2011 Seed

Our 2011 Lake Valley Seeds have arrived. It is time to plan/plant your Fall garden. If you have questions come in and let us help.

Roses et al

All of you that came to the nursery this year asking about our roses will be happy to know that we just put in an order for over 200 Jackson & Perkins and Weeks roses. If all goes as scheduled they will be delivered just in time for Mother's Day 2011. We have ordered a good selection with some new introductions as well as the very fragrant old standards.

We are also working on a fruit and shade tree order for 2011. This will be a one time blow out sale towards the end of May. We felt there was a need for some of those tried and true varieties that do well in our area. Another thing you have been asking for that we decided to deliver on. So look for that as well.

The 2011 Lake Valley Seed should be here within the next two weeks for those who are planting a fall garden. Lettuce, Spinach, Beets, Carrots and many others can be planted through mid-September for fall harvest. All of Lake Valley Seed is untreated and there are no GMO's. There is also a USDA Organic line.

Don't forget that we will be closing for the season on September 30th. We will have Pansies, Violas, Snapdragons and Fall Veggies some time in September. Check back here and I will let you know when they land.

Things to do in August

Deadheading is one of those really satisfying chores. When you have finished everything looks neater and flowers more abundantly. The purpose of a flower is to attract pollinating insects and birds so the plant can produce seed. Once flowers start going to seed most plants will stop flowering or not flower as prolifically as before. If you interrupt this cycle by keeping pollinated or seed-bearing blooms removed from your perennials and annuals they will put their energy into producing more flowers instead of seed. Deadheading will also keep invasive species from self-sowing and taking over. Plants that only bloom once such as Creeping Phlox (Phlox subulata) and Candytuft (Iberis) should be cut back by half after blooming. Other perennials that bloom continuously over a long period of time like Coreopsis, Scabiosa, Yarrow (Achillea), Coneflowers (Echinacea), Blanket Flower (Gailardia) and many more should be deadheaded by removing spent flowers down to where a new bud has formed or to a spot of active growth. When the deadheads outnumber the flowers shear the whole plant to the foliage and it will soon rebloom. Annuals such as Marigolds, Petunias, and Zinnias should be deadheaded as well. Prune or pinch dead blooms at the base. Towards the end of the season you may want to let desirable plants go to seed and don't forget to leave some seedheads for winter birds to enjoy.

Mulch, Mulch, Mulch. I always talk about the benefits of mulching. A good layer of mulch in your vegetable garden, around your trees and shrubs or in the perennial bed will conserve moisture, keep the sun from beating down directly on those little surface roots, regulate the soil temperature year round, suppress weeds and make the ones that do show up easier to pull. If you use Back to Earth Compost it will slowly break down and add humic acid to the soil.

We will always stock Back to Earth Compost as well as Composted Manure, Top Soil and our great Uni-Gro Potting Soil. We have a good supply of Trees, Shrubs and Perennials and the honest advice to help you be successful in your gardening efforts.

Controlling Insects

Because we had such a wet winter insect populations are at an all time high. There have already been reports of Blister Beetle swarms and we had a really nice Swallowtail Butterfly farm on the dill at the nursery. These are 2 good examples of when to break out the big guns and when to just enjoy the show. I realize that no amount of prevention will keep a swarm of Blister Beetles from cleaning out your vegetable garden or landscape but it is the key to keeping destructive bugs in check. Keep plants healthy by watering correctly and using organic fertilizers. Insects love to feed on plants that are drought stressed and enjoy the weak, fleshy growth produced by frequent applications of Miracle-Gro or other chemical fertilizers. Another way to discourage harmful insects is to attract the beneficial insects that feed on them to your yard. Good bugs prefer the nectar of annuals and perennials with small flowers. These would include parsley, thyme, chamomile, hyssop, lovage, lavender, alyssum and marigolds just to name a few. Know your friends. Ladybugs, Praying Mantids, Lacewings, Ground Beetles and many tiny wasps are all helpful in the garden. Check your plants frequently for sign of insects including the undersides of the leaves where insects like to hide and lay their eggs. A few holes in a few leaves is not cause for alarm. If the majority of the plant is healthy and unaffected and you don't see any insects the damage was probably caused by the wind or a bug just passing through. If an insect is not attached to a plant or eating a leaf he is probably a good guy. Once you have identified a real problem use only organic pesticides. Chemical insecticides are non-selective and destroy all insects. Bad bugs recover more quickly than their predators making each consecutive infestation worse and harder to control. Organic insecticides can be very selective leaving good insect populations to help control the problem. The most common garden pests are a variety of sucking insects. They insert their proboscis into the plant tissue and suck out the juices excreting a clear, shiny, sticky substance called honeydew. Seeing this honeydew may be the first sign of a problem. You may also notice misshapen and curled leaves or blossoms that are brown around the edges and fail to open. Thrips are almost microscopic and look like pieces of tan thread. Aphids are tear shaped about 1/8 of an inch long and can be green, black, brown, yellow and with a woolly white coating. Spidermites can be detected by their webbing and are visible when you tap a leaf or branch onto a white piece of paper. They look like little brown specs but they move. All of these soft bodied insects can be controlled by first washing them off with water and then applying Safer's Insecticidal Soap. This insecticide contains potassium salts that will dry out these insects and not harm beneficials. Scale is also a sucking insect but since it forms a protective waxy coating over itself once it attaches to your plant most insectides don't work well against it. Horticultural Oil will coat the scale and smother it. Beetles that feed on foliage such as Flea Beetles, Cucumber Beetles or Blister Beetles can be controlled with a dusting of Diatomaceous Earth or Safer's Yard and Garden which contains pyrethrin. This will kill all hard bodied insects including Squash Bugs but also Ladybugs and other beneficials so use it selectively. Caterpillars that eat the leaves of plants like Cabbage Loopers and Tomato Hornworms can be handpicked or controlled with BT (bacillus thuringiensis). Some caterpillars are the larvae of those colorful butterflies you have been trying to attract to your garden. So if it is something you can afford to share, like the dill at our nursery, you might just let them enjoy it. If you check your plants frequently and try to balance your environment most insect attacks won't get out of hand. If you have questions about a particular insect, put it in a jar and bring it to the nursery and we can most likely help you identify it and offer a solution to it. See you soon.

Seed Sale

All of our 2010 Lake Valley Vegetable, Flower and Herb Seed will be half price July 6th through the 17th. There are several certified organic varieties and all of the Lake Valley seeds are untreated and they contain no GMO's (genetically modified organisms). Take advantage of this sale for any fall crops you may be planting or for things you'll need next year. Most seed stays viable for several years. We will have our 2011 seed in by mid-August. See you soon!

A New Perennial Bed

So here it is June 12th and I am just writing my June blog. I am sure that most of you can relate to the fact that watering in June is a time sponge. Between the nursery, growing areas, vegetable garden and landscape I can barely keep up. So that's my excuse for being late with this.

I really want to discuss perennial beds. It can be a very simple, satisfying undertaking that you will enjoy for years if you do some planning before you plant. And don't be surprised when it evolves over the years with new plants added as less appealing ones are removed. A perennial bed is a great way to reduce water vs grass. By preparing the soil properly, mulching well and watering effectively a perennial bed will use 25-50% less water than a lawn, depending on the plants used. First choose a location for your new bed. It can be a small, intimate area where you sit most often, a border along a walkway or a wall or an island in the center. Outline the area using a garden hose. Curving lines are more appealing than straight ones. When you have the shape and size the way you want, and if it is a lawn area, dig out the grass. Rototilling and raking will work for shallow rooted grasses but more tenacious species will require an herbicide. Prepare your new area for planting by working in Back to Earth Compost at a rate of 1 bag per 25 square feet. The addition of a source of phosphorus (Bone Meal or Soft Rock Phosphate) and Potash (Greensand) is also recommended. Till or turn the soil to a depth of at least a foot. This will help in the root development of your new plantings and make them more drought tolerant. Choose a theme for the area. Native, low water, butterfly and hummingbird gardens can have color or interest all year long and use very little water. You will want to pick an anchor shrub or two for your bed. Butterfly bush (Buddleia), Spiraea, Photinia, Bamboo (Phyllostachys), New Mexico Privet (Forestiera) or an Ornamental Grass would all make a good starting point. Plant your anchor towards the back of the bed, anywhere but in the center. Taking into consideration the exposure (full sun, part shade, full shade) choose your perennials and work out from your anchor using plants that descend in height down to ground covers in the front. Groups of plants in odd numbers such as 3, 5 or 7 create the best impact when in bloom. Plant these groups in a natural formation, not straight lines. Be sure to include plants that flower in spring, flower in summer, color in the fall or have some winter interest such as berries, attractive seedheads or evergreen foliage. Late flowers or foliage plants should conceal gaps left by earlier flowering varieties. Be sure to mulch your new area to minimize weeds, conserve moisture and give it a finished look. A new perennial bed will take some work and planning but reward you with less watering and lots of visual interest.

We have lots of great perennials, compost, pecan shell mulch, eucalyptus mulch and as always honest advice!

Fertilize

I must first admit that I have told a lie in a previous blog. It wasn't a lie when I told it but it is now. We now have a greenhouse so that we can get tomatoes and other vegetables early for those of you who want to plant in Wall-o-Waters, have a greenhouse to keep them in until the weather is right to plant or just want to push the season. So our new (slightly used) greenhouse is stocked with all kinds of vegetables for your buying pleasure.

But the real subject of this blog is fertilizing. Since plants have begun to actively grow, it is time to encourage and feed that growth with an application of fertilizer. Nourishing all of your landscape plants can be a very simple process. Even though the big fertilizer companies like Scott's and Miracle-Gro would have you believe that you need a different fertilizer for Tomatoes, Perennials, Annuals, Lawns and Fruit Trees; the truth is you really only need one or two different blends on all of your plants. Look at the numbers or chemical analysis on the fertilizer bag. Nitrogen, the first number is for green leafy growth. Phosphorus, the second number encourages healthy blooms, roots and fruits. Potash or Potassium is the third number and it is for overall hardiness, strong stems and branches, and disease resistance. We carry Fox Farm's Peace of Mind organic fertilizers. There is a Fruit and Flower which is higher in Phosphorus and a Tomato and Vegetable which is a little higher in Nitrogen. We also have Yum Yum Mix which is a very balanced, organic, all purpose, vegetarian (no animal products) blend. The other fertilizer that we have always sold is Gro-Power which is formulated with our southwest alkaline soil in mind. There are two different blends which contain 6-7% humic acid derived from compost. This helps break up compacted soil, encourages biological activity and promotes water conservation. Sulphur is also added to control the Ph and unlock available iron. We recommend using Gro-Power Hi-Nitro for lawns at a rate of 7 lbs. per 1000 square feet. It can also be used to fertilize any evergreen trees or shrubs by applying 1/2 cup for every 5 feet of height. The analysis of the Hi-Nitro is 14-4-9. This means it is highest in Nitrogen which in addition to producing dark green vegetative growth, increases protein content in food crops and helps plants use moisture more efficiently. For all of your flowering trees and shrubs, fruit trees, perennials, annuals and vegetable gardens Gro-Power Flower & Bloom 3-12-12. It is low in Nitrogen but high in the primary elements Phosphorus and Potash. Use Flower & Bloom at the rate of 2 lbs. per 100 square feet of bed area or for individual plants apply 1 cup per 8 feet of height or width whichever is greater. Now you know that a couple of different fertilizers are all you need to feed your entire landscape and vegetable garden. This will keeps costs down and minimize labor.