A few ??? from this Week



this is from my side yard, Lilac Tree

Well it is spring in the garden center, so that means we have seen a steady.....and continuous flow of green and brown thumbers the last few weeks. (THANK YOU!)  Thought I would share with you a few of the questions and comments we are hearing. Sometimes you might have the same one, just forgot to ask it. Here goes:

What is the pretty purple bloom everywhere right now? Lilacs probably, yumm yumm yummy lilacs. If you are lucky enough to be able to reach over your neighbors fence to clip a few, make sure you leave them some zucchini on their porch later this summer to thank them.

Yikes, Skikes, what is making my leaves curl up? Well that would probably be the darned aphids invading already. Remember that mild winter we had, well a lot of the bugs made it through it with just a light blanket and they are ready to enjoy Spring, just like we are. GET THE HOSE OUT, and wash them off the leaves if you can. If it is a big tree, sorry, you are a little late, should have used a dormant oil spray earlier in the season. But if they are on the roses, just use the hose, wash them off - open the leaves up if you can, the aphids are hiding inside the curl - smart little buggers - and then watch for the ladybugs.......they are right behind, just a little late to the dinner table. (We had a gentlemen bring in some leaves with aphids all over them and there in the baggie -always bring your bugs in a baggie or glass jar please - was ladybug larva too!!) This picture is NOT from my yard! It is off the Internet as display only. I am VERY HAPPY to report that I have very few of the pesky bugs. With the organic worm castings sprinkled all over the plants and watered in it seems to repel them. Don't ask me why, because I can't explain it, just take my advice and try it.

ladybug larva at the dinner table,
watch for these guys, they are
your friends!!!

What is the difference between the dirt you sell and what I can get from the empty lot next door? Well, first off, we don't sell dirt, we sell soil, in all it's wonderfulness. If you are one of the many people that have asked me this question over the years you have probably heard me say "Drive 10 miles outside of town and see what grows here naturally, then tell me why you think it would be much different in your own yard?" I know many of you that live here are transplanted from somewhere else, myself included, and you/me are used to maybe putting something in the ground and standing back and watching it grow. We have to add living things to our soil to get things to grow. I could go on and on ....about the microbes, and the bat guano, and the earthworm castings, and the .............that is in the products we sell, but just go here Everything you need to now about the bagged products we sell , they do such a good job of telling you about themselves.

I can't get ANYTHING to grow, HELP! First off, let me remind everyone, we weren't always green thumbers either. We practiced, practiced, practiced...and we still have sad stories of things gone wrong in our garden. BUT, that said, we are here to help you. Just stop by, who knows, your question could be here next week. Have fun in the dirt, Susan