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Table of Contents
1) Editor's Comments:Our subscriber base continues to be loyal. And because of your support and help in getting the word out about Green Thumb Times, our desire to produce an issue each week remains strong. Please, continue to tell your family, friends, and neighbors about this valuable resource. Do you have a soggy spot or area in your yard, we may have a solution for you in our lead article. We also have loads of other material including November lawn care, tips on watering large houseplants, our reader mailbag, and more. As always, if you do have questions, suggestions or ideas, do not hesitate to drop us a note. Tom Krueger Rex Gregor "Exotic & Unusual Seeds from Around the World" 2) Soggy Gardens:Do you have a soggy bog near your home, or in your back yard? Good news, you can change this into a beautiful, desirable landscape that will be easy to maintain and very beneficial for the environment. There are many frustrated homeowners who have low-lying areas which are on the soggy side. Here's some advice to help you solve this problem. The first suggestion is to select some native perennial plants. With these, you can quickly transform this mucky soil into a beautiful flower garden, instead of what was previously a mosquito infested bog with ugly weeds. You can easily change this area into a wildlife habitat that will help filter excess nutrients and pollutants from the water, and even recharge the groundwater. You'll be turning a sorry situation into a beautiful "soggy garden." If you are looking to simply fill in a swampy area with trees and shrubs, you must choose trees and shrubs that will thrive in the wet conditions. Generally consider deciduous trees such as river birch, red maple, green ash, or look at evergreens such as the eastern red cedar or common juniper. Generally your local nursery can recommend the best species to grow in your area. If your wet area is already under a shady canopy, you might select spicebush, mountain laurel, or pepperbush. These are plants that will act as a delightful magnet for butterflies and other wildlife such as small birds who want a place to rest. Another approach for the shady bog is to plant ferns and groundcover. You'll be creating the illusion of a lush "forest floor." Beyond the ferns, you might want to include clumps of wild ginger, wintergreen, or mountain stonecrop. These evergreen natives are a vast improvement over the invasive English Ivy. If your goal is to cover a small depression in your yard, you can use any of these plants in groupings to cover the muddy area. All of these, of course, are perennials.
All the items above are usually available through specialty greenhouses. Although, we may have several of them within our seed list. If you drop us an email, we'd be glad to try and find a local source for you. *** 10% savings until October 30, 2003 *** Acacias are easily grown. Almost all Acacia make good container plants and can be grown outside in warmer climates. These make a good conversation piece in your home. Enter the Store and Click on the Sale Link The discount will not show up in your shopping cart -- we will take care of it for you before finalization of your order. (No other discounts apply.) 3) Humor for Today:I have changed my system for labeling homemade freezer meals. I used to carefully note in large clear letters, "Meatloaf" or "Pot Roast" or "Steak and Vegetables" or "Chicken and Dumplings" or "Beef Pot Pie." However, I used to get frustrated when I asked my husband what he wanted for dinner because he never asked for any of those things. So, I decided to stock the freezer with what he really likes. If you look in my freezer now you'll see a whole new set of labels. You'll find dinners with neat little tags that say: "Whatever," "Anything," "I Don't Know," "I Don't Care," "Something Good," or "Food." My frustration is now reduced because no matter what my husband replies when I ask him what he wants for dinner, I know that it is there waiting. 4) November Lawn Care:
Okay, so it's almost November, does that mean it's time to totally ignore our lawns? Absolutely not. What you should be doing depends on where you live. In cold climates, you want to be sure to rake up leaves and debris. You don't want it sitting all winter under a cover of snow. If you've overseeded an area, be sure to give it a final mowing, do so about 1/2 inch above normal. And if the fall has been dry, you still want to be watering. If the ground hasn't frozen, you can even consider establishing a new lawn with sod. For those in temperate areas, your tips are pretty much the same as above. But you'll want to also apply pre-emergent herbicides to your lawn. As we move further south into the warmer climates, you'll want to apply fertilizer to Bermuda grass, if you haven't already done so. Don't do any mowing unless needed. Be sure to water if it has been dry. And like those above, be sure to rake up any leaves and debris. And finally, for those of you in the hot climates, mow only as needed. You'll want to be applying post-emergent broadleaf weed control at recommended rates. That's it. With a little care, you'll have a happier and healthier lawn in the spring. 5) Watering Large Houseplants:
Here's a suggestion. Find a great looking watertight decorative container larger than the actual pot your plant is in. You then have two alternatives. The first is to place a brick at the bottom of the decorative container and under the plant's pot. This will allow excess water to flow through the drain hole and be retained around the brick. You won't have the pot sitting in water. Alternatively, this works best if the plant is in a clay pot. Fill the bottom of the decorative container with shards of clay pots. Set in the potted plant and fill space around it with sphagnum moss. Now instead of watering the plant directly, water the sphagnum moss. The water will seep into the pot as the plant needs it. Bridge Baron offers you the most comprehensive, easy-to-use, computer bridge game available. I know because I've enjoyed it for years. I first purchased Bridge Baron with version 5, they are now up to version 13. It's been getting better every time. You need to check it out. 6) Quote for Today:"They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled
to full respect for their opinions," said Atticus, "but before
I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing
that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience." 7) Reader Mailbag: Dividing HostaI am in Wisconsin and My neighbor is dividing her Hostas, and offered me whatever I wanted. Is it okay to do this now, and is there anything special I should be doing for them? Please, I need help!You may transplant hosta at any time, right up unitl the ground freezes. However, in northern Wisconsin, it is best to transplant them before September 1. Doing it in mid-October does leave the possibility of losing a few, but the odds are in your favor. Generally, it takes an axe and sledge hammer to kill hosta. One suggestion is to water the plants "deep down" when you transplant. Then water the plants every week or ten days until the ground freezes. As always, do not over soak the plant because the roots might rot. Be aware, the hosta plant does need moisture in the winter even though the ground might be frozen. Thus, watering deep now will give the plant the moisture it needs. Generally speaking, Minnesota and Wisconsin have a dry spell in the late fall, thus it is best to give them enough moisture during this time. In fact, this is true with small trees and shrubs. Bottom line? You shouldn't have any problems. 8) Dwarf Houseplants:The past couple issues we talked about dwarf fruit trees. But did you know there are also dwarf houseplants? There are a number of common houseplants that can be purchased in dwarf form, as well. Flowering specimens to consider are miniature rose bushes and dwarf African violets. For dwarf foliage plants, you can consider croton, assorted ferns, palms, and peperomia. 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 Click Here or send email to subscribegtt@goalsmint.com To unsubscribe Click Here or send email to unsubscribegtt@goalsmint.com 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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Of course, if you have sunny wet areas, as we said earlier, you have
the advantage of planting brilliant colors to attract nectar-feeding
butterflies, hummingbirds and small birds. Some of our favorites are
cardinal flowers, great blue lobelia, wild columbine, foam flowers,
Virginia spiderwort, wrinkleleaf goldenrod and other species as Rubeckia
(a species of Black- eyed–Susan), swamp milkweed, and joe-pye-weed.
These will flower with hues from red, yellow, pink, and dark purple.
Be sure to plant the taller specimens toward the center of the swampy
area.
We know we have a number of readers in the Southern Hemisphere. By
now you know that most of our articles are geared towards folks in
the Northern Hemisphere. We hope you retain these articles for six
months when they'll be relevant for you.
One of the difficulties with large houseplants is watering. You can't
just pick them up and carry them to the sink. You also hate to have
an ugly "catch basin" under the container for excess water.
You're then left with using your best judgement on how much water is
enough for the plant and not too much to have it flowing in your room.