Seed starting indoors can be a great way to satisfy that craving to get out into your garden before Mother Nature cooperates, however, there are some rules of thumb to follow to keep that thumb green. Read on to discover seven common mistakes on starting seeds indoors, based on great insight from Kerry Michaels as well as our own Pam Davies:
Additional resources: https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/starting-seeds-indoors#hardening-off-seedlings-1179860 Author: Kimberly Kayler
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Although the days may be getting longer and we often see hints of spring this time of year – usually followed by another cold blast – we all know that planting season is coming. To this end, you may be considering starting your seeds indoors, which is a great option. Seed packets, starter mix and containers will have started appearing in the stores in late January and February. Seeds will sometimes be discounted this time of year as well. However, there are many rules of thumb to follow related to starting seeds indoors. Read on for some great tips by Kerry Michaels as well as our own Pam Davies:
For more information, read past articles on this topic: https://www.northcountrymgv.org/blog/seed-starting-indoors https://www.northcountrymgv.org/blog/more-on-starting-seeds-indoors + https://www.northcountrymgv.org/blog/still-more-on-starting-seeds-indoors Author: Kimberly Kayler
Scale & Mealy Bugs They come in various colors and can be armored, soft, or woolly. Piercing-sucking insects that create honeydew and make things sticky. Populations quickly increase and control is difficult. Control of scale and mealybugs: 1) Light infestations can be addressed with a Q tip dipped in rubbing alcohol, 2) Attempt to scrape off insects? 3) Use insecticidal soaps…or something stronger, 4) Remove infected plant tissues, 5) Submerge the entire plant in water? 6) Throw the plant away Note about homemade insecticidal soaps: "New and improved" and concentrated liquid detergents with "grease cutters" and other ingredients have a high potential for being phytotoxic to plants. Proceed with caution. It’s better to go with a product that has been specifically developed and is labeled for your plants. APHIDS: Just like your garden aphids, but may have a waxy coating. They create honeydew, like scale and mealybugs. Scout and catch them early! Control of aphids: 1) Remove plant parts with the worst infestations, 2) Hose down plants or wash them off, 3) Use insecticidal soaps SPIDER MITES: Related to spiders, Suck plant juices and cause yellowing and browning of plant tissues, If populations are high, you will also see webbing. Control of spider mites: Attempt to increase humidity in the home, Periodically wash down houseplants with a strong spray of water; including the lower leaf surfaces, Use miticides labeled for use on indoor plants FUNGUS GNATS: Small flies that infest soil, potting mix, and organic matter, A nuisance pest Larvae primarily feed on fungi and organic matter, but also chew roots, Do not damage mature plants, Can have a generation every 17 days when temperatures are right. Controlling fungus gnats: Target the larval stage, Reduce moisture and organic matter let media dry down between waterings, Use yellow sticky traps to catch adults? Repot using pasteurized potting mix, Will kill flies and the algae and microorganisms they feed on, Place chunks of potato on the plant surface to attract larvae, Consider using nematodes, predatory mites, or Bti (Mosquito Bits, Gnatrol) WHITE FLIES: Tiny, white, moth like insects, Female adults lay eggs on the undersides of the plant’s foliage and the nymphs feed on the foliage, The nymph and adult stages feed by inserting their short, needle like beaks into foliage and sucking out plant sap. Heavy often cause stunting or yellow of leaves, leaf drop, and a decline in plant health. Management: 1) Prevention is the best management strategy, 2) Check newly purchased plants and plants brought indoors from the garden or patio in the fall, 3) Begin control measures at the first signs.4) One way to reduce the whitefly population on an infested plant is to wash the undersides of the leaves with a moist cloth or sponge, 5) Use yellow sticky traps, 6) Insecticides specifically labeled for use on houseplants can be used, 7) Discard heavily infested plants SCALE: Sucking insects both soft shelled and armored, Soft shell will produce honeydew, Heavy infestations may cause leaf yellowing, stunting, and dieback Management: Scrape off, if possible, Wash off or crush any visible scale insects, Treat with an insecticidal soap or horticultural oil labeled for houseplants, Can use systemic houseplant insecticides, Heavily infested plants should be discarded FOLIAR Disease: Bacterial and fungal leaf spots: Decrease stress, Remove infected leaves and plant parts: Powdery mildew: Increase circulation around the plant; lower humidity, Remove infected leaves; Viruses: No cure; destroy plant GENERAL DEFOLIATION: Likely causes: Sudden change in temperature, Transplanting shock, Sudden change in light intensity, Over watering, Lack of light BROWNING LEAF TIPS: Likely Causes: Improper watering (such as water being too cold), Exposure to cold drafts, Insect attacks, Excess fertilizer, Floride or Boron deficiency (allowing water to sit for day before watering can help reduce floride.) ABNORMAL LEAF COLOR: Likely Causes: Over watering, Lack of fertilizer, Insect attacks, Improper light SPOTTED LEAVES: Likely Causes: Over watering, Burning from direct sunlight, Disease REPOTTING: tips on when a plant might need repotting:
PRUNING: All houseplants (with the exception of palms and Norfolk Island pine) can be top pruned to encourage new lateral growth. The best time to prune is in Spring, when growth usually occurs. DUST CONTROL: Keep houseplants clean by carefully washing foliage. Washing leaves with water or cleaning with leaf polish is not recommended on plants with hairy leaves. Rinse plants off with room temperature water in a shower or sink. Use a soft, damp cloth to wipe foliage. Leaf polish products should be used sparingly and only on plants with firm foliage. Master Gardener Vicki Gee Treft writes about what she learned from a "HOUSEPLANTS" course presented by Katie Dunker from the Colorado State University Extension.
Master Gardener Vicki Gee Treft writes about what she learned from a "HOUSEPLANTS" course presented by Katie Dunker from the Colorado State University Extension.
A future posts will provide how to deal with pests and diseases.
We have tomatoes with a noticeably short "Days to Maturity" rating. Since our plants are well started when you get them you will have about a 15 to 30 day head start on the how long you will have to wait for your first crop depending on a number of variables including how you harden off the plants before planting, what the soil temp is when planting, how much sun, wind and moisture the plant gets, and what the daily high and low temperatures are. Days to maturity is a rating to help us determine what plants are best suited to our zone (3-4) and the limitations that makes on the plants we raise. Most of the varieties we offer will continue to set fruit until frost kills the plant. Others which are called "determinate" will set fruit until the plant reaches it mature size. Once these ripen the plant will die back. All determinate varieties that we offer are indicated. The earliest varieties tend to be the cherry tomatoes. We offer:
For mid-sized early tomatoes, we have:
Large slicing tomatoes take longer to maturity. We offer:
If you have experienced "early blight," watch for our article on early blight and how to avoid it in a coming post. Please note: This year’s plant sale will have a “twist” from prior years, as we are requesting pre-orders from February through May 1 or until supplies are sold out. There will be a new pickup location at the City of Spooner Front Street Public Parking Lot (north of the Canoe Heritage Museum) on May 21. The sale is pre-order only with pick-up on Saturday May 21st, 2022, from 8:00 am - Noon. The pre-order form is available on our website at www.northcountrymgv.org/plantsale and at the Spooner Memorial Library, Shell Lake Public Library, Larsen Family Library in Webster, the Sherman Weiss Library in Hayward and the Washburn County Tourism office.
Article submitted by Roseann Meixelsperger MGV This is a repost of a Wisconsin Horticulture, Division of Extension article. The original article can be found at: https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/2021/02/03/february-2021-bypassing-plant-pathogens-promoting-tree-and-shrub-health-through-proper-pruning Bypassing Plant Pathogens: Promoting Tree and Shrub Health Through Proper Pruning Posted on February 3, 2021 Pruning in the winter can reduce the risk of disease-causing organisms infecting trees and shrubs through pruning cuts. By Brian Hudelson, Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic Although it doesn’t seem like the optimal time to be gardening, February is actually a great time to be out pruning your trees and shrubs to make them more structurally sound and aesthetically pleasing.
Why prune now? Whenever you prune, you create wounds that potentially can serve as entry points for disease-causing fungi and bacteria. If you prune in the spring and summer (when it’s warmer and often wetter), these organisms are very active and more likely land on fresh pruning cuts and infect. When the weather is colder and drier (as it tends to be in February in Wisconsin), disease-causing organisms are much less active and the chances of them infecting though pruning cuts is much reduced. How do I go about pruning? Check out University of Wisconsin Garden Facts XHT1013 (Pruning Evergreens), XHT1014 (Pruning Deciduous Trees) and XHT1015 (Pruning Deciduous Shrubs) for pointers on how to prune. Prune only when it’s dry, and decontaminate pruning tools between cuts (or at a minimum between each tree or shrub) by treating them with 70% alcohol (e.g., rubbing alcohol right out of the bottle, spray disinfectants containing ~70% alcohol) or (in a pinch) 10% bleach. Decontaminating tools kills off disease-causing organisms that you might pick up as you prune. Once done pruning, if you’ve used bleach, be sure to thoroughly rinse your tools, and oil them to prevent them from rusting. By pruning regularly and taking a few simple precautions as you do, you will end up with trees that are beautiful, structurally sound and healthy.
If you garden organically, you know that weeds can be a real problem. In this video, Kevin Schoessow breaks down all of the types of organic mulches that we use in the Teaching & Display Garden. He explains the pros and cons of several types of mulch and how to properly apply them. Give this a watch--you'll gain a new understanding of the whole mulching process!
For the Love of Sweet peas! Sweet peas are one of my very favorite flowers to use in fresh cut bouquets. The fragrance of a sweet pea is amazing. They look like a butterfly in a bouquet. Here are a few tips regarding growing your sweet peas. It is very important to help your sweet peas climb. Have some sort of a structure to help them climb. Another fantastic trick is using paper twists to help hold the plant in place as it climbs up. You can see my simple white paper twist on my birch pole, helping train that vine to climb up. I have sweet peas climbing along side a wall. In this photo you will see I have used fence posts, twine and my paper twists to help train the sweet peas to climb. The paper twist trick as helped me train sweet peas, rewarding me with lovely long stem blooms to use in bouquets. Remember the more you pick sweet pea the more they will bloom. Happy Gardening! AuthorCarla TePaske You are invited to a Zoom program.
When: June 17, 2020 06:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada) Register in advance for this meeting: https://uwextension.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJItdu2rrj8tGNDgxypQ0RI5qru1cxUYKOvn After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Composting is where it all begins. Learn the basics of composting to enrich your soil to benefit the plants you nurture whether they are flowers or vegetables. The program will cover the benefits of composting, ingredients for a compost pile, the types of compost bins, and how to use the finished compost.
Kevin Schoessow, UW Extension Area Agriculture Development Educator provides a short video on growing garlic.
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