The Online Garden Gossip
April 2009/Issue #36
 

Check out
our gardening blog! Updated daily.
1011 North Woodlawn, Kirkwood, MO 63122    www.sugarcreekgardens.com         314-965-3070
Karen's
gardening calendar

click here
Want to sign up a friend for the Online Garden Gossip?
Click here.
 

 


What's new?

ÞAre you struggling with a vegetable bed that just isn't performing well?  Time to test that soil.  Look here for more info.

ÞWhat's on sale at Sugar Creek? Look here.

ÞDeterminate vs. indeterminate tomatoes? Pruning questions? Staking options?  Fine Gardening Magazine has the answers.

ÞSecrets to successfully growing lavender.

ÞWhat's the difference between June-bearing and ever-bearing strawberries? Find out here.

ÞHOURS: Mon. - Sat.
9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.;
Sun. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

ÞAzaleas now 15% off! Many varieties to choose from -- Encore, Girards, deciduous and evergreen...
 
ÞPlastic pot recycling begins at the Missouri Botanical Garden April 22 and runs through the end of September.  For more information, look here.
 

Peggy's 10 secrets to growing a great tomato

We're devoting this issue of the Online Garden Gossip to fruits, veggies, and herbs to kick off Sugar Creek Gardens' Home Harvest Festival, which started Thursday, April 16, and runs through Thursday, April 23.

You can't have a home harvest without producing some juicy ripe tomatoes.  Looking for some tips that will make your tomatoes the envy of the neighborhood?  Peggy has the answers!  Click here.

We have our "Berry Delicious" class scheduled Tuesday, April 21, at 6 p.m., where we'll cover the basics of growing raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and...well, you get the picture!  Our "Square Foot Gardening" class will cover how to grow the maximum amount of fruits and vegetables in a limited amount of space.  This will be a great one -- Peggy has a few tricks up her sleeve -- check it out!  It's set for Thursday, April 23, at 6 p.m.

Herbalicious -- We've got everything from basil to stevia

What is stevia? It's is a South American herb that has been used as a sweetener by the Guarani Indians of Paraguay for hundreds of years. The leaves of this small, green plant have a delicious and refreshing taste that can be 30 times sweeter than sugar. Want some stevia recipes?  Look here.

What's the most popular herb sold at Sugar Creek?  Basil, or Ocimum basilicum.

Which herb can be grown as a tiny evergreen? Germander, or Teucrium chamaedrys.

Which herbs are perennial?  Look here.

Now carrying the true patio peach

The Bonanza dwarf peach is a beautiful green-leafed ornamental fruiting tree. It is a true dwarf making it accessible to pruning, spraying, and harvesting of full sized fruit, while staying cute and small -- perfect for a container. Its mature height is 5-6 feet. It blooms in the early spring before leafing out. The tree is self-pollinating, and the fruit ripens mid to late June.

Want some peach recipes?  Look here.

Love vegetable gardening but hate the weeds?  Try an organic weed preventer that uses natural corn gluten to inhibit the growth of weed seeds. Preen has a variety available in a 5-lb container for $19.99 (covers 250 square feet) and Bradfield Organics has a 40-lb bag for $45.99 (covers 4,000 square feet).
 


Blueberries blueberries blueberries blueberries 

You know them, you love them, and you can grow them!

With a few simple pointers, you can have blueberries successfully growing in your backyard.  Here are some guidelines:

  • Blueberries like a pH between 4.0 and 4.5.  Most St. Louisans have a soil pH that is closer to 6, so consider adding some sulphur to your bed when planting to make it more acidic.
     

  • Add peat moss when planting.  This will help break up any clay, improve drainage and further acidify the soil.
     

  • Mulch heavily under the plants to help reduce weeds and retain moisture. Water heavily!
     

  • Consider adding more than one variety of blueberries for better cross-pollination.
     

  • Ripe blueberries should fall off the bush into your hand.  Consider adding bird netting, because birds like blueberries, too!  It's painful to eyeball ripening berries all summer, only to have a sharp-eyed bird beat you to it.
     

  • Enjoy the plants well into the fall.  I guarantee you won't have any more colorful foliage in your autumn yard than on a blueberry bush.

 
A beginner's guide to pruning raspberries

This will be my first season growing raspberries, although Peggy raved about her 'Heritage' variety all summer last year.

'Heritage' is an everbearing variety that bears a small crop in the summer on the tips of last season's canes, and a larger crop in the fall on the current season's canes. For pruning, cut second-season canes down to the ground in fall or winter. Second-season canes are brown and woody, and first-season canes are green and pliable.

For more pruning information, check out this fact sheet from the University of Missouri Extension office.

  


 For your herbal library, two St. Louis Herb Society originals

The St. Louis Herb Society has recently released a new cookbook entitled, "Herbal Cookery, In the Kitchens and Gardens of the St. Louis Herb Society."  It's available in our gift shop for $29.95, and all proceeds go to the herb society's fund for education and research, including the recent renovation and ongoing maintenance of the herb garden at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

We're also lucky enough to get our hands on some out-of-print editions of "How to Grow Herbs in the Midwest." When it comes to growing plants, herbs are among the most rewarding. Their history, usefulness, beauty, and versatility provide a constant source of enjoyment. Missouri has a difficult climate for growing many plants. This book will help you to avoid difficulties and make the most of your herb garden. This book is also available in the Sugar Creek gift shop for $9.99.