Archive for the ‘how to’ tag
Marigolds and Nematodes
Down here on the Gulf Coast root knot nematodes can destroy gardens. Commonly people bring them home on tomato plants and once in the garden they are near impossible to eradicate.
I’ve been reading ‘Silent Spring’ in bits and pieces and tonight’s reading mentioned the use of marigolds as a treatment for root knot nematodes. After a bit of digging through old texts and online I discovered marigolds are still commonly used as a treatment for infected soils.
In ‘Silent Spring’ Rachael discusses success had planting marigolds among roses in some infected soil. Down here it’s your vegetable garden that is likely to be the problem.
The marigolds release alpha-terthienyl through the roots. The alpha-terthienyl is extremely toxic to nematodes, many insects and viruses. It works by preventing the hatching of the nematode eggs.
In addition, nematodes can not feed on marigold hosts, so you are also denying the nematodes food.
While you can always plant nematode resistant plants ( check for the N on the plant label ) Marigolds might be a nicer option.
Not all marigolds will prevent and harm root knot nematodes, do a bit of research first.
Varieties recommended for control of southern root knot nematode include: Tagetes patula, T. erecta, T. minuta.
More information:
Marigolds ( Tagetes spp. ) for Nematode Management
Fall cleanup time
It took a little less than 100 lawn and leaf bags, and 1 month but the gardens have been beaten back into submission for yet another year. In spring and more so in the fall I try to take the gardens from a really cool collection of plants to a fine landscaped garden.
I try to follow the basic landscape design rules for small spaces ( see below links ). This time I was lucky enough to attend a lecture by Nelson’s Water Gardens part way through my cleanup and picked up some more advice.
From Nelsons: Remove the mid range plants – keep the tall stuff, keep the low stuff, junk the middle stuff.
When in doubt I used the advice from Nelson’s and that helped.
Other new things I learned:
- Don’t let the sago go, rip those pups out immediately. The sago out front was a two day project all by itself.
Simple rules I use to cleanup
- Remove dead plants
- Remove plants that refuse to stand up straight
- Prune all trees up to 8′ high, remove all branched below that level.
- When in doubt, remove it
- Relocate any plant crowding other plants.
Tips:
- Gingers can be cut back to the ground in the fall or spring if you wish
- Take photos – landscape shots, not individual plants. I find I miss lots of things that are obvious when I take some time to look at the photos on the computer.
I still have to cleanup the yaupon clusters out back, but I’m just about done with this year’s big clean up.
10 landscape design tips for small spaces
10 more design tips for small spaces
How to prune your fruit tree in 5 easy steps
Fruit trees need frequent proper pruning to reach their full potential. You’ll want to spend some time once a year, after the fruit finishes and before the new buds appear to give your tree a serious pruning, but don’t let water spouts or crossing branches stay when you find them.
Remember when pruning to step back and circle the fruit tree frequently to see how it looks while you are working. You want a slighly domed shaped top, and the bottom should look like a steep bowl.
1) Remove water spouts. Water spouts are branches that grow at 90′ angles to the branch they stem from. They will take all of the nutrients and water away from the rest of the branch if you let them grow.
2) Remove all branches that bend down toward the ground. Your branches should curve or reach up not down.
3) Remove all branches that cross another branch. On windy days those crossing branches will rub each other. This causes breaks in the bark where insects, fungus and bacteria can enter and harm your tree.
4) Thin branches so that sunlight reaches deep into the tree. Fruit trees especially need lots of sun to grow well and remain healthy.
5) Shape the top just for appearace, cut back to the beginning any branches that stick out too far from the rest.
The branches you remove can be used to propagate new trees. Cut the branches so that only 3 sets of leaves remain. Remove the bottom set of leaves. Dip the bottom of the branch in rooting hormone. Plant in light soil and keep warm, moist and humid until new growth appears. Then treat as you would any other young tree.
Competitive gardening
While I’d heard of this or that giant vegetable winning awards at fairs I’d never really paid a whole lot of attention. But while I wasn’t watching giant vegetable growing has become a serious competitive sport. I expect much of that has to do with the internet allowing far flung devotes to connect.
If you are looking to connect with other giant vegetable growers you might start with Giant vegetables at the Garden Web Forum
Growing giant vegetables is much like growing giant flowers.
1) Start with a good variety, heirloom is best.
2) Remove all other fruits or flowers so all the plants energy into the one you want to grow supersized.
3) Fertilize regularly
4) Water regularly
5) And a bit of luck is need.
Lebanon farmer grows super sized spud
Pacific Giant Vegetable Growers Organization
Seed man offers giant vegetable seeds
Giant Vegetables ( directions for growing from Redwood Barn Nursery )
Fairly Big Gourd: He’s an expert on growing prize winning gourds
