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Gardening For a Long Dry Summer the following pdf tutorials are available for download | |||||||
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Gardening For a Long Dry Summer Making the best use of water involves rethinking gardening a bit. One important concept is watering zones: a small oasis zone, probably near the house, with plants that have higher water needs, every week or even more often, and perhaps a pond; a middle zone, with plants that grow best with summer water, but less often; an outer zone for drought-tolerant plants that require no summer water once established. Not only does this save water, it saves time! Less time watering means more time to relax and to do other work in the garden. Ideal plants for the outer zone are native plants, adapted to winter rains and dry summers, but the natives you choose must be those that grow well in your garden's soil and light conditions. Summer in a forest, for example, differs greatly from summer in a meadow, because the forest moderates heat and stores water for denizens of the understory. You can choose drought-tolerant plants from other parts of the world as well, but be aware that many of them need good winter drainage. You can plant them on slopes and you can amend soil with organic matter to improve drainage, but building raised beds for them won't work so well. Raised beds, especially narrow ones, dry out faster than flat soil and then you need more water. Even drought-tolerant herbaceous plants need regular watering their first summer in the garden. In subsequent summers, they can be watered infrequently or not at all, depending on the plant species and the length and intensity of summer heat. For drought-tolerant trees and shrubs, the first two years are important, while plants' roots get established. Before you water, however, it's important to feel the soil to see whether it is drying out. If you have a thick mulch and soil that retains moisture well, you may not need to water so frequently. | |||||||
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Thoughtful watering is important in a dry summer. Watering for a long time at infrequent intervals (rather than a little water every few days) is a crucial first step, even for young plants. Plants that receive frequent short watering spread their roots near the surface of the soil and are prone to drought; infrequent watering encourage plant roots to dive in search of moisture. Drip irrigation and soaker hoses are especially efficient ways to irrigate because they bring water directly to plant roots. Soaker hoses work best under the weight of 4 inches or more of mulch, which helps spread the water through the soil. Unmulched soaker hoses release only narrow vertical trickles of water. Overhead watering can waste a lot of water, but waste can be reduced by watering early in the morning. When the air is warm, in the middle of the day, a great deal of water is lost in evaporation. Although overhead watering in the evening can encourage leaf diseases, it is sometimes more useful simply to find more watering hours while the air is cool. Do it only in areas of the garden where the plants are not prone to disease. Working with the soil can help plants a lot in dry summers. Mixing organic matter in soil increases its water retention. Mulching soil with organic matter - compost, shredded leaves, dried grass clippings - reduces evaporation from the soil surface and keeps plant roots cool and evenly moist. Where mulch is thick, water under the mulch, or make sure you water deeply enough for water to reach the plant roots. Avoid using bark mulch near plants. As it decomposes, it uses nitrogen that nearby plants need to grow. Generous plant spacing and careful weeding can help reduce water needs. Crowded plants compete with each other for water. 12 inches apart is a good spacing for annual flowers, 18 to 24 inches apart for perennials, and even more for large vegetables. Think of each plant's spread at maturity: that is how far its roots spread under the ground. Plant leaves that touch the ground and reduce evaporation. But plants whose leaves overlap crowd each other and cause water stress. | |||||||
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Lawns are big water users, so planting grass only where you need it for rest and play reduces water use, as well as human energy drain. Rye, fine fescues, and ecolawn mixes are easiest to care for. Grass clippings can be composted or spread; water grass once a week, or consider letting some or all of your lawn turn golden brown for the summer. It will green again with winter rains as long as you leave it brown ALL SUMMER. If you let grass stay dry for awhile, then water it once or twice, then it turn dry again, it will use up its reserves and die. When you are choosing drought-resistant plants for your garden, it helps to consider the plants' natural habitats. Many degrees of drought tolerance exist, depending on the soils, slopes, summer temperatures, and rainfall patterns of the plants' home ranges. Plants that have leaves, which are hairy, thick, succulent, or leathery, gray-green or silvery, are often drought-tolerant. Drought-tolerant plants may be native to deserts, seashores, mountain slopes, areas with thin soils, dry open fields, sunny roadsides, and dry woods. Certain plant families have high likelihood for drought tolerance: grasses, legumes, poppies, and many members of the daisy family. Plants from the Mediterranean climates are good bets: not only our own Pacific Northwest, but parts of Australia, and South Africa, coastal California, and of course, areas near the Mediterranean Sea. Although this drought year is a challenge for the Pacific Northwest gardeners, it is also a good opportunity. We can learn to use water with respect, both now and during our usual long dry Northwestern Summers. Copyright 2001 Kate Rogers Gessert for Log House Plants
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Ladybugs (Hippodamia convergens) After receiving your package of ladybugs, leave the bag sealed and place it in a refrigerator, or other cool place. This calms the ladybugs down from their shipping experience. Early evening is the best time to release them, and gives them all night to settle in, find food and water, and decide they've found a good home (your garden). Ladybugs will probably be thirsty from their long journey, and will appreciate moist places to drink. If necessary, sprinkle some water around first before their release. Later on, they'll get most of their moisture needs from aphids and other plant pests. Ladybugs like having large pest populations to eat, which helps stimulate them to mate and lay eggs. When food is harder to find, adult ladybugs may fly off, but the eggs hatch and provide further control. (Both adults and larvae feed on insect pests.) If desired, you can keep ladybug adults form flying away by "gluing" their wings shut, temporarily, with a sugar-water solution. Half water and half sugared pop (Coke, Pepsi, etc.), in a spray bottle, works fine. Spray it right in the bag the ladybugs come in, as soon as you open it. You'll easily coat most of them. After a week or so, the "glue" wears off. What do ladybug eggs and larvae look like? Their eggs look like clusters of little orange footballs each laid on edge. After hatching, they'll look like tiny black "alligators", with orange spots. Extremely fast moving, they grow to 1/2" long over 2-3 weeks, then they pupate, usually on the top of the leaf, into another adult ladybug. One larvae will eat about 400 medium-size aphids during its development to the pupa stage. An adult ladybug may eat over 5000 aphids during its lifetime (about a year). When not being used, ladybugs may be stored in the refrigerator, where they live off their body fat. (Keep the temperature between 35-45° F.) They appear almost dead in the refrigerator, but quickly come active when warmed up. How long can they be stored? Usually 2-3months, but it depends on the time of year, and some losses can be expected the longer they're stored. During early spring (March and April) they should be sued somewhat sooner, as these are older ladybugs from the previous year. During May, ladybugs should be release immediately. The new ladybug crop comes in about June 1, and these young ladybugs actually seem to benefit from refrigeration 1-2 months - it simulates winter for them. (Ladybugs are one of the few insects sold that are collected in the wild rather than insectary grown, so we are dependant on their natural lifecycle.) Ladybugs are sorted through before shipping, to ensure that only live ones are sent out. (A small loss in shipping is normal.) | |||||||
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In order for ladybugs to mature and lay eggs, they need nectar and pollen sources. This is normally supplied by the wide range of plants outside, such as flowering plants and legumes (peas, beans, clover, and alfalfa). If desired, you can substitute an artificial food if these others are lacking. (This isn't necessary for pest control with ladybugs, only as an aid in breeding.) To make ladybug food, dilute a little honey with a small amount of water, and mix in a little brewer's yeast, or bee pollen. Streak tiny amounts of this mixture on small pieces of waxed paper, and fasten them near plants. Replace every 5-6 days, or when it becomes moldy. Keep any extra food refrigerated between feedings. Suggested release rates for ladybugs vary widely - we've seen recommendations varying from 1 gallon (72,000) for 10 acres, up to 3 gallons per acre. You can't use too many ladybugs, but remember that they do take time - they need to be released early enough in the pest cycle so that they have time to be effective. For home use, 1000 is usually enough for one application in a small greenhouse or garden. For larger areas, a quart (18,000) or gallon (72,000) may be desired. Many people store them in the refrigerator, and make regular repeat releases, perhaps weekly. If ladybugs are used indoors or in a greenhouse, screen off any openings to prevent their escape. And, of course, you'll want to avoid spraying with pesticides, both after release and for at least a month before. (Soapy sprays, such as Safers, are an exception - you can use them right up to the arrival of the ladybugs, and indeed ladybugs harder outer shell seems to protect them from soapy sprays even afterwards. Botanical pesticides [pyrethrin, rotenone, etc.] are ok to use if you wait a week before releasing ladybugs.) Some people believe that ladybugs bring good luck. We hope they bring you good luck, too.
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Perennials for Difficult Places
Top 10 Perennials for Wet Soils
Top 10 Perennials for Dry Soils | |||||||
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Top 10 Perennials for Containers
Top 10 Perennials for Seaside | |||||||
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Top 25 Perennials for Deer Resistance
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Pond Information Sheet
Example:
Pump Size for Waterfall
Example:
Capacity of a Pond | |||||||
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Pond Installation Time Line
Suggested Final Stocking Levels
Ensuring Years of Success Copyright www.pondinfo.wps 1999
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Spring Rose Pruning Guide Begin to prune by first looking closely at the bush. Every rose bush in the garden will have grown differently during the past season, so begin by carefully looking at what you have to start with. This is a very important part of the process. This first part of the examination should be directed toward the lover part of the rose bush, the area from which the canes (rose stems) originate, which is called the bud union. The purpose of pruning is to remove all weak growth, leaving only strong, healthy canes that can adequately support the growth expected during the upcoming summer. When the pruning is done properly, most of the uppermost parts of the bush will be removed. This pruning concept is true for hybrid teas, floribunda and miniature roses. Climbers, nonremontant, (once flowering varieties) and old garden roses are pruned a little differently and their pruning will be discussed later. In studying the bottom of the bush, identify the youngest and strongest canes. Their color, texture and size can identify these. Young canes one or two years old, are usually green in color and have a relatively smooth outer surface. As a cane ages it will usually become darker or gray-brown in color. Aging canes also become rough in texture due to the cracking and peeling of the outer bark. With hybrid tea roses, canes which are easily identified as being old, are generally not very productive and should be entirely removed by cutting them off at the bud union (their origin) using loppers or a pruning saw. Looking at last year's growth emanating from it can identify a non-productive older cane. If all of the growth was small and twiggy, it is a good sign that this is a cane that should be removed because it is no longer able to produce vigorous new growth. An older cane that has large healthy looking secondary canes coming from it is usually still productive and should be saved. Stumps of canes left protruding from the bud union after pruning are unattractive and provide ideal places and conditions for the colonization by certain disease organisms, so when removing a cane try very hard to get the entire cane and leave as small a stump as possible. | |||||||
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Next remove any of the younger canes which cross the middle of the bush. These canes should either be removed entirely back to the bud union, or back to the major cane form, which they originated. Growth from crossing canes will become intertwined, with the net result being few quality flowers. Then remove canes that are crowded close to each other, generally leaving the larger one of each crowded pair. Finally, if there is any twiggy growth remaining anywhere on the bush, remove it back to its point of origin. When the pruning is finished, the ideal rose bush will have only sturdy, healthy canes radiating from the bud union. In reality, this ideal is rarely achieved. Most bushes do not have enough canes growing in just the right directions to be ideal. If the bush has only 2, 3 or 4 canes, it would be best to allow them all to remain, unless one of them is truly a nonproductive old cane. If the rose has 5 to 7 or more canes, you can then begin making decisions about which ones to remove to achieve a pleasing balance. Remove any old leaves still clinging to the rose plant because leaves that have over-wintered will often be disease carriers. These leaves should come off easily with a slight pull. Finally spray the newly pruned bushes with a fungicide such as Funinex, Daconil etc. However, do not apply any dormant sprays at this time. The most common sprays intended for dormant use (I no longer recommend the use of dormant sprays due to lack of efficacy) contain sulfur at concentrations that will damage any of the young buds that have begun to break dormancy. Many of this year's disease problems will begin when the buds first begin to grow, which they are probably already doing. Fungus spores that have over-wintered on the canes and under the vegetative bud scales will re-infect the bush as the buds begin to break, unless a preventative fungicidal spray is used. Spraying with fungicides should be repeated at 10 day to two-week intervals during wet or damp weather to help maintain disease free bushes.
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Strawberries Planting Instructions - In the home garden, strawberries make an excellent ground cover. No soil preparation is necessary if the flower bed is mulched with bark dust, etc. Simply did the plant in leaving the crown exposed at ground level. Never plant strawberries if plants don't appear to be growing well the best reference is "Hunger in Strawberries", by Frank Johanson.
Care of the Planting Spring Crop Varieties - Fertilize and water well the first year to promote good flower bud formation that fall. The first crop is picked the following spring. | |||||||
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After harvest the plants go dormant prior to summer and fall growth and fruit set. After the last berry is picked, mow the plants off with a lawn mower set just above the crowns at the soil surface. The old leaves left after harvest are going to die anyway and mowing is good sanitation and helps keep fruit rot at a minimum as the plant ages. In the fall, thin runners so they are 3" to 5" apart. If possible, mow tops off in January or February prior to the spring flush of growth. This helps prevent fruit rot. In our area, winter rains often making mowing difficult. We do it when the ground is frozen. Disease Control - When you receive plants from us they are virus free. Aphids will spread virus. Rigid insect control avoids the problem. Control aphids with Diazinon. To avoid root rot problems, plant strawberries in a well-drained area of the garden. Copyright of Weeks Berry Nursery, Salem, OR
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What is Soil?
5% Organic Matter- Carbon- Decaying trash-organic matter- made into humic acid by microbes
45% Rock Minerals- Volcanic in origin - rock minerals 25% - Air 25% - Water Building healthy soil takes time and inputs. In time erosion will be virtually eliminated. Water needs will be dramatically reduced. Insect and disease problems will be all but eliminated. After your soils are built (healthy) inputs will only be needed in order to maintain fertility. Nitrogen is the number one cause of insect and disease problems. Copyright Pacific Calcium
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Establishing a New Lawn Rake and level to the finished grade desired. A float may be used at this stage to help level the ground, to break up any clods and to firm the seed bed. A float can be made by lapping five 2" X 12" boards and nailing them together. Pull with the rough side down for leveling and the smooth side down for smoothing and compacting. Use a roller to compact the soil into a firm seed bed. You should not be able to leave foot prints deeper than one-half inch as you walk on the seed bed. Rake a shallow loose surface. Divide the seed into two equal parts. Using a hand held spreader go over the entire area with each amount, walking a different direction each time. This will assure better distribution of seed. A good rule of thumb is that one pound of lawn seed will adequately cover around 200 to 400 sq. ft. of area. Next, rake lightly and roll. You may want to add a light covering of peat moss or other redwood soil conditioner to help keep the seed moist. Mulching will also help to prevent crusting on top. Water lightly and often to get the grass started, but not enough to cause puddles. Reduce frequency of watering as grass begins to gain height, but continue to water so that the soil is moist 6 to 12 inches deep. It's a good practice to apply a fungicide as soon as the grass is up. This will prevent trouble later, especially in fine fescue seeding. We suggest Scotts Fungus control granules. Weeds in a new lawn are common. Seeds which have accumulated in the soil (soil borne weed seed) come up because you have developed an ideal condition for them to germinate. Many of these weeds will be controlled by normal mowing and by competition from the lawn grass. If weeds persist, after mowing at least five times, use a quality weed control product like Ortho Weed-B-Gon. | |||||||
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Summary (Eleven Steps)
We have the following items to rent:
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