|
|
| Quick Links | Register Now
Last Month's Newsletter
Visit Us At Our Website
Great information and our weekly ads are there!
 |
And A Gold Star Goes To...
| |
Lana Mason. Lana was the first to submit the correct answer to our June Trivia Question, "Currants--small seedless grapes--were named for their place of origin. Just where was that?" The correct answer is: "Corinthe, the city known for them."
| |
Lana won a $15.00 Wedel's gift card and you could too! Just be the first to respond with the correct answer to our monthly trivia question.
Congratulations, Lana!!
|
| | |
| |
July
Shopping List
Fertilome Weed Free Zone
Grass seed
Starter fertilizer
Lawn Fungus Control
Repellex Mole Repellant
Suet
Bird seed
Gift certificate
Bird seed feeder
Oriole feeder
Oriole nectar
Pruners
Pruning sealer
Plant labels, stakes, twist ties
Rain gauge
|
A Thought
From the Garden
"That beautiful season the Summer!
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light;
And the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood."
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
|
|
Did You Know?
|  | |
1. The Caesar salad was named after Caesar Cardini, a Mexican chef.
2. Garlic, leek, chives and onions belong to the lily family.
3. The juice from bluebell flowers was used historically to make glue.
4. The flower buds of the marsh marigold are pickled as a substitute for capers.
|
|  |
Mom Tested And ApprovedSummer and lemons just seem to go together in a variety of ways. Here's one of the tastiest!
Luscious Lemon Pudding Cake
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (yellow part of the peel)
5 tablespoons lemon juice
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups milk
3 egg whites, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar
Garnish: Whipped cream
Preheat oven to 350°F
Lightly grease a 1 1/2-quart baking dish or 6 custard cups. Set into a slightly larger pan, at least 2 inches deep. In a mixing bowl, combine the 3/4 cup sugar, flour and salt. Add butter, lemon zest and lemon juice and mix until thoroughly blended. With a whisk, beat egg yolks until thick and lemon colored; add milk and mix well. Combine with lemon mixture, stirring until blended.
In another bowl, beat egg whites until foamy, add cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Add the 1/4 cup of sugar gradually and beat until stiff but not dry. Fold the whites into lemon mixture. Spoon into baking dish or custard cups. Pour 1 inch of hot water around them.
Bake until set and top is golden brown, about 35 minutes for custard cups or 45 minutes for baking dish. Remove from water and let cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or chilled with a dollop of whipped cream.
From Renee's Garden
Enjoy!
|
|
|
|
Volume 8, Number 4 July 2015
|
|
|
Successive Sowing
Extending Your Season and Maximizing Your Garden's Harvest
(ed. note The following is from our friends at Botanical Interests High Quality Seeds.)
| |
One of the ways you can keep your garden going all season is by successive sowing. To achieve continuous harvesting, try sowing two varieties with different days to maturity (DTM,) each in their own garden area. This method is particularly helpful for crops you harvest only once (e.g., carrots, radish, corn).
Baby Little Finger Carrots (57 DTM) can be sown in a different area but at the same time as Asian Kuroda Carrots (75 DTM), producing two harvests, about 2 weeks apart, with one planting effort.
Sow more than one crop in one spot, each with different DTM so one is harvested earlier, making room for the second to mature (intercropping or companion planting). By sowing radishes (30 DTM) with beets (60 DTM), you can harvest the early radishes, while at the same time allowing beets room to mature.
Staggering sowing dates of the same crop (intervals). Cilantro is a fast-maturing, cool season crop taking only 50 DTM, but it tends to flower quickly (bolt) in the heat. By sowing cilantro every 1 to 2 weeks, you can ensure a continuous supply into early summer and again in fall.
Planning for, and sowing one crop after another has been harvested (sequence; replanting). Garlic that is harvested in June or July can be followed with a crop of bush beans or summer squash that take only 45 to 55 days to mature.
Planning Tips
Determine if the crop is considered a cool season or warm season crop. Cool season crops perform best when sown in cooler soil, and mature during the cooler part of the year (spring and fall), while warm season plants germinate and grow best once things warm up. Knowing the range of soil temperatures your crops germinate best at also helps determine at what time you can direct sow, or in the case of crops that can be transplanted, if and when the crop should be started indoors.
Know the variety's DTM. Days to maturity refers to how many days, under optimal growing conditions, it will take to harvest a crop once the seedling has emerged from the soil. In some cases (e.g., peppers and tomatoes), DTM isn't counted until after transplantation. In general, transplanting adds 1 to 2 weeks to the DTM because it takes some time for transplants to get accustomed to their new environment.
Know your first average fall frost date. (ed. note: average first day of frost in Kalamazoo area - October 15) Fall is a time of garden bounty. To make the most of late summer and fall, plan for your crops to be harvestable based on the average fall frost date for your area. For a late season sowing of crops that do not tolerate frost (e.g., squash, beans, basil), use the DTM to count back from the first average fall frost date, adding 2 weeks to account for cool weather, which slows development.
Several cool season crops (e.g.,turnips,kale, cauliflower) can tolerate a light frost, and may even have improved flavor after a frost. Their predicted harvest date can be around the first fall frost.
|
|
Autumn Revolution American Bittersweet
Celastrus scandens 'Bailumn'
 This month's Garden Native, Autumn Revolution American Bittersweet Celastrus scandens 'Bailumn' is considered a breakthrough in bittersweet culture. The majority of the flowers formed on Autumn Revolution™ are perfect which means the flower has both male and female parts so you never need to wonder if you are buying a male or female plant so you need only one plant to bear fruit.
The fruit production of this plant is truly extraordinary with berries twice the size of the species. Bright orange to red berries contrast with the glossy green foliage and are very effective when used in fall decorating in cut flower arrangements, entwined in evergreen wreathes or as sprays. The showy berries are inedible for humans, of little interest to deer, but are attractive to birds.
 Autumn Revolution American Bittersweet is drought tolerant once established, is a trailing vine most often used in a cottage garden or xeriscape. It can be used as a natural screen or backdrop for garden displays and works especially well when combined with finer or coarser leafed plants. Thriving in full sun, it will do well in most ornamental settings. It will climb to a height of 25', yellow flowers, while ornamentally insignificant, display in spring followed by a magnificent display of berries in the fall.
Click here for complete information about this very attractive and versatile Garden Native!
|
|
Have You Seen This?
| |
 Hummingbirds are notoriously territorial and fearless. That's why they will energetically defend their food sources, including the feeders you provide for them, and are relatively easy to get them to feed when you're nearby. Here is your chance to enjoy more time with them by hanging a hummingbird swing near your feeders. They will enjoy the swing while being able to easily keep an eye on their food!
Stop by Wedel's and pick one up. They work just as well even if you don't have a feeder; a natural feeding area is fine too.
|
|
Store Hours
Monday -Saturday 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. Saturday, July 4 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Closed Sundays
Apply lawn disease control.
Feed roses, fertilize flower beds.
Still ample time to grow crops from seeds.
Clean bird bath and bird feeder.
Get rid of lawn weeds with Weed Free Zone.
Pinch back fall bloomers like mums and asters.
Make sure your hummingbird and oriole feeders are filled with fresh nectar.
|
Mark Your Calendar
Saturday, July 4
Independence Day
Garden Center Hours
9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
|
Look SharpFeel Sharp
Be Sharp
|  |
Did you know that you can have your blades sharpened at Wedels?!
Take a look at these prices!
- Pruners - $5.00
- Loppers - $5.00
- Lawn mower blades - $6.00 (sorry, no reel mowers)
- Mulching mower blades - $6.00
- Hedge shears - $5.00
- Electric and cordless hedge shears - $10.00
- Hoes, shovels and trowels - $3.00
- Larger items - we will quote a price
(We don't sharpen chain saw blades.)
|
Just for Grins...
and  Groans
If you ain't makin' waves, you ain't kickin' hard enough!
Salty Acres
|
|
|
Saturday Mornings
Birdwatch 8:07 a.m.
with host Roger Taylor answering all of your birding questions
Call in at 382-4280 or 877-382-4280.
Over the Garden Fence 9:07 a.m. with host Andy Wedel answering all of your landscape and gardening questions
Call in at 382-4280 or 877-382-4280.
Visit our web site at www.wedels.com for archives of previous Birdwatch and
Over the Garden Fence programs!
|
|
Note from the Editor
"We go in withering July
To ply the hard incessant hoe;
Panting beneath the brazen sky
We sweat and grumble, but we go."
- Ruth Pitter, 1897-1992, The Diehards, 1941
Happy July! Happy summer. Summer is only a few days old but, so far, so good. How is the summer going for you? Did you get some planting done in the spring? How are things looking in your garden? If you haven't yet, take a look at the article about successive planting. We wait so long for the opportunity to get outside, in the fresh air and in the garden and now things are getting exciting. You can prolong or expand your growing season by successively planting your crops! The article gives you the basics so be sure to stop by if you have any questions. We might as well make the most of this beautiful weather while we can, right?
I am enjoying the weather we're having. I know it is a little cool for some but I'm sure it will heat up before long. Because of the weather you might be experiencing some problems in the landscape. The warm days and cool nights create ideal conditions for the appearance of fungus in lawns, on ornamental as well as vegetable and fruit plants. Generally speaking, fungus is easily controlled; all it takes is adding a few tasks to your usual gardening and landscaping procedures. If you are seeing problems here and there, bring a sample to Wedel's so we can show you exactly what you need to control the problem. Like most situations, it's easier when you have the right tools.
Have you noticed? All sorts of bugs thrive in this weather too. Unwanted pests can create havoc with your plants. The recommendation is the same; bring samples to us or, if you'd rather, photographs. We'll let you know if they are the ones doing the damage and, if they are, just what you need to do to get rid of them. Bug problems are easy to cure with a little diligence and it would certainly be too bad if your valuable landscape plants or garden crops are destroyed unnecessarily. Be sure to get rid of standing water in areas that are prone to retain water, old tires, pots etc. Keep your birdbaths cleaned and filled with fresh water too.
Tomorrow is Independence Day. I especially like something John Adams said about it and have shared it before. Here it is again: " ...It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more..." That's something worth giving some thought to tomorrow. As a matter of fact, it's worth something to give some thought to often.
Ready for another trivia question? Here we go! "How many quarts of whole milk does it take to make one pound of butter?" The first reader to respond with the correct answer will win a $15.00 Wedel's gift card. The gift card must be picked up here at the garden center and remember, you are eligible to win once every 90 days. Good luck and have fun!
'Til next time,
Jim
"The linden, in the fervors of July,
Hums with a louder concert. When the wind
Sweeps the broad forest in its summer prime,
As when some master-hand exulting sweeps
The keys of some great organ, ye give forth
The music of the woodland depths, a hymn
Of gladness and of thanks."
- William Cullen Bryant, Among the Trees
|
|
|
