Sanhedrin Nursery – Garden Blog

• Plant an herb garden in a container near the kitchen door for convenient fresh spices like basil, oregano, parsley and thyme.

• Calibrachoa, or Million Bells, look like miniature petunias and come in many unusual shades and blends. Plant them in full sun for a profusion of flowers from spring to frost.

• Hang codling moth traps in apple trees to reduce the number of wormy apples in your harvest this year. Be sure to use a fresh pheromone (attractant).

• Colorful Gerberas with their large, daisy flowers are a standout in containers. Water them infrequently and give them plenty of sun for flowers all summer.

• Tomatoes and peppers can be set out now. Choose new hybrids or heirlooms for the flavors that you love.

Squash, anyone?

The squash family provides us with such a wide variety of vegetables that differ so greatly in size and shape that it is sometimes hard to believe that they are related. They are divided into two groups: summer squash and winter squash.

Summer squash are dominated by the ever popular zucchini. Available now in both green and yellow as well as black, gray and striped, they each have a slightly different flavor and each have their followers.

Other summer squashes include scalloped squash or Patty Pan or sometimes Scallopini. This easy-to-grow and prolific squash is round and flattened like a plate with scalloped edges, and white, yellow or green in color.

Round bush zucchini has numerous ball-shaped fruit that are perfect for stuffing. And the well-known yellow crookneck is a delicious squash. Plants will bear continuously when regularly harvested at 5 to 6 inches long.

Summer squash are wonderful picked fresh from the garden, but the fruit can only be stored for 1 to 2 weeks. So-called winter squash are types that develop a hard shell and can be stored for many months and used throughout the winter.

Winter squash include varieties such as Butternut, Buttercup, Spaghetti, Acorn, Delicata and Banana.

Acorn squash is a winter squash with distinctive ridges and sweet, yellow-orange flesh. The most common type is dark green in color and it is a handy smaller size for baking.

Banana squash is the king of squashes growing up to 4 feet long and anywhere from 10 – 70 pounds, though they average between 10 and 20. It has an elongated shape, with light pink or orange skin and bright orange flesh and will provide dozens of winter meals.

Buttercup squash has a turban-shape (a flattish top and dark green skin) and deep-orange flesh with a sweet and mild flavor.

Butternut is one of the most popular varieties. They have a smooth, long-necked bowling pin shape with tender flesh that offers a creamy flavor. This old favorite offers fine eating and consistent flavor.

Delicata, also known as the sweet potato squash, is creamy and sweet with a mild aroma. Oblong and cylindrical, it is creamy-yellow with green, sometimes orange, vertical stripes.

Hubbard squash is a large dark blue to green squash with a tear-drop shape, very hard and bumpy skin and tender yellow flesh with a rich flavor. There is also a golden-skinned variety.

Spaghetti squash have a hard rind, and unique flesh that separates into strings when cooked for a “spaghetti”-like dish. It makes a low-calorie substitute for pasta.
Make room for some new varieties of squash in your garden and enjoy their many flavors all summer and through the winter months.

• Mother’s Day is the perfect time to give a gift of a living plant. Roses, hydrangeas, colorful hanging baskets and beautiful house plants are sure to please her.

• Flower seeds can be sown directly in the garden now. Cosmos, marigolds and zinnias will give you beautiful flowers all summer.

• Gladiolus make wonderful cut flowers throughout the summer. Plant some every two weeks for continuous blooms.

• Plant the vegetable garden this month, but remember that late frosts can still nip tender young plants.

• Beautiful African Violets will decorate your indoor spaces with their masses of flowers in all shades of purple, blue and pink.

Growing Gorgeous Roses

Roses attract us for many reasons: for their color, their fragrance, the beauty of each flower and their stunning display in the landscape. They are probably the most loved flower the world over, both in the garden and for flower arranging.

Roses can be grown by almost anyone. The key to success depends primarily on finding a good site in which to grow them. Look for a spot that receives plenty of sunshine, is sheltered from prevailing winds, has good air circulation and water drainage, and enough space for the varieties you want to plant.

Most roses need at least six hours of sunshine per day during the flowering season to bloom to their full potential. If sunlight is scarce in your planting area, try a white painted surface as a backdrop for your plants. Reflected light can help turn a less-than-sunny site into a bright spot for roses.

Strong winds can be hard on roses. Roses are thirsty plants, needing large quantities of water to fill their abundant blossoms. They may suffer from dehydration if exposed to constant wind. If you live where there are strong summer winds, choose a site with some protection for your roses.

Good air circulation, however, is very beneficial to roses. Air movement through the plants keeps the canes and foliage dry, which cuts down on disease problems. A slope is ideal, allowing for good air flow, maximum sunlight and good water drainage.

Soil that drains well is very important for roses. If you have only heavy soil, add generous amounts of compost when you plant. To test how well your soil drains, dig a large hole, fill it with water and see how long it takes to drain. If it takes more than two hours to drain away, consider building raised beds.

Each type of rose has different space requirements and individual growing habits. Some roses spread more than others, and relying on severe pruning to keep a rose in bounds, is no substitute for giving it the space it deserves.

Roses need a lot of sunshine, moisture and nutrition to produce all those big, beautiful flowers. They don’t do well with competition from trees, large bushes or other heavy feeders. So give them plenty of room to perform their best.

Plant roses where they can be enjoyed the most along walkways, near entryways or next to a deck or patio. Consider the views from inside the house and plant roses where they can be enjoyed from there as well. A fragrant rose near an open window will perfume the whole room.

Roses are beginning their first flowering now, so it is a good time to look for the ones you like best. Turn your garden into a place of charm and beauty, by planting a bed of colorful and fragrant roses.

• Begin spraying roses now for insect and disease problems. Neem oil is a good product for a less toxic solution.

• The average date of the last frost in Willits is May 12. So protect young flowers and vegetables on clear, cold nights.

• Petunias can be planted now. Their bright flowers will bloom all summer in hot, sunny locations and they will take a light frost.

• When you plant your tomatoes, put a handful of bone meal in the bottom of the hole to help prevent blossom end rot on the fruit later on.

• Enjoy the bright yellow colors of goldfinches outside your window by putting up thistle feeders for them.

Rotate Your Vegetable Crops

Deciding what to plant and sketching a layout for this year’s vegetable garden are among the joys of gardening. When planning your vegetable garden, remember the importance of crop rotation.

To keep your vegetable garden happy and healthy year after year, it is important to rotate your crops. You do this by shifting the locations of crops within the garden each season so the same crop does not grow in the same place year after year. This practice cuts down on pest and disease problems and balances the soil nutrients.

Another reason to rotate crops is that different crops have different nutrient requirements, and they affect the soil balance differently. Growing the same crop in the same spot can deplete the soil of those nutrients.

Some plants, like corn and tomatoes, are heavy feeders that quickly deplete the nitrogen and phosphorus in the soil. Root vegetables and herbs are light feeders, and peas and beans add nitrogen to the soil but need lots of phosphorus.

To rotate crops, divide your vegetables into root crops (carrots, beets, onions), legumes that feed the soil (peas and beans), leaf crops (including broccoli, cabbage, lettuce and other greens), and fruiting crops (tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, squash, cucumbers and corn). Plant each group of vegetables in a separate bed or two and then establish a rotation order. Where you plant peas and beans one year, plant leaf crops the next year and fruiting crops the year after that. Follow these heavy feeders by light-feeding root crops the next season. Then start the rotation over again.

Since legumes add nitrogen to the soil, they are followed by nitrogen-loving leaf crops, which reduces the need for fertilizer. Root crops break up the soil, so they are followed by legumes that like the loose soil texture.

Try not to plant crops from the same family in the same bed two years in a row. This will discourage the build-up of diseases and pests that prefer one group of vegetables. When plants change from year to year, the disease organisms don’t have a chance to build up large populations. Leave at least two and preferably three or more years between the times that you plant members of the same family in an area of your garden.

Potatoes are a little tricky to work into the rotation. They can be planted with the root crops, but be sure they’re planted in a section of the bed that has not recently held tomatoes, peppers, or eggplant, which are in the same family. Instead, plant them where the squash and cucumbers were the year before.

The concept is simple, and keeping a notebook of your crops from year to year is a great way to keep your crop rotation in line!