Fri Jul 30 2010
Mrs. B of Mt. Hope wonders if any readers have a Moses In the Bulrushes plant or seed ... write Farmer John if you do ...
A of Millersburg wants to know if any readers have information on a Gabriel Trumpet Flower bought at a flea market?
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Dear Farmer John, The deer are eating our hemlock trees. How can we stop them? Thank you. J of New Concord
Dear J, There are deer repellents both in garden centers and catalogs. For now, you may use hair clipping, just scatter around bottom of trees or hand some smelly clothes around the area. They will pass the hemlock by.
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Worth repeating for TH of Byesville -- to keep raccoons away from garbage cans and making messes do as Ms. N of Lutz, Fla., suggested ... sprinkle some Epsom salts around the cans and on top of the garbage. The raccoons really hate the taste.
Ms. KR of Shreve uses old pet food bags to put scrap food that doesn't go into compost; they don't leak or tear.
FC of Canton uses old magazines for getting pictures for scrapbooking.
PY of Fostoria makes little insects from unusual stones and coat hangers ... these are painted and given as gifts. All you need is a drill, paint and glue.
VG of Alliance likes to make wreaths from grape vine and hedge trimmings and uses all her cans from vegetables and fruit for containers to start new plants.
Ms. T of New Concord -- I reuse old grocery bags in my room trash receptacles; it saves mess and time.
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Dear Farmer John, My sister was given a house palm from a friend who died. She gave it to me but I know nothing about it. Can you tell me what light it needs and how to care for it? Always enjoy your writings. Belle in Cambridge
Dear Belle, Palms can have dim light or even artificial light so a sunny spot is not necessary. It enjoys a little more water than regular houseplants. The ideal area has from moderate to high humidity with warmer temperatures.
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Health tip of the week ... working strawberries, blue berries, red rhubarb, grapes/especially concord, red raspberries, watermelon and cantaloupes into your diet may give a stronger immune system.
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KS of Shreve shares garden experience -- (and we thank KS so much for sharing so much knowledge with us. FJ)
My favorite catalog is Seed Savers Exchange, 3094 North Winn Rd., Decorah, IA 52101-7776 ... telephone (563) 382-5990 and at www.seedsavers.org. Their mission is to save the world's diverse but endangered garden heritage of seeds for future generations ... seeds from our ancestors all over the world.
These I tried and liked:
* Tasty Evergreen tomato: Loved it, couldn't get enough, juicy and delicious, starts out avocado green and when it ripens it is more olive green -- you can tell also by softness.
* Italian Heirloom tomato: Also very good too. (A caution here about using hay as mulch ... as some may be salted and some may be sprayed with anhydrous ammonia a fire retardant ... so ask before buying as these may not be good for plants in garden as mulch).
* SSE's Noir des Cannes melon: Very productive, flesh too soft, melons rotted quickly.
* Emerald gem cantaloupe: Very delicious, golden orange, looks like a cantaloupe without netting.
* Speckled cranberry bean: Beautiful, good flavor but cooked as green beans has membrane like snake skin, sort of disgusting, dried. They were like a kidney bean, tasty but hard to digest/gassy. Also to mention, I grew broccoli from seed, made as plants do, only problem was keeping seed far enough apart so not crowded. Otherwise, great.
* Marina Di Chioggia squash from Italy. As big as pumpkin, flavor good, gray green lumpy skin, texture like acorn squash, but not as delicious as butternut squash, my first choice.
* Bull's Blood beets: Beautiful deep red leaves, great ornamental, same flavor as Detroit Red Beets. Also planted Burpee's Golden Beets from 1828. Mom said tasted like regular beet.
* Paris Island Romaine lettuce: Very impressed with flavor and crunchiness I also planted Select Salad Blend of lettuce -- good mix of red, green, speckled, delicious.
* Cervena Chushka and Napolean Sweet peppers: Planted seed in cold frames, planted plants out but late ripening. A week before frost ... looked pretty but need longer growing season, I feel.
* Blacktail Mountain Watermelon: Small but bigger than ice box melon, wonderful sweet flavor, worth planting Orange Glo watermelon have planted last two years, absolutely love it. Flesh like inside of butternut squash.
* I also planted Bloomsdale Spinach: Grew fast, firm, crisp, and wonderful ... much better than Malabar spinach.
* Pencil Pod was bean: Prolific and tasty.
* Buttercup Squash: Similar to Butternut squash in flavor but for the beginner I would stick with butternut squash.
* Striped Cavern tomato: Hollow to fill with tuna salad or cream cheese but not the size I would like but not tomato's fault. Think it was the hay I used ... will try again ...
* Japanese climbing cucumber: My favorite cucumber/like Mrs. Wages' dill mix for them but didn't care for the sweet pickle mix but mother did.
* Caribe potato: Gorgeous shade of pinkish purple, snow white interior, very good; La Ratte, a French fingerling, which indeed looked like a rat, my husband loved them, texture like a caked potato. The German Butterball potatoes looked very buttery when mashed. They have a yellow inside
* My walnut trees killed my currant and jostaberry bushes ... (Thank you again ... FJ)
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Dear Farmer John, I want to plant some strawberries this spring. How long must I wait to pick them? MN Perrysville
Dear MN, you must keep them weeded this year. Putting all runners back into the row to root and make more plants. Pick off blossoms and next year you will have a great harvest. It is so hard to wait that year but if you pick them this year, it will lessen the number of runners created and in turn hurt your yield for next year. The neat thing is if you plant another row each year and take care with the old bed, you can have a great harvest in a couple years, and never have to buy new plants again.
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If you have a question, tips for new gardeners, hints around the homestead or a good family recipe, write me ... Farmer John, P.O. Box 234, Groveport, OH 43125 ... and have a wonderful week. I had a reader this week ask if anyone has dried comfrey leaves and roots ... if you do, send me your address ... and remember, a smile is the outward sign of a happy person inside. Be happy and enjoy each day.
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