| "Hort" Tips from our Experts |
| This is a cool, wet summer and slugs are thriving. Ugh. Daily slug pick-up is helpful, especially for protecting cabbages and peas. Drop the slugs into a container of salt water. If this is too icky a task, try a beer trap. Fill shallow cans (like cat food cans) daily with inexpensive beer. Have the rim of the can at ground level so the slug can belly right up to the bar. They will arrive by the dozens and leave your zinnias and cabbages alone. |
| If this cool and moist weather continues, we should have lovely summer lettuce in August and September. Seeds are still available at Blue Seal in Fishkill, NY and Adams Market in Poughkeepsie and Newburgh. Try planting various lettuces (Oak Leaf or Red Sails) now for fall salads. | I planted yellow crook neck squash seedlings from Adams Market Nursery and the plants are BIG and bearing lots of yellow squash. Basil is ready too, so we are enjoying squash, sauteed with basil and olive oil and garlic almost every day. Yummy. |
At last our Blueberry bush is mature enough to bear abundant blueberries. It has taken about ten years to reach this point. We are now picking a pint of berries everyday. They are quite large and have a wild blueberry flavor. To prevent birds from getting all the blueberries before we do, I covered the bush with three 3-yard pieces of nylon tulle. The sun can shine in on the berries, but the birds don't pick first!
(M. Wagner) |
 Epsom Salts--oft times an antidote for sad-looking indoor and outdoor plants! Epsom salts contain magnesium sulfate and can work wonders. Add 1 Tb./gallon of water and use to water plants on a weekly basis; or, sprinkle a few granules around the base of the plant. Especially recommended for roses, gardenias and tomatoes--indeed for most plants. (C. Cohen) | On gathering and saving seeds: Autumn is the time to gather seeds of your favorite plants. Stroll through your garden and collect annual seeds such as Nasturtium, Zinnia, Cosmos, Bachelor Buttons, Morning Glory, Sunflower, Impatiens, Sweet Pea and Four O'Clocks. Collect them on a sunny, dry day and store in labelled envelopes. (Do not store them in plastic bags.) Hollyhocks, Day-lily and Clematis seeds may be collected and sown now in a seed starting mix. Rose and Magnolia seeds may be collected now also. The secret to successful growing of Rose and Magnolias is to remove the fruity covering on the seeds and to chill them in bags of damp sand and peat for 2 months in the refrigerator (not the freezer!) Then start the seed as usual in a seed starting mix. (M. Wagner) |
| Regarding the drought conditions....try to keep an adequate level of moisture around plant roots by watering in the morning and/or evening. Dahlias, roses, tomatoes, cucumbers, beets and corn all love sunshine but need sufficient water to develop their best flavors and fruit. Also, mulch plants with grass clippings to retain moisture. (M. Wagner) |
| Questions about deer-proofing your garden? Deer-resistant planting? Ask the experts... |
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