Eco Gardeners

Here it is late January and those of us living in the northeast are seeing forsythias and cherry trees in full flower. My girls and I went for a walk yesterday in t-shirts and as we strolled through our Richmond, VA neighborhood it felt like the start of spring as we encountered daffodil after daffodil with their flower buds ready to pop open. Its the neighbors with the heart wreaths on their front doors that remind us we are approaching February.

So how does this disappearing winter affect the gardens of those of us living in areas including those 21 states that have had more than 300 record high January temperatures? In a nutshell, it will mean fewer nuts on our nut trees, less blossoms on our perennials, decreased flowers on our trees/shrubs, and not as much fruit on our fruit trees. This upcoming spring and summer will show signs of the winter stressed plants but most should acclimate okay.

“I don’t think we’ve seen the extremes yet that would cause a lot of long-term damage to trees and shrubs,” says George Good, professor in Cornell University’s Department of Horticulture. “Some flower buds will be killed. So we may see fewer blooms on flowering trees and shrubs this spring. ” This has commercial growers concerned as their harvests will be affected.

David Wolfe, scientist at the Department of Horticulture, is studying climate change and states that chances are good that we will continue seeing more warm winters, caused in part by increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere which is affecting agriculture, especially in the Northeast.

For more information, visit the Cornell University at

www.gardening.cornell.edu

Blooming Plants to Grow Indoors during Cold Weather Months

Craving some winter flowers? Consider a few of these winter bloomers.

1. Indoor Forcing Bulbs:

• Amaryllis is a favorite holiday season bloomer with big, boldly colored flowers. These can be forced to bloom in time for holiday decorating or a little later during January and February.

• Paperwhites are absolutely the easiest thing to grow, no chilling required, and performing well even if planted in gravel and water.

See below for detailed instructions on how to plant and care for your Amaryllis and Paperwhite bulbs.

2. Houseplant Winter Bloomers:

• Clivia is a rewarding grower with bold orange or yellow blooms. It does best if given a cool, dry period in fall to prime for bloom.

• Christmas cactus is long lived and explodes in wonderful colors including white, fuschia and pink. They may require a short day treatment to set buds.

• Kalanchoe is often sold as a florist plant and can bloom annually.

• Begonia come in popular varieties with patterned foliage as well as sprays of typically soft pink blooms to gently brighten the darkest winter day.

• African Violets are a favorite flowering house plant. There are so many different types you can quickly amass a significant collection. They bloom prolifically on a window sill with indirect light. Serious growers use supplemental lights for peak performance and optimal health.

• Poinsettias are a holiday favorite. They can be easily found in a variety of colors such as white, pink and most popular red.

• Orchids bloom exquisitely throughout the winter. You can usually find prices lower on those that have stopped blooming. Bring them home, revitalize them with an organic feeding to watch them burst with blooms!

All indoor flowering plants thrive from a monthly organic feeding. Try our #1 selling SeaResults Micronutrient Solution with all of your indoor plants and enjoy an abundance of blooms.

3. Outdoor Container Plants Brought Indoors:

• Geraniums will provide a few blooms in winter, although not as heavily as during the summer outdoors since they are sun lovers.

• Impatiens come in double flower or rosebud varieties and will continue to flower once brought indoors. • Miniature Roses require an exceptionally bright window sill or supplemental lighting to bloom well but the extra attention and care are worth the trouble in blooms.

• Violas and pansies simply require a cool windowsill to help them stay compact and blooming indoors.

Don’t forget to add your fall garden scraps and clean-up trash to your compost bin this fall. Your prunings, vegetable/herb/flower garden debris and leaves are examples of compost matter for the upcoming season.

• To keep your compost pile cooking during the winter, keep it in a black bin in the direct sunlight. Placing your compost bin in full sun will promote faster composting.

• Anything that has been alive is great for compost bins. Examples include leaves, vegetable wastes, and grass clippings. Do not compost fat, pet waste, dairy or meat products.

• Protect your compost from rain to keep the nutrients in the pile. Too much water in the pile will also slow the composting process.

• Avoid composting plants that have been treated with chemicals including lawn clippings, and weeds that have gone to seed.

THG offers an eco-friendly line of composting products. Click here to view.

ClearOrganic.com featured Annette Pelliccio, founder of The Happy Gardener, in this informative video demonstrating what to add to your compost.

http://clearorganic.com/?p=14005

Dahlias are tender perennials, hardy only to Zones 9 to 11, and must be dug out of the ground and stored over the winter.  Here’s how to overwinter dahlias:

• Allow a week for the tubers to adjust to dormancy after the first frost has blackened their foliage. Cut them back to within 6 inches of the ground.
• Gently lift tubers from the ground using a spade.
• Clean the soil off the tubers, and allow them to dry for a day. They can be left in the sun but must not be allowed to freeze.
• After drying, shorten old stems to about an inch.
• Place the roots in crates or boxes, and cover with slightly moistened sand, peat moss, or sawdust to keep them from drying out. Store in a cool but frost-free place, such as a garage or unheated basement (40° F to 50° F is ideal).

Organic lawn care practices allow homeowners to continue the enjoyment of a healthy, green lawn while maintaining a healthy, green environment. Safe for use around children and pets, our vegetarian lawn care helps you build a truly green eco-lawn.

• The last application of fertilizer is the most important one for both high and low-maintenance lawns. If your lawn tests show your soil is lacking in nitrogen, apply a winterizing organic fertilizer. THG’s organic Lawn Feed n’ Weed will not only prepare grass for winter, but also give you a head start towards achieving the green turf you’ll want next spring.

• Do not apply lime routinely to established lawns unless a soil test indicates a need. Excess can be as harmful as deficiency. Established lawn soils seldom need to be limed unless a soil test indicates a moderately to severely acid soil of pH 5.5 or lower.

• Plant or seed new lawns early.
• Aerate where needed to relieve compaction.
• Thatch buildup is a major contributor to lawn diseases. If your soil is highly compacted or a heavy clay, use a plug-type aerator that will loosen the soil, help reduce thatch buildup and allow better penetration of air, nutrients