Us folks out west have spent the past two weeks getting doused with showers from the mini El Nino storms the weather “experts” say we’re getting. This past week here in our State of Arizona we have had storm after storm dumping much needed rain down on our city, streets, lawns, and yards. We love the rain but those of us who take care of the yards at our homes know that with the rains comes a yard full of weeds almost immediately.

Gardening experts agree that pulling the weeds entirely is the best way to rid your yard of the pesky visitors completely. Be sure when pulling the weed to spray a weed killing agent in the area where the weed has been removed. Early in the springtime is also a great time to spray areas prone to getting weeds with a pre-emergent herbicide in order to stop them from developing.

We pulled most of the large weeds in our yard this weekend and sprayed the smaller ones along with areas in our yard that we know are prone to the un-wanted visitors rearing their heads. We followed the advice of our local gardening experts who advise that spraying weeds in a yard on a calm sunny day following a rain is a perfect time to act since the weeds are clean and well-watered. In this case the weeds will often die faster.

So for those out west where spring appears to be upon us it is time to get ahead of the game and rid your yard of these pesky plant critters. Good Luck!

We mentioned mostly vegetable plants in our post earlier this week so here are a few tips for folks who prefer to plant flowers in their garden. Midwest Home magazine recently published some great tips for gardeners with flowers on their mind. Here they are:

* Stop fertilizing perennials so they begin to slow down for the winter

* Now is a good time to purchase spring flowering bulbs from nurseries. Some bulbs such as daffodils can be installed as early as August to ensure good root growth before the ground freezes.

* Cut some of your flowers to bring inside and also consider which plants you may leave up for winter growth, so as not to cut those. Examples include Rose hips, Rudbeckia, Ligularia, and Chelone.

* Note in your garden which perennials are falling over, splitting in the middle, or have just grown to be vey large. If your perennials have any of these signs they should be divided for a much nicer look next fall. Do this as soon as possible if it has not already been done so the plants have time to set roots for the long winter.

* If you haven’t already done this, now is a good time to add some fall flowers to your containers or garden beds. Some ideas are the safe standbys such as mums and pansies as well as kale and asters.

* Fall bulbs should be planted in September – October.

Time is running out to finish planting for the fall planting season so if any of the above items are on your to-do list you need to have them done ideally no later than this coming weekend. Good luck and get over to your local nursery this weekend for tips from your local gardening experts.

With summer starting to fade away and cooler weather already rearing its head in many areas of the country the time is here to plant the fall garden. Last week we talked about what to plant in the west and southwest, this week we share some tips for eastern residents on good choices for one’s garden.

Before selecting what to plant in your garden one important tip for every gardener is to rotate your crops so as not to plant the same things in the same spot in your garden from season to season. If lettuce for example was just harvested from one area of your garden then make sure not to plant lettuce again in the same spot once again this season in your garden. Plant lettuce in another area so this selection is rotated from season to season.

For gardeners in the middle of planting their gardens for the fall who still might be having trouble deciding what to plant, here are some suggestions to consider. Lettuce and spinach are always good choices and they are relatively easy to care for. Snap peas, beets, cherry tomatos and winter radishes would be good choices to round out the vegetable selections.

Read our earlier posts about soil preparation in order to prep your garden before getting started and happy planting!

With drought conditions due to lack of rainfall prevailing in much of the west, water wise plants are the name of the game in most gardens in this area of the country. That being said, this shouldn’t limit the choices of the green thumbs in California. We offer suggestions below for planting a water-wise garden to comply with most of the guidelines put in place by many communities in the region. For guidelines specific to your area visit the website of your city or community and look for guidelines like those found here on the City of Long Beach Department of Water website for their demonstration garden.

There are many choices of water-wise plants to choose for California gardens. Some are native to the region while others have been adapted to the hot and dry conditions found in California.

Some of the plants suitable for California’s hot and dry climate are native to Mediterranean climates. They work well in Southern California because the climate in this area of the west is similar to many areas of the Mediterranean which is hot and dry and also suffers from a shortage of rainfall.

Plant choices for a drought tolerant garden that should be high on a gardeners list in the west might include flowering shrubs such as evergreen shrubs that have attractive foliage for most of the year, Apache plumes that produces pure white flowers followed by seed plumes that appear like purple smoke, and California lilac which grows less than one foot tall and produces green and yellow leaves.

Other excellent choices for a California drought tolerant garden include sage plants, lavender, rosemary, and rock rose. These plants do not require much water and they are easy to maintain for the average gardener. Keep in mind that summer is not the best time to re-plant because higher temperatures and dry conditions make it difficult for roots to take hold. Seeds need more frequent watering to take hold and the cooler temperatures coming about in late September make this the perfect time to rejuvenate the backyard garden.

Happy planting and don’t forget to visit your local nursery and gardening center for more information on what to plant in your area.

With the fall planting season upon us it is time to get the garden in shape in order to have a fresh salad for the holiday family meals right from your own garden. More families this year than last are planning their gardens with an eye on generating fresh food for the dinner table and there are no limits (other than space) to what one might plant in a backyard garden. Obviously seasonal considerations must be taken in to account when deciding what to plant so let us make some suggestions for the typical backyard garden.

Soil preparation
Without proper preparation hard clay soil found in many dry areas of the southwest is unsuitable for growing much besides grass. The best thing one can do to improve the soil quality is to add compost to the soil in order to help you grow healthy plants. Compost improves drainage in clay soil and water retention in sandy soil. Compost also improves soil structure, adds nutrients as it decomposes, and encourages beneficial creatures such as earthworms and other soil microorganisms. Apply compost before each growing season in fall and spring and over time, your garden bed will be transformed in to rich, dark soil well suited for any gardening project. Add three to six inches of compost and turn it under to a depth of 16 – 20 inches when prepping your soil areas.

What to plant
Taking seasonal considerations in to mind, the best recommendation here is to plant what you love to eat. For a fresh family salad at the holiday dinner table some garden suggestions might include lettuce, tomatoes, cauliflower, and broccoli. For other ideas to round out a planting area, one might select some of the following choices including squash and peppers, sage, thyme, carrots, beets, turnips, garlic, radishes, or spinach. The fall season is longest and you can extend the harvest periods somewhat by sowing your plants every few weeks. This is called succession sowing and helps to prevent crop failure due to weather or insect problems.

Watering
When seeds are sprouting they might need watering twice per day, but then only once per day after that. In the winter when temperatures cool, once every two days probably is enough.

Thank you to both The Arizona Republic newspaper and Phoenix Home & Garden magazine which were both used as information sources for our blog post.

Fall is here in my part of the world. The days are growing increasingly shorter. The nights are cool.
The leaves are falling from the trees faster than we can fully enjoy their colors.

What can you do now to prepare your yard for the impending winter? Here are four simple things that you can do.

1) Don’t let the leaves sit in the yard. The leaves will smother the grass under the snow. Come Spring thaw you will find large bare patches on your lawn. Who wants that? Not me, I have a hard enough time growing grass, except for my flower beds. The grass and weeds flourish there. Go figure.

2) Clean out your garden and do your final weeding. Think of it as a jump start on Spring.

3) Plant your Spring bulbs. I know most of us are thinking of closing up shop for the long winter. But this is the perfect time to be thinking of your flower beds.

4) Pick up all of your tools, shovels, and things that you don’t want lost under the never ending snow. What? You don’t live in the frozen tundra like I do? One year my kids took the snow shovels out to play before a major snowstorm. They were none too pleased when I made them go out the next morning and walk around the yard shoulder to shoulder until they found them.

According to a recent article in the Washington Post, fall clean-up is the prime time for accidents in the yard.

According to the the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, raking leaves is vigorous exercise, and you need to warm up for at least 10 minutes with some stretching and light exercise.

I know that shouldn’t make me giggle, but the mental image of people outside in their yards doing stretching exercises with their rakes is funny.

When the hot days of summer are upon you, how do you tend to your garden to make sure that it thrives and that all of your hard work has paid off.

1) Fertilize container plants each time you water them. I really need to do this more regularly. My container plants always end up dying half way through the summer. It really is very sad.

2) Don’t over water your plants: The soil becomes waterlogged and plpants can’t survive in waterlogged soil because they can’t get oxygen. Stick to a watering schedule which might be something like every like every four days. In your container plants use water holding crystals or buy self watering containers. These will help you achieve the balance between under and over watering your plants.

3) Measure the amount of water you are actually giving to your plants. If you are using a sprinkler system, set out a small container to catch water. After the watering cycle use a ruler to measure the depth. You want about 1″ each time.

4) Stop pruning, increases new growth and stresses the plants which is not good in heat when your plants are already stressed. I have a hard time with this one because once everything blooms and has leaves out, that is when I really can see where the pruning needs to occur.

5) Stop planting: The survival rate of new plantings drops dramatically as temperatures increase.

6) My children’s favorite: Cut back on mowing the lawn. When you do cut the lawn, set the blades high to prevent stress on grass. Remember the taller grass will survive the sun’s scorching rays better.

7) Keep gardens well mulched. The mulch helps hold the moisture in the soil.

Following these seven tips will hopefully lead you to a more successful garden this summer.