THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 26, 1996 TAG: 9605240090
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G3 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: GARDENING REMINDERS
SOURCE: Robert Stiffler
LENGTH: 105 lines
If you planted your tomatoes early, don't be surprised if they are slow to set fruit. Michigan State University reports that if it was too cold or too dry after peppers or tomatoes were planted, they will be slow to set fruit. Also excessively hot, dry weather or inadequate nitrogen can cause flowers to fall off tomato plants, resulting in no fruit. Be conservative, however, because too much nitrogen can cause lush foliage growth but few flowers or tomatoes.
It is also time to cage or stake your tomatoes if you planted early. I usually wait until too late and break the plant when getting it in the cage, but this season I've already ``caged'' them and mulched with grass clippings. If you don't use a weed killer on your lawn, grass clippings scattered loosely make a good mulch around tomatoes and peppers. SHARE THE BEAUTY
Also at the Williamsburg Garden Symposium, Professor Allen Armitage told folks that if they spent $20 with a florist who didn't give them some flower preservative, they should find a new florist.
He urged gardeners not to worry about making an arrangement but just go out and cut flowers to give friends, especially those who do not or cannot have have gardens. ``Flower arranging is not brain surgery,'' he said. ``If I can do it, anyone can do it. Lousy flowers make a lousy arrangement, but a lousy arrangement that includes beautiful flowers is welcomed by everyone,'' Armitage said. PROTECTING WILDLIFE
Bugs that have been poisoned indoors can find their way outdoors only to be fatally ingested by wild birds, and going on up the food chain. Some lawn maintenance companies apply a chemical mixture that contains 30 or 40 pesticides. These can kill birds and threaten pets, children and adults.
Non-toxic lawn maintenance can achieve effective results without harmful side effects. For information, send a stamped, addressed envelope to Wild Bird Rescue, P.O. Box 487, Three Forks, MT 59752. They will send you a publication on safe lawn care and how to provide a safe habitat for the wildlife in your neighborhood. ANTS COME MARCHING. . .
Memorial Day means picnics, and picnics mean ants. Ants that enter your home often aren't attracted to food but are seeking water in the kitchen or bathroom. They wander individually or in numbers from around a window or door frame, behind the baseboard or kitchen cabinet or around pipes or electric outlets. They usually come in from outside, entering cracks in foundations or basements and ground-level floors, around porches, chimneys, windows or doors.
Ants are not always easy to control, especially when colonies are near your home. One or more small colonies may be killed, but others may remain to move into the home. Preventive maintenance is the best step. Remove garbage regularly and clean all spills. Be sure to eliminate obvious entry points, by caulking around windows and doors and repairing cracks in foundations and basements. Eliminate sources of moisture and moisture-damaged wood.
If maintenance steps prove unsuccessful, use Dursban insecticide, available in garden centers in a variety of formulations, including liquids, dusts, aerosols and granules. Always read and follow label directions.
The organic gardening experts at Rodale recommend putting hot pepper dust, made from capsaican peppers, around the base of plants to keep ants away from them. There are several varieties on the market. DON'T DROWN AZALEAS
When planting azaleas, many folks mistakenly believe they can solve drainage problems by digging a planting hole three or four times larger than needed and adding crushed rock to the bottom and rich topsoil as a backfill, says horticulturist Kim Powell of North Carolina State University.
``Holes dug in poorly drained soil will only fill with water and continue to hold the excess water over a long period of time,'' Powell says. Size of the hole doesn't matter. ``When soil is saturated, the oxygen needed by the roots is very limited.''
Powell recommends building a raised bed. ``Elevate the planting to provide good surface and internal drainage. Sometimes it's not necessary to dig a hole, just plant on top of the ground and build up around the root ball with topsoil and plenty of organic matter of pine bark, sawdust or compost. Do not add fertilizer at planting time.'' GHENT GARDEN TOURS
The eighth annual Gardeners in Their Gardens Tour, sponsored by the Norfolk Botanical Garden Society, takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and next Sunday. The theme is ``City Gardens in Ghent Square'' and includes self-guided tours of Ghent gardens. Tickets are $9 for members, $10 for guests and are available at the Fred Heutte Center and Norfolk Botanical Gardens. Call 441-2513 or 441-5830. USE CHEMICALS WITH CAUTION
June is the best month of spring to kill weeds in your lawn, because temperatures are usually right. But before you use chemicals, read the label. Many commonly used insect sprays, weed killers and fertilizers can be a threat to your health, ground water and local wildlife. Birds and other wild animals can be fatally poisoned by common household and garden chemicals. Often even chemicals advertised as ``safe for the environment,'' ``organic,'' ``eco'' or ``enviro'' are not safe for wild birds or animals. GROW YOUR OWN TOPIARY
Plant topiaries, living sculptures found in homes and gardens, have become more popular in the last decade. If you're patient, they're easy to grow. A new book, ``Quick and Easy Topiary and Green Sculpture,'' by Jenny Kennedy (Storey Publishing, $18.95 paperback) is filled with ``how to'' information. It includes details, photos and drawings on how to train plants to grow on wire frames, how to create frames, tools needed and plant requirements. For a copy, call (800) 441-5700, Dept. YP. by CNB