February 25, 2009
An Easy Fruit to Add to Home Garden
Even as more Americans are planning new vegetable gardens for the spring, some folks would love to add some fruit producing plants to their landscapes. I have to admit fruit production can be intimidating. Most tree fruits require significant gardener efforts to be truly productive.
But here in Alabama, there is one fruit that is incredibly easy to grow and grow well. What is it you say? The blueberry, specifically the rabbiteye blueberry (Vaccinium ashei). It is native to the Southeast, meaning it is both heat and drought tolerant. It also prefers acid soils making it ideal for most places in Alabama. Like many fruits, you need to plant more than one variety to ensure good cross-pollination.
My friends with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s Home Grounds Team discussed blueberries on their blog recently. They point out that container rabbiteye blueberries can be planted in Alabama until the end of March.
For more about rabbiteye blueberries and their culture, check out this publication from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
So if you are looking for a way to ease into fruit production, rabbiteye blueberries may be just what you are looking for.
February 19, 2009
Home Grown
Are you one of the thousands across the country who are planning to plant a few vegetables? Many of us are veteran vegetable growers, but there are others who have never planted even a tomato in a container. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System is working to meet the needs of these gardening newcomers with a series of Home Grown workshops. Find out more about this effort here.
February 12, 2009
Warmer Weather Brings Out Gardening Urges
All it took was one weekend of milder temperatures, and there I was in short sleeves shoveling fresh compost into one of my garden beds. That bed is now free of last year’s garden debris—now added to the compost pile and is freshly mulched. All that it needs now are plants.
I confess that I have some Swiss chard, arugula and some lettuces ready to transplant into this bed. It’s very close to my kitchen door which makes it an ideal spot for these greens. I can just pop out of the door and snip a few leaves for salads and stirfrys.
If the relatively warmer weather has awakened your vegetable gardening urge and you are unsure what you can plant in February in Alabama, check out this publication from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. You can also give your county Extension office a call for advice as well. Every state has a Cooperative Extension Service with local and regional staff that can answer your gardening questions.
February 06, 2009
The Allure of Garden and Seed Catalogs
Admit it. You are just like me. You can’t wait for the mail to arrive on those wet, cold days of winter. What are we looking for? Our garden and seed catalog fix. And we aren’t alone either. Check out what our guest blogger, Chuck Browne, the Lee County coordinator with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, has to say.
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A Guest Blog
By: Chuck Browne
They must know the exact date to send them. They also have got to have the knowledge about who to send them to. The marketing strategy is brilliant. The product they sell is irresistible to the target audience. It is not a scam.
Seed catalogs arrive in the mail at the precise time that color photos of the best foliage, flowers and fruits of summer plants can make the most impact on the weary gardener, who is anxious to get back into the garden and smell the essence of the earth, hear the frogs and crickets at night, and watch the emergence of seedlings and the promise of yet another growing season.
Like the cold ,rainy weather that grips us this winter, the gardener that is hooked overlooks all of this as they do the insects, disease and hot weather we have to endure during the summer to produce backyard flowers and fruits.
I just ordered a large (some might say outrageously large) order of seeds to start for my spring and summer garden. While I still depend heavily on the locally supplied transplants in the convenient cell packs from our nurseries, garden centers and feed and seed stores, I like starting at least part of my own seedlings.
For one, starting seeds indoors gives me a jump on spring. I feel like I’m cheating nature when its 30 degrees outside and I’ve got a flat of little tomatoes or basil that is tucked snugly in the front hallway by the window.
Secondly, I order varieties that are not commonly available locally from our suppliers. Most of these are experiments for me. I love trying new varieties. Others, I order because of their superior disease resistance, but these can be unfamiliar to the public and hence, suppliers. Once again, I’m always experimenting with new plants.
I’ve had great successes. I’ve had devastating failures. One thing I’ve learned when planting vegetables and annual flowers is to never plant a monculture or all of the same kind. Mix them up. Diseases and insects don’t like that. This is good news for backyard gardeners.
February 04, 2009
Leave Turf Alone
For folks who read Backyard Wisdom regularly, you know that I am not very interested in turf. It’s just not my thing, and it would be the last garden chore on my mind when the lows are in the teens. But apparently, there are those whose passion for turf burns year-round. Check out this post by Shane Harris, a regional horticulture agent with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. He’s getting phone calls from people who are anxious to plant turf and to fertilize grass, of all things.
If you enjoyed Shane's post, bookmark the ACES Home Grounds Blog. It is a group blog that many agents working with home grounds and gardens contribute to.