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Over The Fence Gardening Newsletter

March/April 2009

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Now Is The Time To . . .

  • Test your soil with a Penn State soil test kit. Prepare your garden for planting, following test kit recommendations.
  • Begin fertilizing houseplants when new growth appears.
  • Start seeds indoors for cool-weather vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce and spinach. Seedlings can be planted outdoors as soon as the soil is dry enough to be worked.
  • Plant peas and onion sets when soil can be tilled. When it crumbles in you hands, it's ready to be worked. Sow other cool-season veggie seeds outdoors, two weeks before your area's average last frost date.
  • Start seeds indoors early April for summer crops such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplants; follow the seed packet directions.
  • Introduce children to gardening; use larger, easy-to-handle seeds such as beans, pumpkins and sunflowers.
  • Order blueberries, rhubarb and asparagus now from catalogues to plant in April. They are tasty, long-lasting perennials!
  • Apply dormant oil to control scale insects on ornamentals. It can be applied when the temperature is 40 degrees and will remain at that temperature or above for at least 24 hours. Follow label directions.
  • Remove debris which may have accumulated on the lawn. Apply pre-emergent crabgrass herbicides to the lawn if crabgrass was a problem last year.
  • Wait to fertilize the lawn until early May, after the first flush of growth is over.
  • Fertilize spring-blooming bulbs after flowers have faded. Do not remove or tie up the foliage while it's green.
  • Prune summer flowering shrubs now. Spring-blooming shrubs are pruned soon after the flowers die.
  • Prune hybrid tea roses after danger of killing frost, when new growth starts to appear.

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Ten Steps Towards a Better Vegetable Garden
Scott Guiser, Senior Extension Educator

1. Know your soil
 
  • pH and fertility, organic matter levels • drainage • texture – use Penn State soil testing service
2. Continually replace organic matter
 
  • conserve what you've got; locate additional sources
  • add organic matter whenever possible
  • consider fall cover crops or fall incorporation of organic matter
3. Understand the require- ments of each crop you grow
 
  • frost tolerance • fertility needs • pollination requirements
  • key pests • optimum harvest stage and storage requirements
4. Study the lives of garden pests
 
  • identify common insects and diseases
  • know their life cycles and weaknesses
  • learn which pests you can live with (thresholds or tolerances)
  • eliminate perennial weeds and prevent annual weeds from going to seed
5. Use disease and insect resistant varieties
 
  • it's the best way to control disease
  • continue to look for new developments in pest resistance
6. Rotate plantings
 
  • to control insects and diseases
  • to take advantage of nutrient contributions
7. Plan and record your gardening activities
 
  • write down variety names, fertilizer applications, success and failures
  • plan crop rotation; keep a garden journa
8. Build a compost bin or heap
 
  • to create compost; to reduce waste
  • to involve your family in recycling
9. Mulch, Mulch, Mulch
 
  • black plastic provides many benefits for warm season crops (tomato, eggplant, vine crops)
  • straw, leaves, newspaper and other organic mulches conserve moisture and control weeds and build organic matter.
10. Read and study a wide variety of folklore and scientific reports
 
  • continue to improve your knowledge and learn from others
  • keep an open mind to new developments; try something new each year
  • make a gardening library; visit other gardens, near and far
  • beware of "snake oil", products that appeal to your needs but are without sound, scientific evaluation. ...if it sounds too good to be true........

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Horticultural Happenings

Community Garden in Bristol - Always wanted to garden but don’t have the space? Silver Lake Nature Center has an answer. This Spring the Center is opening up a Community Garden, located next to the Park in Bristol Township. For a small fee you can have access to a 15’ X 15’ area to grow your vegetables or flowers. Call the Nature Center for details (215-785-1177) and to find out about classes and tips on gardening.

Bucks Beautiful Garden and Home Show - March 20-22. Sponsored by the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce. Starts Friday evening and runs through Sunday. View landscape displays, hear local experts Derek Fell discuss the gardens of Frank Lloyd Wright and Dave Benner share tips for gardening in the shade. Stephanie Cohn tackles container gardens. Penn State Master Gardeners answer garden questions, conduct a free kids program and offer free gardening workshops on a variety of gardening subjects. For more information go to www.bucksbeautiful.com

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Master Gardener Corner

The Penn State Master Gardeners of Bucks County, in conjunction with the Department of Environmental Protection, are offering free Composting Workshops in May 2009.
Attendance is limited, registration is required by calling 215-345-3283.
One free compost bin will be given to each family that attends the training.
All trainings are weekday evenings from 7 PM to 9 PM.
You must register by calling the number shown above.

Thursday, May 7—Neshaminy Manor Center, 1282 Almshouse Road, Doylestown
Wednesday, May 13—Silver Lake Nature Center, 1306 Bath Road, Bristol
Thursday, May 28—Milford Township, 2100 Krammes Road, Spinnerstown

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Garden info on the web

Check out these excellent gardening websites for reliable gardening information.

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2009 HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE & OLD COMPUTER RECYCLING PROGRAM

Each event will take place rain or shine from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
For more information or directions, go to www.buckscounty.org and click on How Do I—Recycle in Bucks? on the right side, or call the recycling hotline at 1-800-346-4242.
Check the label to be sure the waste is hazardous. Auto, lithium rechargeable and button batteries are included.

  • May 2—Lower Makefield Corporate Center, South Campus (770 Township Line Road – Lower Makefield Township)

  • June 20—Upper Bucks County Area Vo-Tech School (3115 Ridge Road – Bedminster Township)

  • July 18—Middle Bucks Institute of Technology (2740 Old York Road (Pa Route 263) – Warwick Township)

  • August 15—Bucks County Technical High School (610 Wistar Road – Bristol Township)

  • September 26—Quakertown Community Pool (Mill Street – Quakertown Borough)

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Scott Guiser, Extension Educator/Horticulture
and
Susan Schneck, Master Gardener Coordinator

E-mail: bucksext@psu.edu
Phone: 215-345-3283
Fax: 215-343-1653

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Penn State | College of Agricultural Sciences | Cooperative Extension & Outreach
This page last updated Wednesday, July 1, 2009
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