel on the dry side of moist. Over time, the overuse of fertilizers (or water containing soluble salts) may result in excess salt building up in the soil. A white crust on the soil or inside of the container is your indicator. Use a liquid or water-soluble fertilizer according to package directions and when in doubt, go light. To flush out excess salts, pour water slowly over the soil for several minutes until the water drains freely out of the bottom of the pot. Good luck! Ellen Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf79930724.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Use Copper, Slugs Be Gone! Having tried everything possible known to man to rid my garden of slugs, I came across an item on ebay that I thought may just work, a roll of sticky back copper tape. It was 2.99 (pounds). It is placed around pots, containers or laid flat on the ground. When the slugs attempts to cross, it they get a tiny electroshock. Great, I thought, now how can I make something similar for free. I found some old electrical cable from an old kettle. I took out the copper wire, twisted it to make it stronger and attached it to metal skewers which I pushed into the soil at intervals until I had surrounded my flower bed. I made sure the copper wire was not touching any leaves, stones or the soil, but just high enough to zap the slugs should they try to sneak under. It really does work, since then, I have copper wire around my pots and containers too. The slugs are still out there, thinner and driving themselves nuts trying to get past my thrifty force field. By Mags from Doncaster, UK Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf47846708.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Gardening Tips That Recycle Ice Cream Pots Wash out paper ice cream cups. Add planting soil and plant a few seeds in each cup. When seedlings are 4-5 inches tall, moisten soil and carefully press out the root ball to transplant in an outdoor garden or tub. Popsicle Sticks Next time you eat a Popsicle, don't throw away the stick. You can use it in your windowsill or outdoor garden. Popsicle sticks can be used to mark seed variety, date planted, etc. They also make handy "stakes" to mark outdoor garden rows. Place the empty seed packet in a plastic bag so it won't get soggy. Staple the packet and bag to the stick. Got Milk? Then you must have some empty milk containers around. Rinse the empty containers out. Cut one side from a quart or half-gallon container. Fill with seed starting mix. Use the removed side as dividers. When the seedling are tall enough to transplant outdoors, simply slit the sides of the cartons and slide or scoop out the root cube gently to avoid disturbing tender roots. Plastic milk cartons can be used too! Carefully cut a milk jug so you have a 2-inch bottom that you can use as a plant saucer to keep water from staining windowsills or table tops, or you can use it as a basic seed starter dish. Save the tops and caps The large tops can be used to protect tender seedlings from frost. Simply press the jugs into the ground. Remove them in the morning and replace at night until danger of frost is over. By Randa from San Marcos, TX Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf38782403.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Inventive Clothes Line and Post Straightening After many years of high washing and drying bills, I wanted to go back to a clothes line outdoors, even though I have devised a series of clothes line "poles" for one storage hallway adjacent to my laundry area indoors from 4-5' tension poles that local folks have tossed on their curbs over the past couple of years, their likely having upgraded their old homes to glass sliding shower doors. Being my age, I well remember that the old clothes lines sag, rust, stain, and that it's almost an art or craft to get a clothes line that's sturdy enough to hold heavy wet laundry up, plus I am extremely limited on extra money for such things. Here's what I finally did that works so well: At the dollar store I found two long vinyl wrapped dog leads that are 25' each ($5 each and I needed two) with wonderful chrome swivel heavy duty clasps on each end (originally designed and sold for exercising dogs, which is now illegal in our state!) I had two 6" heavy duty eye bolts, a large nail, a screwdriver and a hammer. Killing two birds with one stone, so to speak, I knew that I had to do something about a leaning fence post or risk getting a fine from the city who is rather strict with their codes. So, I noticed that the only path available for the clothes line was also in line from the leaning fence post (luckily it was leaning towards the alley, away from my house) to a very old single but medium and sturdy tree and then to another thicker older tree. I had my grandson to go to the back side of the fence and wait to push the post while I screwed one eye bolt into the fence post (started a hole with a nail) turning it with a thick screwdriver through the bolt eye hole, as he pushed the post towards me. Then I attached the first lead wire's clasp to the second lead wire's clasp and walked it to the middle tree in the path between the post and large tree, wrapped it around the medium tree once, following on to the large tree with the line in one hand and the other screw-type eye bolt and tools in the other, then wrapped the vinyl line around the mature tree's largest head-high trunk branch and held it while I screwed the second eye bolt into the large tree, at approximately the same height as the other end, then attaching the chrome clamp to the eye bolt. In testing the tautness of the line, I saw that it needed tightening a bit, so I went back to the fence post and noticed that it was not yet straight enough. I began to slowly turn the large eye bolt more and more until it both straightened the post and tightened the clothes line. It is thick red vinyl wrapped, making the line easy to see for walking under it, hanging clothes from it, and is weather resistant and a classy cheap addition to my yard, considering the alternatives. It cost about $11.65 for the whole clothesline of approx. 50 Feet. It should last for several years and be a cheap and easy thing for me to replace one day in the future, requiring no ugly metal poles at great expense, no ropes to rot, no rusty wire. Now I can hang our thickest clothing and linens to be air and sun dried, especially after we've been sick for so long. It saves money, smells delightful and fresh, and is just what I truly needed for laundry on dry warm days. For me, a third advantage is that the mature rose bush I have hoped to be able to train on some sort of arbor, won't have to go yet another year without support. Even it can be supported by a segment of the clothesline near the fence as it arches towards the sun in great anticipation of coming days. Source: source: me and none other by Lynda from Richardson, TX. Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf66961447.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Dog and Cat Hair for the Garden If you have a cat or dog in the home then you are vacuuming their hair off everything all of the time. Empty your vacuum canister or bag each time around the perimeter of your gardens. The pet hair scares away rabbits, gophers and other wild animals. They smell it and think there is danger so they head elsewhere for their munchies! By Pattie from Bridgton, Maine Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf38128426.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Contest! Tip Contest Submit a Tip or Recipe! Photo Contest Submit a tip with photo! The above contests are weekly. We pick 2 tip winners and 1 photo winner at the end of each week. Each winner will win $25! My Frugal Life Submit a My Frugal Life Essay! New Requests: Can You Eat Celandine Tubers? I was watching a video on bushcraft/survival and the host cooked and ate the tubers of something he called "Celandine". It was a low, ground-level plant with small, yellow flowers if I recall correctly. It grew in a sort of marshy area (think peat bog) in England. It didn't grow above the knee. Is this a plant that grows in the US and if so, what types of environments does it grow in? Also, I looked it up and pretty much everywhere it says not to eat it. This may just be modern opinion, however, since he said that if you cook the tubers in the coals of a campfire for a few minutes, it'll sap the minor toxins from the roots and it's like eating sweet potatoes. Hardiness Zone: 5a Paul from Houghton, NY Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf12731633.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Advice For Growing Cornflowers Can anyone give me tips on how to grow cornflowers? I try these every year, following the instructions on the seed packet, but if I'm lucky I get a plant that's about an inch tall. It drives me crazy because I see cornflowers growing wild and lush in ditches, beside railroad tracks, etc. What am I doing wrong? (By the way, this area is always listed as 7a but it never gets that cold. Something to do with the Chesapeake Bay. The climate here is truly 9a.) Hardiness Zone: 9a Peanut from VA Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf77153443.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Curing Cow Manure I am new to gardening, so bear with me. A friend of mine has a farm and just brought me a load of cow manure. When he delivered it, he dumped in onto my existing (still dormant) flower beds. I am told by neighbors that the manure is hot and needs to be cured before it goes onto existing beds. Is this true? If so, how do I cure the manure? I do have a compost heap in the back yard. Should I transfer it to the compost pile? Help! Hardiness Zone: 7a Jennifer from Eugene, OR Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf75519048.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Bamboo Stalks Are Yellow I have several bamboo plants that the stalks are all yellow/brown but the shoots (leaves) are all still green. What should I do? Is there a way that I can remove the green shoot clusters and re-root them to grow once again? The plants themselves are about 5 years old, but I have a twisted stalk one that is over 7 years old and under the same light, water, feed everything and it didn't happen to it. I would truly appreciate any help that you could give as I really feel badly about the loss of these plants. Thanks in advance for your time. Hardiness Zone: 7a Sherry from Omak, WA Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf53117511.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Do I Need Two Apple Trees To Get Fruit? I just purchased a Granny Smith apple tree from the local grocery store. I've done some online researching and wanted to confirm whether or not I need to purchase another type of apple tree so they will both produce fruit. Thanks and regards! Hardiness Zone: 7b Penni from Hillsborough, NC Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf36459468.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Planting Morning Glory in Pots I've been throughly warned about morning glory! Can I simply plant it in a pot and avoid all the drama of it taking over my garden? Will my moon flowers do the same? All my seeds have begun to sprout... so there is a need to plant soon. Hardiness Zone: 10b Thanks, Marisa from Santa Maria, CA Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf65833912.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Can I Sell Bamboo? Does anyone know if bamboo would sell, I have a yard full of it that I cannot got rid of. Mary from Houston, TX Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf43702142.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Pruned Maple Tree is Dripping Sap I have a question. I have a Maple tree in my back yard, yesterday I trimmed some very small branches off the tree, when I say branches there were not much larger than twigs. Now the tree is dripping sap? Is this normal? I just hope I have not damaged the tree. Fortunately when I saw what was happening I stopped. Any help would be appreciated. I live just south of Carson City, Nevada Hardiness Zone: 6a Peg from Minden, Nevada Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf46227207.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Converting Aquarium into Terrarium I'm thinking about converting a 30 gallon aquarium into a terrarium. I would like advice from anyone who has done this successfully. What types of plants are slow-growing and would do well under glass? The top will not be sealed, but will be mostly covered by the aquarium top that has the light in it. Chloe Post Feedback: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf52282695.tip.html Email to a Friend | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate It: | Print Looking for a frugal solution to an everyday problem? Submit your request here: Click Here Today's Sponsor: Crafting for Fun and Money! If you are an avid crafter, capable writer and own a digital camera, you are eligible to participate. Submit your craft projects to ThriftyFun and we will pay $15 for any crafts that we publish. More Information: Click Here: http://www.thriftyfun.com/post_craft.ldml More Stuff Seed Swap! Swap seeds with other ThriftyFun.com users. Submit a Request... Frugal solutions to everyday problems.