Sanhedrin Nursery – Garden Blog

• Impatiens come in a wide variety of colors. Mix them or make mass plantings of different colors for bold statements in shady borders.

• Cage or stake tomatoes while still small so that you can train them as they grow.

• Asparagus plants should be fed with good, rich compost when you have finished cutting spears. Keep the bed mulched and weed-free all summer, and the soil moist.

• Ladybugs are a big help with aphids in your greenhouse or garden. Release at dusk in problem areas.

• Earwigs are out and about and hungry. Control them with the new “Sluggo Plus”, or diatomaceous earth sprinkled around the plants, or go out after dark with a flashlight and a spray bottle of Safer’s Insecticidal Soap. One squirt will put an end to the spoiler.

Don’t Forget the Beans!

Green beans are a dependable vegetable that should be part of every garden. They are very productive even in poor soil and are ready for the table in 7-8 weeks. You can expect about 15 pounds of beans from a single 30 foot row of bush beans.

Your choice of bush or pole beans and how many to plant depends on the size of your family and whether you intend to preserve or freeze the beans or just eat them fresh.

Bush beans take up more space but require less work planting, staking, weeding and watering. They produce most of the crop all at once, which is great for freezing.

Pole beans are space savers and you don’t have to bend over to harvest them. They mature later than bush beans and bear small amounts each day but will keep producing all summer long if you keep the mature beans picked. Pole beans are best for those interested in having a pot of beans on the table every 3 or 4 days rather than those interested in preserving their beans.

Pole beans, of course, require something to climb on. You can plant the seed in rows 3 to 4 feet apart, thinning the plants to 6-inches apart. Then put up a trellis for them to climb on.

Another method is to take three six foot long wooden poles (don’t use metal) and place them in a tee-pee arrangement, tying them together at the top. Plant 3 seeds around the base of each pole. You can put two of them in a six foot plot which will produce enough beans for a family of four.

To plant seed directly in the garden, prepare the soil by adding compost or well-aged manure as soon as you can work the soil. Beans love the sun so be sure to plant your beans in a spot that gets at least 6-8 hours of direct sun each day.

As the beans send out long shoots, train them to climb the poles or trellis if they do not do it own their own. Keep them watered but not soaked and fertilize when the plants start climbing the poles.

For bush beans, plant the seed about 1 to 2 inches apart in the row. The rows should be 2 to 3 feet apart. After the beans are up, thin the plants to 3 to 4 inches apart. If you are growing beans in a new garden spot, it may be worthwhile to purchase a seed inoculant to make sure the symbiotic bacteria are present.

Green beans can actually be green, yellow, or purple-podded, and they come in different shapes: long, short, flat, round, broad. For green bush beans, ‘Bountiful’, ‘Tendergreen’ and ‘Blue Lake’ good varieties to try. For yellow ones, grow ‘Golden Wax’, and for purple-podded beans, a good one is ‘Royal Purple Burgundy’. The purple pods are flavorful, and turn green when cooked.

Pole beans have a more distinct and nuttier taste than bush types. ‘Blue Lake’, ‘Kentucky Wonder’ and ‘Romano Italian’ are the most popular varieties.

Be sure to include this important staple crop in your garden plan and start planting now!

• Rhododendrons are in full bloom now. Choose plants now for spectacular blooms in your shade garden.

• When you plant your tomatoes, put a handful of bone meal in the bottom of the hole to help prevent blossom end rot on the fruit later on.

• Wisterias are large, vigorous vines that are blooming right now with their long clusters of purple, pink or white fragrant flowers. Give them a strong arbor to climb on.

• Spray roses every two weeks to keep them healthy and prevent leaf diseases. Neem oil is a safe alternative to chemicals.

• Colorful Gerberas with their large, daisy flowers are a standout in containers. Water them infrequently and give them plenty of sun for flowers all summer.

Get Growing with Season Extenders

Most home gardeners are anxious for that first ripe tomato or early muskmelon. Gardeners who sell produce at local farmers’ markets also strive for the earliest crop possible because early produce often brings better prices at the market.

To get the most out of a garden, you can extend the growing season by sheltering plants from cold weather both in early spring and during the fall. Very ambitious gardeners harvest greens and other cool-weather crops all winter by providing the right conditions. There are many ways to lengthen the growing season and hasten growth and production in your vegetable plants. Your choice depends on the amount of time and money you want to invest.

Cold frames are simple structures providing a favorable environment for growing cool-weather crops in the very early spring and for hardening-off seedlings that were started indoors or in a greenhouse. This hardening-off period is important as seedlings can suffer serious setbacks if they are moved directly from the warmth and protection of the house to the garden. The cold frame provides a transition period for gradual adjustment to the outdoor weather.

Hot caps are cones of translucent paper or plastic that are placed over the tops of plants in the spring. These act as miniature greenhouses for small plants. Gallon milk jugs with the bottoms cut off and the caps removed work well as hot caps. Originally a cloche, a bell-shaped glass jar, was set over delicate plants to protect them from drying winds and cold air.

The newest version of a hot cap is the “Season Starter”, previously called “Wall-O-Water”. They are larger than hot caps and provide much longer protection for the plant. They consist of a series of tubes that are filled with water, which collect heat during the day and release it at night. They can be set up in the garden 6 to 8 weeks before the typical planting date. Fill them with water a week before the transplants are planted in them to warm the soil in that area. It will protect plants down to 20º F, and last for 3-5 seasons.

Floating row covers are lightweight fabrics that are laid over a row of plants to protect them. They are composed of spun-bonded polyester and come in various widths — 6 feet or wider. Row covers keep plants 5-10 degrees warmer than the surrounding air and provide frost protection to a low of 28 degrees. They allow light and water through to the crop and protect tender plants from wind and rain damage as well as insects. They are intended to “float” over the row with edges held in place with soil.

With this unseasonable May weather, it is a good idea to provide some warmth and protection for your vegetable starts. You will be rewarded with juicy, homegrown vegetables once summer weather arrives.

• Plant an herb garden in a container near the kitchen door for convenient fresh spices like basil, oregano, parsley and sage.

• Potatoes can still be planted this month. Plant red, white, yellow and russet for a variety of uses and flavors.

• Ivy geraniums make wonderful hanging baskets for partially shaded spots where they will bloom all summer.

• Tomatoes are the most popular summer vegetable. Choose from the many varieties available now so you can enjoy delicious home-grown flavor.

• Mulch blueberry plants with aged sawdust and feed with cottonseed meal or an acid fertilizer.

Glorious Rhododendrons

There are few sights more beautiful in the plant world than a mature rhododendron covered with large, rounded trusses of bright, colorful flowers. These large shrubs can be used to enclose the shade garden and give you flowers to enjoy each spring.

The rhododendrons that we are most familiar with represent a small portion of the rhododendron family. Varying from ground cover shrublets with needlelike leaves to large-leafed tree types, the more than 900 species comprise a very large family. While most of the species are native to eastern Asia — from Siberia to New Guinea — they also grow naturally in Appalachia as well as in our coastal forests.

Rhododendrons have been hybridized for more than a century. By crossing species, we now have rhododendron hybrids that are tough, adaptable and easy to propagate. Attractive foliage, vigorous, trouble-free growth and large, colorful flower clusters have been some of the goals of hybridization.

To successfully grow rhododendrons, you need the right soil and exposure. These plants are shallow rooted and need moisture and oxygen in the root area to flourish. They do best in soil with plenty of organic matter and good drainage. In poorly drained sites, build a raised bed or build a mound so that the rootball is above the existing ground level. Plants should be planted no deeper than they were in the container. It is better to err on the side of too shallow than planting them too deep.

Acid soil is also necessary for good growth. Check the pH of the soil and add soil sulfur, if necessary, to bring it down to 5.5 to 6.0. You can fertilize once or twice a year in the spring with an acid fertilizer, but established, healthy plants need little or no fertilizer.

Although rhododendrons like the shade, they need some sunlight in order to bloom. Three or four hours of morning sun are ideal, but they can also have late afternoon sun or filtered sun all day through overhead branches or trellises. Insufficient sunlight is often the cause of poor blooming and leggy plants.

Rhododendrons need water through the summer months. Keep cultivation around them to a minimum, due to their shallow roots, and use mulches to control weeds, conserve moisture, and provide more uniform soil temperatures. Mulches can be made of sawdust, decorative bark, straw, or other organic materials.

Rhododendrons come in a rainbow of colors from pure white, through shades of pink and lavender to bright reds and purples. There are a few yellow or cream-colored rhododendrons also. They all are welcome sights in the garden each spring.