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...because all the best garden advice is local
February 4, 2010
Green Thoughts in a White World
 
Greetings!

veronica in front of a snowy evergreen I keep saying that surely spring is around the corner, but that the corner is way down at the end of a very long street. Sheesh. Can you believe all this snow? And as I write, another few to several inches are predicted. Hand me the snow shovel and the Advil, please.
   Ah, well. The plants are happy enough. Snow is considered "white mulch" so they're well protected, that's for sure.
   Meanwhile, I've lifted my spirits by taking notice that the days are getting longer. And I made a greenhouse visit to buy some seeds and get plants for a little herb dish garden (see below). It's astounding, how much pinching off a leaf of sharp-scented cilantro or brushing the lavender leaves to release their clean fragrance can warm my soul.
        
Happy Indoor Gardening!

Veronica Lorson Fowler
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Dishing on Herbs

My favorite centerpiece this time of year is alive, fragrant, and tasty. It's a dish garden (planted in the big flat bowl I usually toss salads in). I simply went to the greenhouse and picked out 4-inch pots of some of my favorite herbs--basil, lavender, variegated thyme, cilantro, and parsley--and planted them in the bowl. Total cost: $25.
   Usually outdoor plants, these herbs will do okay for a few weeks indoors before getting straggly. Then I'll cut them down completely to use in fresh herbs for cooking and used as centerpiececooking and pitch the rest. In the meantime, I snip off leaves here and there to use in the kitchen. Sometimes my son, Will. and I even pinch off leaves right at the table, adding a few cilantro leaves to our quesadillas or a little basil to the spaghetti sauce. How fun is that?
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Come to the Des Moines
Home and Garden Show!


DSM Home and Garden Show LogoThe Des Moines Home and Garden Show is Thursday, February 11 through Sunday, February 14. I'll be speaking daily on "Roses for Iowa Made Easy" and The Iowa Gardener will have a booth there. Ben and I would love it if you'd come by and say hi! We'll be selling and signing the book I wrote, "Gardening in Iowa" and having a drawing of a cool English trug basket filled with garden supplies.
   The home show is a great place to stroll and view an installed garden or two (smell those flowers!) and learn all about the newest in home and garden trends and gizmos.
   Bonus: I have four free tickets to give away. The first two people to email me and tell me that they want to come will each win two free tickets!

Snippets Coming Soon

Snippets will be starting next week!  If you haven't yet signed up for this new service of short, quick, occasional emails on everything from weather and frost warnings to great deals spotted on plant and supplies, you can do so by just clicking here to send an email and say "sign me up for Snippets." If you've already sent an email, you've been entered to receive Snippets.
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Cool Beans

 While you're perusing through those seed catalogs, don't forget the humble green bean. Fresh green beans from the garden are so delicious, that when they're picked really small--no bigger than a Green Beans - Yum!cigarette--I love them as much as homegrown tomatoes and sweet corn.
   Click here for my three favorite green beans and growing tips. They're super easy and produce a ton, an excellent way to reduce your grocery bill July onward.
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Good Label Solutions Anyone?

My friend, Craig, was appalled when he moved from San Francisco to Iowa. That first summer, he carefully labeled all his roses with "permanent" marker on zinc labels. And poof! Worn off by spring.
   Welcome to trying to label plants in Iowa. I've experimented with various labels, but I can't find anything that is attractive (a garden is supposed to be pretty, after all) and inexpensive and easy to make. Email me with what's worked for you. If I get a good label suggestion, we'll feature it in this newsletter. I'll also mail you a copy of my book, "Gardening in Iowa."
   If I get several, we'll create a whole web page on 'em!  
Update Your Iowa
Garden Journal


Garden Journal PhotoIf you started creating a garden journal using our templates, you can update your binder by clicking here and getting the February To-Do list. You'll also find the January list and a pretty cover page. Each month, we'll have another to-do list for you to print and add to your garden journal!
Ask Veronica a Question

If you're a subscriber, email Veronica with your garden questions and she'll do her very best to get back to you within two business days. Click here!
Garden Quote

"There's one good thing about snow; it makes your lawn look as nice as your neighbor's."
- Clyde Moore

Issue: 22
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Garden To-Do List
Click here for a printable version of these garden tasks.
 
When shoveling snow, as long as it doesn't have salt in it and isn't slushy, don't worry about tossing it onto perennials and small shrubs. Fluffy snow is called white mulch and actually insulates against weather extremes.
 
Pore through catalogs, garden books, web sites, and magazines to plan for spring. Put your ideas into a garden notebook, made from a three-ring notebook, with pages for notes and photos, pocket folders for articles and notes and a zip pocket to hold spring receipts and plant labels.
 
Make on-line and mail-order purchases early. Supplies of the most popular items tend to start running out in March or so, especially this year when vegetable gardening promises to be popular once again.
 
Take inventory. Look over your supplies, fertilizers, potting soil, soil amendments, and other garden materials and stockpile now. You'll be ready to go once the spring rush hits.
 
Tidy up and organize your garden supplies. Wash up pots. Use hot soapy water and rinse so the pots are set for spring planting.
 
Start seeds of parsley, onions, perennials, and other slow-growing plants. Don't start other seeds too early (follow label directions or read on up on them on line). If you do, they'll languish indoors too long without the powerful natural sun and get leggy and diseased. The vast majority of seeds should be started 6 to 8 weeks before your region's last average frost date. For Iowa, that means starting seeds in March.

If houseplants are struggling, it's probably time to pitch them and replace. Otherwise, give them a good rinse, trim off brown or problem parts, and top off the soil with fresh potting soil.

Avoid fertilizing houseplants this month. With less daylight, their need for food is less.

 If you've forced bulbs, they're probably ready to take out into light and warmth now. Once the bulbs have sent up shoots a half to one inch high, take them out and put them in the sunniest, brightest spot possible.

Inspect any stored bulbs or corms. If you dug up any last fall to store over the winter. They should be firm and healthy looking. If they're shriveled or mildewed, toss them.

Force flowering branches in a couple of weeks. Once spring-blooming branches start to develop tiny buds, cut them and bring them indoors for forcing. These include forsythia, redbud, pussy willow, crabapple, and more. Just soak the branches in a tub of cold water for a few hours. Then arrange in a vase and watch them open over the next several days.

If we get any really nice thawing days sometime soon, you can start to prune most deciduous trees in late February or March. but wait until July to prune oaks and walnuts to avoid wilt diseases.

Consider a cold frame. Build it now and you can start radishes, spinach, and lettuces in a few weeks.

How's your mower? If you didn't get it tuned up last fall and the blade sharpened, do it yourself now or take it in before the spring rush.

Same for any shears or other sharp cutting or slicing objects, including spades and hoes. If you haven't already, invest a few bucks in a sharpening stone. It makes all the difference. Click here to learn how. It's easy after you do it once or twice.
Sponsored Links
 
Iowa City Landscaping and Garden Center
Check out the line-up of weekend seminars, including one this Saturday, February 13, on cooking with vegetables.
    On Saturday, February 20, Tammy Yoder of Green Earth Design will talk about easy-care perennials that thrive on benign neglect.

Garden Events
 
Now through March
Reiman Gardens, Ames
Sit and relax in the conservatory with a  collection of whimsical, traditional and colorful seating. Free to $7.

Sunday, February 14
Project Green Forum, Iowa City
2-4 p.m. at the Iowa City Public Library. Corporate gardener for test gardens at August Home publishing, Marcia Leeper, will speak on "Simplifying Your Garden". Free.

March 19-20
All-Iowa Horticulture Exposition II, Ottumwa
"The state fair of horticulture," sponsored by the Iowa State Horticultural Society, includes hands-on demonstrations, lectures, and vendors. Keynote speaker will be Dan Heims of Terra Nova Nurseries.

March 26-28
Quad Cities Flower and Garden Show
More than 250 exhibitors showcasing the latest techniques, supplies and equipment; landscaping companies and DIY projects. The Iowa Gardener will have a booth and Veronica will be speaking daily. Free to $6.
 
Include your upcoming garden event (we love garden clubs!) in our Events listing. Click here to send us the info!