Flower Gardens

» Cottage_Garden - Gardening on a budget

Sorry if I wasn't clear, the sweetpeas for example germinate in a cool soil and grow best while the weather is still cool. They would be planted before your last frost, much earlier than marigolds and zinnias, for example, and the thunbergia requires hot weather and warm soil so would be planted about ten days after your last frost. You might be able to plant them on top of each other to some extent, or just in drifts (informal swathes) arranged so the later season plants can cover the area where the earliest ones have died out.

How do you prepare your soil for the veggies? Ideally you would do the same for annuals.

However, since you are leaving, it seems a shame to be adding expensive amendments. (Assuming this is being done inexpensively as possible.) Is the soil truly terrible?

-- posted by Cottage_Garden

» Joni Rose - Gardening on a budget

Thanks Barbara,

So I plant the seeds in stages - will do! Now I know why my sweet peas haven't grown in the past, I've started them too late! So I'll get some in the ground pronto!

The soil is okay but you make a good point about spending money on ammendments - I'll just do the "shovel and bag it yourself" dirt from the garden centre near by as it is $3 a garbage bag and it cleans up the beds. I'll skip the manure but fertilize with liquid fertilizer.

I also saw some great bags of rocks at Home Depot today that will help tidy up places in and around my pond. It will add some texture and help to tidy it up as well.

I will take before and after pictures as you have me all excited looking through books and on sites to find other hardy annuals that I can grow from seed here in BC.

Thanks again!
Joni

» Cottage_Garden - Gardening on a budget

Definitely an exciting project!! Pictures would be so much fun!

Remember to budget something for mulch -- you'll want to mulch in between the annuals to keep the weeds down, especially when they are small. If you don't keep after the weeds your little seedlings will be swamped. And, the mulch helps keep the soil moister so you water less, too.

Cheapest mulch can be a couple layers of dampened newspaper to exclude light, top that with just enough organic mulch to hold it in place (and look good.) You could use half finished compost, old rotted leaves, or purchased mulch for this.

Or cheaper still and just the price of elbow grease, you could do the old fashioned dust mulch where you rough up the soil surface. But I think that is a lot of work in today's world. (grin)

-- posted by Cottage_Garden

» Joni Rose - Gardening on a budget

I have read about using newspaper for mulch but have never tried it so again - now that I am going the bargain route, I'll give it a try. I've always used landscape cloth and bark mulch.

I went to look at seeds and it was customer appreciation day so everything was 15% off! I even got a couple of rock garden perennial plants at half off the reduced price!!

We finally have sun so I'll be out this weekend preping the soil and getting it ready for a top dressing and planting of seeds.

One question I thought of was fertilizer - how often and what kind do you recommend?

Thanks so much for your inspiration and advice!

Joni

» Cottage_Garden - Gardening on a budget

Fertilizer is not really the end all to the be all in my book. The reason I say that is as long as you have prepared your soil well with organic matter and used an organic mulch, and selected plants that are suited to the location, and you water as needed -- not over water, but as needed, and the pH is within a reasonable reading of say 6.0 to 7.5, then things should do pretty well.

It is actually better to underfertilize than overfertilize. Overfertilized plants get so lush and floppy that they become insect bait and are just wide open to diseases....

Ideally you would fertilize based on soil test results. Your county extension can help with that. It probably costs ten or fifteen bucks.

But, since everybody seems to feel better if they fertilize, I would say use a slow release general purpose maybe 10-10-10. Those can be relatively expensive but are applied once and give a fairly steady dose for months.

Cheaper would be a general purpose 10-10-10 granular for example, but apply it at a lower amount than on the label -- and then apply more often. By that I mean for example use a quarter the amount listed for early spring but apply it four times over the next couple of months. That way it would give less of a roller coaster ride on the release. Look for one with a lower proportion of urea as the Nitrogen source, too.

There are many "organic" fertilizers on the market, but they are more expensive than the synthetics.

The water soluble fertilizers are nice for container plants, but they are very expensive for use over a wide area. Since you are on a budget, I would not recommend them. Also, they take a lot of time to apply every week.

Whatever you use, be sure to read the label completely and do not apply more than the label rate. More is not better, it could "burn" your plants.

What kind of soil do you have, how do you fertilize your vegetable garden? This can give you a clue for your annuals.

I hope this helps.

-- posted by Cottage_Garden

» Joni Rose - Gardening on a budget

It sure does help! I find fertilizer to be one of those mysterious gardening tools that overwhelm with all the choices and complicated instructions. You make it all so simple!!! I really appreciate your advice. I always put mushroom manure on my veggie garden and so I'll do the same on the flower beds. I am thinking I'll buy 5 bags ($17.99 for 5 shovel and fill yourself bags) and fill them half with mushroom manure and half with soil and add the mixture to the beds. I'll wait until the seedlings become something before working in a 10-10-10 slow release fertilizer. Does that sound like a good plan?

» Cottage_Garden - Gardening on a budget

You can work in the the fertilizer after planting or maybe work it in the soil just below the seeds, that way their roots will reach down to it. Either way should work.

I am curious to know what is in the soil you dig and bag? Do they tell you? (Top soil for example is usually not regulated in any way as to content. So ....)

I have used spent mushroom compost in my own flower gardens in the past with good results. Someone (whose opinion I respect) recently mentioned a concern about pathogens that might be in it and could affect seedlings. But I don't think I planted seeds where I used the mushroom compost, and that is the first time I have heard that particular concern about it. You might ask the supplier if they have had any reported problems like that? I would be interested to hear from anyone who has used it and had an experience one way or the other.

One concern with starting the garden from seeds is weeds. Here is a strategy you mght want to use. Prepare your soil, water it if it doesn't rain, and then wait a week just to see how many weeds pop up. Weed seeds near the surface will germinate -- and you can stop them easily now.

ONce about a week has gone by, rake or use a swivel hoe to lightly disturb the soil surface. This should stop the weeds that have already germinated plus some that are about to germinate. Do not go deep, you do not want to bring more seeds close to the surface where they will sprout. You can do this twice if it seems really bad. This also gives the soil a little time to settle so you can notice if there are any extra high or low spots, too.

Glad you liked the fertilizer explanation. Sometimes I think we overthink it all. It should be more fun, less stress. Remember, plants are pre-programmed to grow! lol

-- posted by Cottage_Garden

» Joni Rose - Gardening on a budget

The garden shop near me has outdoor stalls with bark mulch, bark chips, top soil, garden soil, and mushroom manure. They provide shovels and large heavy garbage bags and carts - you buy the bags and then go and shovel and load into your car. It is back breaking but really cheap. You make a good point though about weeds and contaminants. I will ask about it and also about the difference between top soil and garden soil in the stalls.

My plan is to half fill the bag with soil and half with manure and then dump it out on the bed and spread it all around and then plant. I have prepped the area by weeding and turning the soil. I have found that adding new soil helps the weed problem in my veggie garden so I am hopeful the same will happen in the flower beds.

My only delay is rain and a boyfriend who has a cold (he is my shovel and load/unload helper) or I'd be doing it today. I can't wait to get the party started!!

One other funny thing. My sister told me about this instant garden she saw on the TV. It is called "Roll and Grow". It is this 10" wide strip of "soil" and seeds in a biodegradable netting that you roll out and water. She has ordered a couple to try as she is a very busy single mom who isn't a gardener. I had a look at the site and it is your typical hardy annuals...so the funny part is that we'll probably be growing the same flowers! I told her we'll have to compare before and after pictures! LOL! There is something sacreligious about not getting your hands dirty in my books!

Joni

» Cottage_Garden - Gardening on a budget

This one?

hmmm.

p.s. hope your garden helper feels better soon.

-- posted by Cottage_Garden

» Joni Rose - Gardening on a budget

Yep, that's the one! Talk about taking all the fun out of gardening!