Sloat garden tip #1 --- Know Your Soil!

It’s simple to find out if your soil is acid, alkaline, clay filled or sandy. Dig a hole 8 inches deep and fill with water. How long does it take to drain away completely? Sandy soil will drain quickly and will need water more often. Natives and drought-resistant/Mediterranean type plants will do well in sandy soil. Clay soil will drain slowly and need less water.

tobacco budworms are back.

The tobacco budworms are back. These caterpillars are very good at camouflage, taking on the color tint of the flowers they eat. The adults are moths. The moths are about 1” long , brown with greenish overtones.

Three dark bands traverse the wings and each band has a cream border. Eggs are laid on the flower buds of Petunia, snapdragon, Geranium, and Nicotiana. They are also known to attack lettuce. They can be seen best at dusk busily munching the flowers.

Symptoms of budworm are tattered petals, circular holes in the flower ovaries (Base of flowers), plants stop blooming (empty buds!), or small caterpillar pellets (feces). The best controls are handpicking, Spinosad, and lastly, BT.

Buckingham Palace to add organic veggie patch

In keeping with the trend started by First Lady Obama at the White House, Queen Elizabeth has given the OK to create an organic vegetable garden at Buckingham Palace. It has been decades since the palace has had a vegetable patch.

During World War I, turnips grew among the exotic plants and flowers. The vegetable plot is called the “Yard Bed” and is located at the back of the palace's 40-acre garden.

New Monrovia plants arriving this week....

Always colorful when their truck arrives!

Wow!

We love this combination of texture & color!

check out this aeonium from Annie's!

Nice color! Petunia, calibrachoa and Delphinium!

Tea time for your PLANTS

Tea Time for Plants
Mix 1 cup E.B. Stone Organics All Purpose Fertilizer &
1 cup E.B. Stone Earthworm Castings with 2 gallons of water.
Mix and let sit for 24 hours.
Stir well and water plants.

Great for both indoor and outdoor container plants or for plants in the ground.
For foliar feed, pour strained tea into sprayer and apply to plant leaves.
Use residue as mulch around outdoor plants.

Pretty color for sun!

Urban gardens take root on rooftops

High above new york city streets, gardeners are raising fruits and vegetables in rooftop gardens. Some are simply cultivating plants for the fun of it, others are doing it for the environment.

At P.S. 6, an elementary school on New York's Upper East Side, plans are underway to transform one-third of its roof into a vegetable and herb garden, which will supply food for the cafeteria. The school is using about $950,000 in city funds that it has put aside, and parents and alumni are providing almost a half-million dollars more.


Check out the article here!

Monkey says "hi"

Monkey, the friendly cat at our 3rd Avenue location, says hello!

basil and thyme

Our display garden in Mill Valley has prolific amounts of herbs growing right now. This basil & lemon thyme looks happy & healthy.

succulent love for Father's Day!

Loving the shade even more!

Texture for shade with Lamium and coleus

Furniture SALE starts today!

Table & 6 chairs with Lazy susan
ON SALE: $599
Reg $749
includes local delivery

Snapdragons & zinnia. Lovely color for summer!

Pictures from the Sale: Buy 1, get 1 FREE 4" Perennials

By the way...Pennsylvania Garden (a community garden in SF) visited the sale. Check out their blog!!)

http://pennsylvaniagarden.blogspot.com/2009/06/new-menu-and-sloat-sale.html

Solstice Sale extras in San Rafael....

Our San Rafael location will feature the following additional specials during the Solstice sale tomorrow. These items will not be available at any other location.

All 5 gallon Fruit Trees (citrus not included) ---30% OFF !

5 liter Watering Cans --- 30% OFF! (reg. $29.99)

Tomorrow is our annual Solstice Sale!

Friday, June 19th from 8am to 8pm at all Sloat Garden Center locations. Incredible specials on plants, pottery and soil. You'll be there, right?

Ah, summer....

This is neat....

Abandoned railway becomes ‘hanging garden'
New York City recently opened High Line park, a 1½-mile stretch of trees, shrubs and walkway that was once an elevated rail line. According to AFP, the old railway once carried trainloads of animals to the city's meatpacking plants. Now it's home to wildflowers and other vegetation. Another section of the railway, approximately the same length, is due to open next year and there are hopes to save a third piece.

Safe & effective pest care

Pests in the home can be incredible nuisances and difficult to get rid of when children, pets or sensitivities are involved. Our home pest control products, when used according to directions and a bit of common sense, are designed and tested for use in homes and living spaces. Some examples are:

Bonide Mite X (organic mite control approved for indoor use)
Terro Ant Killer (effective ant control that’s earth-friendly!)
Orange Guard RTU (made from orange peel extracts, repels bugs for weeks)
Diatomaceous Earth (made from ground fossils, kills household pests)
Safer Houseplant Aerosol (fast acting & environmentally friendly aphid / whitefly killer)
Critter Ridder (patented pepper based formula that produces a powerful odor and taste barrier). Repels woodchucks (ground hogs), skunks, squirrels, raccoons, dogs, and cats. Safe to use indoors or out. OMRI Listed for use in organic production.

Plants to Make Those Summer Insects Bug Off

Plants to Make Those Summer Insects Bug Off

There are several plants that will help keep the summer bugs at bay!

Catnip-10 times more effective than DEET, a common bug repellent chemical, catnip loves sunny locations with well-drained soils. This perennial herb produces gray-green foliage with soft blue flowers.

Marigolds-While this flower may not have the best scent, marigolds work well in vegetable gardens because they act as a repellent and as a "trap" plant. In other words, they themselves are feasted on instead of the vegetables you've planted and they do repel such insects as aphids. They are also attractive to beneficials that prey on aphids. Marigolds and their bright orange, yellow and red blossoms like plenty of sun.

Lemon Thyme-Speaking of fragrance, like the name states, lemon thyme emits a clean lemon scent popular with humans, yet extremely unpopular with insects. This evergreen perennial is hardy in zones 4-11 and prefers full sun. It’s drought tolerant, spreads quickly, and looks a lot like English thyme.

Lemon Basil-Another aromatic herb, this finicky annual is covered with small flowers and needs to be watered regularly. It’s a good addition to any vegetable garden for its ability to deter white flies and also enhance the flavor of tomatoes.