Garden Inspire

Now is a great time to be thinking about your garden and landscape.  If you have received seed catalogs in the mail you may have seen many things you would like to grow this year.

Before ordering plan what you want to plant where.  Even if you make a few changes between now and planting you will be less likely to end up with some plants or seeds that you will just cram in somewhere or that will die before you get them planted.

Keep in mind the conditions of your yard.  Your yard is not the same in every section or every season.

What areas receive the most sun?  or the most shade? and what times of the day so they receive sun or shade?

What areas are the driest?  the wettest?

How will you get water to the various parts of your landscape? 

(Overhead sprinklers are not the best way to water trees, shrubs, and gardens)

Which areas receive the most wind? or the least?

Do the above situations change depending on the season? Before trees leaf out in the spring they will not cast as much shade so early plants such as spring bulbs will receive more sun than plants which emerge later.

Compost is fantastic for soil improvement - adding organic matter, nutrients, and microorganisms to your soil.

A variety of items can be added to your compost pile including: spoiled vegetables and fruits and vegetable and fruit peelings, plant debris, prunings, straw, leaves, bedding from vegetarian pets, eggshells, coffee grounds, tea bags, cotton fabric, cardboard and paper – not slick – although it may be better to recycle paper in another way.  You can also add manures from rabbits, cows, horses, goats, poultry, or sheep.

Ideal proportions would be 2/3 brown or dry (dried leaves, straw, etc) to 1/3 wet or green (vegetable peelings, spoiled fruit).  If your compost pile is smelly it is because the proportions are wrong, your pile is too wet, or you have added things that should not be in a compost pile.

There are some items that should not be put into a compost pile:  meat, bones, fat, dairy, manures or litter from carnivores including dogs and cats.  Ammonium sulfate is not needed for the composting process and I feel defeats the purpose because of the harm it can cause to microorganisms. 

Compost piles need air and moisture.  Water may need to be added to keep a pile moist or your compost may need to be protected from rain to prevent your pile from becoming too wet.

Turning the pile helps provide air to the pile and will help the composting process to occur faster.  Turned once per week your compost may be ready in a month or so.

To learn more about composting including various methods for outdoor and indoor composting sign up for my free gardening lessons and weekly garden tips.

n addition to this blog I also have an herb gardening blog and an edible landscaping blog:

HerbGrow

EatYourLandscape

Do you know what hardiness zone you are in?  Do you know what hardiness zones mean? Your hardiness zone and the hardiness zone of the plants you want to grow are important information to know before planning and planting.  For more information see another blog of mine Eat Your Landscape - Hardiness Zones.

First of all it is important to know the difference.  Some sites with photos and other information:

Yellow Jackets

Bald-faced Hornet

Bees

Wasps

Knowing the difference can help you to know which ones are worth worrying about.  They all provide some benefit to your garden.

Yellow jackets provide some benefit by eating insects and pollinating plants.  However they are the most vicious and can sting numerous times.  If you are allergic to their stings or you have so many that they are eating your grilled steak or getting in your soda pop, controlling them would be a good idea.  

The best times of the day to use any controls are in the evenings just before dusk and in the morning just after sunrise.  Yellow jackets go home at night and so you will kill more of them and be less bothered when using sprays, hanging traps, etc.

If you know where the nest is you can use sprays on the nest or on the opening to the nest. If spraying near power lines be sure to use a spray designed for that purpose.

If the nest is in the ground a better solution may be diatomaceaous earth which you can purchase at many garden centers or online. Place the diatomaceous earth on the openings and at least 6 inches around the area where the openings are (there will likely be at least two).   Diatomaceaous earth is made from fossilized sea life and kills insects by cutting through and dehydrating them.  They cannot adapt to it.  It only works when dry so be sure the area where you are using it will not get wet for a few hours.  I have seen it kill yellow jackets when sprays did not.

You can also use yellow jacket traps.  You can research online how to make your own or use Rescue brand which will only trap yellow jackets.  If you aren't catching anything you don't have yellow jackets - you have something else.

There are fake yellow jacket nests available which are said to discourage them.  I have not tried one so I don't know how well they work.