Now's the time to feed your lawn.

 

When is the most important time to feed your lawn? The answer is now. The fertilizer you apply now will go directly to the roots of your lawn, where it is stored until the weather warms up in the spring and the lawn begins to green up. At this point your lawn depends on the energy stored in its roots. The most important part of the fertilizer you apply now is Nitrogen, the first number on the bag.

Fertilome Winterizer contains 25% Nitrogen, plus Phosphate and Potassium to help your lawn absorb and store the fertilizer you apply now. You can buy a 20 pound bag, which covers 5,000 square feet or a 40 pound bag which covers 10,000 square feet.

Rich Lawn Winterizer is organically-based and has a 15-3-6 formula. A 40 pound bag covers 6,000 square feet.  If you’re looking for an all-organic winterizer fertilizer, pick up a bag of

Nature’s Cycle (made in Platteville) or

Alpha Lawn II plus iron (made in Loveland). The organic fertilizers typically cover about 3,000 square feet of lawn. Stop in and see us. We'll help you select the right fertilizer for your lawn.

Please Don't Squash the Catapillars!

I found these beautiful Black Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars on my Bronze Fennel this week. I have really enjoyed this herb all summer and this was the icing on the cake. It brought back a very painful memory for me though, Many years ago, I lived out in the country and was happily watching over a patch of bright orange butterfly weed (Milk Weed). You know, I should have gotten a clue from the name - BUTTERFLY WEED! Duh! Anyway, on that particular day I went to visit my patch of butterfly weed that was in full bloom. The plants were covered with these awful green, orange and black caterpillars! Not only that but they were destroying my pretty flowers! Well, I began picking them off and squashing them flat. No telling how many I killed. It makes me so sad now to even think about it. I found out later that they were Monarch butterflies.  I still wonder if I am responsible for the decline in this beautiful insect.

So plant plenty of fennel, parsley, butterfly weed, butterfly bushes and other host plants and don't squash the caterpillars!

Remember too, that Sevin Dust  kills all the good bugs as well as the bad! I figure that I don't have a single plant that will not recover from a bug attack and I want to have the honey bees and butterflies around for a long time.

There's a New Kid on the Blog

Ryan Concentrating on her new blog 

No, that title is not a typo. I can't remember if I've written about my missionary friends Chad and Ryan Morgan before or not. I'll have a post soon about the antique rose I got from them this past spring and what I'm going to do with it.They are serving in the Appalachian Mountains smack in the middle of coal mining country. Today I want to introduce you to Ryan and her new blog. She is very knowledgeable about natural diet, gluten free recipes how to make your own cleaning supplies and all things God!

The lake and bunk house at Shekinah Village

Ryan and I have spent the last two days here at Shekinah Village blogging together. I have had so much fun getting her started with a new blog site and hearing all about what has been happening in her life here in the beautiful Appalachian mountains.

Her Blog is called "God Girl Kind of Life" and she has her first post up now and one scheduled for next week. Please check her out if you want to learn about Gluten free, simple living, money saving goodies and faith based lessons.

Look at Ryan and her hubby Chad's ministry too. You might just want to rent one of the beautiful cabins for your next retreat! Shekinah Village

Scrapbook Freebies

As you know, I'm all about saving money whether in the garden or my craft pursuits. with that in mind, I want to share some of my favorite web sites for free scrapbooking supplies.

I found this one today and downloaded some fishing art that will be perfect for scrapbook pages of my son and grandson's fishing pictures.My Digiscrapping Corner

I spent way too much time on this one! I downloaded a bunch of great stuff, The cute little felt hearts at the beginning of this blog came from this site. http://scrapping-delights.blogspot.com/

This last one has lots of links to free and cheap scrapbooking items. It's called Creative Busy Hands check it out.

I found some fun vintage halloween art and other fun stuff in books that I bought at Barnes & Noble. They come with a Cd that you can use for digital art too.

With all the rain we have had lately here in Tennessee, I've spent more time with my indoor hobbies. I have lots of projects started and some great ideas that are on the back burner. Now that our studio is restored (after the flood) I'm ready to get back to work.

Think now about Planting a Strawberry Bed

Have you ever dreamed of growing all your own strawberries? I can tell you how to develop a productive strawberry patch with very little effort, in whatever space you have, even a tiny cottage garden, but you have to start it now. The initial outlay of effort this year amounts to a bit of work with the lawn mower and maybe a rake and tarp, and, if you are lucky enough to have one in your town, a trip to your city compost site.

If you are not starting your strawberry bed on well cultivated ground you will also need a stack of newspapers.  You can wet these to make the job simpler, and then spread seven layers of overlapping papers over the entire bed.  This will block out any weeds or grass that is below it.  You can even start your strawberry plants directly over sod this way.  If you already have a weed free plot you can skip the newspaper step.

Next get out your mulching lawn mower and mow your leaf covered lawn, directing the leaves and grass toward the strawberry bed. If the bed is not next to the lawn you will need a rake and a big tarp to carry the leaves and unload them all over the newspapers, or garden soil.

When you have a seven or eight inch layer over the newspapers or soil you can add a thin layer of finished compost, or if no compost is available, use ordinary soil.  All the leaves and grass below will providing the rich environment strawberries love.

This is all you will need to do until early spring unless you have a friend giving away extra plants, and you want to plant them right away.  If that is the case, simply make a hole in the leaves every two feet down the center of the bed, partly fill with soil or finished compost, and plant your strawberry plants in the soil.

To find out how to keep your strawberry bed producing huge crops every year, read my entire article on Helium: How to grow strawberry plants

You can use the same procedure for preparing a perfect potato patch that grows huge potatoes. Read my article on Helium: Tips for planting potatoes in your garden

 

Forcing spring flowering bulbs indoors.

 

 

Forcing bulbs is a great way to bring a little spring color into the house, while its still winter outside. To force a bulb is to get the bulb to flower indoors ahead of its natural schedule. Forcing bulbs indoors is easy to do and virtually all spring flowering bulbs can be forced, tulips, hyacinths and daffodils. Amaryllis and paperwhites are popular holiday bulbs that do not need a chilling-off period to bloom.

Bulbs will grow equally well in clay, ceramic or plastic pots, as long as the pot has drainage.

 

 

Next, select quality bulbs. The larger the bulb, the bigger the bloom will be. Fill the container about 3/4s full of quality potting soil. Add Bone Meal or Dutch Bulb Food to your potting mix. Bulbs that are forced can be planted outside after blooming and the fertilizer will give them an extra boost.

 

 

Place the bulbs close together, but not touching each other. Tulips should be placed with the flat side of the bulb toward the edge of the container. This will allow the first leaves to form a nice border around the edge of the pot.

 

 

Fill in enough soil so just the tips are showing. Water the soil. Place the pot in a cool (35°-45°), dark spot such as a spare refrigerator, unheated garage or basement. Spring flowering bulbs require 12 to 15 weeks in cold storage in order to bloom.

While the bulbs are chilling, they will form roots, so it’s important to water regularly. Once the tips of the bulbs are about 2” high, remove from cold storage and place in a warmer room, with bright, indirect sunlight. Your bulbs can now be treated as any houseplant, water regularly, feed weekly and enjoy your blooms! After blooming, remove the spent flowers. Bulbs may be planted outside after blooming.

Hyacinths can also be forced in water several ways. Select a forcing vase, add water and set bulb in the vase and into a cool spot. Roots will form over the next 10-12 weeks. Another way is to chill hyacinth bulbs in a paper bag in the refrigerator, then place the bulb in a forcing vase and set in a sunny, warm spot and enjoy the flowers.

Learn from one of the best.

 

 

There are many who say that Panayoti Kelaidis has changed Western gardening more that anyone in recent times. There is no doubt that his influence on gardening and plant selection is substantial. As an expert in horticulture, science and art, the Senior Curator and Director of Denver Botanical Gardens Outreach, has traveled extensively and spoken throughout the world. He is past president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the American Rock Garden Society

and the American Penstemon Society. In 2000, he was the recipient of the Arthur Hoyt Scott Medal from Swarthmore College, generally considered the highest honor in American Horticulture. Panayoti almost singlehandedly introduced the genus Delosperma to general horticulture.

Delosperma or Ice Plant is a low growing, long-flowering ground cover. This would be a great chance for you to ask Panayoti why he chose the name “ice plant”. Born and raised in Colorado, his extensive knowledge of horticulture in our unique climate will help you better understand the possibilities of gardening in Colorado. On Saturday, September 27^th at 1:00 p.m. you’ll have the opportunity to sit down and visit with Panayoti in The Flower Bin’s classroom.

DIY Mosquito Trap

Source: velacreations.com via Kathy on Pinterest

Found this one on Pinterest.

"Mosquito trap - No more mosquitos!! Cut the top off a 2 liter bottle. Invert the cone and place it inside the bottle. Glue the two pieces together. Add 1 tsp yeast and 1/2 cup sugar to some luke warm water, and pour the mixture into the bottle. Mosquitoes are attracted to the carbon dioxide that you exhale. The yeast feeds off the sugar and emits the same gas, so the mosquito enters the bottle, thinking she will find food there. FLIES LOVE THIS!!! Have caught 1000's of flies!!"

 

Gardeners on a Mission

The cabin at Coldstream Christian Camp

I've written before about my "Thursday Girls" who meet at my house for fun, fellowship and support.. Well, last week we went on a mission trip together. A gardening mission trip! I bet you think of going to Africa to save souls when you think of missions. That is not always the case. God can and does use all our gifts to help others.

My long time friends Jo and Linda Goodman from Adams, TN, donated their farm years ago for a Christian Camp so kids who normally could not attend camp could come and enjoy the camp experience. They called it Coldstream Christian Camp because the wonderful big spring that rushes out of a stone bluff near the center of the property. The camp has evolved over the years to include many other aspects of "outdoor and nature retreat" ministry. Rowena's cabin there is one of my favorite places for a personal retreat. It is close to home, quiet and beautiful. The perfect place to get away, regroup and refresh!

For a year or so, I've wanted to landscape the front yard of the cabin. It is on a hillside, water rushes through it down to the lake when it rains and the deer in the woods are frequent visitors too. Grass refuses to grow there (too shady) so it was a challenge. I had lots of nice Purple Winter Creeper here in my little Back Yard Nursery  so Jo and Linda gave me permission to come plant it in the yard. I figured it was the perfect opportunity for my "girls" to dig in the dirt and have a weekend away too.

Shirley, Kay, Me, Cyndi (baby of the group!)

Turns out the young ladies in our group couldn't make it so the four "mature" girls went and got it all done in record time!

We planted the whole yard with Winter Creeper, added a couple of Gold Mound Spirea and two Dark Knight Bluebeard shrubs near the porch and I planted a Graziella Miscanthus by the road. We are going to come back in the spring and finish the little porch garden. We had time left over to eat the yummy lasagna that Cyndi made, drink lots of tea and coffee and have lots of "girl talk". Everyone but me was going to attend Sunday School Sunday morning so they left me alone Saturday night and I had a wonderful night and early morning - just me and God on the big deck overlooking the lake- Bliss!!

If you would like to take a retreat at Coldstream yourself or help them out financially or otherwise, there are ample opportunities to do both. Check out all the things going on there including the Potter's House, a great facility for a large group retreat. http://www.coldstreamchristiancamp.org/ 

Get to know your garlic

Garlic is a member of the allium family, which includes leeks, shallots and onions. There many different varieties of garlic, all of which fall into three general categories: Softneck, Hardneck and Elephant. Softneck garlic is the kind you will generally find in the grocery store. The two common types of softneck garlic are artichoke and silverskin. Artichoke garlic generally stores well and has a mild flavor, such as Inchelium Red and Early Italian Purple. Silverskin includes Silver Rose (warm flavor), Italian Late (very aromatic with robust flavor) and Nootka Rose (very strong flavor). Softneck garlics have a flexible stalk which can be braided.

Hardneck garlics also have a stalk –called a scape- which coils at the top. If left to mature, hardnecks will produce a flower which is actually a number of small bubils, or tiny bulbs, which are edible. Hardnecks dry to a hard stem, hence the name. The most common Hardneck garlic is rocambole. As a group, they have a deeper, richer flavor than softnecks do, but they don’t store as well. Select German Red or Spanish Roja for long lasting, strong flavor.

Elephant garlic is the largest garlic. It is also the mildest and sweetest. It is easy to peel and has a long shelf life.

Garlic is typically planted in late September and early October. Start with a good, quality bulb. Garlic purchased in grocery stores is often treated with sprout inhibitors, disrupting the growth cycle.

 

 

 Break the bulb, called “cracking” into individual cloves. Each clove will produce its own plant, containing 6-8 cloves per bulb. Garlic likes sun and well-drained soils, so incorporate a good soil amendment such as Sheep, Peat and Compost into your planting. This organic soil is produced locally. Add some Bone Meal to the planting site, to encourage rooting. Garlic is a very friendly plant and grows well planted with other flowers and vegetables in the garden as well as in the perennial bed. Plant each clove about 2” deep, pointy end up and spaced about 6” apart.

Like other spring flowering bulbs, garlic planted now will set roots and start to grow. As the soil temperature cools down, growth stops. As soil temperatures increase in the spring, the bulb begins its growth cycle. Garlic can be mulched in early winter, after the ground freezes. The mulch will hold in moisture and keep the ground stable.   

Softneck garlic planted now will usually be ready for harvest around July 4^th. Dig softnecks when the leaves turn brown. Hardnecks will mature a little later in the season. Hardnecks are ready to dig when the scapes become straight.

Time to revive your lawn.

 

September is a great time to fix up your lawn. Turf grass wears out for any number of reasons; wear and tear, age, soil compaction, bugs, fungus and now is the best time to fix these problems. There are two products to use on your lawn right now to help it get ready for winter.

Revive™ works to break down the surface of your lawn so water and nutrients get into the soil better.

Soil Activator works at the root level so your lawn can take up water and nutrients better. You need both for your lawn to look its best. If you haven’t fed your lawn, now’s the time to add Fertilome Lawn Food Plus Iron. If you’re thinking about re-seeding those bare spots or adding seed to the whole lawn to help thicken it up, now is the time. Start with selecting the right seed for your lawn. Most of the grasses we use in our lawns are “cool-season” grasses. They do best when the temperatures are cooler. That’s why spring and fall are the best times to seed your lawn.  We recommend you choose seed that will work in our area. We get our grass seed from the Greely, Fort Collins area.

We sell grass seed in bulk, so you can buy the exact amount you need. For sunny areas, you can choose from Flower Bin Blue grass mix which is a drought tolerant and stands up to heavy traffic or Colorado’s Own which will work in sun and moving shade area. We also carry mixes for shady areas.

It’s best to aerate the lawn first, then add a soil amendment such as Sheep, Peat and Compost and lightly rake it in.

Add your seed and cover lightly with Top Soil or Sheep, Peat and Compost and keep it moist until the seed germinates. If you’re not sure how to proceed, stop in and talk to us. We help you select just the right grass seed.

Get Rid of Those Fruit Flies - Safe and FREE!

Here's a great blog post I found out there in Cyber Space. If you've ever had trouble with fruit flies, this one's for you! Just click the link below.

Elle's New England Kitchen

A Garden Calms the Soul

When my life is unsettled and all I feel like doing is crying, I look at my cottage garden and think of the Creator and my soul is calmed.  I hope these photos bless others as well. 

Garden Views

Rocks are such a wonderful addition to patios in cottage gardens, 

whether they are flat patio stones or natural rock groupings.

What to Do with an Abundant Fall Harvest

Here are a few recipes that might help you eat up some of that good produce that we all have in abundance right now - if you don't , maybe you have a friend who will share. Almost daily someone at my office brings in goodies to share.

Last week I made spaghetti and had lots of noodles left over. I put them in the fridge and the next night I rinsed them under cold water and let drain.

I added several varieties of heirloom grape tomatoes, a pimento pepper from my garden, fresh chopped cucumber, chopped purple onion, fresh parsley, basil and garlic. I drizzled olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the whole thing, tossed in some sea salt and fresh ground pepper. I mixed it all together and topped it with fresh graded Parmesan cheese. I was delicious served with garlic bread. We smelled like garlic for days. LOL!

The next night I added yellow squash and zucchini to the mix, topped it with mozzarella cheese and heated at 400 till the cheese was browned - it was yummy again!

I found this recipe on Martha Stewart web site. It's perfect to use all the fresh veggies and herbs that are in season right now.

Ingredients:
Makes 8
8 ripe medium beefsteak tomatoes
2 ripe peaches, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (2 cups)
3 Kirby cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (1 1/3 cups)
Kernels from 2 ears corn (1 1/2 cups)
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste
1/2 cup shredded fresh basil leaves, plus sprigs for garnish
Directions
Slice off tops of tomatoes (about 1/2 inch). Scoop out the seeds and ribs, and coarsely chop. Stir together chopped tomatoes, peaches, cucumbers, corn, oil, 1 tablespoon lime juice, salt, and pepper. Let stand for 15 minutes. Taste and adjust for acidity, adding up to 1 tablespoon more lime juice. Stir in basil.
Season inside of tomato shells with salt and pepper. Fill tomatoes with tomato mixture, and garnish with basil sprigs. Serve immediately.