And Now a Word from Mark Cullen

Excerpted from Mark's monthly newsletter. Get your own copy at www.markcullen.com

The Perfect Month for Gardening

Really, is there a better month in the year to enjoy your Canadian garden? All of that fresh new growth is yet to get beaten up by the weather, bugs or disease. The peonies are in bloom, as are the roses and iris. It is the best month of the year to be alive.

Reduce Watering by up to 50%!

I created quite a stir in May when I talked about this fabulous new product on Canada AM with Jeff Hutcheson. Here is the scoop, in case you missed it:

The Flower Growers of Ontario developed a hemp tea bag and filled it with dry alfalfa, corn starch and sea kelp. This combo absorbs 400 times it weight in water in about 10 minutes.

You dig a hole as you normally would, preparing it just so with compost and all of the good stuff. Just before you place your plant in the hole drop the pre-moistened Water Wick into the bottom of the hole and place the plant roots directly on top of it. Now, when the soil dries around the roots of the plant it will draw water from the Water Wick through its’ roots. The plant will sustain itself much longer without watering.

The Water Wick will disintegrate (adding a mild form of fertilizer) to the soil at the root zone within 6 months.

Bingo. Bob is your Uncle.

Most suitable for container grown plants.

Containers.

June is ‘container month’. I have been watching Canadian gardeners for a long time and one observation that I have is that we love to plant up containers in June to spruce up the deck, patio, pathways and everywhere else that you want colour and plants above the ground.

I urge you not to plant in last years’ soil, when you replant last years’ containers. Not that there is anything wrong with putting it on the ground and digging it in to your existing garden soil. Good idea! The point is that the nutrition was pulled out of the soil last year when you had plants growing in it.

New ‘container mix’ is specifically formulated with the demands of containerized plants in mind. Look for a quality brand that you trust. Check out my new ‘Mark’s Choice’ container mix at Home Hardware. It contains some interesting surprises: Calcined clay which is a natural water absorber, compost (like the great British container soils!) and sharp sand, for porosity. The soil to avoid is a very lightweight bag of fluffed up peat. Not a good use of your money and lacking in nutrition for your plants.

Feed and Forget.

After you have your containers planted up add a teaspoon or so of ‘Feed and Forget’ fertilizer. I like this stuff as it removes the need to mix or reapply fertilizer for the entire season. With Feed and Forget (by Plant Prod) the granules of plant food provide a dilute form of fertilizer every time that you water or it rains. Well named, terrific concept for the busy or forgetful gardener (which pretty much covers the whole group).

Roses.

You will get your best show of colour from your roses in the upcoming weeks. As they bloom remember to:

Cut them to bring indoors to enjoy on the kitchen table.

Watch for insects and disease – for aphids use Green Earth Insecticidal Soap and for black spot or powdery mildew use Green Earth Garden Fungicide.

Fertilize - with the new ‘Feed and Forget’ for roses or with a quality granule fertilizer like Green Earth 4-8-4 go to http://greenearth.ca/products/product_e.php?prodID=424 for details.

Mulch your rose bushes with finely ground up pine or cedar bark mulch. This will reduce weeds by up to 95% and watering by up to 70%.

When they have finished blooming it is a good idea to remove all of the spent blossoms which will encourage more flowering later in the summer and early fall.

SaveWater/Save Time/ Save the Environment.

Want to know how to reduce your water bill AND the amount of time that you spend on the end of a garden hose?

Use rain barrels. The water is charged with 30 to 40% oxygen (good for everything that you grow) and it is always warm. Plants like this. Do you like cold showers? Have you ever been told to take one? Keep your answers to yourself and remember that annuals and heat seeking vegetables love warm water. I rest my case.

Mulch. I know – I have said this before. June is just such a good month to put down 6 to 8 cm of finely ground up pine or cedar bark mulch. See my comments re: roses and repeat around the garden.

Soaker hoses. Use a 'bleeding' or soaker hose under your mulch to save a ton of water. You will apply water directly to the roots where it is needed most. Made of recycled rubber. A Mark's Choice product at Home Hardware.

Cut your lawn at 2 ½ inches or 5 to 6 cm. ‘The higher the grass blades, the deeper the roots and the more drought tolerant the grass plants’. Quote me any time.

Water your lawn only once a week or not at all. When you do water apply about an inch at one time: this will ensure that the water has moved down to the root zone. Use the new ‘Mark’s Choice’ lawn sprinkler and reduce watering by up to 1/3. How? The water droplets are pulverized into a mist that moves through the soil more quickly than the droplets from either an oscillating or impact-type sprinkler. Only at Home Hardware.

Remember that all plants like to get on the dry side – about 5 cm below the surface of the soil for established plants. So be careful not to overwater.

Also for June:

Remove the spent flowers of your peonies and lilacs when they are done to maximize blooming potential for next year

Stake your tomatoes with a new aluminum Mark’s Choice Spiral stake. You will never buy another stake and you will never have to tie your tomatoes up.

Remove the suckers from your tomatoes as they mature.