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************************************************************* CHRISTMAS FOR GARDENERS BY What can I get
my gardener friend? What
should I put on my own Christmas want list?
It is that time of year again and you begin to wonder and
struggle. Listed below are some ideas about tools and accessories that I
use all the time. 1. GO GREEN!!!
Go green is the “in” thing and very good for our gardens and for the
environment. I have twelve “compost frames” in my vegetable garden
area. Over half of them are made from recycled plastic and are about 3
feet in diameter and 3 feet tall. They snap together and are easy to
remove in the fall. They can be purchased at most garden centers. The
other ones are about the same size and made from woven wire fencing and
are also about 3 feet in diameter and about 3 to 4 feet tall. I start in
the fall with a bag of leaves and then a layer of coffee grounds, then
another bag of leaves and more coffee grounds. Coffee grounds are
available at most coffee shops, and Starbucks even has free 5# bags at
each shop. I use 3 to 4 bags of used grounds per layer that have been
collected in 5 gallon buckets. If you don’t have access to the coffee
grounds a couple handfuls of high nitrogen lawn fertilizer will do with
each layer of leaves. This year I am
slow in emptying the finished compost piles I started last fall. If the
weather holds up I will empty them and spread the “black gold” on my
garden. Then if the weather cooperates, I will till it in or if the
ground is frozen I will let nature and the worms do there thing. The
compost piles are located at the north and south ends of the 30 foot
rows in my vegetable garden. 2. A “compost
thermometer” or a “soil thermometer” makes a welcome gift for any
gardener who has a compost pile or person who takes care of a lawn. You
can purchase either one at a garden center. The only difference is in
the length of the probe. For the soil thermometer, you can get one from
a store that sells kitchen utensils or from a garden center. Get a small
one with a 4-5 inch probe and a round dial. I use mine quite a bit in
the spring to check the soil temperature so I know when to plant seeds
and transplants outside in the garden, when to apply pre-emergent on the
lawn, etc. I use my compost thermometer for the same purpose and to tell
me when it is time to turn my compost material. When my compost is
really cooking it will get up to about 140 degrees F. When the
temperature starts to fall and is between 110 and 120 degrees F. I know
it is time turn. Turning the pile adds air back into the pile so it will
continue to cook and decompose. 3. Most of us
do not like to turn our compost piles. When mine is ready I get out my
cordless drill and attach a 2 1/4 inch bulb planter that looks like an
auger and move it up and down. That really mixes up what is in the
compost frame. When done I usually add some water to keep the mixture
damp. Damp, not soaking wet material, composts two to three times faster
than dry material. To water I usually use my “Ross Root Feeder” that
I connect to the hose. This is hard to do in the winter but my compost
usually stops during the really cold part of the winter and starts back
up in the spring. 4. Most of us
have to prune from time to time. A “small pruning saw” is very handy
for those times when the stem is too large for your pruners or loppers.
I have a pruning saw that I use quite often. Some like to carry a small
folding pruning saw for those days when they are pruning. A saw is
usually necessary for my Lilac hedge, especially when I have large stems
that don’t get pruned on schedule, like this spring after I had
surgery. 5. For those
gardeners that like to start there own seeds inside, a “heat mat” is
a very desirable gift. Most seeds need a temperature of about 65 to 70
degrees F. for good germination. Most of us do not have a location in
the basement or garage that is that warm. When 6. The next
suggestion goes with seed starting and growing plants indoors. “Plant
Lights” are necessary when starting seeds indoors or, as mentioned
above, to keep your plants from getting leggy. Leggy plants have thin
stalks and do not have short and stocky stems like what we want to set
out. For seed starting, placing your new seeds in a window, even a South
window, is usually not enough light to keep them from getting leggy. I
have not started my transplants for a few years. When I did, I set up
fluorescent lights above a table in the basement. Expensive Gro-Lights
are not needed. Get regular shop lights and hang them from chains so
they can be raised and lowered as needed. Get one regular shop light
bulb and one cool white light bulb. This will provide the needed light
spectrum you need for starting and growing plants. The chains are needed
as the lights should be about 4 inches above the top of your plant. This
is also true for your houseplants that do not have sufficient light. For
some small plants I used a fluorescent desk lamp and placed it on a book
or a small stand so my houseplant got the light it needed. Most plants do
not like to have the plant lights on for 24 hours. Plants need a rest to
utilize the energy they got from “photosynthesis”. Photosynthesis is
the scientific term used to explain what happens when plants utilize the
light that falls onto the plant and turns it into useable energy. This
happens when the plant light is on inside or the sunlight falls on the
plant outside. The plant then utilizes that energy in the evening time
as a time to grow. Without that rest period it struggles as you do when
you don’t get your rest. Copyright 2010 |