Dayton "Dirt" - May 17, 2013

The warmer days and nights has finally brought on planting time for heat loving flowers and vegetable plants although vigilance is in order because of the spector of a late frost. The azaleas are at their peak of bloom in the garden and elsewhere in the nursery resulting in a kaleidoscope of color across the land. The greenhouses are a little too warm and sunny so that today we must put on another layer of white shade compound in order to block and reflect the ultraviolet rays that heat up the greenhouse. It’s so strange that only 30 days ago the sun was a welcome stranger especially after a cold, dark March. It’s okay now to put down a weed and feed on the lawn as the weather has pushed most broad leaved weeds into growth. Preen is also a good weed preventer for the flower garden especially when just planting annual flowers. After the Preen’s application it’s wise to mulch annual flowers with a thin layer of Sweet Peet in order to keep the plants roots cool and moist and additionally to feed the flowers. Sweet Peet is superior as a mulch as it does not starve plants for nitrogen as mulch does when it decays. In the greenhouse our Calliope geraniums and New Guinea Impatien hanging baskets are especially gorgeous. The New Guineas thankfully do not contract the lousy downy mildew disease so that they work well in part shade as a substitute for Impatien wallerianna. Come on in and take a walk around and enjoy the spring show. Tom