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FEATURED QUOTE : "Spring is a true re-constructionist." |
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INSTRUCTOR: David Ruf, Owner, Greenhouse Garden Center DATES: Saturdays, FEB. 21, 22, and 28- Session 5 by appointment TIME: 10:00 am to 3:00 pm (Sessions 1 through 4) COST: $75.00 - RESERVATIONS REQUIRED WOW: Any person attending the workshop will receive 20% off any plant SESSION 1: February 21 - 10:00 am to 12:00 pm This session will begin with landscape design decisions. The discussion will consider each homeowners special circumstances and will include new landscape construction as well as renovating existing landscaped areas. Discussion and review of garden styles, home styles and existing landscape considerations specific to the individual homeowners life style, home style and color and general likes and dislikes will be identified. The homeowner should be prepared with square footage of the area and photographs of the property. LUNCH BREAK - 12:00 pm to 12:45 pm SESSION 2: February 21 - 12:45 pm to 3:00 pm This session will involve helping each homeowner develop a site plan. Topics will include site location, exposure, slopes, grading and drainage issues, irrigation installation and electrical requirements. Each homeowner will receive a Nevada Plant Guide as an aid to making good plant choices. Homework will involve plotting the hardscape on the site plan. SESSION 3: February 22 - 10:00 am to 12:00 pm During this session drip and sprinkler considerations will be customized to each homeowners needs. Also, lawn, soil condition and amendments, fertilizers, plant care and watering issues will be addressed. In addition, hardscape landscaping such as pavers, patios, ponds, lighting, statuary, and benches will be discussed. Homework will involve plotting irrigation lines on the site plan. LUNCH BREAK - 12:00 pm to 12:45 pm SESSION 4: February 22 - 12:45 pm to 3:00 pm This session will revolve around tree and plant selection. There will be a tour of the nursery to view various trees and shrubs. In addition there will be pictures of plants in optimal seasonal situations. Decisions on where to place plant species in site plans will be done. Finally a cost analysis will be developed for the homeowner. Homework will involve placement of trees and planting beds on the site plan. SESSION 5: February 28 - By Appointment The final session will be devoted to a review of the homeowner's personal landscape designs. Modifications will be made where necessary. This session will also be used as a catch up session for those homeowners who need additional help. |
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Autumn has arrived. Often unknowing gardeners turn their irrigation systems off with the first freeze. Although it seems logical, this practice is not good for plant health. Weather patterns in the fall vary from occasional freezes, particularly at night, to balmy days in the 60s and 70s. Rarely do we have significant precipitation in October that soaks the ground, and it is a good deep soaking that is best for plants. Even though the temperature has dropped, the humidity is extremely low, the wind still blows and the sun is warm during the day. Plants continue to require water.
Up to last week, the weather was hot, so plants were using quite a bit of water. To suddenly stop watering will stress them. A better technique is to harden off trees, shrubs, flowers and lawn. Hardening off means gradually reducing the amount of water provided and lengthening the time between watering. What does a good deep soaking mean? Ideally, especially with trees, water out to the dripline (the outer reach of the branches), all the way around the tree, to a depth of 18 inches. Do this slowly so that water does not run off. Flowers have a shallower root system, so they do not need as deep a soaking. Depending on how hot the temperature, you may be able to water once per week, although new plants will need water more often. The lawn requires approximately 1 inch of water per week right now, according to the Western Regional Climate Center at the Desert Research Institute in Reno. If you do not know how many inches of water your lawn sprinkler system puts out in a designated amount of time, measure it. Do a can test. Place 10 containers of equal size throughout the lawn area and run the sprinklers for 15 minutes. See if the amount is equal in each container; this tells you whether sprinkler coverage is even or not. Then, combine the water in all containers, measure with a ruler and divide by the number of containers. This gives you the average amount of water your irrigation system puts out in 15 minutes. Calculate how long you should run the system to equal 1 inch of water per week. Plants will need water at least once per month through the entire fall and winter, so if Mother Nature doesn't provide it, you have to. As the temperatures remain at freezing, sprinklers will need to be turned off and drained. To provide monthly irrigation means turning on the sprinklers again and then draining them again, or watering with hoses. Written by : JoAnne Skelly Carson City/Storey County Educator for University of Nevada Cooperative Extension |
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WHEN TO PLANT: Garlic survives bitterly cold winters underground (or grows frost-hardy leaves where winters are mild to moderate), grows rapidly when the weather warms in spring, and bulbs in summer. In the North, plant 4-6 weeks before the ground freezes. This gives the plant time to make good root development but not enough time to make leaf growth. Where winters are milder, garlic is planted from October through January. Where winters are so severe or snow cover so unreliable that garlic freezes out, soft-neck varieties are planted in spring. SOIL PREPARATION: Garlic needs fertile soil with lots of organic matter so the soil remains uncompacted through the long growing season. Growers with clayey soils should add a lot of compost before planting; those blessed with lighter soils having naturally loose texture need add only small amounts of organic matter, or grow and till in green manures prior to planting. HOW TO PLANT: Break the bulb into individual cloves. Small cloves usually grow small bulbs, so plant only the larger ones. Use the small cloves in your kitchen. Where winter is mild, plant cloves 1 inch deep, root side down; where winter is severe, put them 2-4 inches deep and mulch lightly, immediately after planting. In spring, the garlic will have no trouble pushing through an inch of mulch. Minimum spacing on raised beds is 4×8 inches. To grow the largest bulbs, try spacing your plants 6×12 inches. GROWING: After garlic has overwintered it must be kept well weeded. Do not damage the shallow roots when cultivating. Garlic needs to be moderately fertilized as soon as it begins growing in spring. Organic gardeners can side-dress a little chicken manure, seedmeal or strong compost. Garlic also likes high-nitrogen foliar fertilizer, sprayed every ten days to two weeks. Once bulbing begins, fertilizing is useless, maybe even harmful to getting the best quality bulbs. While the plant is rapidly growing, keep the soil most as you would for any other leafy green like lettuce or spinach. SEED STALKS: Hard-neck varieties put up a tall, woody flowering stalk that usually grows bulblets at the top. But if the plant is allowed to put its energy into these seeds, the bulb forming below the ground will end up smaller. So we cut seed stalks off as soon as the flower head has reached 8-9 inches tall. HARVEST: Gauging the right time to harvest is very important. Dug too soon, the skins won't have formed around each clove. Hard-neck bulbs, if dug too late, may have begun to spread apart in the soil. Each year the timing is a little different so rather than watch the calendar, we observe the plants. As the bulbs mature the leaves brown off. When there are still 5-6 green leaves remaining on the plant, we dig and examine a plant every few days to check the bulb. (Incidentally, immature bulbs that haven't fully developed skins around their cloves can be chopped up like onions and make delicious additions to cooking.) In very good garlic ground (very fluffy soil) the plants might be pulled by hand, but it is usually better to loosen the soil first with a spading fork. Immediately brush off the soil from around the roots, but do this gently. Drying is the essential part of curing the bulbs so do not wash them in water. Immediately move the newly dug garlic out of direct sunlight. CURING: Some growers tie the plants by their leaves or stalks in loose bundles of 8-12 plants and hang them under cover. Others spread the plants in single layers on screens, drying racks, or slatted shelves. Garlic stores longer if its is cured with its stalk or leaves attached. Good air circulation is absolutely essential. The plants should cure from 3 weeks to 2 months, depending on the humidity and amount of air circulation. Some growers use a fan in the curing shed. After curing, you may trim the roots. If the garlic is to be kept in sacks, cut the stalks off 1/2-inch above the bulb and gently clean the bulbs with a soft bristle brush, taking care not to strip off the papery skin. STORING: Hang bulbs in netted sacks, with good air circulation on all sides. Or, hang the dried bunches, or make and hang braids of the soft-neck types. Perfect storage conditions are 45-55°F. at 50% Relative Humidity. Storage below 40°F. actually makes garlic sprout. Types of Garlic Available: German Red: Large Bright purple bulb contains 8-12, extra easy-to-peel, round, light brown cloves with some purple at the base. Flavor is strong, hot and spicy. Keeps moderately well when properly cured and stored. Can be grown in mild climates; however, develops better quality and size where winters are cold. Color will become brighter if it is stressed by too much water. Spanish Roca: Gourmet Garlic famous for flavor. Light purple streaks on 7-13 easy to peel cloves. Suited to colder climates. May not yield well where winters are too mild. Very popular with market gardners and restaurants. Brought to the Northwest before 1900; often called "Greek Blue" by Northwest gardeners. Early Italian Purple: The bulb is large and white-skinned with purple stripes and numerous small cloves. This vigorous plant is better adapted to summer heat than Italian Late. Widely grown around Gilroy, California, the garlic capital of the world. Inchelium Red: From Inchelium, WA. The bulbs are large - to 3+ inches in diameter. 8-20 cloves of good size. Mild, but lasting, flavor, with a hint of hot! Dense cloves store well. Flavor can get stronger in storage. This vigorous soft-necked variety won a Rodale taste test of 20 garlic strains - named "Very Best of the Soft-Necks." |
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Winter is on the way but that does'nt mean that container plantings and flower beds are doomed to be brwon, gray, and barren. There is no need to fear the doldrums when you can plant colorful ornamental kale and cabbage. These plants will withstand the snow, cold and the wind. Ornamental kale and cabbage are leafy greens in the vegetable family best planted when the weather is cool. The best months here in Northern Nevada to plant them is September, October, March and April. Ornamental kale has three main colors; white, red, or purple, on foot long leaves which are deeply serrated with rounded edges. These plants grow taller than the ornamental cabbage and are usually spaced clower togather than their chubby cousin, the cabbage.
The ornamental cabbage is available in all of the colors of the ornamental kale, plus pink. These cool season colored felights are perfect for containers by the front door and can be clumped for drama. Add some Dusty Miller or SNow in SUmmer for even more vibrance. Late planting of ornamental kale and cabbge will cause them not to reach their 3 to 12 pound potential. Rabbits are another factor to consider. Mister McGregger would always be diligently looking for signs of visits from Floppsy, Moppsy, and Peter Cottontail. Applying Liquid Fence once a month will discourage rabbits and deer from dining on your winter color. |
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This year, in Northern Nevada, we are enjoying an outrageous display of terrific fall colors. The weather has been perfect and the Maples are starting their annual color change progression. The Autumn Blaze Maple, possibly the fastest growing shade tree with red fall color, is now on full display everywhere with its large traditional 5 point design. The Flame and Red Rhapsody Amur Maples are striking with their red and purple colors. These colors are now dominating these small trees or large shrubs. The Amur Maples really deliver at this time of year when they are used as a screen or windbreak. The Sugar Maples are going to change next into their autumn orange colors. Few trees have the grace of the Sugar Maple. These stately trees do best in the area where they can take advantage of companion trees and buildings for some wind protection and plenty of good moisture. The Golden Desert Ash is drenched in gold. The leaves now are pure gold while the branches on this small beauty are yellow and gold with butter and chocolate brown buds. Other trees to follow in the Autumn color riot are:
Greenhouse Garden Center has these trees in stock and we are ready for you to give one of these great fall color trees a good home. |
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Should I use bone meal or bulb food when I plant my bulbs? Answer: We recommend bone meal at the time of planting, then applying a balanced bulb food once the foliage appears above the soil line in late winter/early spring. There are a couple of reasons for this. Nitrogen can burn the actual bulb, which only needs the phosphorus and potash from bone meal in order to stimulate rooting. But once the bulb is sending out a stem, it needs nitrogen to become strong so it won't bend over from the weight of the flowers that it sets. This is especially important for bulbs with large heavy flowers, such as tulips, ranunculus, and hyacinth. It's also important to dig your holes or trenches a little deeper than the bulb needs to be, applying some bone meal, then a little more soil so the bulb doesn't sit directly on the food but has access to the food as it sends out roots (got to give those roots some incentive to stretch). |
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What You'll Need:
Step by Step:
Yield: 12 servings (serving size: about 2/3 cup coleslaw and 1 teaspoon almonds) Nutritional Information:
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