Strawberry Season

Strawberry season is here and it is a wonderful fruit. This berry is full of antioxidants, vitamins and fiber. strawberries are great in smoothies, cereals and salads. I love the taste of fresh strawberries, the flavor is wonderful and really brings out the taste in salads, cereals. The strawberry is great for the diet and should be apart of your diet. Of fresh berries are better but frozen is fine as well. If you get the opportunity visit the local strawberry patch and pick the best of what the strawberry has to offer.

Flowering Trees

REDBUD TREE

This tree has rosy pink flowers that appear in April. The leaves change from a reddish purple to a dark green. The tree forms a spreading, graceful crown. It prefers full sun or light shade.

MAGNOLIA SAUCER

This small low branched tree has large saucer shaped flowers. It has early springtime blossoms and is a beautiful tree. The Magnolia likes soils that are moist, deep, acid soils and also prefers the full sun. It will grow 20 to 30 feet tall and is a medium to fast growing tree.

WHITE DOGWOOD

The dogwood is a beautiful landscape flowering tree. The flowers are very showy in Spring and has leaves that turn red-purple in the Fall. This tree likes partial shade.

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CRAPE MYRTLE CATAWBA

The crape myrtle is one of the best flowering trees of its kind. It has handsome foliage in the spring and flowers in the summer with masses of long lasting clusters of purple. This tree is a moderate grower and will reach heights of around 10 to 12 feet. Plants thrive in full sun and in a good heavy loam soil with a pH of 5-6.5

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Sassafras Tree

EARTH DAY

The sassafras tree is a very interesting tree with its differently shaped leaves on each branch.These trees have yellowish blooms in the Spring and are of varying colors in the Fall.

Sassafras trees are native to North America, growing throughout the eastern woodlands regions of the U.S. and west to the Mississippi River valley. Mature sassafras trees are pyramid shaped and a few reach 60 feet in height. They are planted for ornamental purposes, and are common in landscaping designs that recreate natural settings using native plants.

The sassafras tree also has an aroma throughout the tree. In fact the roots of this tree were once used to make root beer but are no longer used because of government regulations.  Its aroma was also used in soaps at one time as well. I thought this was interesting to know. I believe the  roots of the sassafras were used to make root beer up until the 1960s.

Crape Myrtle

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Rose Garden Flowers

Roses

The rose is one of the most beautiful and elegant flowers in the garden. The bring so much color and beauty to the household landscape and are relatively easy to grow. There are many varieties of roses and we will talk about some of the easiest to grow roses.

Roses that are easy to grow

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This rose is a single flowered climbing rose. It is a large flowered climber with a long season of bright cherry Red blooms each with a cluster of showy golden stamens. This rose has very little fragrance, but the flowers are large, up to 5 inches across. They appear in small clusters and repeat blooms in regular flushes throughout the season. This is a vigorous climber that reaches to about 10 feet in height. Grows well in zones 5-9

Ballerina Rose

The Ballerina rose is very easy to grow and has hundreds of small, single pink flowers. These flowers literally covers the entire bush. This rose has only a slight fragrance and grows to an average height of about 4 to 5 feet tall and wide. It can be planted on its own or will make a wanderful hedge. You can also prune to reduce the height.

Carefree Wonder Rose

This rose is a beautiful shrub rose that is tough and will require low maintenance. It is a disease resistant plant and will last many years. This rose is easy to prune and take care of. The plant will produce many small clusters of double blooms which cover the plant with many pink flowers. It is a lightly fragrant.

Marmalade Skies Rose

This beautiful rose has stunning tangerine-orange blooms and a backdrop of satiny green foliage. The Marmalade Skies is in nearly continuous bloom and each blossom carries a light fragrance that will quickly engulf the garden. This rose would be a great low border plant and is ideal as a cut flower as well.[ad]

Chrysanthemum

Football Mum

CHRYSANTHEMUM

This beautiful flower is a perennial and is a very popular flower. These plants are very easy to grow and are a very hardy flower. A little frost and cold weather will not hurt these plants. you can grow these flowers in most northern zones. Mums have many bright and cheerful colors that will bring any garden to life.

Growing Chrysanthemums

Mums can be started from seed but many people use cuttings to plant more mums. You can also divide and separate the established plant.
Mums prefer full sun and a rich well drained soil. Mix in compost and a little fertilizer in the bed just before planting. Mums have shallow roots and will need to be well watered. Pinch back the growth to give the plant a more bushy appearance.
It is a good idea to divide the clumps flowers every few years to promote growth and prevent overcrowding. The mum can grow well in pots and will provide its beautiful blooms come fall.

Pumpkins

BIG MAX PUMPKIN

Indoor PLants

Pumpkins are a great fall vegetable that many people use as decorations for the Halloween season. Many artist love to carve these large vegetables into a great looking masterpiece.

Pumpkins should only be grown if you have a great deal of space to grow these plants. Pumpkins will thrive in partial shade and some gardeners will plant pumpkins along with sweet corn. The corn will be gone before the pumpkin will start spreading out all over. If you want to get an extra large pumpkin remove all but one or two fruits from a vine.

PLANTING:

Plant pumpkins for Halloween around mid- June in the Kentucky region. If pumpkins are planted to early they may rot before Halloween. Seed pumpkins in hills 8 to 12 feet apart in each direction. Do not plant until all danger of frost is past.  Pumpkins are always a fun crop to raise. The kids like to find the great pumpkins and the adults like them for decoration. Harvest pumpkins whenever they are a deep, solid color and the rind has hardened. Try to pick the pumpkin before a hard freeze as this will injure the pumpkin. When you decide to pick the pumpkin leave a portion of the stem attached as this help preserve the pumpkin. If you cut the stem too short the top around the stem will decay and cause the pumpkin to rot more quickly. Enjoy this wonderful fall garden vegetable.

Green Beans

Green beans are the most popular beans in the home garden. The snap bean is highly popular. The lima bean is also popular. Green beans are very sensitive to cold temperatures and should not be planted until the danger of frost has past.

The bush type is the most popular among the snap bean variety because it matures earlier and takes up less space in the garden. Most varieties of snap beans will be ready for harvest in about 50 to 60 days from seeding. the snap beans reach their best stage of edible maturity when the seed within the pod is about one-third developed.

Pole type snap beans require stakes and trellis, a fence or some type of support. they also require a few more days to mature their pods and they continue to bear over a longer period than the bush bean. They require about 65 from seed to harvest.

Plant spacing

Plant the bush beans in rows of 24 to 30 inches apart. Plant the seeds 2 to 3 inches apart in the row and 1 to 11/2 inches deep in a well prepared seed bed. It will usually take about 1 pound of bush bean seed to plant about 100 feet or a row. Plant pole beans 4 to 6 inches apart in rows of 36 to 48 inches apart. You can have a continuous supply of beans by planting every 2 weeks up until mid August.

Fruit Trees

ELBERTA PEACH TREE

GOLDEN DELICIOUS APPLE

AMBROSIA PEAR TREE

A fruit tree comes in different shapes and sizes. Fruit trees can be bought in several different types such as a dwarf, semi dwarf, and a standard tree.

The Dwarf tree is small and is easily managed because of its low growth height. Pruning is easily completed as the tree is small and the limbs are more easily excessible. The fruit on the dwarf tree will be less do to its size but the fruit will be a normal size and if you have the space more trees can be planted.

Semi-dwarf is a medium sized tree which requires a growing area of about 15 feet in diameter. Semi-dwarfs can range in height from 10 to 16 feet and need pruning to keep the height down and the shape uniformed. This size tree will produce many fruit each season. On a few occasions the tree may have a season where it will only produce just a few. This is usually after a heavy producing season. Most of the fruit trees planted today are the semi-dwarf because they are a manageable size and usually produce a large crop.

Standard fruit trees are Large fruit trees that can grow to 25 to 30 feet or more. These trees will require more space and will be a much bigger job to prune and harvest the crop. This tree type will begin producing fruit in about 3 to 5 years. The standard fruit tree will produce many fruit each season.

Growing Cabbage

Cabbage is an easy plant to grow in the home garden. It is a hardy plant that grows well in cool conditions. Cabbage is one of the early season crops that  can withstand a moderate frost.  You can also plant cabbage in mid-summer and have some late season heads. If planting in mid-summer the heads will not develop until fall.

Make sure to fertilize the newly transplanted cabbage plants in the garden and add some nitrogen half way through the growing period. Always try to keep the soil moist as this will help to produce better heads.

Space plants 12 to 24 inches apart. The closer you plant together the smaller the heads will be.

CABBAGE TYPES:

Green Cabbage

Cheers (75 days to harvest; solid round heads; tolerant to black rot and thrips)

Early Jersey Wakefield (OP - 63 days; pointed heads; stands well; resists splitting)

King Cole (74 days; large; firm; extremely uniform heads)

Savoy Cabbage

Savoy King (85 days to harvest; dark, green color; very uniform)

Savoy Queen (88 days; 5 pounds; deep green color; good heat tolerance)

Red Cabbage

Red Meteor (75 days to harvest; firm; good for all seasons)

Ruby Ball (71 days; 4 pounds; slow to burst; resists both cold and heat)

Growing Strawberries

The strawberry is a delicious fruit that grows well in a lot of climates and conditions. This fruit is easy to grow and something that will be apart of your garden landscape for as long as you want it to be. Here is some information on the strawberry and how to make it grow.

There are two different types of strawberries; standard (June bearing) and ever-bearing. You will want to consider how you will use the berries in deciding which varieties you want to grow. The standard twill provide you with a large crop all at once for jams or freezing, and tend to be the better quality berries. The ever-bearing will produce throughout the summer for desserts and snacking. The culture is essentially the same for either. Different varieties are listed at the bottom of this page. Planting time is determined by your growing zone. In areas where the winters are severe (USDA zones 1-5), dormant plants should be purchased and set out in early spring, while temperatures are still cold. In mild winter areas, it is best to plant in the fall, giving you a crop the first spring. Flower buds should be kept picked off during the first month or so to allow the plant to establish itself and develop strength for a big crop.

IN THE GROUND

To grow strawberries in rows, prepare the soil by digging in composted manure or other organic matter (in heavy or wet soil, plant in 8-inch-high mounds or raised beds). If salinity is a problem where you garden (mostly in the Southwest), saturate the top 6 inches of soil with water three times before you plant, allowing it to drain between waterings. Then amend the soil with peat or garden compost (not manure, which is often salty).

If you buy bare-root plants, trim their roots back to about 6 inches and soak them for 30 minutes. Set out plants in a diamond pattern; space them 12 to 18 inches apart in rows 20 to 30 inches wide. Leave 18 inches between the rows for a path - you’ll need it for weeding and harvesting. Set plants in the soil with their roots spread out and down and their crowns just above ground level. Keep runners picked off the first year, but the second year let some grow to fill in for the mother plants you’ll remove the third or fourth year.

To grow strawberries in ground-coverstyle, space plants in rows as described above, but allow their runners to grow, root, and fill the gaps between the mother plants. When the bed is filled (matted), pinch off new runners - unless you need them in later years to replace the exhausted mother plants.

To discourage weeds and hold in moisture, mulch the soil with black plastic before planting. Plant strawberries through holes cut in the plastic, then mulch with a 3-inch layer of straw. Water with a soaker hose, drip irrigation, or flooding, or by overhead sprinkling.

Grown in good, healthy soil, disease-free strawberries can live and bear fruit for a long time; five years isn’t unusual in a home garden (most commercial fields replace their strawberries every year, though some wait two years).

A matted row 10 feet long and 20 inches wide should yield 5 to 10 quarts of strawberries a year.