Staying on Top of the Garden's Needs

Friday, July 10, 2009 03:44 AM

Gardening in Prince George can be a challenge. It was a late spring this year so when it finally came, everyone was very busy with the gardening chores. Then at the end of June many local gardens were hit by a frost that killed or damaged some frost tender plants such as squash, cucumbers, beans, impatiens, dahlias, begonias, etc. This is when the frost protection blanket ‘reemay’ comes in handy as it will protect plants from a few degrees of frost. If you had some plants damaged by the frost, they should come back but it will just take a little longer for them to produce flowers, or vegetables.

Now that we are into July flower and vegetable gardens are well on their way. You want to keep plants healthy by being proactive. In the vegetable garden keep the garden weeded, watered and fertilized. It is much better to water the garden less often but for longer periods of time then to water frequently and for short times. The idea is to have the plants roots go down in search of water rather than stay on the surface. If they stay on the surface they will dry out much more quickly and for root crops such as carrots, the carrots will be longer as they go down for moisture.

This year I am trying something new but it has been around for centuries and that is ‘neem oil’. This non toxic, bio degradable oil originates from India helps in controlling white flies, aphids, scales, mealy bugs, spider mites, fungus gnats, etc. by acting as an insect growth regulator which prevents the larval stage to molt into an adult. It also helps in stopping pests from eating the foliage as it gives the leaves a bitter taste which the insects do not enjoy. It is sold as a leaf shine and is mixed with water and then sprayed to the plants foliage. It is ideal for organic gardening. Another preventive measure that can be done is applying insecticidal soap to plants on a weekly basis. Plants such peppers are prone to aphids, so by spraying them weekly you will kill any aphids on the plant before there are too many and they become a problem.

Flowers should have all their old finished flowers removed before they form seed pods. This way all the plants energy will go towards producing new flowers rather than forming seeds. If you want to save the seed or the seed pods because they are decorative, then do this towards the end of the season for annuals or towards the end of the bloom time for perennials.

By now most of the spring flowering bulbs such as tulips and daffodils have finished blooming and these should have any seed pods removed and then be allowed to die back naturally. If they need to be divided because of overcrowding (every 2-3 years for tulips 3-4 years for daffodils) wait till they have completely died off and then dig up the bulbs allow and allow them to air dry for 2 weeks after which you will separate the small bulbils from the large mature bulb. Store the bulbs in a dark, cool space and replant them in early September. The bigger the bulb the bigger the flower so those tiny bulbils will not produce a flower for the first couple of years. You may want to discard the bulbils or plant them in an area of the garden where they will not be seen, and then in a couple of years time dig them up, store them as previously and plant them in an area where they can be seen.

Container grown plants should be kept well watered and fertilized. Do not keep them too wet but you do not want to allow the plants to dry out either as this could result in smaller yields of flowers or vegetables. Also, fertilizing weekly is important so use a flowering plant fertilizer such as 12-36-12 for flowers or 15-15-30 for tomatoes and vegetables.

By keeping plants well watered and fertilized they will remain healthy and be stronger to fight off any insect or disease. It is much easier to prevent a problem than to treat it.

- Jos

Jos VanHage owns and operates two Art Knapp Garden Centres in Prince George:

-Highway 16 west at Kimball Road

-Highway 97 North at Northwood Pulpmill Road

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