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Table of Contents
1) Editor's Comments:Oh my! Where does the time go? We're already half-way through May. The next thing you know, we'll be spitting watermelon seeds at a Fourth of July picnic (here in the U.S.). This week we'll look a bit more at annuals, quick tip on keeping your seeds happy, answer a question on grub worms, and more. The number of subscribers continues to grow. Unfortunately, with that the number of bounced messages also grows. We have been removing bouncing addresses quicker than in the past. If you have a habit of having a full mailbox and your subscription quits showing up, it might be we've removed you. You can certainly resubscribe. As always, if you do have questions, suggestions or ideas, do not hesitate to drop us a note. Tom Krueger Rex Gregor 2) Choosing Annuals to Grow:
Things that need to be considered are soil conditions for the plant, light requirements, climate conditions, and planting requirements of seed, whether to buy seeds or buy plants, and more. Notice we didn't even touch on the height of the plants, leaf coloring, and color of bloom, growth habit or any such characteristics. Annuals don't all grow at the same rate. That's why it is important you know whether you can start the plant directly in the garden from seed, or whether you need to start indoors, or whether you need to go with live plants. Did you know that annual carnations and wax begonias can take as long as four to six months to go from seed to flower? If you live in a cold climate, there is no way you could directly seed these in your garden. If you do have a question on a specific annual, relating to any of the issues mentioned above, we'd be happy to try and help. One important thing to remember for annuals is to plan. (Planning is another topic we might expand on in the future.) Simply put, you need to look at the information you receive about plants you'd like to grow and do some planning on paper. Consider the garden as a whole - what plants will look good together; will a taller plant end up hiding a beautiful shorter species; how close together should they be planted; do you want to have a grouping of similar color or a blending of many colors; will the color clash within the grouping or even clash with the Color of your house. It is also a good idea to overlap one group of plants with its neighbors to give the appearance of your blossoms flowing into one another. This helps the garden to appear as a whole, and not the visual impact of a bunch of isolated colors. So, what sort of growing conditions do annuals need? Most annuals do require direct sun, although, there are many that bloom in the shade. One thing almost all need is plenty of water - this is because of their generally small root systems. The soil requirements for most annuals aren't too stringent; of course, poor soil conditions will lower the quantity and beauty of the blooms. Next week we'll talk about some tips for planting annual seeds in the garden. *** 15% savings until May 22, 2003 *** Repellant Plants to Protect Nature Synthetic repellants are becoming more and more of
a threat to man as each generation goes by. In the meantime these chemicals
permeate our homes, gardens, lawns and environment. As a result, our
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hope American gardeners will help reverse this trend by using natural
deterrents. We are offering these seeds to help you in this effort. http://www.rexseedco.com/pest.htm 3) Humor for Today:A cyclone hit a Kansas farmhouse just before dawn one morning. It tore off the roof, and picked up the beds on which the farmer and his wife slept were sleeping. By some miracle, the cyclone set them down unharmed the next county over. The wife was sobbing uncontrollably. "Don't be scared, Mary," her husband said. "We're not hurt." Mary continued to cry. "I'm not scared," she said between sobs. "I'm happy... this is the first time in 14 years we've been out together." 4) Cover for Happy Seeds:Have you ever placed seeds in the soil and then simply covered them with soil you just removed? We all have. But did you know that you might be decreasing the number of plants that sprout? Those little plants trying to come to the surface might need to fight their way around clumps, junks of soil, rocks, and sticks in order to get to the surface -- they may simply not be able do it. Too often we don't have a fine enough soil above the seeds. They need to come up through a light medium and not have to fight an obstacle course. Now that many of us have headed to the garden center for flats of plants, we already have a great device for sifting soil. You'll want the kind of flat that has a mesh-like bottom. At planting time, simply dump a shovel-full of dirt in the flat, then shake it back and forth above your row of seeds. The finer soil will sift out, leaving the bigger, leaving the rougher stuff in the flat. Your seeds will be happier in their effort to please you. 5) Grilling Safe Hamburgers:I know we mentioned this last summer, but now that grilling season is again upon us, we thought this would be a timely reminder.
Always remember to thoroughly clean the thermometer immediately after each testing Cold Climate Gardeners are passing
up an excellent resource if they don't take a look into the Minnesota
State Horticultural Society. Visit them today. We recommend them
highly. 6) Quote for Today:"Putting off an easy thing makes it hard. Putting off a
hard think makes it impossible." 7) Reader Mailbag: Grub WormsLast week one of our readers wrote: "Hi! I am so happy to get your newsletter. I learn something new every time. The reason I'm writing you is I have a problem with grub worms. Is there a remedy you can make at home or do I need to go to the hardware store? Thank you so much for your time." ---- Grub worms start their life cycle from the eggs of the Japanese Beetle and/or the June Beetle (some times called June Bugs). Depending where you live, these little brown beetles can certainly cause lawn problems. (They are about the size of the end of your little finger.) These beetles will start flying around and lay their eggs in late May or early June. You will usually see them flying around about 8:30 in the evening. after the sun goes down. They are attracted by light and it is not unusual for them to fly into the screen door of your house or windows. If you are driving your car at night and the "June Bugs" are out in droves, it's a good idea to have a good supply of window-washer fluid in your car. The larvae of these beetles, known as "Grub Worms" feed on grass roots during the warm summer days. Because they live under ground it is difficult to know they are causing problems in your lawn until you see a brown spot appear. As the ground cools in the fall these little buggers will burrow deeper into the ground and will live below the frost line through the winter. When the soil gets warmer in the spring these "grub worms" will come to the surface and begin to transform into a Japanese beetle. They will often curl in a "C" shape before they transform into a beetle. There are different methods of treating your lawn to rid it of the grubs - we generally recommend you use a chemical (UGH) if you have a major problem. Most lawn services and/or nurseries will carry the necessary chemicals to spray on your lawn. We usually suggest that you are best to bite the bullet and employ a good local lawn service to get rid of your problem. Since the larvae live under the soil, they are difficult to destroy, that's why we suggest professional help. Good luck. 8) Groupings of Vegetables:
9) Subscribe/UnsubscribeThis newsletter, the Green Thumb Times, is sent out only to those who have requested a FREE subscription by signing up at http://rexseedco.com or specifically asked to be added, or are a valued customer of Rex's Seedco. PRIVACY: Your email address is held in the strictest of privacy. It is never traded or sold to anyone else. To subscribe to The Green Thumb Times To unsubscribe Tom Krueger, Editor and Publisher Rex Gregor, Contributing Editor Please feel free to forward The Green Thumb Times to a friend. Rex’s Seedco has searched the world for quality
growers of garden seeds. Many of these farmers bring together ancient
wisdom and modern science so people everywhere may have good health
and enjoyment in life. We are dedicated to providing the best wherever
they are found.
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Last time we talked about how wonderful and versatile annuals can
be in your yard and garden. There are hundreds of species of annuals
and thousands of varieties within those species. The main problem with
annuals is trying to decide which ones to choose.
As you grill, you can follow some simple steps to keep your cookout
from turning into a disaster. The USDA urges all cooks to bring the
internal temperature of burgers to 160 degrees. This can be monitored
by using an instant-read thermometer (available at most supermarkets).
Last issue we talked about crop rotation within our gardens. As important
as crop rotation is to a farmer, it is also important to the home gardener.
Thought we'd share a list of vegetables grouped together by family
and are subject to the same insects and diseases: