Friday, August 29, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Onion Planting Season!
It's the beginning of fall onion planting season, and so we want to take a minute to talk about onions. Planting now will provide you with sweet, delicious, full-sized onions in May or June.Onions are 'day length sensitive' plants and will go right to seed/flower without bulbing if you plant the wrong types at the wrong time of year. It can get confusing. But no worries! The onions we sell have been chosen to provide you with the correct types at the correct times.
Planting onions from packs is quite simple; prepare the onion beds and form small, 1 to 2 inch deep 'trench' with stick or finger in rows 6" to 8" apart. Remove onion plants from packs and gently, but firmly shake all the soil off the roots of the little onions to separate. Lay each onion plant down, with roots laying in trench and tops to the side, about 3" apart. Cover roots with enough soil to cover roots. Water.
Within a few days the little onions will stand upright. You can thin as needed until the onions are about 6" apart. One six pack can plant over 50 lbs of onions! Keep the beds moist and weed free. You will probably need to mulch the beds once the onions are established to keep the weeds from taking over the baby onions. Use straw or other organic compost. For best results, top dress (sprinkle over plants) every three weeks with an all-purpose organic fertilizer, and water in. It's not as hard as people think, but you do have to have the proper kinds of plants at the proper time of year!
Planting onions from packs is quite simple; prepare the onion beds and form small, 1 to 2 inch deep 'trench' with stick or finger in rows 6" to 8" apart. Remove onion plants from packs and gently, but firmly shake all the soil off the roots of the little onions to separate. Lay each onion plant down, with roots laying in trench and tops to the side, about 3" apart. Cover roots with enough soil to cover roots. Water.
Within a few days the little onions will stand upright. You can thin as needed until the onions are about 6" apart. One six pack can plant over 50 lbs of onions! Keep the beds moist and weed free. You will probably need to mulch the beds once the onions are established to keep the weeds from taking over the baby onions. Use straw or other organic compost. For best results, top dress (sprinkle over plants) every three weeks with an all-purpose organic fertilizer, and water in. It's not as hard as people think, but you do have to have the proper kinds of plants at the proper time of year!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
The Ever Popular and Ubiquitous Lavender!
This Mediterranean native and member of the mint family can also be found in the Canary Islands, southern Europe, North and East Africa and in Arabia and India. Lavenders like full sun, moderate water, sharp drainage, good air circulation, and little or no fertilizer. Soil pH should be between 6.5 and 7.5. It will tolerate cool coastal conditions or hot inland valleys. Sandy soil is perfect, clay soil will need amending.
Although they are drought-resistant when established, they will grow larger and produce more blooms with regular watering. Water when dry, and allow them to dry out before watering again. They can be planted in the fall to develop a strong root system in our mild rainy winter for a vigorous plant next spring.
Deadheading old blossoms will encourage the plant to keep blooming all summer into the fall. This is different than pruning. The correct annual pruning is necessary to prolong the life of the plant, some can live as long as ten years. Lavender can be sheared lightly after blooming has finished in the fall, taking off the stem about an inch into the leafy part of the branch. This keeps the plant in a tidy dome shape. If lavender is not sheared it will get leggy and ragged looking and even sprawl apart. Never cut back to bare wood, especially late in the year. If, in the spring you see new growth breaking at the base of the plant, then you can prune down to it to encourage replacement growth.
Poor conditions for growing lavender would be high humidity, poor drainage and deep shade.
There are many varieties to suit all tastes, with green, to gray-green to soft gray foliage and blossoms from white and pink to violet-blue and purple. The plants can be as small as 1½ feet tall and wide to 3-4 feet tall and wide.
As for use in the landscape; they make fine informal hedges or edging or as background plants in a border. Lavender looks great mixed with Purple Fountain Grass, Loropetalum, euphorbias, or bronze phormiums, or Culinary Sage and Erigeron, or combined with the clean lines of gorgeous succulents. We even know of a small meadow of English lavender edged with Festuca glauca in a backyard in the outer Richmond in SF.
Use near fruit trees and veggie beds to attract pollinators. Yes, the pollinators love lavenders! There’s something very soothing about seeing all the butterflies, bees and hummingbirds fluttering and hovering, and going about their business. Leaving some old blossoms will delight the seed-loving dark-eyed junco in the fall.
Harvesting Lavender
The flower heads look gray before the flowers open. Once the color is bright and vivid, that it the time to start cutting. Cut the long flower stems during the cool of the morning after the dew has dried.
Tie stems together and hang upside down in a cool, dark dry place. Once the buds are dry, they can be stripped and used for potpourris, etc.
Small bunches can be used to make wreaths and swags. Tuck a few sprigs into the ribbon of a gift.
To flavor ice cream, pastries, salads or beverages use fresh flowers only from Lavandula angustifolia or L. x intermedia varieties.
To make on old-fashioned Lavender Bottle/Wand
1. Take 15-21 stalks of freshly cut lavender (including extra long stems) and tie together just below the flower heads. Let wilt slightly.
2. Gently holding the flower heads, turn the stems upward. Now carefully bend the stems back down over the flower heads to make a ‘cage’ for the buds, arranging them as evenly as possible. (For a colorful bottle weave a pretty ribbon between the stems.)
3. Using twine or a pretty ribbon, tie the stems together just below the flower heads to encase them. Gently knot and tie into a bow.
4. Clip the stems so they are all even. (Stems can be wrapped with ribbon too.) Place flat in a basket and then dry in a cool, dark closet for a few days.
5. Use in linen cupboards, lingerie drawers and closets, or give as gifts.
Changing the pH of Your Soil
Here is an interesting article on Soil PH from www.planetnatural.com:
Changing the pH of Your Soil (by Bob Lippert), Clemson University Cooperative Extension
The soil pH value is a measure of soil acidity or alkalinity. Soil pH directly affects nutrient availability. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14, with 7 as neutral. Numbers less than 7 indicate acidity while numbers greater than 7 indicate alkalinity.
The pH value of soil is one of a number of environmental conditions that affects the quality of plant growth. The soil pH value directly affects nutrient availability. Plants thrive best in different soil pH ranges. Azaleas, rhododendrons, blueberries and conifers thrive best in acid soils (pH 5.0 to 5.5). Vegetables, grasses and most ornamentals do best in slightly acidic soils (pH 5.8 to 6.5). Soil pH values above or below these ranges may result in less vigorous growth and nutrient deficiencies.
Nutrients for healthy plant growth are divided into three categories: primary, secondary and micronutrients. Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) are primary nutrients which are needed in fairly large quantities compared to the other plant nutrients. Calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and sulfur (S) are secondary nutrients which are required by the plant in lesser quantities but are no less essential for good plant growth than the primary nutrients. Zinc (Zn) and manganese (Mn) are micronutrients, which are required by the plant in very small amounts. Most secondary and micronutrient deficiencies are easily corrected by keeping the soil at the optimum pH value.
Increasing the Soil pH
To make soils less acidic, the common practice is to apply a material that contains some form of lime. Ground agricultural limestone is most frequently used. The finer the limestone particles, the more rapidly it becomes effective. Different soils will require a different amount of lime to adjust the soil pH value. The texture of the soil, organic matter content and the plants to be grown are all factors to consider in adjusting the pH value. For example, soils low in clay require less lime than soils high in clay to make the same pH change.
Time of Application and Lime Placement: Lime needs should be determined by a soil test kit. Soil samples should be taken in the fall for the succeeding year's garden. If test results indicate a need for limestone, it can be applied in the fall or winter months. Generally, for best results, limestone should be applied two to three months prior to planting to allow time for it to neutralize the acidity.
The most important factor determining the effectiveness of lime is placement. Maximum contact of lime with the soil is essential. Most liming materials are only slightly soluble in water, so incorporation in the soil is a must for lime reaction. Even when properly mixed with the soil, lime will have little effect on pH if the soil is dry. Moisture is essential for the lime-soil reaction to occur. In the case of lawns, it can only be surface applied and watered into the soil.
Decreasing the Soil pHMany ornamental plants and some fruit plants such as blueberries require slightly to strongly acid soil. These species develop iron chlorosis when grown in soils in the alkaline range. Iron chlorosis is often confused with nitrogen deficiency because the symptoms (a definite yellowing of the leaves) are similar. Iron chlorosis can be corrected by reducing the soil pH value.
Two materials commonly used for lowering the soil pH are aluminum sulfate and sulfur. These can be found at a garden supply center. Aluminum sulfate will change the soil pH instantly because the aluminum produces the acidity as soon as it dissolves in the soil. Sulfur, however, requires some time for the conversion to sulfuric acid with the aid of soil bacteria. The conversion rate of the sulfur is dependent on the fineness of the sulfur, the amount of soil moisture, soil temperature and the presence of the bacteria. Depending on these factors, the conversion rate of sulfur may be very slow and take several months if the conditions are not ideal. For this reason, most people use the aluminum sulfate.Both materials should be worked into the soil after application to be most effective. If these materials are in contact with plant leaves as when applied to a lawn, they should be washed off the leaves immediately after application or a damaging leaf burn may result. Take extreme care not to over-apply the aluminum sulfate or the sulfur.
Changing the pH of Your Soil (by Bob Lippert), Clemson University Cooperative Extension
The soil pH value is a measure of soil acidity or alkalinity. Soil pH directly affects nutrient availability. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14, with 7 as neutral. Numbers less than 7 indicate acidity while numbers greater than 7 indicate alkalinity.
The pH value of soil is one of a number of environmental conditions that affects the quality of plant growth. The soil pH value directly affects nutrient availability. Plants thrive best in different soil pH ranges. Azaleas, rhododendrons, blueberries and conifers thrive best in acid soils (pH 5.0 to 5.5). Vegetables, grasses and most ornamentals do best in slightly acidic soils (pH 5.8 to 6.5). Soil pH values above or below these ranges may result in less vigorous growth and nutrient deficiencies.
Nutrients for healthy plant growth are divided into three categories: primary, secondary and micronutrients. Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) are primary nutrients which are needed in fairly large quantities compared to the other plant nutrients. Calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and sulfur (S) are secondary nutrients which are required by the plant in lesser quantities but are no less essential for good plant growth than the primary nutrients. Zinc (Zn) and manganese (Mn) are micronutrients, which are required by the plant in very small amounts. Most secondary and micronutrient deficiencies are easily corrected by keeping the soil at the optimum pH value.
Increasing the Soil pH
To make soils less acidic, the common practice is to apply a material that contains some form of lime. Ground agricultural limestone is most frequently used. The finer the limestone particles, the more rapidly it becomes effective. Different soils will require a different amount of lime to adjust the soil pH value. The texture of the soil, organic matter content and the plants to be grown are all factors to consider in adjusting the pH value. For example, soils low in clay require less lime than soils high in clay to make the same pH change.
Time of Application and Lime Placement: Lime needs should be determined by a soil test kit. Soil samples should be taken in the fall for the succeeding year's garden. If test results indicate a need for limestone, it can be applied in the fall or winter months. Generally, for best results, limestone should be applied two to three months prior to planting to allow time for it to neutralize the acidity.
The most important factor determining the effectiveness of lime is placement. Maximum contact of lime with the soil is essential. Most liming materials are only slightly soluble in water, so incorporation in the soil is a must for lime reaction. Even when properly mixed with the soil, lime will have little effect on pH if the soil is dry. Moisture is essential for the lime-soil reaction to occur. In the case of lawns, it can only be surface applied and watered into the soil.
Decreasing the Soil pHMany ornamental plants and some fruit plants such as blueberries require slightly to strongly acid soil. These species develop iron chlorosis when grown in soils in the alkaline range. Iron chlorosis is often confused with nitrogen deficiency because the symptoms (a definite yellowing of the leaves) are similar. Iron chlorosis can be corrected by reducing the soil pH value.
Two materials commonly used for lowering the soil pH are aluminum sulfate and sulfur. These can be found at a garden supply center. Aluminum sulfate will change the soil pH instantly because the aluminum produces the acidity as soon as it dissolves in the soil. Sulfur, however, requires some time for the conversion to sulfuric acid with the aid of soil bacteria. The conversion rate of the sulfur is dependent on the fineness of the sulfur, the amount of soil moisture, soil temperature and the presence of the bacteria. Depending on these factors, the conversion rate of sulfur may be very slow and take several months if the conditions are not ideal. For this reason, most people use the aluminum sulfate.Both materials should be worked into the soil after application to be most effective. If these materials are in contact with plant leaves as when applied to a lawn, they should be washed off the leaves immediately after application or a damaging leaf burn may result. Take extreme care not to over-apply the aluminum sulfate or the sulfur.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
Container planting at our Danville location
Our Danville location has been making stunningly beautiful custom planters this summer. Here's a peek....
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Sure, we're biased, be we really like this summer's furniture
Available at all Sloat Garden Centers now...
Monday, August 11, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Sunday, August 3, 2008
New custom planter styles and colors
Did you know...
Each Sloat Garden Center creates planters in a variety of colors, styles and sizes. They're available at all Sloat locations... we can also create custom planted up containers with the plants and pottery that you choose. View sample planter styles HERE »!
Stop by any Sloat Garden Center to see our selection, or place an order by calling one of our locations HERE.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Ode to summer color
Purple clematis
Hot pink petunias
Our nurseries are full of color
Coleus will brighten up any patio or yard
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