How to Grow Strawberries

My home grown everbearing strawberries almost ready to pick. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

Grow Strawberries

Summer is officially here when I start seeing locally-grown strawberries, usually several weeks before the official start of summer. In USDA Hardiness zone 6B, where I live, strawberry season begins in June. Or maybe I should say strawberry shortcake season. It continues for several weeks, or months, depending on the strawberry variety.

My family goes back several generations as Hungarian strawberry farmers. That may explain why most of us siblings love strawberries just as they are. Commercially-grown, strawberries usually end up on the top 10 list of plants raised with harmful chemicals so growing them at home is an excellent option.

Types of Strawberries

There are a number of strawberry varieties. Here are the two most popular types of strawberries:

• June-bearing strawberries provide strawberries for 5-6 weeks starting in June.

• Ever-bearing strawberries bloom 3-6 months starting in June.

For example, the ever popular Quinault and Ozark strawberries are ever-bearing strawberries.

How to Plant Strawberries

Strawberries are heavy feeders, which means they take a lot of resources out of the soil. To get ready for my first strawberry plantings, I added both compost and manure to ensure the soil microbes were well-fed so they could feed the plants.

For those flower beds where I used strawberries as border plants, they also were given extra mulch and compost.

Strawberry plants can easily be used on flower borders. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

Last year, I planted a good 60 or so new ever-bearing strawberry plants as flower bed borders. This way I can easily pick strawberries as I walk by.

Strawberry plants in their first year can appear small. It normally takes a year for plant roots to get established.

You should also remove the flowers in the first year. You want to concentrate the plant’s energy in getting roots established.

Here’s another border where I included strawberries. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

I also added June-bearing plants in a couple of flower beds. Those are honestly for the visiting turtles that somehow know when the berries are ripe.

Now the more traditional way to grow strawberries is to have separate planting beds. To grow strawberries in beds, they need to be rotated 3-4 years to give soil time to recover and re-energize.

Separate strawberry beds are the traditional way to raise berries. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

After planting, add straw under the leaves. You don’t want the berries touching soil or they will rot.

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Charlotte

Seed Exchange Library

Our public library started a free seed exchange to encourage planting and seed sharing. (charlotte ekker wiggins photo)

Seed Exchange Library

Our lovely public library has started to offer a seed exchange “library,” an opportunity for gardeners to take seeds as well as give seeds back. Since this is the beginning of the growing season, I thought it was a good time to feature this service so we can all plan on saving seeds to contribute.

Here are some of the specifics:

repurposed medicine bottles store donated seeds. (charlotte ekker wiggins photo)

• The donated seeds are made available in recycled medicine and other plastic containers.

this helpful chart suggests the best times to plant seeds. (charlotte ekker wiggins photo)

• There's a plant grow chart from St. Louis to help new gardeners decide when to plant what seeds. We're in USDA hardiness zone 6b.

a handy form collects pertinent information about donated seeds. (charlotte ekker wiggins photo)

There’s a scoop and small envelopes to gather seeds. To check out, the envelopes are recorded at the library’s check out desk so they can monitor what seeds are popular.

This seed exchange is sponsored by the library and our new community garden. Master gardeners and gardening groups could also sponsor something similar.

What a lovely way to encourage growing your own food and learning how to garden!

For more gardening, beekeeping, cooking and easy home decor tips, subscribe to Garden Notes.

Charlotte

Pot Garden One Month Later

My pot garden one month later has produced lettuce, several herbs including catnip and is now growing tomatoes and peppers. (charlotte ekker wiggins photo)

Pot Garden One Month Later

This is one month since I started planting in pots again on my deck. So many how to guides don't discuss what happens after one gets started with a container garden so I will feature the results through the growing season. As I said earlier, besides the sheer fun of saying you have a “pot garden,” growing food in pots is an easy and practical way to get yourself fresh produce.

Here's a quick 101 primer on how to set up a pot garden. This is a quick video tour of how I started. Here's a short video tour of what the pot garden looks like a month later.

What to Grow in Pot Garden 

I've been growing in pots for several decades now. It started when I was traveling for work but still wanted fresh herbs for cooking and cat treats; then expanded to wanting better flavored tomatoes.

If you haven't started yet, here is a list of some easy spring seeds to get you started:

Lettuce and mixed greens; beets, peas, spinach, onions (red, white and yellow) and radishes. All of these crops like cool spring weather.

A note about radishes. Don’t toss those green tops, add the top green to a salad, they are delicious.

Now that the danger of hard frost is over, I've added cherry tomato starts surrounded by basil seedlings. Basil will keep bugs off the tomatoes and improve flavor. Clam shells work well as tiny greenhouses to protect tomato seedlings from late cold spells.

I also started nasturtium, green peppers, tiny zinnias, more basil and dill from seed. You can buy starts but it's less expensive to grow from seeds. And catnip. I can't seem to grow enough catnip!

How to Manage Pot Gardens

• Don’t dig up soil from your garden; start with new potting soil. You don’t want to grow unwanted bugs.

• When planting summer crops, add compost to the bottom of the pots before adding potting soil to feed soil that keeps plants fed and healthy.

• Wet soil down before adding seeds or plants.

• Pick up a set of children’s gardening tools. They are a better size to work in pots.

• Add buried plastic bottles with holes on sides to make sure water gets to the roots.

• If you have a crop you can’t get to, don’t toss it just yet, let it “bolt” or go to seed and it will feed local pollinators.

• If you can’t use what you grow, compost. You can start by putting the gathered greens in the bottom of the next pot you are making.

• Once you pot herbs, you can have them year around. Plan to bring them in over winter and they won't take over your garden.

• If you have inside cats, you may find they enjoy having an empty pot of soil to curl up in and take a dust bath.

• If it’s not a hybrid, you can save the seeds for next year and you won't have to buy seeds.

  For more gardening, beekeeping, cooking and easy home decor tips, subscribe to Garden Notes.

  Charlotte

Iris and Peony Planting Tips

Early may is Iris and peony blooming season assuming the plants have been planted at the correct depth. (charlotte ekker wiggins photo)

Iris and Peony Planting Tips

Mother’s Day in US is the second Sunday in May, usually a time when irises and peonies start blooming. These flowers remind me of my mother. Every Mother's Day she would ask us kids to weed her three favorite iris beds at the front of our house. Well that and to have breakfast in bed.

Here are tips on how to plant these two perennial favorites so you can enjoy flowers every year.

Planting Iris

1. Choose the Right Spot: Irises love full sun, so pick a spot that gets at least 6 hours of daily sunlight.

2. Well-Drained Soil: Irises prefer well-drained soil. If your soil tends to hold water, consider amending it with compost or sand to improve drainage.

3. Planting Depth: When planting iris rhizomes, make sure to bury them half into soil, leaving the other half exposed. If summers are hot, bury the whole rhizome barely under top soil. You don't want to plant them deep or they will rot. Make sure attached shallow roots are buried in soil on either side.

4. Add Stakes: You may need to add stakes to hold irises in place until roots settle in.

5. Spacing: Space iris rhizomes about 12 to 24 inches apart. This allows them enough room to spread and grow without crowding.

6. Watering: Irises generally don't like wet feet, so water them sparingly. Once a week should be sufficient, especially during dry spells. Check that the roots are still covered in soil. During dry spells soil contracts and can expose roots.

7. Fertilization: Apply a balanced fertilizer early spring to give irises a nutrient boost as they start to grow.

8. Divide Regularly: Irises can become overcrowded over time, leading to fewer blooms. Divide clumps every 3 to 4 years to maintain healthy growth and abundant flowering.

Planting Peonies

1. Sunlight: Peonies also love full sun but can tolerate partial shade. Aim to plant them in a spot that receives at least 6 hours of sunlight daily.

2. Well-Drained Soil: Like irises, peonies prefer well-drained soil. Ensure good drainage by adding organic matter such as compost to the soil before planting.

3. Planting Depth: Peony roots should be planted no more than 2 inches below the soil surface. If they’re not flowering most likely you planted them too deep.

4. Spacing: Space them about 3 to 4 feet apart to allow for good air circulation and prevent crowding.

5. Support: Peonies often need support once they start producing heavy blooms. Install peony rings or stakes early in the season to prevent flopping.

6. Watering: Water newly planted peonies thoroughly and consistently. Once established, they are relatively drought-tolerant. Water deeply during dry spells, but avoid overwatering to prevent root rot.

7. Fertilization: Peonies are not heavy feeders, but you can apply a balanced fertilizer in early spring as new growth emerges. Avoid high-nitrogen fertilizers, they promote lush foliage at the expense of flowers.

8. Mulching: Apply a layer of organic mulch around your peonies to help retain moisture, suppress weeds, and maintain a consistent soil temperature.

With these tips you should be well on your way to enjoying vibrant blooms from your iris and peony plants. Don't forget to weed. Happy Mother's Day!

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Charlotte

Late Frost Protection

some of the easy ways to protect seedlings from a late frost. (charlotte ekker wiggins photo)

Late Frost Protection

Every spring I do it, too, I get plants started outside too early. Even though our average temperatures are warming overall, our last recommended hard frost date for USDA Hardiness zone 6b is still early May or US Mother's Day May 10.

So it’s no surprise that I find myself having to protect plants started, or taken, outside.

Here are some ideas on how to help outside plants through this last spate of cold weather:

1. Monitor Weather Forecasts: Check your weather forecasts daily noting the danger of frost. Forecasts can change quickly so stay on top of forecast changes.

2. Water Plants Before Sunset: Watering the soil around your plants before sunset can help them retain heat overnight. Moist soil releases heat more slowly than dry soil, which can provide some protection against frost.

3. Mulch Around Plants: Apply a layer of mulch around the base of your plants to help retain soil moisture and regulate soil temperature. This can provide some insulation to the roots and protect them from frost damage.

4. Provide Windbreaks: Wind can exacerbate the effects of frost, so providing windbreaks such as fences or hedges can help protect plants. These barriers can help reduce heat loss and create a more sheltered environment.

5. Cover Vulnerable Plants: Use plant saucers on top of pots to give young plant starts cold weather protection. Bedsheets, blankets and yes, even coats can help protect plants; cover vulnerable plants before sunset to retain heat.

6. Use Plant Covers: Install row covers, cold frames or plastic totes over your garden beds to create a protective barrier against frost. These covers can trap heat and create a microclimate that is warmer than the surrounding air.

7. Bring Potted Plants Indoors: If you have potted plants that are susceptible to frost damage, bring them indoors or place them in a sheltered area such as a garage or porch until frost danger is passed.

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   Charlotte

Cicada Season

US Forest service map shows the various 2024 cicada broods. (charlotte ekker wiggins photo)

Cicada Season 2024

After the April 8, 2024 solar eclipse, there is another natural event that will be a tourism boost. I’m talking about the joint emergence of two cicada broods, Brood XIX on a 13-year cycle and brood XIII on a 17-year cycle. Some entomology friends plan trips to areas where they will converge while some media taunt it as the invasion of the decade. To many Midwestern animals, plants, and microbes, they will be a rare feast, altering the ecosystem balance for this season.

This year the cicada emergence will be a once in two centuries event. The last time that these broods swarmed aboveground together, Thomas Jefferson was president and there was no city of Chicago.

I remember finding their little empty body cases last year throughout the garden. Cicadas live underground sipping water from tree roots. They emerge at night, climbing up on the sides of trees, poles, walls, etc., where they molt into adults. From that point forward, they: find a partner and mate, lay as many eggs as possible, and die. Typically, the process takes 4-6 weeks.

So where will the two broods jointly appear?

“Illinois is going to be ground zero,” according to John Lill, insect ecologist at George Washington University. “From the very top to the very bottom of the state, it’s going to be covered in cicadas.”

How Cicadas Damage Plants

After mating, the female lays eggs on branches by slicing through the bark and depositing the eggs. The slicing can cause young tree branch damage. Larger trees can absorb the damage.

Protecting Plants

Depends on how young your trees are and whether you worry a lot. Some experts say 7-10 days after a heavy emergence of cicadas, create a physical barrier to prevent the female from laying eggs. Cover your plant with netting and tie at the base of your plant with a zip tie. Choose mesh or mosquito netting that allows water and sunlight to reach your plant. For smaller shrubs, drape netting over the shrub and anchor to the ground.

Leave your covering on your plants until most cicadas have died off, which usually is about 3-4 weeks. 

Hose cicadas off plants. Skip chemical sprays, they don’t work and damage beneficial bugs.

Pruning Plants After Cicada Damage

If cicadas have damaged your tree or shrub, prune the affected branch tips within 4-6 weeks of when the eggs were laid into the branches. By destroying those pieces, you can eliminate some of the eggs from hatching and the larvae falling back into the turf.  

How to Manage Through Cicada Season

If you want to keep windows open during the cicada season, make sure your windows have properly fitted screens.

When walking outside, take an umbrella, wear a hat, and tie back long hair. Cicadas are clumsy flyers and will run into anything including people. Ask me how I know having bugs in your hair is not recommended.

Cicada as Food

Why yes, cicadas are protein-packed and I’m told taste like “high end shrimp.” Cicadas are related to shrimp, crayfish, lobsters and other arthropods. If you’ve even eaten those, you’re just a step away from trying cicadas.

How to Eat Cicadas

They have to be out of their shells so watch them climb trees and molt to gather. Make sure they haven’t been exposed to turf grass treatments and other chemicals.

Blanch in boiling water for one minute, then store in zip lock bag in freezer before cooking. One easy way to try them is topping a salad like you would shrimp with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and cracked pepper.

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Charlotte

Mark Surprise Lily Spots

This patch of surprise lily tops are starting to die off. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

Mark Surprise Lily Spots

If you like surprise lilies, also called Resurrection lilies, as much as I do, you will have them planted all over your garden. The challenge is that come mid-spring, as daffodil greenery dies off, the easy to spot green leaf tops also start to die back. They’ve been around in spring storing energy for mid-July when the surprise lilies will bloom, aromatic pink flowers on top of naked stalks.

In Missouri, these lovely hardy Amaryllis cousins are also called “naked ladies.”

To make sure you don’t dig into the spot full of surprise lily bulbs, this is a good time to mark those spots.

• You can do it with sticks at corners with twine.

• You can also do what I do and wait for all of the greenery to die off, then plant annuals with shallow roots such as zinnias and cosmos. By late summer, when surprise lilies bloom, they will pop up in the middle of the blooming annuals making for a lovely combination.

Surprise lilies are bumblebee favorites, I often have to check inside the flower before picking.

These are surprise lilies in bloom mid-July where I live. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins PHOTO)

What you don’t want to do is to put a shovel, or pick ax, into that pile of resting bulbs. Whatever works to remind you to leave the bulbs undisturbed, this is a good time to do it.

Charlotte

Spring Pot Gardening

Lettuce and mixed greens are an excellent spring crop to grow in pots. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

Spring Pot Gardening

Besides the sheer fun of saying you have a “pot garden,” growing food in pots is an easy and practical way to get yourself fresh produce.

Growing in pots allows each plant to have its own space, allows for easy pest control and helps you provide the right soil and other unique growing conditions. In addition, you can bring some pots such as herbs inside and extend the growing season over winter. I garden in USDA Hardiness zone 6b so for about 5 months some plants need to be protected inside.

To decide what to grow, here is a list of the basic five for spring pot gardening:

1. Lettuce and mixed greens

2. Radishes

3. Peas

4. Spinach

5. Onions

All of these crops like cool spring weather.

Radishes, from the red bulbous root tot he greens, are excellent in salads. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

A note about radishes. Add the top green to a salad, they are delicious.

If you have a crop you can’t get to, don’t toss it just yet, let it “bolt” or go to seed. If it’s not a hybrid, you can save the seeds for next year and local pollinators will appreciate the flowers.

This spinach is going to seed and will become bee and butterfly flood. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

If you can’t use what you grow, compost. You can start by putting the unused greens in the bottom of the next pot you are making.

Once you pot herbs, you can have them year around. I’ve had this pot of parsley for a couple of years now, wintering it over inside.

Herbs are excellent plants to grow in pots; here I have parsley that wintered over inside. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

One other crop you can grow in pots gets your ready for summer. I grow tomato starts in a pot, then move them to their individual pots to grow more before locating them in their final growing location. Because I have to start them in February, using a pot for their nursery works well.

Start new plants in pots; here cocktail tomatoes are getting an early start. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

Once starting to crowd in the pot, I carefully move them to either toilet paper pots or their own pots. I give them a few hours a day outside so they get used to the change in conditions before planting them permanently in my garden or leaving them in pots outside on my deck.

There’s a strategy to this. I have squirrels and chipmunks who have developed a taste for tomatoes. If they decide to eat those in the garden I can then bring in the pots to have tomatoes growing inside.

Cats may enjoy an empty pot for naps and dust baths. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

If you have inside cats, you may find they enjoy having an empty pot of soil to curl up in and take a dust bath.

A few last tips about gardening in pots:

Include a handful of compost at the bottom to keep your soil healthy.

Don’t dig up soil from your garden; start with new potting soil.

Wet soil down before adding seeds or plants.

You may also need small gardening tools to make the process easier.

Pot gardening allows you to grow your own in small spaces and have a healthy source of fresh produce all year. Here’s a quick peek at the start of this year’s pot garden.

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What are you going to grow in pots?

Charlotte

Window Shade Tags

the garden marker doesn’t wash off in repeated rain showers. (charlotte ekker wiggins photo)

Window Shade Tags

Maybe it’s because I kept tripping over an old shade stored in my garage. There’s definitely a measure of liking to repurpose. And now I enjoy seeing the cut down window shades as garden markers.

You don’t have to round one of the sides of the cut blinds but I do to make them prettier in a pot. The rounded edges also don’t poke back when I retrieve a tag stored in the old glass milk bottle

I also use an indelible marker so the plant names don’t easily wash off.

Round off one end with scissors and store for easy retrieval. (charlotte ekker wiggins photo)

There are more expensive and fancier plant tags around but these work just fine for me.

For more gardening, beekeeping, cooking and easy home decor tips, subscribe to Garden Notes.

Charlotte

Pot Gardening 101

pots with snap peas, in back, then a variety of lettuce, basil on the front left and radishes front right. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

Starting a Pot Garden

If you are getting the bug to garden, here’s a quick and easy way to get started and learn the basics: pot gardening. No, no that kind of pot. I’m talking about gardening in pots.

I have had a pot garden for a couple of decades now, primarily to provide tomatoes, peppers, onions, lettuce and fresh herbs. Since I started, I also now have a number of fruit trees from key limes to a pomegranate.

There are a couple of considerations when starting a pot garden:

One is providing your plants enough soil to support their growth and fruit production; and

How do you plan to keep the soil moist. Soil is 25% water so it’s important to keep it hydrated so it can keep your plants alive.

Pot Garden Pot Size

For cool spring crops like lettuce and spinach, you can use smaller pots. Depending on how much lettuce and spinach you plan to grow, the crops sit almost on the top of the soil.

As you graduate to deeper rooted plants such as tomatoes, you will need more soil surface to feed the deep roots. 5 gallon paint buckets with holes in the bottom make excellent tomato pots.

Pot Garden Irrigation

Wood chips, old cotton sock and compost in bottom; plastic bottle with holes, will keep soil hydrated. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

The other consideration is how do you plan to keep the pots watered. I include plastic bottles with holes all over them in the center of the pots. That way when I water I know the plant roots sitting towards the bottom of the pot will get hydrated.

I also line the bottom of my pots with broken up wood limbs, wood chips, cotton scraps and compost. The wood will naturally retain water and help keep the soil moist. You can also use new cut up diapers and old socks to form wicks to hold in water.

Compost will feed soil micro-organisms that will feed the plants.

Also plan on having dishes of some sort under your pots to slow down water loss.

Where to Place Pots

I keep my pots on little rolling plant stands so that I can easily move them to get their sun requirements. The larger the pot, the more help I need to move them.

Other Pot Gardens

As our soils get exhausted from overuse and lack of refreshing, it can become more difficult to get anything to grow. I wrote a 5-year plan for our local community garden to help them improve their soil but it was not implemented.

Today community garden users depend on large pots to grow their vegetables.

Our community garden is one large pot garden. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

To keep your pot garden healthy, compost kitchen scraps and incorporate them into your pot soil before planting.

Compost provides soil residents food to keep them healthy. In turn, those soil microorganisms will feed the plants that feed you. Yes, it’s all interconnected!

Time to get my tomato starts in their pots! (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

When you get this started depends on what you plan to grow. Our last frost date for USDA Hardiness Zone 6b is now mid-April, up several weeks from May 10. If planting heat-seeking plants early, make sure you have a plan to cover them in the event of cold temperatures.

Once you have your pots set up, it’s time to add seeds or plants. I started this pot garden late so it’s safe to get my tomato seedlings in. My first tomato is a cherry variety that re-seeded itself in flower pots that over-wintered inside.

For more gardening, beekeeping, cooking and easy home decor tips, subscribe to Garden Notes.

Charlotte

April Gardening Jobs

1. Identify places where you want to add fall bulbs for maximum enjoyment. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

April Gardening Tasks

Spring sprung a good 4-6 weeks early this year but winter is having a last hurrah this week. At this time of year in USDA Hardiness zone 6b, there are many garden tasks to tackle:

2. Clean out composters and add to flower beds and fruit trees. Leave a good bucket of finished compost as starter for the next compost batch and start adding leaves, grass clippings if you have them, kitchen scraps and water. Don’t forget to mix.

3. Put up your birdhouses if you haven’t already. Songbirds are natural pest control and add so much interest to our gardens. 60% of all bird species depend on insects for their food so if you have a lot of birds, you should naturally have less pests. Include at least one hummingbird feeder.

4. Lilacs should be blooming this month. Prune lilacs immediately after they bloom. If you wait until later in the season, you will be cutting off next year’s blooms.

5. Continue to sow lettuce, spinach and radish seeds every 10 days or so for fresh spring salads in your pot garden. Call it your garden in pots, if you prefer.

6. If you like to grow peas, this is the last month to plant sugar snap peas and snow peas, they prefer cooler weather conditions. To keep their roots happy, mulch with cardboard to keep them cool, then add a layer of wood chips.

7. Mark off areas behind other plants for fall bulb planting. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

8. As daffodils and tulips continue to grow and bloom, sprinkle compost around them to keep the bulbs well fed. When the flowers fade, remove them by snipping off the flower heads. Leave the greenery until it turns yellow; the green leaves help the bulbs store energy for next season’s blooms. Don’t mow the leaves down with the lawn mower until they turn yellow or the bulbs will gradually become smaller and you will not have any more blooms next spring.

9. If you have a vegetable garden area, this is a good time to add cardboard to kill off any growth prior to summer planting. Don't till. The prevailing thought now is that tilling damages the soil ecosystem. Kill the plants you don’t want, make holes to plant the ones you do, or make trenches to plant seeds, and cover.

10. Start your summer plants inside in containers you can transplant outside later; tomatoes, peppers, watermelons, squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, zucchini.

11. Don’t forget companion plants to reduce crop damage; basil is a good bug deterrent for a lot of plants and grows easily from seed.

12. Plant for pollinators as well. I love zinnias and so do butterflies and bees. Native plants such as New England Asters, yarrow and purple coneflowers are good choices for pollinators because they have long blooming seasons. For another good annual, try sunflower seeds. Birds will love the seeds in the fall.

13. Plant more native trees along with compact dwarf fruit trees. Although planting native flowers is still good for pollinators, trees provide better, and more reliable, pollen sources for bees. The smaller fruit trees are good pollen sources as well and, when pollinated by bees, will also give you easily accessible fruit to pick.

14. Start thinking about fall planting. Many suppliers take spring bulb orders for fall delivery.

For more gardening, beekeeping, cooking and easy home decor tips, subscribe to Garden Notes.

Charlotte

Keeping Pot Roots Moist

Green peppers, onions and now purslane are kept moist with center bottle. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

Keeping Pot Roots Moist

Record hot temperatures in mid-Missouri last year. Plants will go into survival mode and may drop their leaves. If you can keep their roots moist, they should be able to recover once temperatures cool off.

To keep roots hydrated. I add plastic bottles with holes poked in them. I bury the bottles either in the pot center or along an edge at an angle so the water seeping through them still gets to roots.

Watering from the top of the pot in 100F temperatures may not reach roots due to evaporation.

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Charlotte

Welcome Back, Hummingbirds

Welcome Back, Hummingbirds!

It’s about time to welcome these lovely pollinators back to our garden from their South American wintering grounds. Most people just set out a hummingbird feeder but there are other steps you can take:

1. Provide a Food Source: Plant a variety of nectar-rich flowers that bloom at different times throughout the year. Hummingbirds are attracted to brightly colored tubular flowers such as trumpet vine, bee balm, salvia, and penstemon in reds, fuchsia and pink colors.

2. Install Hummingbird Feeders: Supplement natural nectar sources with hummingbird feeders filled with a mixture of water and sugar. The Audubon Society updated the hummingbird sugar recipe from 1 part sugar to 4 parts water to 1 part sugar and 3 parts water. No need to add red dye.
   Keep the feeders clean and change the nectar every 3-4 days, especially in hot weather, to prevent fermentation and mold growth.

3. Offer Protein Sources: Hummingbirds also need protein in their diet for energy. In addition to nectar, they consume small insects and spiders.
   Encourage insect activity in your garden by minimizing pesticide use and providing habitat for beneficial insects.

4. Create Nesting Sites: Hummingbirds build small cup-shaped nests using plant fibers, spider silk, and other soft materials.
   Hang thin branches or place nesting materials like cotton or pet fur in your garden to provide building materials for hummingbirds.

5. Provide Shelter and Perches: Hummingbirds need places to rest and shelter from predators.
   Plant trees and shrubs with dense foliage or provide trellises and hanging baskets for perching and nesting.

6. Keep Water Sources Clean: Hummingbirds need clean water for drinking and bathing. Install a shallow bird bath with gently sloping edges, or mist foliage with a fine spray to create tiny droplets for hummingbirds to bathe in.

7. Choose Native Plants: Native plants are adapted to your local climate and provide the best food and habitat for native wildlife, including hummingbirds. Research native hummingbird-friendly plants in your area and incorporate them into your garden such as wild columbine.

8. Avoid Chemicals: Pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers can harm hummingbirds and their food sources.
   Choose organic gardening methods and natural pest control solutions to create a safe environment for hummingbirds.

9. Be Patient and Observant: It may take some time for hummingbirds to discover your garden, so be patient. The scouts will locate your hummingbird feeder and let the others know where it is located. As you add more things to attract the hummers, they will settle in to spend the summer with you.
   I have several that spend the North American summer in my garden. They are territorial and may chose others away; then you know they are claiming your garden as theirs!

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Charlotte

Invasive Jumping Worms

Invasive jumping worms look similar to earthworms but are dry and fast-jumping. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

Invasive Jumping Worms

I read about this threat to soil health a couple of years ago. Like most invasives, jumping worms grow faster than earth worms, consume more nutrients and basically can destroy the matrix of soil and soil nutrients.

As I was moving a pot of begonias in the shade outside of my garage door June 13, 2022, I was surprised to find a mount of greyish worm castings under the pot. Knowing what worm poop looks like from my two red wriggler composting farms, I was intrigued. I had never seen “earthworms” at the soil surface in leaf litter nor jumping around as I uncovered them.

On closer inspection of the squiggly grey worms, some dropped their tails. Then I noticed a whitish or beige smooth band that circled all around from about an inch from their tips. Not earthworms; definitely invasive jumping worms confirmed by Missouri Department of Conservation.

Lightly scraping leaf litter over gravel, I found several more jumping worms. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

Introduced Species for Anglers

According to the Missouri Department of Conservation,  Missouri is among 34 states with invasive jumping worms. The worms are native to East Asia and are a glossy gray or brown with a white band. When exposed, they thrash and leap around like a snake.

Missouri Department of Conservation spokesperson Dan Zarlenga explained that this species of worm was first introduced for anglers. He said reports of jumping worms in the state have mainly come from northern Missouri. Well, until now.

These jumping worms are good for aerating soil, but they consume a lot of organic matter making it harder for the soil to hold water. They also reproduce a lot faster than worms that are native to Missouri.

Zarlenga said they become sexually mature in about 60 days after hatching. Worms can also reproduce on their own. 

Telltale smooth neck band about an inch from the tip. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

Jumping Worms v. Earthworms

Jumping worms are often mistaken for earthworms. If you’ve spent any time digging up earthworms for fishing, you know earthworms don’t jump around as fast as jumping worms. The band about an inch from their tip has ridges and doesn’t encircle them. Earthworms also live deeper in the soil, some 5 inches or so.

Jumping worms are drier than common native earthworms. They could also have an iridescent sheen to them, and darker on the top and lighter on the bottom.

Missouri’s earthworms and jumping worms both have a clitellum which is like a collar behind their head. The earthworms’ clitellum is thick and stands out, encircling part of the body while jumping worms’ clitellum is smooth, the same size as the body and encircles the whole the body.

Jumping worms’ also drop their tails when caught.

Damage to Ecosystem

Mo. Department of Conservation notes “Invasive jumping worms consume more soil nutrients than other earthworms, meaning that they actually deplete the soil of nutrients, rendering the soil less fertile for plants; and without plants, the soil is more likely to erode. Where a large population of these worms is established, the soil surface looks dry and granular, like coffee grounds or cooked up ground beef. Leaf litter disappears.

Invasive jumping worms damage forest ecosystems by rapidly eating up the leaf litter that usually protects forest topsoils. Without that mulchlike layer, the bare soil dries rapidly and is subject to erosion. Young forest plants have a difficult time getting established. The soil chemistry changes, and the soil’s microbial communities (bacterial, fungi, and other microbes) change as well. The amount of mycorrhizal fungi (which attach to plant roots in a symbiotic relationship) declines, making it harder for trees to take in nutrients.

Without the protective layer of leaf litter, many invertebrates (other worms, millipedes, centipedes, springtails, arachnids, and countless types of insects), plus amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, and ground-nesting birds, lose important habitat. Thus species diversity declines and forest food chains are disrupted.”

Removing Jumping Worms

Once I confirmed these were jumping worms, I dug up all I could find in the leaf litter over the gravel by my garage door. They were placed in a plastic bag and left in the sun to die. They were then added to my compost.

I’ve spent decades building up and keeping what little soil I have on this hillside healthy and enriched. I don’t need jumping worms destroying all of those years of caring for soil.

For more gardening, beekeeping, cooking and easy home decor tips, subscribe to Garden Notes.

Charlotte

Milk Jug Planting

Jim Fullerton brings me his planted milk jugs to see the growth. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

Milk Jug Planting

My beekeeping friends last year heard about milk jug planting. It’s a great way to start seeds that need cold exposure over winter and get an early start on the planting season.

During a recent bee club meeting, Jim Fullerton surprised me by bringing in two of his planted milk jugs to show me the growth he had over last winter.

He said he did the same thing I said to do: holes in the bottom, half full of potting soil. Then after watering, tape the milk jugs closed and label.

Jim sewed daisy seeds, left, and coreopsis seeds, right. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

Good to see such growth!

Charlotte

June Gardening Jobs

I still have a few potted plants to get into the ground. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

June Gardening Jobs

June is the last month where I live in USDA Hardiness zone 5 where plants will benefit from spring rains to settle in. Take advantage of the above average rain to plant new plants and move ones you want in other garden areas, as appropriate. In general it’s best to move plants either when they are still dormant or after they bloom.

Some other gardening chores for this month include:

1.        Keep asparagus beds weeded and let the green top ferns grow until they go brown; do not cut. Add compost.

2.        When mulching, leave 2-4 inches clear from the plant stem and the mulch ring no larger than 5 inches deep. More than that and you are smothering the plant.

3.        Leave spring bulb greenery to die off naturally. I gently remove only the yellow leaves if they bug me and plant summer annuals and perennials to cover them in the meantime. The key here is planting something on top with shallow roots so they don’t compete with the deeper-planted bulbs.

4.         Japanese beetles show up this month so hand pick and drop in a bucket of water with a few drops of dishwashing soap to drown them. Pick early in the morning when they are sluggish. Also treat your lawn with nematodes and milky spores, both will gradually help eliminate grubs.

5.         Trim lilacs immediately after they end flowering so growth the rest of this year will provide blooms next year. Same thing for iris and peonies.

6        Plant a new supply of vegetables every 2 weeks to give yourself a new crop through the season. Early spring crops are done but there is still time for tomatoes, green peppers, green beans, cucumbers, zucchini, squash, pumpkins and annual herbs.

7.  Get flower pots planted. Put a piece of wood in the bottom to absorb water. Water the soil first, let drain, then add your flowers for better adjustment.

8.         Plant annual flower seeds such as zinnias, sunflowers, forget-me-nots, cosmos, marigolds and herbs. Some herbs can be moved inside later for winter use.

9.       When planting wildflowers, mark the beds where seeds have been added. Some wildflowers may take 2 years to germinate.

10.       For those of you with grass, don’t cut more than 1/3 of the grass down at one time.  For spots where grass doesn’t grow, plant flowers.

11.       When adding perennials, focus on native plants. Once established, they will require less water and care than non-natives and they will be food for native pollinators.

12.        Pinch mums once a week to encourage them to grow bushy for fall flowering. I take the pinched off pieces, gently push them into the ground and encourage more plants to grow.

13.        Feed roses and other plants compost to give them a good source of energy. Roses should be fed once a month. A quick pick me up is to dig your banana peels, egg shells and coffee grounds in around roses.

14.        Make sure to have a nice seating area in your garden so you can stop and smell the flowers.

15.    Take photos of your garden. Use the same photo spots you used in spring so you can see the changes from one season to the next. Enjoy!

Charlotte

Favorite Gardening Tool

Some of my tools to garden on a Missouri limestone hillside. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

Favorite Gardening Tool

It’s interesting to watch a new generation of gardeners with their raised beds, ergonomic hats and specialty tools. Gardening for several decades now on a one-acre Missouri limestone hillside, where my neighbors said nothing would grow, I didn’t have some of those options. I resorted to hardware stores for my gardening gear.

Basic gardening gear today usually includes a cute pair of ergonomic shoes; floral-patterned gloves; a collection of unique purpose hand tools and a pretty, wide-brimmed hat perfect for a tea party.

I love hats and have several pretty gardening ones hanging on my hallway wall. My favorite and most practical gardening hat was a thrift store find. It has an under-the-chin tie. Although not as pretty as most gardening hats, it gives me shade and stays on when winds out of the west quickly move in from the south. Although I can see storms moving in from my vantage point, I don’t always stop gardening preceding an incoming storm. I really should rethink that. Our last storm was an EF1 tornado.

I also have waterproof footwear; heavy duty hunting boots, best for trampling through overgrown patches and staying upright when a steep hillside is wet.

My favorite small gardening gloves with built-in grips were found on sale at a hardware store at the end of the season. I bought all that were left and wouldn’t know where to find more. They have flowers printed on part of the fabric. The more important aspect is that they have a woven fabric on the palms that give me extra grip. One doesn’t think grip is important until one has a hefty tool in hand using my favorite gardening tool: a pick ax.

Actually I have two, one for each side of the garden flanking the house. I grow mostly rocks on this hillside with intermittent hardy flowers. They have to be to survive in this USDA Hardiness zone 6 garden. I still garden as if I am in USDA Hardiness zone 5 because weather has become so unpredictable. I am especially fond of native trees, shrubs and flowers. The one downside is that it can take them a long time for roots to get established. One of my flowering dogwood trees was 3-feet tall for a good 20 years before it added new growth.

Since soil is 45% rock, I may also be contributing to developing new soil by pickaxing this hillside. Soil is not renewable so I include flower borders to protect what little soil I do have. The pick ax helps me build trenches to install downed tree trunks I use for soil guarding borders.

Cut down trees also make for wonderful water-retaining bottoms to new flower beds. I can pickax holes in the trees to make planting spaces until plants can get established roots. See previous reference for how long that can take.

Wood chips from our local recycling center and homemade compost boost the soil. I can easily mix them with the pick ax pointed end.

The pick ax is also handy because I either need to create planting holes or locate them. Either way, the pick ax makes the process faster and easier, as long as it doesn’t hit me on the head as it ricochets from hitting something hard. Now I rummage around to determine what I’m digging into first. Had to relearn that lesson just last week.

With practice, the pick ax is also an excellent tool for digging up plants that need to be moved. I can easily get a ball of soil around their roots. Moving that big blob of plants and soil is a different story. Not to mention having to dig a large enough hole to welcome it.

One of my two pick axes losing their red paint. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

Someone else must have my growing conditions because the latest pick axes I bought had a green plastic coating. When I first purchased these, they were frequently lost, or as I prefer to refer to them, still working somewhere.

My handyman surprised me one day by spray painting them red. In the meantime I also developed a system where I would only place them in certain areas so that I didn’t lose them.

Pick axes vary in size and weight. Whatever my green ones are, they give me a good workout best appreciated at the end of a day in the garden.

Time for a new coat of red paint.

Charlotte

This post is part of the #GardenBloggersChallenge sponsored by Gardencomm for the month of May. You are invited to join in and can see more details at gardencomm.org.

Protecting Strawberries

Plastic half inch pipes make hoops that keep plastic fencing over strawberries. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

Protecting Strawberries

For several decades I have used strawberry plants for flower bed borders. Between June-bearing varieties and day neutrals that produce during the growing season, I can usually find a handful or two of strawberries for my use.

This year, I decided to add strawberries in my Berry Patch, knowing full well it would be a challenge to protect the plants against my local mowing crew of white-tailed deer and rescued rabbits.

My King Kong strawberries with their first growth and green fencing cover. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

I started with this small bed of a strawberry called King King. They are supposed to be large berries and I fell for the name although friends who have grown them said they didn’t like their flavor.

The plants were growing quite well under a green plastic fence canopy.

Deer apparently can push the fencing down and reach the strawberries. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

About a month after the plants were planted, someone came along and ate most of the growth.

Time to go into plan B to protect the plants.

Measuring the plastic green fencing over the half inch plastic pipe hoops. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

Taking a cue from another nearby strawberry bed, I installed plastic hoops that now hold the green fencing mesh higher.

They are also attached at the sides so the canopy is more stable and harder to move.

Ok, now to see how will this will work.

Charlotte

May Gardening Jobs

1. Make notes of native flowers you want to increase, these are lovely native Celandine poppies. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

May Gardening Jobs

More rain is in the forecast with the possibility of flooding. Wish I could share some of our extra rain with California, reeling under record drought with unprecedented watering restrictions.

Most of my tropical plants are now outside to enjoy these re-invigorating spring showers. It’s always a delight to watch a plant tired of being inside all winter to all of a sudden start showing new growth.

Where I live in mid-Missouri, the last frost date is usually around Mother’s Day. Here are some of my May gardening jobs:

2.We’ve had some late frosts this year. The last one nipped some of my dwarf fruit trees and flowering dogwood buds. If your spring crops didn’t make it, try again; there still should be time for at least one sowing of lettuce, spinach and radish seeds.

3. And onions, it is always a good time to plant onions. I grow several crops throughout the growing season. Onion sets planted around roses make good bug deterrents and are fun to harvest as long as you remember to leave a couple on bug patrol. And can find your roses!

4. A wet May means it’s a good time to get tree seedlings planted.

5. Be careful of disturbing newly emerging, self-sowing annuals. Learn to distinguish the sprouts of bachelor buttons and other carefree annuals so they can regrow all on their own.

6. Mark daffodils you want to dig up and move later this fall.

7. May is a wonderful time to stop and enjoy lovely sunsets. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

8. As daffodils and tulips continue to fade, don’t mow the leaves down with the lawn mower until they turn yellow. The bulbs turn sun into sugar stored in their bulbs. If you cut down the greenery too early, they will gradually become smaller and you will not have any more blooms. If you don’t like the fading greenery, plant something to hide them. Daylilies and peonies make great screens.

9. See ants on your blooming peonies? Gently shake them off if you want to bring cut flowers inside, otherwise leave them alone. They are feeding off the honeydew the peonies produce.

10. If you don’t compost, this is a good month to start. Place a small grocery bag in your freezer and add kitchen scraps. When full, take outside and bury in a garden corner. As you get into the habit of saving kitchen scraps, it will be easier to then make your own compost area or buy one, then start adding leaves and grass clippings to the kitchen scraps, some water, and mix. After a few weeks, you will have black compost ready to add to your flowerbeds.

11. Summer plants started inside in containers can start to spend a few hours a day outside on warm, sunny days before you transplant them into your outside garden.

12. Shop for natives to add for mid to late summer flowers. Good choices include Purple Coneflowers, Black eyed Susan, New England Asters and any plants with low water requirements.

13. If you don’t have grass planted, plant clover instead. There are also other low-growing seed mixtures that are excellent alternatives to turf grass. These mixes provide food for pollinators.

14. If you do have turf grass, May is “no mow” month so stay off that lawn mower and let your garden host beneficial insects.

15. Consider how to minimize the golf course-look greenery and add more varieties of blooming flowers through the growing season. Better yet, start a vegetable plot in your front yard, they can look amazing and encourage your neighbors to grow their own as well. Add flowers like zinnias to encourage pollinators.

Charlotte

Best Plant Tags

This plant tag is identifying a dwarf Gala apple tree on my hillside. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

Best Plant Tags

Over the years I’ve used a variety of ways to identify plants. Cutting up old window blinds works well using an indelible marker pen but they don’t look very nice. Instead I now use these easy to write on metal tags.

These easy to use tags require only a ballpoint pen. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

These metal tags easily hold up to a variety of weather conditions without damaging the dwarf fruit trees where I hang them.

I also have them on some key trees like Theodore the dogwood tree that took a couple of decades before growing much height.

Impress-O-Tags can be used for anything that needs to be identified. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

I’ve had these tags for a number of years and don’t recollect where I first found them.

They work well for a variety of uses, not just plant identification.

Charlotte