Get growing with more pleasure and fun
Easy-care plants in a large planter combine two of the ways to reduce labor in the garden. Kathy Morrison
All work and no play makes gardening pretty dull – and less fun. If it seems all you do is pull weeds, where’s the pleasure in growing vegetables and flowers?
On this Labor Day, let’s consider how you spend your time (and labor) in your garden. There are lots of ways to cut down on maintenance and increase production – and joy.
With that in mind on this holiday, here are five labor-saving ideas for your garden:
1. Mulch, mulch, mulch!
This simple step saves moisture, cuts down on weeds and helps plants cope with fluctuating weather. Use organic material (straw, leaves, bark, etc.) and that mulch adds nutrients to the soil, too. Avoid rocks or gravel as mulch; they retain too much heat in Sacramento and can “cook” plant roots. You also can use fallen leaves as mulch – cutting down on another fall chore.
2. Smart irrigation.
Stop dragging hoses. Instead, install drip lines and a “smart” irrigation controller. Drip irrigation puts water where plants need it most – at the roots. A smart controller takes the guess work out of watering. Cued into weather, it also can turn irrigation off when not needed such as during rainy weather – no more wasting water. Here’s another plus: Rebates are available in most local water districts. Check availability at https://bewatersmart.info/.
3. Use bigger pots.
The larger the container, the less frequently it needs watering. It also makes a greater visual impact and allows plants more room to grow.
4. Choose lower-maintenance, slow-growing plants.
Tired of pruning hedges? Constantly edging borders? Mowing the lawn? Transition your landscape to plants that need less fuss and snipping. It’s a matter of putting the right plant in the right place; it will grow healthier and need less care, too.
5. Plant perennials and bulbs.
What’s more time saving than flowers that come up every year with no additional work? Fall is planting season for daffodils, tulips, hyacinths and other spring-blooming bulbs as well as most perennials. Naturalized bulbs can make a big, colorful splash in your garden year after year. With staggered blooming seasons, perennials add low-maintenance flowers to beds year round. Another bonus: Bulbs and perennials tend to need less irrigation – save water and time, too.
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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3
November still offers good weather for fall planting:
* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.
* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.
* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.
* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.
* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.
* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.
* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.
* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.
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