Christmas - Reason for the season

Christmas is a wonderful time of the year. A time to enjoy family and friends.

Christmas is a time of giving. Yes, in the past we have all been pressured into
giving of gifts of a commercial nature. Some of these commercial gifts have
cost a considerable amount of money. Yet in these troubled times the most
valuable gifts we can give, are our time, talents, friendship and love. All
else will be broken, worn out, tossed out, and/or forgotten.

As we continue through this season, scatter a little compassion, sow seeds
of kindness and let's see what grows. And harvest a bounty of happiness.

When the car ahead, cuts you off, instead of some hasty freeway sign
language, just say "Merry Christmas". And surely your day will be better
for doing so. When the lines are long, let someone move ahead of you to
ease their burden. Open a door for someone, greet a stranger with a smile,
cheer up an overworked cashier, wave to a neighbor, just a few small acts
of kindness that can change a hostile world. The greatest gift may be a smile
to someone that thinks they have no reason to smile or be happy. Take time
to cheer up the sad and make them feel glad.

These small acts have huge rewards, maybe not to you, but some lucky
person will be the recipient. If you pay it forward and do a good deed first,
you can smile as you lift the spirits of an unsuspecting soul.

Christ, is the reason for this season, all his kindness and sacrifice he paid
forward. I paraphase his teaching of "If you do it unto the least of these,
ye have done it unto me". Therefore no act of kindness will go unrewarded.

Have a safe and wonderful holiday, and help change the world, one act at a time.


"Merry Christmas!" from this 'greenhouse' to your house
From: Lil' Red Greenhouse

Vertical or alternative gardening

Having only a small amount of growing space doesn't have to mean you can't
grow much. Now is the time to think outside the box. With a little creativity,
you can grow a lot more by gardening vertically or alternatively.

With just a little adaptation, many flowers and vegetable plants can be
grown vertically. Vining plants are especially suited to vertical gardening
and they will readily climb a trellis or fence.

Cages, poles, arbors, fences and even walls can be used to grow plants
vertically. Hanging baskets are another form of vertical gardening, with the
plants growing downward rather than upward. If you want to grow cherry
tomatoes this summer but don't have room for a garden, you might try
growing them in hanging baskets on your patio or balcony.

Tomato plants will be easier to care for if they are trellised or grown in cages.
The fruit will stay clean if the plants aren't left to sprawl on the ground,
and the improved air circulation will help deter fungal diseases. Fragile
pepper plants also benefit from growing in cages that will protect their
fragile stems from breaking under a heavy load of peppers.

Cucumber plants grown in a cage or on a trellis will produce nice, straight
fruit. I grew some in 5 gallon buckets, I cut holes in the side about 2/3 to
the top for the plants. I then suspended the buckets and had nice straight
cucumbers. Squash and melons can also be trained to grow on a fence or
trellis, although you may have to create slings to support the heavier fruit
as it matures. Mini pumpkins and gourds would be very attractive growing
on a fence, but you might want to keep your larger pumpkins on the ground.
Their heavy weight could pull down a fence or trellis.

Teepees for pole beans, vining peas or morning glory can be made by lashing
the tops together on three or more long bamboo poles. Pole beans will also
happily climb up corn stalks or tall sunflowers, or up strings secured to a low
roof or second floor balcony.

Keep in mind using alternative materials. Such as tires, railroad ties, cinder
blocks stacked to make a pyramid. Consider using a large plastic barrel for a
herb or strawberry garden, by cutting holes in the side for the plants to grow
out.

When you plant vertically, keep in mind that the vertical planting will also
cast a shadow. Give careful thought to what will grow on the shady side of
the vertical planting. This would be a good spot for growing cool-season
plants that would benefit from a little shade, such as lettuce, beets, broccolli.
You can also use your plants to shade the side of your house in the summer.

A vertical garden can be used to block an unattractive view, and a vertical
garden can also be more accessible to gardeners with disabilities.

Happy Gardening!!!!

Got Gnats!!!

How to Deal With Fungus Gnats


Fungus gnats are those tiny hopping and flying insects that you see when
you water your houseplants and greenhouse plants. They are 1/32 to 1/50
inches with gray or black bodies and clear wings. Plants grown under cover
are most susceptible. The larvae feed on dead roots and leaves, but
sometimes feed on tender new roots.

The adults live about a week, but during that time they lay hundreds of
eggs in the soil of your potted plants. They particularly like damp soil
that is rich in organic matter. The eggs hatch in 4-6 days and for about
two weeks the larvae feed on plant roots and root hairs in the soil. This can
weaken the plants, causing leaves to suddenly wilt or turn yellow. Plants
may drop their leaves in severe infestations.

If you see fungus gnats flying around your plants, you can be sure there
are also larvae feeding on the roots. To monitor the fungus gnat population,
use yellow sticky traps placed horizontally near the plants. Yellow stickyt
traps are available at many garden centers. You can also place inch-long
pieces of raw potato on the soil surface. If fungus gnat larvae are in the
soil, they will migrate to the potato within four hours to begin feeding.
The larvae are 1/4 inch white-bodied maggots with black heads under and
on the potato piece.

Once you know your plants have fungus gnats, the adults can be killed
with any insecticide spray labeled for gnats or flying insects. Treating
the larvae in the soil is another matter. A soil drench is most effective
in killing the larvae. There are organic products available specifically for
killing fungus gnat larvae, including a form of Bt (Bacillus Thuringiensis
Berliner var. israelensis). Gnatrol is the brand name of one form of Bt
for fungus gnats. There are also parasitic nematodes that attack fungus
gnat larvae, although this is more useful for large-scale plantings. Neem
oil is also effective against fungus gnats.

Happy Gardening!

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Christmas Trees - Live and Cut

Caring for Christmas trees is an annual question. And there are alot of ideas
of what to to make your tree last though the season.

If you have a fresh cut tree, you will want to keep it from losing all the
needles before Christmas day.

My suggestion is to cut off the bottom 2" of the tree when you get it home to
expose some new wood. Next get a 5 gallon bucket and place the tree in the
bucket with the bottom of the tree resting on the bottom of the bucket. It
may neccessary to trim some of the lower branches to do this. Then fill
the bucket with moist compost and pack it tightly, this will support your
tree for the season. The moist compost will keep the tree moist, very little
additional water should be required.

Live trees, you can leave them in their pot, container, or burlap ball. Water
them using ice cubes, to help reduce water run off. As soon as possible after
Christmas day, move your tree outdoors and plant it in your landscaping.
Depending on your soil and weather you may want to dig the hole for your
tree before the holidays, and save the soil for the planting day. Make sure
your live tree is free of pests and animals when you bring it into the house.
Otherwise you might have a very interesting story to tell about evicting the
critter from the house.

Happy Gardening and Merry Christmas !!!

Blueberry Plants

There are three basic types of cultivated blueberries, along with the native
lowbush blueberries. Maine is famous for their wild blueberries, and these
are the native lowbush berries. Cultivated blueberries are either highbush,
rabbiteye or southern highbush varieties, or a cross of any of these types.

Gardeners in northern climates should choose a highbush variety, or a
half-high hybrid that is crossed with the native lowbush plants. Rabbiteye
and southern highbush blueberries are more suited to the South.

For larger blueberry yields, two or more varieties should be planted.
It is not absolutely necessary to have more than one variety for pollination,
but if the plants are allowed to cross-pollinate, the berries will be larger
and the plants will produce a larger yield. Five plants will provide enough
blueberries for fresh eating, drying and preserving for a family of four.

Blueberry plants require full sun to produce a good crop. Blueberry bushes
need to grow in moist, acidic soil with a pH between 4.0 and 5.0. If the
pH is above 5.0, apply granular soil sulphur or aluminum sulfate to acidify it,
following the application rates on the package. If the soil pH is below 4.0
apply ground dolomitic limestone to sweeten it a bit.

The soil should be kept moist but not soggy. If the soil in your backyard
does not drain well, consider creating a raised bed for your blueberries.
When preparing the planting bed, mix a shovel full of well-rotted compost
or peat moss with the soil in each planting hole to increase the organic matter.

Plant blueberry bushes in the fall, or in the spring as soon as the soil can
be worked and after all danger of frost has past. The plants should be spaced
four to six feet apart.

The plants will begin to produce fruit in their third season, and the crop will
increase a bit each year until it reaches its full potential in the sixth season.
The plants generally require very little or no pruning for the first three years.

Raspberry Plants

Raspberry plants are easy enough to grow and care for, but you must understand
how the plant works in order to care for them properly.

Raspberries grow best in a well drained soil with a pH 6.0-6.5. Plant them in the fall or early spring, set them 2" deeper in the soil than they were previously growing. They ideally should be planted about 2' - 2 1/2' apart in rows 7' to 8' apart. Then cut them back to about 4"tall.

When first planted Raspberries will not produce any fruit the first year. They do not produce fruit on new growth, only two year old wood. But the raspberry canes only live two years. So each fall or late summer the spent canes that produced fruit should be removed.

The remaining canes should be topped at about 36", forcing the growth into lateral side branches which should be trained along support wires.

Some Raspberries are summer bearing and some are ever bearing, so make sure you know what yours are so you don't prune them to early and lose out on the that second flush of fruit. If you are not sure wait until fall to prune them. Ever bearing varieties can actually produce
fruit on new growth. This happens in late fall.

Everbearing raspberries are generally grown in hardiness zones 4-7. Summer bearing raspberries are grown in hardiness zones 4-8 depending on the variety.

When pruning it should be easy to distinguish the newest growth from the two
year old growth. Do not remove the new growth unless the plant is just too full.
All parts of the plant need good air circulation and sunlight. Keep that in mind
as you prune.

Not thinning raspberries is a huge mistake. Make sure you thin yours each fall for
good fruit production which should last for about 10 years.

Each spring apply a SMALL amount of 12-12-12 garden fertilizer spread over the root zone, about 1 pound per 10 feet of row.

Growing Potatoes

Potatoes, taters, spuds....by any name they are what they are,
potatoes are a staple in the diet of many people all around the
world and they're also incredibly easy to grow. But
before you run out to the garden with your shovel and hoe,
there are a few things to know about growing potatoes.

Potatoes should not be planted too early while the ground is
still cold. Potatoes do tolerate cool soil and a light frost,
but not much growth will take place until the soil warms up a bit.

Don't rush to your garden center looking for potato seedlings or packets
of potato seeds for sale. Interesting though, potatoes are grown
from seed potatoes. A seed potato is merely ordinary potato with
at least one "eye" or sprout. An amazing variety of seed potatoes
are available at garden centers and in seed catalogs.

Seed potatoes may be planted whole or cut into pieces with at
least one eye per piece. Seed potatoes with more eyes will
grow to produce a larger quantity of smaller potatoes while
seed potatoes with fewer eyes will produce fewer, but larger
potatoes.

If you choose to cut your seed potatoes into smaller pieces,
divide them the day before planting. This will allow the cut to
slightly heal which helps prevent soil-borne diseases from infecting
your crop. Always choose seed potatoes that are free from blemishes.

Plant your seed potatoes two to three inches deep in good, rich soil.
Rows of potatoes should be about three feet apart and the potatoes
within the row should be about a foot apart. Planting your potatoes
in a different area of your garden each year will also help prevent disease
and insect infestations from year to year.

Potato plants will begin to emerge one to three weeks after planting,
depending on the soil temperature. When the plants are about
a foot tall, use your hoe to mound six to eight inches of soil
against the potato plants. You can also use some straw or other mulch
to ensure the little potatoes will stay out of the sunlight that
causes them to be bitter and green.

Potato plants need to be uniformly watered during the growing season.
Fertilizer needs are very important. Spread 1 1/2 pound of 16-16-8 fertilizer
per 100 square feet of planting area or 1 cup per 10 feet of row and mix with
soil before planting. More fertilizer should be added when plants are 6" tall
and again at first blossoming. Use 1/2 cup ammonium sulfate (21-0-0-0 per
10 feet of row.

Once the plants have bloomed, you can begin to harvest little new
potatoes. After the foliage has begun to dry and die back, the
entire crop can be dug. Allow the potatoes to dry for a day or
two out of direct sunlight before storing them in a cool, dry and
dark place.

Potatoes are members of the Nightshade family, the plant has a bitter
poisonous sap in its stems and leaves. When the potato tuber is exposed
to the sun, it turns green and bitter. The chemical produced in this process
is poisonous if ingested in sufficient quantities. If the green layer is removed
when peeled, the potato is still edible.

Garden grown potatoes taste so much better than any can buy, because
you have an investment of work, care and attention in them.
Happy Gardening!!!!