Continued from 7 Tips for Everday Outdoor Gardening, Part 1 and 7 Tips for Everday Outdoor Gardening, Part 2. 

15. Sprout your Seeds – A lot of people ask me about growing peanuts, moonflowers or pumpkin seeds because they have trouble getting them to germinate.

Resolution: Place seeds inside three or four wet, stacked paper towels and set on a plate in the sink. Keep the seeds moist, cool and dark; check after 72 hours for the sprouting of cotyledons or seed leaves. Once they have grown, plant the seed in a small paper cup or empty egg carton of dirt and set in a sunny window.

16. Strengthen your Seedlings – Frequently, seeds started indoors will germinate weak stemmed seedlings, because the plant invests only as much energy as it thinks it needs in holding the plant erect.

Resolution: Lightly brush your hand back and forth over your seedlings a few times a day, helping them become accustomed to stem movement.

17. Explore the Benefits of Bugs – In Tip 13, I explained a simple, organic way to control pests – but let’s say your infestation is a bit more severe than just out-of-control.

Resolution: Many garden-dwelling insects are harmless to our plants, and do us a service in terms of pest control. Before spraying your vegetation with toxic pesticides that kill both good and bad insects, ask your local nurseries about beneficial bugs. Mantids, for example, will eat nearly any insect they catch, including aphids and mosquitoes, while lady bugs are used especially for aphid infestations that would be difficult to control with chemicals or soap-washes. You can also buy predatory bugs specifically bred to kill spider mites, larvae, worms, thrips and mealybugs; however, these insects can be difficult to control.

18. Be Aware of Toxic Plants – If you have children, becoming aware of the toxicity of, what may seem like common plants, is very important. Many indoor tropical plants are toxic to both humans and animals, such as philodendron, pothos, spiderplants and mistletoe.

Many common outdoor varieties can cause abdominal pains or cardiac complications, such as sweet pea, iris, clematis, foxglove, poinsettias, amaryllis, hydrangeas, lilacs and vinca. (For a more complete list, visit this website: http://www.aragriculture.org/horticulture/ornamentals/toxic_plants.htm)

19. Make Propagation Easy – You’ve tried seeds, you’ve tried seedlings, you’ve given them everything short of blood, yet nothing seems to make them grow! 

Resolution: Plants can also be grown from cutting, layering or dividing.

• Cuttings – With several plants, you can take a cutting from just below a leaf node and stick them in water or the ground to produce new roots. Mints and pothos plants can both be grown effectively from cuttings. In fact, pothos plants, which are often mislabeled as philodendron by florists, are hydroponic, meaning they will thrive in water. Make sure to remove any leaves from the part of the stem submerged in water.

• Layering - Some plants will send out stolons or “runners,” which are prostrate stems that have the ability to root the plant elsewhere. These include mints, many shrubs and even strawberries. For example, forsythia, a very common leafy shrub that is bright yellow in the spring, can be propagated by layering. Simply bend one end of a stem to bury in the ground. In a few weeks, roots will develop and the bent stem can be snipped from the mother-plant. With strawberries, runners can be pinned to the ground with a rock to encourage rooting; snip them when they show signs of growth so they don’t leach nutrients from the parent plant. Dig and transplant as needed.

• Dividing – Digging up and dividing roots is one of the most effective means of propagation. Lilies, especially, can be divided and transplanted. Dig them in the fall after the flowers are spent, and replant where desired for re-growth in the spring.

( The Herb Companion Guide to Propagating Herbs ) 

20. Consider Using your Hair – Occasionally, orthodox solutions just don’t work for curing your garden of rabbits or skunks or strays.

Resolution: Take a bag of human (or cat) hair clippings and spread around the yard. Many beauty salons will give you a bag of clippings but with a sideways look. Garden-dwelling animals are sensitive to predators and will be discouraged from invading marked areas. Another option, and one that I have found most effective, is to spray a hot pepper-wax or essential oil solution on plants, making them unsavory.

21. Never Over-water –A flooded plant is a dead plant. 

Resolution: It’s better to underwater a plant you’re unfamiliar with, rather than overwater. It seems like, ironically, our concern for life causes us to kill – so take it easy with the hose next time you water your favorite new flowers.

And that does it! If you have any suggestions, comments or additions to this list, leave a comment below. If you've got a question, I've got your answer! Shoot an e-mail over to tmiller@ogdenpubs.com.

Continued from 7 Tips for Everyday Outdoor Gardening, Part 1.

Also read 7 Tips for Everyday Outdoor Gardening, Part 3.

8. Use Newspaper to Line Garden Beds – Unlike plastic tarps or cloth weed killers, newspaper is a great solution for lining garden beds.

Resolution: When the paper is wet, it mats down grass and weeds, killing them in a few short days. This gives you a fresh canvas in which to plant, and it breaks down quickly, to assure you aren’t harming nature in the process. Lay down newspaper and attach to the ground using garden staples (or dry-wall nails - see the next tip!), wet with your hose, wait a week, cover with top soil and begin planting your new, weed-free garden.

9. Think Outside the Garden Box – However, funnily enough, if you ever HAVE used garden staples, you know what a pain they can be: one side goes in, the other bends out of shape and you push and push with all your might, but your efforts fail.

Resolution: I’ve discovered that, where possible, using dry-wall nails is an excellent substitute. The nails come in boxes of hundreds (compared with the 30 or so that come in a box of garden staples), puncture the soil more easily than garden staples and keep your weed-cover down more securely because you can use more of them per square foot than with a garden staple. Tada!

10. Bring Back Healthy Tulips, Lilies and Daffodils – When spring flowers fade and fall, it can be tempting to cut back the green foliage nature left behind, but don’t. A plant invests a lot of energy building greenery before it blooms, and it needs that energy restored in its roots to come back at full strength next year.

Resolution: Wait until the leaves of the plant begin to yellow, and then snip away.

11. Water in the Morning or the Evening – During warm summer months, you may have to obey certain city water ordinances, especially daytime “curfews” allowing you to water only during designated time slots.

Resolution: Watering early in the morning and early in the evening assures your plant absorbs the maximum amount of water before it evaporates off, meaning you’ll use less water for the same plants than watering in the heat of the day.

12. Know Your Mulches – Mulching is an essential part of any garden. It prevents weeds, retains moisture, deters some pests and can add a finishing touch to any pleasant garden.

Resolution: Say you have a flower garden you want to garnish with a beautiful mulch: Choose un-dyed cedar. The warm brown hue creates a palette from which your flowers will pop – plus, insects hate it. Cedar mulch also lasts longer than other mulches, and smells amazing, making it an investment for any long-time flower garden.

Now let’s say you have a vegetable garden, and you want to add as much organic matter to the soil as possible. Here, you should choose pine mulch, which breaks down much quicker than cedar, inhibits weeds and also helps to insulate the soil from extreme heat or cold, protecting your plants.

13. Easy Pesticides – You have animals you’d like to keep, and bugs you’d like to … sleep. (Sorry, best I could do.)

Resolution: Ants hate cinnamon. Sprinkle it around infected plants, under potters, along the side of your house. It is easy, safe and healthy to use around family members of all ages and breaks down easily in rain without infecting our water sources – reapply as needed.  

Spiders hate cinnamon oil. Mix a little cinnamon oil with water and spray on annoyingly placed webs. While some spiders are dangerous and others just scary-looking, killing them off could make other, more annoying, pests worse. Just divert them where possible.

Aphids on the other hand, should die, and at the hands of rubbing alcohol. Mix 1 part rubbing alcohol with 2 parts water, spray directly on the plant, around the plant and make sure to spray the undersides of leaves. Reapply twice a day for two weeks, then taper off over the next three. (read more about killing aphids, in my blog post: When Aphid's Attack)

14. Mulch your Grass Clippings as Often as Possible – It is very tempting to want a "Brady Bunch lawn," but there is a smarter solution.

Resolutin: Your grass and your back will be happier if you use a mower-plug to shoot clippings out the side of the mower instead of collecting them. The residual grass clippings are rich in nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, breaking down to add a  quarter of your lawn’s fertilizer needs and a wealth of moisture back into your soil.

Stay tuned for part 3! UPDATE: Also read  7 Tips for Everyday Outdoor Gardening, Part 1  and  7 Tips for Everyday Outdoor Gardening, Part 3 . 

If you've got a question, I've got your answer! Shoot an email over to tmiller@ogdenpubs.com 

Q:  Taylor, my question is multi-layered. I live in the Western NC mountains (Waynesville) at about 3500 feet. Last summer, I put out two upright rosemary plants in areas with Eastern exposure, also a winter-hardy gardenia and a trailing gardenia, none of which survived our winter this year. I learned a very expensive lesson. Therefore, they're going to need to be pot plants. My question: What dimensions/depth should the planters be for:

• Upright gardenia
• Trailing gardenia
• Upright rosemary
• Trailing rosemary
 
Also, finally, how long could they each stay in their respective planters at these dimensions?  How will I know they're unhappy?
 
Thank you so much for your help,
–Lanie

A:  Admittedly, I’ve never grown gardenia plants before, but like I say to users who submit questions, either I will have an answer, or I’ll go out and find one for you. So, I spoke with a couple gardening experts, did some heavy reading, and arrived at a few learned suggestions for Lanie and the blogging community regarding gardenias, which are some of the most beautiful, most fragrant white flowers out there.

First, the quick answer: Pick a pot 2-4" wider and 4-6" deeper than the rootball of the plant you buy to start off the summer. You'll need to transplant them before the summer is through. Find out how to tell when they're ready, below.

1. Know your growing environment: 

Gardenias originated in an oriental environment with mild winters and warm summers – so in a region 6 growing zone, even when labeled “hardy,” if they aren’t in a protected area, they’ll freeze. So, at least with the gardenias in your area, you’re right to pot. (Note: Gardenias will thrive in warmer growing zones throughout the winter.)

While outside, your gardenia will want bright, filtered light (not direct sun), and it will want to stay at a temperature around 73 degrees Fahrenheit. When you move it indoors over the winter, however, it will need the brightest window.
 
2. How to pot: Gardenias are very finicky and like acidic, moist (but not TOO moist) environments, like azaelas, so it’s smart to mix your own potting soil rather than using a standard “garden variety” like Miracle Gro.

Fill the pot half way with organic top soil and then add a handful-or-so of coffee grounds to lower the PH level (make it more acidic). Mix thoroughly. Now add a third more top soil and find some dead leaves to mix in. Leaves will help the plant with moisture, but more importantly, this organic material will help the soil retain acid from the coffee. Finish with enough top soil so that the plant sits right below the mouth of the pot.

Gardenias will want an acidic PH level between 4.8 and 6.2. When mixing your own soil, especially when it’s this specific, it’s best to make only enough for what you need at the moment. Occasionally top soil will come with a PH reading, but if not, any garden center should be able to test the soil for you if you are really concerned with a correct balance. You will also want to refertilize your plants in mid-summer, near the end of June. This can be done with either more coffee grounds or an azaela fertilizer that's commercially available.

Most resources say that, outside of over-watering, an alkaline soil environment will kill your plant fastest, or prevent root formation, which inevitably stops the plant from coming back in the spring. Although they may have been fine during the growing season, it is possible that the plants had stored most of their resources in their leaves and could not grow back from their roots.

(About PH: A soil PH of 7 is neutral. Anything below is acidic and above is alkaline. Stones and building materials like limestone, gravel and concrete are alkaline and can affect the surrounding soil, so if you plant gardenias into the ground, it is best to plant them away from the foundation, walkways and driveways of your home to avoid difficult PH balancing.)  

3. Don’t over/under water: Water your plant every second day, because unlike most outdoor plants, gardenias are very susceptible to root rot, so you only want to water when they are nearly dry. On the second day, you’ll want to soak them well but make sure the plant is not sitting in water (drainage holes in pots are essential with gardenias), and saucers should be emptied.

The best way to ensure that your gardenia is watered (but not overwatered) is to mulch. Using a cedar mulch around the base of your plant will discourage pests (which are common with this flower) and will hold mositure in for a long period of time. This moisture is released more slowly into the soil, so the roots aren't sitting in a pool of water.

Some say that misting gardenias is important, which is in a way, true. Gardenias need humidity - but if they are over-misted and water begins accumulating, their leaves may also begin fostering black fungus, so take it easy with the misting, if you do it at all. Much like with indoor orchids, a better option when you bring the plant inside is to set it on a pebble tray filled with water. (Note: Do not sit roots in the water, instead set the pot above the pebble tray using a small clay saucer turned upside down).

When is the plant unhappy? You will notice that your plant needs to be upgraded to a bigger pot when the soil dries out very quickly because of the size of the roots eating up all the water. Gardenias like to be tight in their containers but not root-bound. And they should be transplanted when necessary, perhaps a few times throughout the growing season, to encourage the maximum amount of growth.

Several sources say that the best gardenia flowers for pots are the more vigorous growers, such as Belmont or Miami Supreme.

About your rosemary:

Herb Companion garden columnist and herb expert, Jim Long, said that it is possible for you to raise rosemary outside your home in your growing zone in North Carolina, and may be preferable to potting it. He said he learned an important lesson about rosemary from one of his mentors, Madalene Hill, late president of International Herb Association: It’s not the heat of the summer or the cold of the winter, but how you treat your plant.

Clipped directly from Jim’s blog:

“[Madalene] went on to explain that rosemary plants have very small root systems and suggested I try this: Plant the rosemary plant in the garden in the spring, regardless of what size the plant is. Grow it all summer and after the first frost, dig the plant, repot it and bring it indoors. Keep the plant in an unheated room, with light, like a garage window or unheated back enclosed back porch. The following spring, unpot and plant the rosemary back in the garden, then leave it alone. And by golly it works! I followed her advice and have rosemaries in the garden that have been there almost 10 years, growing quite happily.”

After reading that, I think it’s still important to exercise caution with your rosemary plants. So, try an experiment; plant two rosemary plants directly into the ground and two in pots following the instructions above. You might find that, when the plants are sown directly into the ground, they will develop larger and more fully than those grown in pots. It is also very difficult to give rosemary the requisite amount of humidity it needs when planted indoors (and not allowed to go dormant).

Plant rosemary in full sun, or slightly filtered light, allowing the potting soil in containers to almost dry before watering; it’s also important that your potted plants have good drainage. Transplant at the same depth as they were growing in the nursery, with a neutral soil PH. Cactus soil with a bit of perlite is your easiest option

You can read more about growing rosemary in challenging conditions from Jim’s post and check out his blog.

If you have a question, I've got your answer! Shoot an email over to tmiller@ogdenpubs.com.

iHola Taylor!  I’ve had a kalanchoe plant for several years, but I noticed today that I have all these little white and green buggy … THINGS … on the leaves.  And a LOT of them!  They kind of look like little crustaceans, but they’re so small it’s hard to describe them.  White, crustaceany, things, I guess.  How do I get rid of them? – Bárbara from Florida
                                  
I had a feeling about Bárbara’s infestation, and when I sent her this photo, she said, THERE THEY ARE! 

They’re aphids (Aphidius colemanii).  And aphid skin casts (observe the white shells).  Aphids come en masse between seasons and reproduce fast.  Also, they secret a substance called honeydew, which can attract both ants and sooty mold. 

CURE:  Bárbara, the first thing I would do is to take the plant outside and spray it off with your hose’s jet setting.  Or if you don’t have a hose, get one of those cans of air (that are so fun to play with) and knock off as many aphids and their casts as you can.

Then move the kalanchoe to an isolated location away from any plant close enough for an aphid migration via air current.  If you only have a garage or a dark location available, you can buy a compact fluorescent bulb which is labeled “natural sunlight” or “natural light” as a sort of make-shift grow light.

Next, mix some rubbing alcohol with water in a sprayer – 1 part alcohol, 2 parts water – and spray on the plant leaves daily in the morning, making sure to get under the leaves, in the plant crevices and on the stems without over-misting.

Aphids are attracted to yellow, so rub Vaseline on some Post-Its and circle them around the base of your plant. Change daily, and when you notice no more insects, you’re probably safe. 

WHY THIS WORKS:  In the US, what we call rubbing alcohol is also called isopropyl alcohol or more scientifically, isopropanol. 

Kalanchoes are succulents that don’t have a high tolerance for pesticides or humidity (both which can be super-effective for destroying infestations).  So isopropanol is ideal, because it’s cheap, doesn’t stink, dries quickly, is relatively non-toxic and it leaves the waxy shine so important in indoor ornamental kalanchoes.

Isopropanol cuts through lipophilic substances, like oil, which is why it’s so great at removing that smudgy gunk on your eyeglasses.  When bugs come into contact with it, the waxy cover of their skin is dissolved, and they are poisoned.

This poisoning works the same in humans, but only in much larger doses.  When the isopropanol hits the liver, it is oxidized into acetone (finger-nail polish remover).  Yikes, huh?  But, every year Americans use 500 million pounds of toxic pesticides wayyy worse than isopropanol.

Because it dries quickly, it’s diluted and you won’t be soaking your plants in it, misting will be safe for you and your kalanchoe – just not for your bugs.

(CAUTION:  If you notice other white or cotton-bally insects growing on your plants, it may be a sign of a more serious infestation.)

If you’ve got a problem, I’ve got a solution – shoot an email over to Taylor at tmiller@ogdenpubs.com.

 Some people scream “RATS!” when something goes wrong.  Sometimes, though, I think the saying should be “GNATS!”  If you’ve got a bug problem, don’t fret, hope is on the horizon, (or at least in the top layer of your soil).   

Question:  I have noticed more fruit flies in the house now that it's getting cooler. I know that they're attracted to my plants, but they're kind of embarrassing when I have people over. Do you know of a way I can get rid of them, short of walking around and trying to catch each one?? Thanks! - Susan, Kansas

Susan, great question!  First, it’s important to understand the problem:  It’s likely that these buzzers actually aren’t Fruit Flies (Drosophila melanogaster), but a relative insect known as the Fungus Gnat (Sciaridae).  I spoke with an entomologist who said it is a common misnomer.  Even a few exterminators I spoke with had no idea what a Fungus Gnat is (now that is scary, and a good litmus test for a potential exterminator!)   

Fungus Gnats are the most frequent houseplant annoyance and are distinguished from common Fruit Flies because of their darker color.  While Fruit Flies hang out primarily in exposed fruit, rotten food and in leaky fridges, you’ll find Fungus Gnats in wet plant soil, in sewer situations and in household drains.  They’re also attracted to CO₂ (Carbon Dioxide) which explains why they’re always right up in your face. 

Adult Fungus Gnats live a week and a half, and in that span can lay up to 200 eggs each in moist soil.  The eggs hatch in 4 to 6 days and feed on plant roots in their larval stage for about 2 weeks.  They love moist, compost-rich potting soils, so it’s more likely you’ll find them in the brand names, like Miracle-Gro®.

Because Fungus Gnats need moist soil in order to complete this four-week life cycle, most experts think you can eradicate the problem by letting your plants completely dry out and get into the practice of watering "...just enough."  But if your watering methods aren't cryptically precise, there are other more accessible solutions.

Questions about Fungus Gnats:

So, do I have Fungus Gnats?  - To see if you have larvae in your plants, and can’t tell just by looking, cut a potato into ½ inch slices and set on top of the soil. FG larvae are attracted to the potato and will move to the surface to feed on it. In a couple days, check the slices, and discard if engulfed with Gna-ggots.  My advice, skip this step unless you’re morbid and have a strong stomach.

Ack, I have them!  Make them leave!  - Pour a generous layer of sand on top of the soil and cover with cedar mulch.  FGs are attracted to the top layer of wet soil. Because sand drains quickly, adults are confused by the newly dry top layer of soil, even though your plant is perfectly watered.  The cedar mulch is ornamental and most insects hate the smell.

OK, so the larvae are dying.  But how do I kill the adults? – Smear Vaseline® on a yellow sticky note and hang vertically.  FGs are specifically attracted to the color yellow and will bang up against it if it is hung vertically.  Another trick is to uncap and cut the top ^_1/3 off a soda (pop) bottle, turning it upside down inside the bottle (so it looks like a funnel).  Then fill the base with a mixture of vegetable oil and apple cider vinegar.  Attracted to the fermented smell, the FGs will drown when the surface tension is broken by the vegetable oil.     

I think my case is serious! – Most greenhouses use a peat mixture infused with an FG predator called Hypoaspis miles.  The mite lives and feeds on insect larvae and is commercially available for about $30.  You can also buy Gnatrol, a bacterial insecticide that is human and pet friendly and retails for around $20.  Residential exterminators can also control the problem but for, at minimum, $45.

For more information on indoor gardening, visit my blog entry:  5 Tips for Indoor Gardens 

People here at The Herb Companion can tell you, I am a total neat freak.  The first thing I did as a new hire was grab some eco-friendly multi-surface cleaner and take care of some nasties left by the former desk-lady.  So, I am more than willing to find you a natural solution for your home pollution!  This question comes from an allergy victim and her dust-offending family.

Question:  My sister and brother-in-law do a reasonable job of tidying their farm house, but when it comes to dusting, well, they don't.  Too overwhelming, I guess.  I love visiting, but my allergies simply cannot tolerate the dust, and I hate to have my kids in that environment.  Easy fixes!?   - Mary, Missouri

I suspect that the level of dust mites (and their poo-poos) are to blame for your allergic reactions, and it's good you have kept your kids at bay.  More than 9 percent of kids in the US today have asthma, and according to the CDC, the prevalence is especially high in the Midwest.  Some studies suggest that parents can possibly alleviate, if not prevent, these asthma onsets with thorough cleaning.  But, it doesn't really sound like your family is UP for that. 

Solution:  Mix 2 parts tea (I might recommend a light colored tea) with 2 parts water in a sprayer, mist the air in the room and the tea will fall evenly on carpets and upholstery.  Don't spray directly on surfaces as it could stain, let it sit for about 4 hours and vacuum.

Why does this work?  Tea tannins, and tea chemicals known as polyphenols are what's known as protein denaturing agents.  That's a fancy way of saying, they hitchhike on dust mites, and like in the horror flicks, these hitchhikers kill.  But they do more than just kill the mites, they also saturate and destroy mite-eggs.  When the tea tannins have bonded to the mites and their eggs, it's much easier and more effective to vacuum them up.

Denaturing is the process by which the tea tannins will crush the "skeleton" of proteins and amino acids (remember high school science?  Put A with T and C with G, and happy we all will be!).  It causes disruption, and eventually the proteins (and mites) will, essentially, fall apart.  Tea works similarly for us, bonding with free radicals and helping them pass through the body, instead of being absorbed.

But best of all, this process is an all-natural solution safe for pets, children and pregnant women.  And it's cheap!  But if your sibs just won't do it, get a sneaky little spray bottle and DIY.

To learn more about the awesome benefits of Tea (and there are a TEA-TON), stay tuned for the next issue of The Herb Companion, hitting the stands September 30.

Or, to learn more about asthma, dust and protein denaturing agents, I might reccomend Asthma and Immunological Diseases in Pregnancy and Early Infancy, by Michael Schatz available on Amazon for an arm and a leg, or free on Google Books (skip to page 270).