Category: Monthly Garden Tasks

Fall Gardening: Plant, Plan and Protect

8/17/2021

As summer comes to an end, we look ahead for cooler weather and look forward to enjoying the vibrant colors of fall, plan for spring and get down in the dirt!
Did you know that Fall is the Best Time to Plant? It is also time to protect your garden for the cooler months and to plan for the upcoming seasons.

Plant: Fall is one best times of the year to plant hardy plants, edible fall crops and spring blooming bulbs. The ground is still warm allowing for the newly planted to get established while the winter rains hydrate establishing roots.

Plant sod or seed and apply organic fertilizer to your lawn & landscape
Plant hardy trees, shrubs, perennials, cold season veggies, grasses, ground covers and spring blooming bulbs.
Add Fall Annuals and colorful perennials into pots, borders & beds- Pansies & Violas; Mums & Asters; Cabbage & Kale and Fall Color Vines (Purple Grape, Silver Lace Vine, Virginia Creeper) & Shrubs (Dogwood, Spirea & Blueberries), Evergreen Perennials (Heuchera, Tiarella & Hellebores), Broad Leaf (Euonymus, Azaleas & Lonicera) and Conifers.
Start a Veggie Garden! Cool season veggies-there are a bunch- Broccoli, Kohlrabi, Brussels & Cauliflower; Cabbage & Kale; Lettuce, Chard & Spinach; Onions & Leeks; Radish, Rutabaga, Turnips & Carrots

Plan: Design your garden, redo a bed or plan your spring garden.

Make yourself a list of what you need to do and when. This saves you time and money in the long run.
Research new varieties to try, build a greenhouse or cold frame and make raised vegetable beds. Organize your seed packages.

Protect: Plant roots, delicate foliage and irrigation.

Apply Grub Gone to kill larvae of the destructive Cafer Beetle.
Apply Mulch like compost or other organic soil amendments 1-3” deep. This helps protect your plants roots from winter damage.
Avoid heavy pruning in fall, best to wait until late winter.
Irrigation systems need to be winterized, ask a professional when needed. Add a hose bib or spigot protector to all outdoor faucets.
Bring in tools, wheel barrows and hoses to protect from freezing.

Learn more, stop in or take a class at Zenith Holland Nursery!

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Lady Beetle Care

6/28/2020

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Lady Beetle Care

Release lady beetles at dusk or early evening. Lady beetles will fly away almost immediately if released during the heat of the day or where the sun is shining, so wait until evening to release them. Spray a fine mist of water on the plants before the release. Giving beetles a drink may keep them around longer. Place beetles at the base of plants or in the crotches of low branches. Lady beetles will crawl higher into the plant in search of aphids. Once lady beetles begin to fly, they are likely to fly a substantial distance, often outside the boundaries of your garden. Do not release lady beetles on plants that have been sprayed with insecticides as residues from most insecticides are likely to kill the beetles. However, insecticidal soaps and oils, once dry, will not leave toxic residues.
They need a good supply of aphids. There is no point in releasing them on plants with few aphids. Lady beetles are voracious aphid feeders and an adult beetle will eat 50 or more aphids a day. The convergent lady beetle, which is the species sold for release, feeds almost entirely on aphids and will not remain on plants with low aphid populations and will not control other garden pests.
Expect lady beetles to fly away in a few days. Even when released with care, lady beetles will fly away within a few days. Lady beetles are unlikely to lay eggs on the plants they are released on. If aphids return a week or two later, gardeners will need to release more lady beetles to help increase the local population.

Derived from: https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=13933

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March Garden- 7 Things to Do Now

3/6/2019

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Spring Fever Alert March- 7 Things to do in the Garden Now.
1. Planting. In the beginning of the month March 5th is the new moon- which is a great time to plant by seed – cool season veggies (Broccoli, Lettuces, Kale, Greens), summer edibles (Tomatoes, Peppers, etc) & annuals (Pansies, Calendula, Snapdragons) indoors to be put outside mid-April to late-May. Add color to pots and containers- Heather, Primroses, Hellebores.
After the full moon on the 20th is best time to prune- mid to late part of the month. Also, Plant root veggies- direct sow- onions, potatoes, carrots, beets, garlic, etc. and Summer Blooming Bulbs- Lilies, Daylilies, Peony, Crocosmia.
2. Apply Organic Fertilizers- granular dig a trench, scratch into soil or apply to soil surface and cover with mulch like – planting compost, soil building conditioner or acid lovers mix- depending upon your plant’s needs. Landscape and container plants that are winter and spring bloomers.
3. Weed/ Blackberry control- Cut back weeds and other unwanted plants to remove &/or weaken them- especially blackberries. Use a combination of white vinegar, salt and soap dissolved in water inside a spray battle. Apply directly to unwanted leafy weeds. Cover larger areas with a tarp or black plastic for several weeks to kill weeds using the sun solarization method.
4. Winter Storm Cleanup- if you haven’t already….pick up branches, trim broken branches, rock removal in the lawn
5. Lawn- over-seed or apply sod to patches in your lawn or wait until early April. Apply moss control if needed- once moss is dead, remove and replace with seed/compost mix.
6. Plant Bare Root Fruit Trees, Berries and Asparagus. Apply organic starter fertilizer (read directions on the package) and planting compost combined with existing soil (1/2 and 1/2)
7. Attend a Class at Zenith Holland- we have 3- March 16th- Winter Blooming Plants. March 30th Ciscoe Morris and March 31st Create a Bonsai Tree Garden…for more details see our classes page.

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February in the Garden

2/21/2019

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After the weeks of snow, it is nice to get a break from the artic blast and get back to our normal milder winter! This is an excellent time to get a few things done before March. Here is a list of 7 top suggestions.
1. Go to the Flower & Garden Show (Feb. 20-24). The color and smell of the plants is beneficial to your health. Plants add oxygen to the air while their aromas can reduce stress and color is its own therapy. The landscape designs can inspire you for your plans for spring and summer projects.
2. Plant Cool season Veggies-Direct Sow. Root Veggies best done now after the full moon. Beets, Radish, Onions, Garlic, Potatoes, Parsnips and Cool Season- Spinach, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Swiss Chard and Kale.
3. Prune and Tidy Evergreen Perennials- Hellebores, Heuchera and Blooming Seasonal plants- Violas, Pansies, Primroses- that may need deadheading or damaged/old leaves removed.
4. Add a pair of Camellias or other evergreen shrub or Conifers for containers near entry way outside of your front door. Use cool season color- Violas, Pansies, Heather, Primroses and Ground Covers to trail- Vinca, Wire Vine, Lonicera or Heucherella.
5. Get Your Spring Seeds, Bare Root Fruits & Sets Now. Ed Hume Seeds are local to the PNW and are non-GMO, have a great price point and selection. Order seeds online or explore “seed libraries” or seed sharing programs for heirloom or hard to find plants. Bare Root Fruit Trees and Berry plants may be available this time of the year but must be planted right away (they have no soil). Garlic, Onions and Potatoes bulb sets can also be planted now.
6. Prune Fruit Trees. Selectively prune others. Wait until March to prune Roses and other summer bloomers.
7. Houseplant Care. Repot houseplants that are root bound. Check others for insects and disease. Water those that need it, add organic liquid fertilizer to soil or liquid with water.

If you need help understanding your landscape and garden, take one of our classes or stop in for help!

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Fall Gardening: Plant, Plan and Protect

Lady Beetle Care

March Garden- 7 Things to Do Now

February in the Garden

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