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Learning New Gardening Techniques and Changing Growing Zones
As our customers know, we are a teaching seed company and are so dedicated to passing along as much information as we possibly can, in order for you to have the best gardening experience ever, and fun while you are doing it.
We are also gently trying to help everyone realize how important growing your own fruit and veggies is. With food prices rising at an astonishing rate we have experimented on just how much can be saved with the growing and supplementing of your grocery bill.
We have put together many vegetables which can be grown to produce crops within 50 days or less and therefore you can get up to four crops per year depending upon where you live, which is very important. By adding a small greenhouse in a protected, sheltered area (like the south side of your home in colder climates), you can actually grow veggies all winter long in most climates.
It has been a wonderful experiment. Our little experimental portable greenhouse (4 x 4 x 7’) is on my patio against the south side of my home, and the sun heats everything inside of it including the concrete patio which then radiates the heat through the night. Our large permanent greenhouse does not hold the heat as well.
We will be starting seeds for this year’s plants in both greenhouses in the first part of March and sooner.
It is Seed Starting Time Indoors
It sure is hard to realize that it is already time to start seeds indoors. These days are just zipping along. Are you having the same problem? We are sorting planning what seeds need to be replanted or started for the first time, and then trying to also decide how large of a Veggie garden there should be.
Due to food concerns at this time, and the many issues around the world it is best to put in as large of a garden as can be handled. Plus, the prices are stunning aren’t they – I mean when tomatoes cost close to what a steak costs per pound a year or two ago – that is knocking my socks off, so some fresh produce throughout the property is something to really look forward to throughout the spring, summer and fall.
And actually with the small sheltered portable greenhouse we have had herbs and veggies throughout the winter.
I am so glad that we did this. Your orders always contain many planting and care instructions, hints and advice on having successful germination of your seeds, and a better crop. You are always welcome to refer to the back of the 2022 Catalog which has lots of other gardening information and How-To instructions. The 2022 Catalog also has pages towards the back that are filled with helpful hints.
Good to Divide Your Plants
It is a great time to start dividing your plants, while they are still asleep up north or just waking up further south, as long as you can dig.
A general rule, that has been passed down over the years, is to divide spring blooming plants in the fall, and fall blooming plants in the spring. This was to help insure that the newly divided plants would bloom the first season after being divided. There is some truth to this rule, but with care, you can have successful divisions any time during the growing season. However, you can plant perennials, trees, and shrubs, at any time, during any month.
There may be a need to divide when the plant begins to grow outwards; meaning that the plant center is squeezed and exhausted while at the periphery of the growth is young and vigorous. One is by digging the whole root mass and then dividing and replanting, or by dividing out the exhausted center of a perennial, or by digging just sections of the root mass.
If you are more interested in producing a new plant than in revitalizing an old one, you may use a sharpened spade to separate the root mass, loosening a small section of the roots but leaving the main part of the plant intact in the ground.
Some roots are just so dense that you have to take the entire plant out of the ground so that the root ball is up where you can get a good grip on it. (Lay the clump on its side, and slice straight down through the clump. Cutting through the middle will produce two or more plants. If it appears more divisions can be made, repeat the procedure.) In this case you will need to dig the entire root system. Then using a sharp shovel, knife, or whatever suits the root system, cut through the roots to divide the mass. It could even take an axe to divide the tougher roots of some plants.
You don’t have to worry that you are going to kill the plant as there will be enough roots left to handle the new growth.
If dividing hosta or day lilies or other tuberous root systems, you will want to pay attention to where the tubers are and try not to cut directly through them but rather in between, as best you can. If the clumps of hosta or day lilies are very compact, you can use two spades to pry them apart which will split them more naturally.
Iris (bearded – German) – To prevent soft rot:
In September, cut the leaves to two or three inches, and clean up all leaves. Do not compost. And also check the center of the stem for any borers. If you see borer holes in the tubers then cut them off and soak the rest of the root system in one part Clorox and 10 parts water to kill the bacteria.
PRUNING
On larger limbs, make a small cut under the limb (#1) before you make the final cut (#2), or the bark can actually strip off the bark down the trunk of the tree.
Here you can see a tree trimming gone terribly bad. If these stubs and bark damages are left the way they are the tree will not make it. Do not ever use that black tar to cover wounds – let them heal on their own.
All must be cut at the collar – See #1 above. The stubs will start to rot, and attracting beetles and other insects which find that to be delicious and then cause further damage. The stripped bark on the left will cause the same problem and contribute to disease of the tree.
Websites
Mizz Tizzy’s Weeds and Seeds
www.mizztizzysweedsandseeds.com
www.etsy.com/shop/MizzTizzysWeedsSeeds