By Dennis on July 6, 2011
Ask Monty’s: “People make dandelion wine out of the weed’s flowers, but an old-timer recently told me you can eat the leaves too. Is this true?”
Heidi
Boalsburg, Pennsylvania
Heidi:Yes, the entire dandelion is edible despite its bad rap as a common yard weed. It’s an acquired taste and most recently I discovered a recipe in a copy of an old Mother Earth News magazine for dandelion greens sautéed in olive oil and molasses and served over a baked potato. The flower is also used as an edible garnish in many upper end restaurants, despite it’s number one popularity as a wine ingredient.
Ask Monty’s: “What is Swiss Chard exactly? Is it easy to grow? I’ve been told it tastes a lot like spinach, but it doesn’t look like it.”
Susan
Caney, Kansas
Susan: Swiss Chard is the forerunner of beets and a close cousin to spinach. In the kitchen, cooked chard can stand in for spinach in any recipe, while the crisp ribs of the plant can be steamed or grilled like asparagus. The beauty of chard as a garden plant is that chard tolerates light frost as well as the heat of summer. There are three types of chard I would recommend you take a closer look at. White-stemmed chard out performs their more colorful counterparts in terms of productivity and resistance. Bright colored varieties are the top of the line edible ornamentals when it comes to vegetables, but perpetual varieties have thinner stems and smaller, smoother leaves than large varieties, but they taste more like spinach than the other varieties. With perpetual varieties the more leaves you pick, the more new ones emerge from the crowns, thus reflected in their name.
Ask Monty’s: “If you had to name the top five easiest vegetables to grow, what would they be? I’m a new gardener, so I am going to need some instant gratification to keep my confidence level up. What vegetables do you think make the best use of time and garden space?”
Ronald
Golden, Colorado
Ronald: Gardening is always an exploration of trial and error because everyone’s garden habits, patience levels and environments are different, so please keep that in mind. It’s a very rewarding hobby, great contribution to your grocery bill and creates an enormous amount of satisfaction when you take that first bite out of that garden fresh tomato, green bean or squash.
That said, regarding your questions there has been a lot of research done on these particular subjects and they do vary from region to region. Research tells me radishes, lettuce, bush snap beans, rhubarb and cherry tomatoes are listed as the top five. For me, radishes and lettuce took a few tries before I finally got it right, so my picks would be bush snap beans, rhubarb, cherry tomatoes, asparagus and green peppers. Squash is pretty easy too, but does take up a lot of room. I even slip my green pepper and broccoli into my flower beds as nice green back drops to other plants and utilize the space that way.
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Posted in Advice, Ask Monty's, General Gardening, Vegetable Gardening Tagged Ask Monty's, dandelions, easiest vegetables to grow, Garden, General Gardening, Monty's Plant Food, monty's plant food company, natural gardening, natural lawn care, swiss chard
By Dennis on June 13, 2011
Ask Monty’s:
“I’ve planted broccoli for the first time this summer. How do I know when it can be picked?”
Samantha – Apple Valley, Minnesota
Samantha:
Broccoli can be eaten at a couple of different growth stages. Some people eat the unopened flower buds. As the weather gets warmer you’ll want to pick it before the flower heads bloom. So harvest the buds when they are about the size of a match head. Samantha, one mistake common among home growers, especially first timers, is that you keep waiting for the heads to get to the size of those in the super market. Don’t expect your home grown broccoli to get the size of supermarket broccoli heads, as their growing environments are much more controlled to achieve the size they get. What they lack in size, though, they will make up for in flavor and nutritional value. Using Monty’s 8-16-8 will help.
Ask Monty’s:
“I plant roses because I love how they look and also because of their smell and the diversity of smells they provide. Bleeding hearts are also quite fragrant. Are there other more fragrant flowers to consider? I know all have their own degree of fragrance, but I’m looking for strong smelling flowers to entice the senses when you walk in my garden.”
Rose – Knierim, Iowa
Rose:
Brugmansia, or “Angel Trumpet” comes to mind immediately for year round outdoor growing in zones 8-11, although in your climate you’ll have to make it a patio plant that you can take indoors in the winter. The same is with a Gardenia, “Passion Flower,” jasmine, nicotinia (flowering tobacco) or lemon and limes. Sweet Alyssum, Moonflower and 4 O’clocks are also great smelling plants. Unfortunately, none of these plants are perennials for your Iowa climate, but they can be grown in your greenhouse or as patio plants that can all be moved inside over the winter. All have overwhelming fragrant qualities. Honeysuckle and magnolias are also fragrant favorites particularly in the south.
O, and since you asked about roses, don’t forget to check out the latest videos on roses from our founder and noted rosarian Monty Justice. You can find them on youtube, or here. You can also check out our rose care calendar to make sure you are getting the most output from your roses.
Ask Monty’s:
“My Calla Lily never blooms. I thought these plants required low maintenance and even bloomed in diffused lighting conditions. What am I doing wrong?”
Blaine -Cold Springs, Nevada
Blaine:
There are a couple of reasons that come to mind as to why your Calla Lily is not blooming. Although they really are low maintenance, they do prefer bright indirect sunlight, with morning and late afternoon light as their preference. So if you have them in any less they simply aren’t getting enough light. If you are using a fertilizer, make sure it is low in nitrogen, which encourages green, leafy growth. Too much nitrogen will overpower the phosphate a plant needs to make blooms. Monty’s 2-15-15 is a great fertilizer to use if you are looking to encourage more, and longer lasting, bloom. Read more, here. Another reason a Calla Lily will not bloom is if the bulbs are simply getting too old.
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Posted in Advice, Ask Monty's, Flower Gardening, General Gardening, Rose Care Calendar, Roses, Vegetable Gardening Tagged Ask Monty's, Garden, General Gardening, Monty Justice, Monty's 2-15-15, Monty's 8-16-8, Monty's Plant Food, monty's plant food company, natural gardening
By Dennis on May 26, 2011
Ask Monty’s: “How do you know when to harvest asparagus and leaf lettuce, spring’s earliest producers? I never have been quite sure.”
Susan – Joplin, Missouri
Susan: You can usually begin harvesting your asparagus spears when they are 6-8 inches in length. Snap them off at ground level when picking them. Stop harvesting them about 4-6 weeks after the first initial harvest so the plants can produce foliage and food for themselves. Once the asparagus emerge you can spray with Monty’s 8-16-8 for vigorous growth, additionally toward the end of the season, use Monty’s 2-15-15 to help them store energy in the roots so that they can propagate and emerge healthy next season.
Leaf lettuce is best picked when the outer leaves have reached about 4 inches in height. Let the younger, inner leaves to grow further which will allow you to have lettuce through most of the summer if you pick it right and keep it well watered. Don’t forget to spray it at least once a week with Monty’s 8-16-8. This will stimulate vigorous growth. As an additional benefit, if you are one who chosses to use pesticides or herbicides, they can easily be mixed with Monty’s products for no-fuss, one step application.
Ask Monty’s: “In early spring, if I don’t watch my garden or flower beds closely, young grasshoppers and even crickets almost strip my young plants beyond repair. I have been using a regular insecticide on them, but is there an organic approach to repelling them? It’s a reoccurring problem for me.”
Dexter – Granite Falls, Washington
Dexter: These little devils can indeed strip crops incredibly fast. Grasshoppers alone are responsible for consuming 25% of the available foliage in the western half of the U.S. each year! There is an organic product on the market that literally infects grasshoppers with a naturally occurring disease that is much like a bad case of grasshopper flu. The disease is called Nosema locustae and it infects over 90 species of grasshoppers and crickets. The best part is that pets, people, plants and other insects are not affected by it. You can find this product in gardening catalogs and garden centers and it is sold as Semasporte Bait or NoLo Bait. It has a very short shelf life of only about eight weeks, so if you store it in the refrigerator it will keep up to five months, so buy only what you need. You can also talk to your local independent garden center, they may have some insecticidal soaps that will do the tricks. A mild solution of JOY dish soap sprayed on the foliage helps with many insects, it may help with your crickets and hoppers as well.
One last thought, evidence indicates that Monty’s foliar fertility products will elevate brix levels (the measure of sugar in a plant). Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that elevated brix levels may help deter insects. We also know that insects tend to be opportunistic. That is, they tend to prey on plants that are weak or stressed. Think of them like a cheetah, they cull the weak out of the herd and in an odd way by doing so they are protecting the strength of the overall herd of antelope. So one way to address the insect problem is to make sure your plants are the healthiest in the neighborhood, this will tend to cause the insects to move on to more susceptible prey. They key to plant health can be summarized in three words. Fertility, Fertility, Fertility.
Ask Monty’s: “I have a love/hate relationship with my Calla Lily. Sometimes it looks fabulous and other times I just about kill it. It seems like when it starts blooming, and I fertilize it, it takes an immediate turn for the worse. I do not understand this. Am I giving it too much, although I follow the fertilizer instructions to the tee?”
Tessa -Portland, Oregon
Tessa: You should never feed a Calla Lily when it is in bloom, which is the opposite of most plants, I know. A good quality, healthy Calla Lily just simply doesn’t need it. If you just can’t resist, go with a low nitrogen, high phosphorous, high potassium fertilizer. this will decrease the nitrogen available for growth and increase those nutrients needed to support bloom and root health. We recommended Monty’s 2-15-15.
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Posted in Advice, Ask Monty's, Flower Gardening, Vegetable Gardening Tagged 2-15-15, Ask Monty's, Asparagus, Calla Lily, Crickets, Garden, General Gardening, Grasshoppers, Lettuce, monty's, Monty's 8-16-8, Monty's Plant Food, monty's plant food company, natural gardening, Organic Gardening
By Dennis on April 15, 2011
Ask Monty’s:
“I have a huge, beautiful African Violet that is very healthy. How can I grow new plants from it?”
Irene
Forest Lake, Minnesota
Irene:
It’s as simple as removing a healthy leaf with the stem attached and burying the stem in moist, well drained potting soil, leaving just the flattened round leafy blade above the surface. Water it thoroughly and put it in a warm, bright location. I even put the container in an open, clear plastic bag to increase the humidity level around the cutting to further encourage the stem growing roots. I used to have an old neighbor lady with quite a green thumb who had incredible luck with just putting the leaf stem in a glass of water with the leaf hanging over the lip of the glass. Once the stem started sprouting roots she’d then stick it in a small pot of potting soil and off they’d go!
A more aggressive approach would be division by carefully splitting apart the plant itself between the plant’s crowns, keeping the roots intact and then replanting them into individual pots. Be prepared to see your plants suffer a little shock for awhile, but with good care they’ll snap back.
Don’t forget to either root dip your cuttings and/or water them in with Monty’s 4-15-12. All you need is a weak solution (one-two drops per cup of water). This will stimulate root development and almost completely eliminate transplant shock. (See more detailed information here) After the plant has rooted well, you can start feeding with Monty’s 8-16-8, 4-15-12, or 2-15-15 – depending on the current growth stage of your plant. One note for AFRICAN VIOLETS, the leaf surface and flowers are very susceptible to spotting. For that reason African Violets are one of the few plants we DO NOT RECOMMEND using Monty’s products as a foliar application. Instead you can either wick feed or feed through the roots by mixing 1-2 drops per cup of water and pouring on the soil when you water. Check out our PDF on the care of African Violets, here.
Ask Monty’s:
“I transplanted hydrangeas from pots into my flower beds two springs ago but I haven’t seen them bloom yet in their new home. Is there any hope of their blooming this year or did I waste my time and energy?”
Gwen
Owensburg, Indiana
Gwen:
Patience is the key here and I think you have proven that. Plants moved from containers to larger bedding areas will spend the first couple of seasons putting down roots and getting comfortable in their new environment instead of blooming. Once established and no longer needing the excess energy to stabilize their root system, they will shift into a flowering mode. Make sure you’re not using a fertilizer with excessive nitrogen, which can also retard their natural flowering attributes.
To explain this, let’s think like a plant for a minute. The presence of N tells a plant it is time to grow. So you can end up with a plant that has a lot of showy foliage and can become quite large, but never blooms. This results in what gardeners refer to as a ‘leggy’ plant. This can also cause more than just aesthetic problems; the excess growth can lead to damage during heavy winds. Your plants have natural cycles: germination, growth, reproductive, and dormancy. It needs to go through each of these phases to maintain good overall health. By understanding this and allowing the plant to go through its natural ebb and flow you will get the best results. That is why Monty’s Fertility products come in three “flavors”; each one is designed for specific needs of the plant during each one of these stages of development. This season, try using Monty’s 2-15-15 at least once a week on the foliage. I think you will be amazed by the results. Check out our PDF on Hydrangeas, here.
Ask Monty’s:
“There are so many different types of grass on the market. How can you even begin to know what to choose for your lawn?”
Joel
Mt. Airy, North Carolina
Joel:
There are a lot of variables to consider when choosing the right grass for your lawn, and the top one evolves around where you live. If you are newly landscaping or starting from scratch, it’s always best to drive around your area and see what lawns have the look you’re after and make note of it. Your local nursery, a good landscaping company or your local extension office are going to be excellent, professional reference points for you. Many larger towns and cities even have arboretums that not only feature plant variety, but label them for guests and lawn grasses are often incorporated into their design.
Keep in mind though, if you want your lawn to look like a golf course, it comes with a price and a great deal of maintenance. Grass grows best in the spring and the fall when it is cool, so keep that in mind when you’re looking at other lawns too. Cool-season grasses are hardy enough to survive freezing winters and hot summers and include varieties such as fine fescues, perennial ryegrass and bluegrass. Warm-season grasses are your tropical climate lovers and include St. Augustine, Zoysia, Bermuda grass and centipede grass. There are also transition-zone grasses for hot summer climates and chilly winters that blend both your cool-season and warm-season grasses, but types a little more versatile include tall fescue or buffalo grass.
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Posted in Advice, Ask Monty's, Flower Gardening, Lawns and Landscaping Tagged 2-15-15, African Violet Cuttings, African Violets, Ask Monty's, Bermuda grass, Cuttings, Garden, General Gardening, Grass, Hydrangeas, landscaping, Monty's 2-15-15, Monty's 4-15-12, Monty's 8-16-8, Monty's Plant Food, monty's plant food company, recommendations for lawns, Selecting Grass, Tall Fescue, Transplanting
By Dennis on April 11, 2011
Ask Monty’s:
“Every year I plant petunias and they never seem to do more than just make it through the summer. How can you fail at growing petunias?”
Alyce
Detroit, Michigan
Alyce:
Annuals need lots of water with being outside and braving the elements. Petunias love the sun and appreciate a little shade, but watering them daily is what they need the most. They should also be routinely deadheaded to keep them lush and healthy looking. By doing it before they get leggy, they seem to respond better. Don’t forget a little fertilizer every couple of weeks or so too. Make your petunias part of your daily garden maintenance walk and you’ll get much better results.
Ask Monty’s:
“You often talk about lining clay and porous pots with plastic bags to retain moisture for outside potted plants. Do you think newspapers would work too?”
Greg, Pete and Scott
Morton, Washington
Greg, Pete and Scott:
Excellent, more natural idea gentlemen! Newspapers may dry out a little faster than plastic, but will definitely serve the same purpose. When cleaning your pots out in the fall you can dump everything into your compost pile and not have to worry about taking the plastic bags out too. And, your newspaper liners may well be on their way to decomposing by that time. Make sure you’re using the actual newspaper and not those colored enameled sheets that are often inserted into newspapers for advertising and such. They do not break down the same way newspapers do.
Ask Monty’s:
“There is a greenish, flakey growth showing up on my redbud trees. What could it be and how do I get rid of it?”
Iris
Gladston, New Jersey
Iris:
There is a type of combination of fungus and algae that physically intertwines to become an entirely new growth called lichen. It can also grow on stones or shrubs too. It’s a very primitive plant species, absorbing water and nutrients from the air. There is nothing harmful about it as they are not a parasite and do not cause disease, so don’t worry about it being part of your redbud tree.
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Posted in Advice, Ask Monty's, Flower Gardening, General Gardening, Lawns and Landscaping Tagged Ask Monty's, Clay Pots, Fungus, Garden, General Gardening, landscaping, Lichens, Monty's Plant Food, monty's plant food company, Organic Gardening, Petunias, Potted Plants, recommendations for lawns, Terra Cotts Pots
By Dennis on November 29, 2010
Ask Monty’s:
“I’ve planted some skyscraper sunflowers over the past couple of summers, but it never fails that a wind or storm will come up and creates havoc with them, causing them to bend or snap in half. They get about 12 feet high and are pretty neat, but are there other sunflowers that may not be as tall and a little more durable that you could suggest?”
Jackson
Chelsea, Oklahoma
Jackson:
There are quite a few varieties on the market that will serve your purpose. Furry “Teddy Bear” and dwarf “Sunspot” sunflowers come to mind immediately. They grow to only about three feet tall and are actually perfect for containers. But if you don’t want to give up THAT much height, “Velvet Queen” and “Italian White” grow about six feet tall and do well planted against a sunny spot of the house – which will help protect them too. “Autumn Beauty and “Ring of Fire” grow to about four to five feet in height. If you’re looking for something a little more permanent, there is a perennial variety called “Flore Pleno” or Capenoch Star” you may want to check out. The only downside is that they have smaller flowers than your annuals, but they’re terrific for cutting in fall arrangements.
Ask Monty’s:
“Is it hard to transplant horseradish? A friend wants to give me some since it’s sort of taking over her garden, but neither of us knows how to do it.”
RanPaul
Wheeling, West Virginia
RanPaul:
You simply dig the plants up in either the spring before they really get going or in the early fall after you’ve harvested some. Make sure you dig down at least twice as deep as your piece of horseradish root is long to provide loose soil for the long taproot that it has. Water your new plants well and regularly to make sure they get settled in properly. Overall, they are very easy to transplant and have little trouble adjusting as long as they are in a nice sunny location.
Ask Monty’s:
“I am a pipefitter/welder by trade. I am tired after working 30 years. My grandfather used to grow carnations when I was a kid and they were beautiful. I want to do the same for a hobby, but also eventually work to maybe to make it into a business. I would like to get started. Is it possible with a greenhouse type setting or even indoors? I have some knowledge of indoor growing with lights, soil and nutrients and have had some success. Can a person start a very small business and be successful at it?”
Abe
Devers, Texas
Abe:
Growing carnations to meet the American demand is big business – and done both in natural and greenhouse environments, so absolutely you can grow carnations in an indoor or greenhouse setting. When it comes to pursuing a business endeavor, large or small scale, I would recommend a greenhouse environment with natural light and grow lights for use only as needed. And, most importantly it will allow you to control the environment in which they are growing in.
Carnations need full sun to light shade and must have at least 4-5 hours of full sun each day for good flowering success. They like light, fertile, well-drained soil which is slightly alkaline (pH 6.75). Clay soil is an absolute no-no. Be mindful of not over watering carnations and good air circulation is needed around the stems at all times to avoid disease.
Yuai Nursery in Salinas, California, is the largest grower of carnations in the U.S., where South America is the leading producer in the world. There are smaller producers around the country, but they are not exclusive to carnations only for business survival purposes.
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Posted in Advice, Ask Monty's Tagged Horseradish, Startign Greenhouse Flower Business, Sunflowers
By Dennis on September 30, 2010
Ask Monty’s:
“Do you know of any more natural ways to control garden pests? I’m trying to stay as chemical free as possible, but some of my methods aren’t covering all the bases.”
Renee
Grey Eagle, Minnesota
Renee:
I applaud your approach and environmental dedication. While chemicals can be quick, effective answers to warding off garden pests, sometimes some very easy proactive approaches can be just as effective. Probably the number one garden routine to establish is taking that daily walk in the garden to look for any changes in plant leaves, stalks or flowers. I’ve caught many “new developments” taking place in my garden on several occasions and warded off major damage with that daily check (Tomato worms can strip a plant in the blink of an eye – I swear!) That said, it also might mean thinking like a pest or insect and searching for signs of where they hide under leaves. My mother-in-law, who was a great fisherman, used to say, “If you want to catch fish, you have to think like a fish!” Same advice applies.
Hand picking off pests such as snails and slugs and destroying affected leaves is important in staying ahead of the game. Planting garlic, dill, fennel, carrots and parsley among your plants also encourages beneficial insects such as ladybugs to rid your garden of a variety of pests.
If you’re planting annuals or garden vegetables, rotate where you plant them from year to year, as different plants require different nutrients. Weeding is also very important so you control desirable habitat for those unwanted pests. A couple of natural offenses for pests are insecticidal soap mixed with water or pureed cloves of garlic (2) to a pint of water and use as a spray.
Two last thoughts. First, don’t assume that just because the insect are harming your plants that they are harming your garden. that can be a tough pill to swallow. However, think like nature thinks. These insects prey on the weak plants first. They are easier targets with less native resitance. So destorying yoru plants may be doing you a favor in the long run. The plants that they kill likely would not have produced much fruit and owuld have still taxed the resources like water and nutrients just like they were your best producers. Additionally if you save seeds for next year from this season, the seeds you save, after the insect have moved through, are naturally resistant to that particular pest. Survival of the fittest can go a long way to giviing you years of improved gardening. Finally, along hte same lines, since we know that insect prey ont he weakest plants first, make sure you have as few ‘weak links’ as possible. Water adequately and provide additional nutrients with Monty’s foliar applications. Personally, I treat my plants to an extra dose of Monty’s 8-16-8 or 2-15-15 (depending on the plants growth cycle) once a week.
Ask Monty’s:
“My coneflowers this year looked terrible. They turned brown and looked wilted all the time. I tried watering them regularly and even fertilized them and they still continued to look deformed and the flowers were sparse. What happened? I would rather have had them not come up at all, they were that unsightly.”
Coco
Clyde, Ohio
Coco:
Coneflowers thrive in hot, dry conditions so you may have over watered them in your efforts to revive them. But when you mentioned the plant deformity and sparse looking flower heads I think your plants have succumbed to aster yellows which is a disease caused by phytoplasoma, a plant killing microorganism transmitted by aster leafhoppers which can often occur from over watering. Aster yellows can create the bizarre symptoms you suggest, along with other plant deformities. There’s no cure for aster yellows so my best advice is to dig them up and remove any and all affected plants from your garden and destroy them by burning them or bagging them for the trash. Don’t put them in your compost pile.
Ask Monty’s:
“What’s the difference between a Multiflora Rose and a Virginia Rose? They look the same and their flowers look similar as well.”
Trudi
Stillwater, Oklahoma
Trudi:
The only thing they really have in common is the fact that they are both deciduous shrubs and thrive in similar zones. You must have seen these plants either side by side in size or in a photo because these plants are completely different in nature. Multiflora Roses can grow up to 15 feet tall and are extremely evasive, forming thickets in all kinds of habitat, choking out natural plants and becoming a farmer’s agricultural nightmare. One plant alone can produce up to one million seeds each year!
The plant you really want is the fragrant Virginia Rose. This fast growing shrub gets between four to six feet tall and makes for a good hedge or as an addition to a wildlife garden. The rose hips provide food for wildlife, hosts the Mourning Cloak Caterpillar and even have pretty reddish canes in winter as an added attraction.
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Posted in Advice, Ask Monty's, Flower Gardening, General Gardening, Roses, Vegetable Gardening Tagged 2-15-15, Ask Monty's, Garden, General Gardening, monty's, Monty's 2-15-15, Monty's 8-16-8, Monty's Plant Food, monty's plant food company, natural gardening, Organic Gardening, Roses
By Dennis on August 30, 2010
Ask Monty’s:
“I want to put in some rain barrels at the bottom of my downspouts for all the right reasons. I was
wondering if it makes a difference as to what kind of material the barrels are made of.”
Lowell,
Clifton, Colorado
Lowell:
Welcome to one of the most rewarding and easiest forms of water conservation! Your plants and garden are going to love your mineral rich rainwater, while slashing your water consumption by up to 40% depending on how much you use it. Plastic or wood rain barrels are fine and are sold commercially. The normally come in 25 to 100 gallon options.
Just something to keep in mind though as a note of caution, rain barrels that collect water from copper roofs or from roofs where wood shingles or shakes have been treated with chromated copper arsenate to prevent moss or algae growth should not be used on editable plants. If you have treated your roof with any chemicals at all you won’t want to use that water either.
Two other notes on rain water collection barrels:
In your neck of the woods especially, you’ll want to empty your rain barrel when the weather starts to freeze over the winter. If you don’t have a protected indoor area to store it, just turn it upside down and secure it to prevent animals from making a winter home in it or getting water accumulation in it which can freeze, expand, and potentially crack the barrel, especially one that is made of plastic.
Finally, make sure you keep a mesh screen over the top and that you clean it frequently. The mess can collect debris which will interfere with collection and provide a place for mold and mildew to form. However, without one all of those items will end up in your barrel and can foul your water. Additionally, mosquitoes look for ponded, still water to lay their eggs. An open rain barrel would make an ideal breeding ground for them. Not only will that make time in your yard less pleasant, across the south this year there has been another outbreak of west nile virus. By eliminating standing water form your property you can greatly reduce mosquito populations for you and your neighbors.
If you are having trouble finding a barrel in your area, may we suggest you talk to one of our friends in Louisville? This is the link to Naturally Horton’s for those in the Louisville Metro, its in The Highlands.
Ask Monty’s:
“When is the best time to harvest herbs?”
Carol
Aitkin, Minnesota
Carol:
The best time to harvest herbs is right before the flowers open. This is when their aroma and taste in their essential oils are at their peak like thyme, basil and mint. The preferred time to pick them is also in the morning when they are at their freshest and the most potent. Never pick herbs in wet or humid conditions. Finally, Monty’s 2-15-15 works well to keep the plants in the flower cycle and may help elevate brix levels, which in herbs will increase the aromatics and flavors as well as improve shelf life.
Also, don’t forget one of our favorite places to visit and to visit virtually is Beagle Ridge Herb Farm in Wytheville, VA. They are a great source for information for all things herbs, natural gardening, and GARLIC! check them out here.
Ask Monty’s:
“I’ve read that instead of pulling out spent tomato plants, you can simply cut them back and keep watering them to encourage new growth and fruit. Is there any truth to this?”
Mike
Norwalk, Iowa
Mike:
Depending on your weather cooperation, this is true and new growth will develop, along with a respectable new harvest. Make sure you pick tomatoes often, keeping the weight off the stems and branches so they don’t break or bend. It’ll also give your other plants more room to produce freely.
Once you prune them, you will want ot help encourage new growth as well as help the plant deal with the stresses involved with pruning. Monty’s 8-16-8 should help with that, then once your plants have regrown and have begun to set blooms again, switch to Monty’s 2-15-15 to enhance flower set and fruit production.
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Posted in Advice, Ask Monty's, General Gardening, Lawns and Landscaping, Vegetable Gardening Tagged Ask Monty's, Garden, General Gardening, herbs, Monty's Plant Food, monty's plant food company, natural gardening, natural lawn care, naturally Horton's, Organic Gardening, tomato, tomatoes
By Dennis on August 23, 2010
Ask Monty’s:
“I planted my iris, crocus and tulips when we first moved into our house almost ten years ago. Although they have spread out quite nicely from their original site, they haven’t been producing the abundance of flowers they produced in the first five years or so. Do they all need a good fertilizing routine – something I never really do?”
Ansel,
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Ansel:
Fertilizer never hurts, especially if you’re not one who consistently does it. However, I think what you really need to do to rejuvenate your old perennials is simply divide them. Once you’ve dug them up, divided them and moved them, amend the old site with organic matter to replenish the oil. You should see your plants revival in the spring once the have room to stretch out again.
Ask Monty’s:
“My pink Magnolia tree is in trouble! I planted it in the spring and now the leaves are turning yellow and brown and dropping off. I know it is late summer, but isn’t it a little early for the tree to start losing its leaves?”
Cassandra
Absecon, New Jersey
Cassandra:
Magnolias like moist well drained soil. The symptoms you are describing indicates droughty and waterlogged soil. Water the tree thoroughly when the soil at the base of the tree is crumbly and dry. Then spread wood chips, shredded bark or mulch around the base of the tree to help keep the moisture in, the grass at bay and soil temperatures more even. The best part about the mulch breaking down is it will nourish the soil to, so replenishing it should be routine.
Ask Monty’s:
“When you pick tomatoes is it better to put them in the refrigerator crisper or leave them out on the counter or a table?”
Ryan
Hopkins, Minnesota
Ryan:
Tomatoes that are not fully ripe will ripen best on a counter or table all on their own. I’m not shy about picking tomatoes that aren’t quite ripe, so you shouldn’t be either. From a taste standpoint refrigerated tomato flesh loses its softness and sweetness. Do a concentrated taste test and decide for yourself. I sometimes will put my very ripe tomatoes in the refrigerator if I’m not going to get to canning right away, but I even try to stay away from that if I possibly can.
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Posted in Advice, Ask Monty's, Flower Gardening, General Gardening, Lawns and Landscaping, Vegetable Gardening Tagged Ask Monty's, fall gardening, Fall lawn work, Garden, General Gardening, Monty's Plant Food, monty's plant food company
By Dennis on August 9, 2010
Ask Monty’s:
We put a small pond in our backyard this summer, along with quite a bit of appropriate landscaping plants and flowers around it. It turned out nice and it is attracting a lot of wildlife to it. I’ve noticed a lot of dragonflies particularly, something I’ve never really thought much about or thought would find the pond so attractive. I don’t know much about them but I want to make sure they aren’t a type of bug that is going to cause me any trouble or damage to the plants. Are they good guys or bad guys?”
Sandra and Steve, Ava, Missouri
Sandra & Steve,
It’s all good! Ponds and lakes do attract dragonflies and damselflies and you are the proud recipients! They have excellent eyesight and their aerial agility allows them to capture and eat vast amounts of insects that are smaller than themselves. So they’re very interested in the uninvited “guests” that frequent your new environment like moths, beetles, mosquitoes, aquatic larvae and nymphs. And with the food supply being so plentiful, they will court and lay their eggs here too. They do need some vegetation to feed on so if you have planted such things as bulrush, cattail or water lilies you will encourage them to stay. They also like blue flag iris, cardinal flower, red-twig dogwood and summersweet. If you have to use any kind of insecticide, be conscious of the good insects and wildlife that may be living there and try to stay as organic as you can.
Ask Monty’s:
“I have two rather large raised garden beds that seem like they dry out very quickly. I love the fact that I don’t have to bend so far over to maintain the garden, but it seems like I’m always watering it. Why would these beds dry out so quickly?”
Marty, Seattle, Washington
Marty:
If you’re watering daily you may not be watering long enough or deeply enough. When you water make sure you’re soaking the soil at least five to six inches below ground level. Another thing to look at is your soil content. Having a lot of sand in your soil would contribute to why your soil is drying out so fast. If that is the case the more organic matter, like peat moss and broken down compost, you can incorporate into the soil, the better. It will help provide nutrients to the soil and help hold moisture. Regardless of what kind of soil you have, mulch is a must for you as it will help insulate the soil and keep it moist. Then once the growing season is over you just till it all into the soil for added nutrients as it breaks down over the winter. Grass clippings and shredded leaves are great for this.
Ask Monty’s:
“I have staggered my green and variegated hostas throughout areas of my yard for creating some color and diversity. The green hostas come up and do great every year, but my variegated hostas are always smaller and less vibrant. Why do they look so shabby compared to the green ones when they’re in the same soil getting the same conditions?”
Pat and Lynne, Leadmine, Wisconsin
Pat and Lynne,
Green leafed plants take in more sun which they need to make chlorophyll, which feeds the plant. Variegated-leafed plants just can’t produce enough food energy as a green leafed plant. As a result, they can’t keep up with their green leafed neighbor. But you do have the diversity you were looking for, so despair.
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Posted in Advice, Ask Monty's, Flower Gardening, General Gardening, Lawns and Landscaping, Vegetable Gardening Tagged Ask Monty's, Garden, General Gardening, hostas, Monty's Plant Food, monty's plant food company, natural gardening, natural lawn care, pond, ponds, raised beds
