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May 27, 2007
Why My Herb Garden Grew
Master Gardener Column 5/26/07
My herb garden has done pretty well over the years but after taking the Master Gardener class, I now know why. The class should be called “Everyone Can Garden Better Given a Few Lessons.” Here’s what I learned about why my garden works.
First, my garden is close to the house. This proximity allows it to catch lots of rain water from one of the downspouts so the soil stays moist sometimes even into the drier months. We also shovel snow onto the garden from the drive and sidewalks adding both moisture and some nutrients. The house also protects my plot from wind and gives off radiant heat in the cool spring.
My little garden spot is a place I visit often and so I keep it pretty. Plants that aren’t as important to me and ones that I am allergic to live at a distance from my living space. More drought tolerant plants are planted farther away as they need less attention.
Next, I like rocks and my herb garden has many. Rocks give off radiant heat, helping seedlings take root in the spring and the dormant rootstock of perennials to overwinter. These rocks minimize water use by reducing evaporation. I can also strategically move rocks to protect tender plants when I fear the basketball or dog might disturb them.
I have chosen plants that do well in my chilly neighborhood. My edible sage comes back year after year, its grey/green leaves indicating drought tolerance. I obtained my chives by legally raiding a neighbor’s yard where the chives proved their cold hardiness. The columbines and hollyhocks came from a friend’s garden down the road. I am not sure how the daisies or the penstemon got there, but they do well. Yarrow and pussytoes were rescued natives from suburban lots just before construction began.
The oregano came with the house but from a neglected side yard. I thought it was a weed until I smelled its lovely fragrance. It now gets more attention in my herb garden and has grown into a lovely plant with edible leaves.
Another success factor is the size of my garden. It is small, only 8 x 10 feet. It uses more hose water than a true xeriscape but much less than a standard lawn. It is easy to move rocks around and change it year to year. It is also easy and inexpensive to brighten up by adding a few colorful annuals. This year I tried pansies, but the chipmunks ate those.
I learned two new tricks this year to improve my garden. One is to conserve water by installing a soaker hose snaked around the garden and about 4-6 inches under the soil. To water, just turn on the hose for 30 to 45 minutes until you see the soil darken. You will lose little water to evaporation. The second trick is to compost in the garden. Dig holes about 9 to 12 inches deep and put in a small bucket of kitchen scraps (no animal products at all) including lots of coffee grounds. Chop the scraps with a shovel and mix into the soil. Then cover it with a deep layer of soil and put a rock on top to keep dogs and skunks at bay. A month or two later, this stuff will be nicely incorporated into the soil, increasing its fertility.
In short, my garden is successful because my house protects my small garden, I use native and adapted plants, many rocks retain heat and save water, and I enjoy and tend my garden regularly. I think the hose and compost tricks will help, too. Good luck with your garden.
By Jenny Keim
The author is a Master Gardener volunteer for Coconino County Cooperative Extension. If you have a gardening question, call the Master Gardener hotline at 774-1868 ext. 19 or visit our Web site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at 8:02 PM
May 24, 2007
Olivia White Garden Project Workday 5/31/07
We had a large crew in the garden this week and much was accomplished. Cynthia Katte fed and deep watered the roses, Nancy Palmer and Marcia Lamkin worked on the Birdhouse trellis and Faerie Garden planting clematis and creeping thyme, Judy Chen watered and planted in the East gardens, Evelyn Haven/Paula Andress and two new volunteers Linda Daugherty and Jillian weeded the Inferno strips and some bind weed in Norm Erickson"s part of the garden (he is on vaction). I worked on planting clematis and lavender on the walkway/arbor between the parking lot and the Rose garden and added a few plants to the sensory pots. Cynthia's husband Allen came and got our fountain up and running, did some minor repairs and placed a new bird feeder rod iron hook.
Thank-yous this week to:
Our regular crew - Nancy Palmer, Cynthia & Allan Katte, Marcia Lamkin, Judy Chen, Evelyn Haven, Paula Andress, David and Zane and two new volunteers Linda Daugherty and Jillian. Thanks yous also to Hattie Braun and Erin Fink for helping Cynthia Katte on Wednesday to begin the re-mapping the garden project.
New blooms this week:
Dutch Iris and Ox-eyed Daisy
Plans for 5/24/07
Meeting for planning summer Tea (1115am).
Begin tagging the roses for identification.
Planting some herbs and a few other hardy perennials.
Re-sanding the path between the parking lot and Rose garden.
Moving some volunteers crowding the edge of the large patio.
As always - weeding.
Watering? depends on current weather but we will need extra help for the next week as Norm Erickson (front garden) is on vacation.
Upcoming Plans
June 1 - Paintings on display for the month at the Arboretum at Flagstaff.
Paintings to be raffled/auctioned on August 18th at our Garden Tea. Come see some
additional painting of gardens/flowers/butterflies by Mary Swanson, Lynn Overend, and
Catherine Sickafoose in the display this month.
June 30 - Fundraising table for Run for Your Life
June 30 - Fundraising table for Radisson RN Conference
July 1 - Paintings on display at the Artists Gallery for the month
July 14 - Warner's 10% day (tentative schedule)
August 18 - Garden Tea - Auction/Raffle at Olivia White Hospice Garden
Details to be added later
Fundraising
We do have note cards (prints of the paintings of the garden) and raffle tickets for 2 of the paintings available for sale at the Northland Hospice Office, the Olivia White Hospice Home, and Hodge Podge. The cards come in a package of 4 for $10. The raffle tickets for original watercolors by Mary Swanson and Lynn Overend are $3 each or 6 for $15. The paintings by Roberta Rogers and Catherine Sickafoose will be auctioned at our tea in August.
We still have photo note cards and bookmarks with flowers from the garden available at the Northland Hospice office. Profits from all items are used for creating our beautiful garden.
Today's Quote
Found this quote in "A Garden of Love & Healing". Many of our regulars in the garden have had a stressful spring with family/pet/friend issues. Thought this was a wonderful quote to remind us how important gardening can be in our lives.
"There is solace in the garden. For grief or disappointment, the garden provides a place of refuge and healing. People are often moved to plant upon the loss of someone they love. Gardening is an act of creation-an affirmation of life continuing on despite what has happened. I think the human spirit is most fulfilled when we create and nurture., Gardeners somehow understand that gardening is so much more than growing plants. It fills a deep yearning for the connection we need to something beyond ourselves. A gardener comprehends the life in plants and their quiet struggle to live. I believe this connection to green life can be part of what sustains us in time of emotional stress." Dan Gill
Get out in your garden or find one to visit or help in.
Come join us next week and/or drop by and purchase some cards to benefit the garden.
Thanks, Loni
Posted by maxmaddy at 8:46 PM
May 19, 2007
Mountain Meadow Farm Tours
UPCOMING PUBLIC TOURS AND SALES
2007 PUBLIC TOURS:
The next three public tours will be:
Friday, May 25th 5:15-6p.m.
Saturday, May 26, 10-11a.m.Saturday,
June 9th, 10- 11a.m.
A $5.00-$10,000 per person donation is requested. No one will be turned away due to lack of funds.
2007 SALES EVENTS: Sales at the Farm feature farm-grown one-gallon heritage tomatoes, Jerusalem artichoke plants and ready-to-plant unsprouted tubers, native and edible perennial plants from Jan Busco's nursery, composting red worms and made-to-order cold frames and mini-greenhouses made at the Farm from recycled materials. Dates and times of plant sales:
Friday, May 25th 4-7 p.m.
Saturday, May 26, 9a.m.-noon
Saturday, June 9th, 9-2p.m.
A listing of available plants is available, and advanced orders are welcome.
Directions to the Farm are at http://www.flagstaffpermaculture.org/VisitMountainMeadowFarm.html
We will also be selling Mountain Meadow Farm's products, plants and composting redworms at the Arboretum at Flagstaff's Summer Plant Sale Saturday, June 16, 9a.m. - 5p.m. at the Arboretum at Flagstaff. 928-774-1442 or www.thearb.org and at Flagstaff Community Market. Plants sales can also be made at the Nursery at Mountain Meadow Farm by appointment. Contact Jan Busco (928) 774-3584;or JaniceBusco@gmail.com, or Chuck McDougal (928)527-0986, chuck@mountainmeadowfarm.org .
Chuck McDougal, Farmer
Jan Busco, Horticulturist
Mountain Meadow Farm
4509 N. Mountain Meadow Drive
Flagstaff, AZ 86004
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:24 AM
May 18, 2007
Container Gardening for Flowers and Vegetables
Coconino Community College Class
Where: Willow Bend Environmental Education Center
When: June 2, 9am-12pm
Fee: $25
Instructor: Loni Shapiro
Registration: 526-7466 or www.coconino.edu/discover
If you would like to have a garden of flowers or vegetables, but just don't have the room, then you need to take this workshop. Container gardens for small and large spaces will be discussed with emphasis on advantages for use in Flagstaff. Pots, soil mixes, tools and appropriate plants will be reviewed along with energy conservation ideas for the gardener. Ideas for successful flower combinations, vegetables and herbs will be reviewed. Bring a trowel and gloves so you can get creative in the dirt for the last hour of the class. Containers will be created for use at Willow Bend Environmental Educational Center.
Posted by maxmaddy at 7:01 PM
International Master Gardener Conference
I attended my first International MG Conference last week in Little Rock. It was a fun 4 days. MG’s from more than 30 states and 5 different countries attended – over 1300 participants in all. For a reasonable price (with my tours mine was $270) we had meals for most of the days, multiple keynotes, and a marketplace to visit, individual sessions and many tours. Our goodie bag was stuffed with so many items I am still looking through it. The next conference will be held in 2009 (every 2 years) in of all places Las Vegas. I highly recommend you attend.
I met so many gardeners from all over the US and Canada. There was enough time at meals and on tours to share ideas, problems, and MG project ideas. There was so much to offer that I had time deciding what to attend. There were 12 different tours to choose from. My tours were wonderful. The first tour was of MG projects throughout the city. Their Extension is run a little different than ours, as are most of the Extensions throughout the country. After taking classes (only 8 sessions) they are required to do 20 hours of volunteer work each year to remain MGs. The projects are decided on by a committee of MGs. They must be non-profits – many are city, country, or state funded, such as the Curran Hall which is a historical building and Visitor’s Bureau in Little Rock.
Some are jointly cared for with Park & Recreation assistance like the Old Mill restoration project.
They have other criteria besides non-profit – availability of funding, feasibility of doing the project, etc. Some of the others we toured were a contemplation garden in MacArthur Park, a gathering area in Mount Holly Cemetary, and a courtyard at the Arkansas Art Museum. There is even a demonstration vegetable garden at the Governor's Mansion.
My second tour was at P. Allen Smith’s Retreat/Farm/Garden outside of Little Rock. He did one of the keynotes and along with the Governor (Beebe) charmed everyone. He was very informative, Arkansas charming, and of course (if you have seen him on TV) not difficult to look at. The Retreat/Farm was incredible. I got so many hardscape ideas – and surprisingly many ideas for plant combinations. Yes, there were many I couldn’t use like azaleas and hydrangeas, but more that I could like penstemons and agastache. The home that he is building is being built with green ideas – such as soy insulation. The view of the Arkansa River and wild flower garden from the balcony was breathtaking. The home is located on a high ridge with a view of the river, and the garden will serve as a working model to test and teach lessons in garden design, sustainable living and good stewardship. Green technologies and practices make this a Garden Home of the future, while honoring the agrarian traditions of the past. Be sure and watch his weekly program – it comes locally on PBS – and follow progress with the garden and green home. He also occasionally appears on the Today show and shared some funny stories about doing gardening shows on TV. His retreat currently has a horse, several sheep, chickens, and a burro to keep the coyotes at bay. A bit of trivia we learned from his brother (he wouldn’t tell us) is that the P stands for Paul. I purchased his new book “Color for the Garden” and already have one of his books on “Container Gardens”.
The 3 individual sessions I attended included one on keeping deer at bay (excellent – I will put this info on the blog later), ornamental grasses (also good), and a so-so container gardening class. Oh well everything couldn’t be wonderful.
I dragged my husband along and he spent time at the Clinton Library, taking a trolley car, walking the downtown and residential streets of Little Rock, and visiting the extensive Civil War Collection at the city library. There was much to do and see especially outside of the city (Ozarks and Hot Springs) and some additional tours were available.
On our return home we decided to take a side trip through Texas. We stopped near Austin to see the Lady Bird Johnson Garden, which was spectacular. The wildflowers were wonderful and the hardscape very unique. We have much to thank her for. While driving Interstate 40 through the Texas panhandle the median divide all the way was filled with wildflowers – Texas Bluebonnet, Indian paint brush, yarrow, primrose and a variety of daisy like flowers. I should also mention that we did not see any litter – what a pleasure – in the “Don’t Mess With Texas State.”
Loni Shapiro
Posted by maxmaddy at 6:37 AM
May 17, 2007
Spring 2007 Arboretum Gardening Classes
Spring 2007 Gardening Classes
Arboretum Gardens Department staff will share successful gardening techniques in the 2007 series of half-day gardening classes. To register, call (928) 774-1442, ext. 110, or e-mail rachel.edelstein@nau.edu. Classes are limited to twelve participants.
Home Garden Design
Saturday, May 5 - 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Find out how to plan your space in advance for better use of plants and materials to suit the topography of your site with Gardens Manager Nathan McLeod. Participants will leave class with drawings that they can implement at home.
$25 fee for members, $30 fee for non-members.
Introduction to Hardscaping
Saturday, May 5 - 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Gardens Director Brian Keeley and Gardens Manager Nathan McLeod will share their expertise in such hardscaping projects as creating pathways, walls, and raised beds. The class will include a hands-on project to give participants experience before they try projects at home.
$25 fee for members, $30 fee for non-members.
Propagating Plants at Home
Saturday, May 19 - 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Horticulturist Hanna Raiter will share her extensive knowledge of plant propagation. Learn how to successfully start plants from seed indoors to have ready for transplanting outdoors in late spring. Find out which plants can be easily propagated from cuttings. Learn about products and techniques to ensure success with cuttings. Also, practice good transplanting techniques to ensure that your seedlings make it to maturity. All materials will be provided, and students will leave with a starter kit.
$30 fee for members, $35 for non-members.
Container Gardening
Saturday, May 19 - 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
As part of the Container Gardening class, participants will learn from Gardens Director Brian Keeley about the materials necessary for preparing displays that can tolerate our environment and ensure that plants retain moisture. Class members will prepare their own container to take home. Also, the class will include basic bonsai information such as plant collection, container selection and bonsai techniques.
$30 fee for members, $35 for non-members.
Posted by maxmaddy at 7:12 AM
Flagstaff Chapter of the Arizona Native Plant Society
Talk: Tuesday, May 15, 7 to 8:30 p.m., NAU Biological Sciences Building, Room 313
Max Licher, avid documenter of area native plants will present, "Flora of Hartwell Canyon Reserve." Max has compiled a list of plants growing in this Nature Conservancy owned private canyon and will show photos of the plants and relate a bit of the history from its early homesteading years. Free and open to the public. Call 928-527-3702 for information.
Field Trip: Sunday, May 20. Meet to carpool at 10 a.m. at AZ State Credit Union parking lot, corner of Butler and Beaver. Visit to The Nature Conservancy's Hartwell Canyon Reserve in Sedona. This is a special trip, as the canyon is not open to the general public, only permitting 6 field trips a year, due to the wish to retain its pristine natural state. Many native plants will be seen growing along the trails as well as some historic features from early homesteading years. Be prepared for an all day trip by bringing lunch, sun protection and comfortable walking shoes. Also, contributions will be accepted from carpoolers. Call 928-527-3702 for information.
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:00 AM
Olivia White Hospice Home Garden Workday
On Thursday, May 17, our regular crew accomplished much before the wonderful rain came. David Hockman finished painting the trim on the greenhouse. Judy Chen worked on some watering and moving an abundance of Larkspur that came up in the rose garden. Nancy Palmer and Cynthia Davis came by to attend our meeting. Marcia Lamkin weeded and planted some red runner beans on the new trellis. Cynthia Katte watered and weeded the Inferno Strip and brought her husband Allen by to help us set up and repair - bird feeders, solar lights and the fountain. Evelyn Haven weeded the Inferno Strip.
Thank-yous this week to:
Our regular crew - Nancy Palmer, Cynthia & Allan Katte, David Hockman, Marcia Lamkin, Judy Chen and Evelyn Haven.
Blooming this week:
Iris, some Shasta Daisy, "Purple Sensation" & "Christophili" Alliumm, Sneeze Weed and hybrid Columbine, Hawthorn Tree, and volunteers from last year - Lettuce and Pansies.
Plans for 5/24/07
Feed and deep water the roses
Get fountain up and running
Plant some clematis on the trellis and arbor
Plant some lavender by the path to the rose garden
Continue work on Tea Garden amd Faerie Garden
Re-sand path from parking lot to rose garden
As always - weeding (still working on the North Inferno Strip)
Watering? depends on current weather but we will need extra help for the next couple of weeks as Norm Erickson (front garden) is on vacation.
Upcoming Plans
May 1/31 - First showing of original watercolors at the East Side Public Library
Paintings to be raffled/auctioned on August 18th at our Garden Tea.
June 1 - Paintings on display for the month at the Arboretum at Flagstaff
June 30 - Fundraising table for Run for Your Life
June 30 - Fundraising table for Radisson RN Conference
July 1 - Paintings on display at the Artists Gallery for the month
July 14 - Warner's 10% day (tentative schedule
August 18 - Garden Tea - Auction/Raffle at Olivia White Hospice Garden
Details to be added later
Fundraising
We do have note cards (prints of the paintings of the garden) and raffle tickets for 2 of the paintings available for sale at the Northland Hospice Office, the Olivia White Hospice Home, and Hodge Podge. The cards come in a package of 4 for $10. The raffle tickets for original watercolors by Mary Swanson and Lynn Overend are $3 each or 6 for $15. The paintings by Roberta Rogers and Catherine Sickafoose will be auctioned at our tea in August.
We still have photo note cards and bookmarks with flowers from the garden available at the Northland Hospice office. Profits from all items are used for creating our beautiful garden.
Today's Quote
We have a choice: to plow new ground or let the weeds grow.
Jonathan Westover
Come join us next week or drop by and purchase some cards to benefit the garden.
Thanks, Loni
Posted by maxmaddy at 4:47 AM
May 13, 2007
Seedling Exchange
Join the Garden Club for a seedling exchange on May 19 at 10 a.m. Jackie Hainsworth has again invited us to her University Heights garden for this event. Everyone is welcome. If you don't have anything to exchange come anyway and share in the bounty.
Address: 3389 S. Carol Drive. ph; 213 9813
Driving Directions: Heading south on 89A, make the first right after the Lake Mary Road intersection onto University Dr. South (little church on the corner). Go up hill until you readh the top and at the first STOP sign, turn left onto S. Carol Dr. Jackie and Tim's home is the 4th house on the right. Come around to the back yard.
The Garden Club meets when we have an invitation to visit a garden or to hear a presentation on a gardening topic. There are no dues. To receive email announcements of events send your name, email address and your phone number to Jean Hockman at djhockman@npgcable.com. or phone 928 526 5813.
Posted by hockmanj at 8:10 AM
May 2, 2007
Pansies Ain't No Pansies
Master Gardener Column 5/12/07
Pansies ain’t no pansies. In fact, they’re a hardy lot. Pansies (Viola tricolor) look sweet and smiling as though they were charming, soft, Southern Belles meaning to please, but beneath that winsome appearance lies a will of iron. They’re tough and fit for the High Country. It doesn’t take much to imagine them riding on the front seat of a buckboard, elegant coiffures hidden beneath a bonnet, reins in hand, cracking the whip, trekking all the way from Virginia to the Arizona Territory. They can take it when it comes to temperature, but as with people, whose faces they disquietingly resemble, they need warmer clothing for the cold winter months. Akin to William Faulkner’s Dilsie, pansies endure. They don’t overpower. They last.
Pansies aren’t the only tough ones. So are the lettuces (Lactuca stiva). They look frail, but they literally have an iron backbone with 6% iron content. With the exception of the ubiquitous iceberg lettuce which has little nutritional value, the other lettuces are jampacked with good stuff, such as anti-oxidants, folic acid, potassium, vitamins A and C, and calcium. Also, they have no fat, cholesterol, and salt. As with celery which has few calories, eating lettuce may happily produce a caloric deficit. It even tastes good, almost sweet.
Some divide lettuce into an either-or category of loose leaf and head. However, as with other Manichaean categories, such as good or bad, right or wrong, loose leaf and head don’t explain much, leaving out all the other possibilities as Nicolas de Cusa pointed out in his coincidentia oppositorum. There are at least four types of lettuce, head lettuce, romaine, loose leaf, and butterhead and probably more. The most useful for the backyard garden in the High Country is the loose leaf because it is the fastest to mature and offers a wide variety of types.
A good type with which to start is the Black-Seeded Henderson, a lime-colored, broad, crumpled leafed lettuce. Its seeds can be planted 3 to 4 weeks prior to the first frost which means that High Country gardeners can stretch our notoriously short growing season. It can survive some drought, a little frost, and heat. As with some human beings it is only bitter when old and neglected.
Another type friendly to the backyard gardener is the Forellenschluss (Trout’s Tail), a romaine heirloom lettuce coming from Austria. Its olive-green leaves are bedecked with pretty russet-colored freckles. Forellenschluss lettuce gives the feeling and taste of cool streams and clean, crisp air. In addition to adding class to a salad, Forellenschluss can be started early, a little less than a month before the last frost.
The last is the Gina Lollobrigida of lettuces, the Lollo Rossa. With the nickname, La Lollo, the extravagantly sensual and beautiful actress of the 50’s and 60’s is a fine symbol for this Italian heirloom lettuce. A frosty green rim of leaves surrounds a rosette of frilly, red-edged leaves, a real gorgene. It calls to mind her statement when she was 73, “I’ve had many lovers and still have romances. All my life, I’ve had many admirers.” So it is with the lettuce La Lollo Rossa. It is well-loved and admired. It’s also easy to grow and tastes great.
Such an elegant salad can even be garnished with the blossoms of our hardy old friend, the pansy, or the nasturtium. A raspberry-vinaigrette dressing would be the pièce de résistance. Among effete Easterners, San Franciscans, and West Los Angeles types this is all haut cuisine, but it tastes pretty darned good up here in the High Country. Sounds a lot more appetizing than a hunk of iceberg drowned in thick, gooey, million-dollar caloric Thousand Island dressing. The kicker is that all this can be grown in containers on a window sill, a balcony, a deck, or a patio and in backyard beds.
By Dana Prom Smith
The author is a Master Gardener volunteer for Coconino County Cooperative Extension. If you have a gardening question, call the Master Gardener hotline at 774-1868 ext. 19 or visit our Web site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:13 AM
Container Gardening
Master Gardener Column 5/5/07
Do you love fresh vegetables and herbs but have limited space for growing them? Growing vegetables in containers is an easy solution. People who live in cities do it out of necessity and make use of balconies, rooftops, sidewalks and alleys. People with physical limitations find it easier to reach and more energy efficient to garden in containers. Gardening in Flagstaff offers a variety of reasons to use containers: controlling the composition of the soil (less rock and clay), water efficiency (self-watering pots), portability (pots on wheels), climate control (escape spring frosts), and last but not least wildlife protection (from deer and elk).
The first consideration is container selection. As a general rule, select as large a container as possible. Small containers and clay pots dry out quickly and need frequent watering, sometimes more than once a day in Flagstaff. Other considerations may be cost, weight when full, water efficiency and what the pot looks like. Another important consideration is what is being planted. Different plants have different soil depth requirements for healthy root growth. Most herbs, lettuces, and radishes only need 4-5 inches of soil. Beets, broccoli, sweet corn and squash prefer soil that is 10-12 inches deep. Potatoes do best with 24 inches of soil
The deeper the pot the larger the reservoir of moist soil and the less often you have to water. The exception and my favorite pot choice is the Self-Watering Planter. These pots have a water reservoir below the planting area that is protected from sun and wind. These pots work especially well for plants that like their roots wet such as tomatoes. Until my tomatoes reach 4 feet tall, I only need to water every 4-5 days when using self-watering pots. I purchase them from Gardeners Supply (www.gardeners.com) but have seen them in some nurseries and other catalogs. Remember, consistent moisture is important for root development and to prevent blossom drop, root rot, leaf curl and insect problems.
Another consideration in container planting is the location of the container. Vegetables need at least 6 hours of sunlight a day. Salad greens and herbs can get by on less. Some vegetables like tomatoes, peppers and beans do better with even more sun. If your garden area is short on sun consider putting your pots on wheels and move them during the day to where the sun is. The angle of the sun also changes later in the year which can affect ripening. Pots on wheels make it easier to move the plants when sun patterns change. Wheels also allow you to move the pot if wind or drying out is a problem. Clustering pots together also provides the plants with increased humidity and wind protection.
The soil chosen should be light. High Country Gardens (www.highcountrygardens.com) recommends a “soil-less” blend that retains moisture and resists compaction. This soil-less mixture is generally a blend of peat, vermiculite and perlite. Because it is soil-less you need to add fertilizer. I use an organic time release fertilizer at planting time and a seaweed fertilizer during the season. Fertilizing will increase your crop production. You can also create your own potting soil by adding sand and perlite to bagged garden soil to give it more aeration.
Last but not least are plant combinations. You can choose to do a single vegetable in a pot, create a theme pot (Italian pot, pizza pot, Thai pot) or try some useful combinations (tomatoes and basil.) It is best to do a little reading because not all vegetables work well together. There are many books available on growing vegetables in containers. Two of my favorites are Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers by Edward C. Smith and Bountiful Container by Rose Marie Nichols McGee and Maggie Stuckey.
If you want to learn more about container gardening, come to my container gardening class this summer offered though Coconino Community College on June 2nd. The class will be held at Willow Bend Environmental Center. To register, call 928-526-7644. The Arboretum at Flagstaff is also offering a container gardening class (includes Bonsai gardening) on May 19th. To register, call 774-1442.
By Loni Shapiro
The author is a Master Gardener volunteer for Coconino County Cooperative Extension. If you have a gardening question, call the Master Gardener hotline at 774-1868 ext. 19 or visit our Web site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:05 AM