Mid-July 2014
Mark Cullen e-newsletter
Gardening with Mark
In This Issue
To Do in the Garden
Connect with Mark
Where to Find Mark

 

Mark's

Gardening Connections

  
  
   
  
  
Home Hardware 
  
  
Golfgreen 
  
  
  
Toronto Star 
  
  
  
Ottawa Citizen  
  
  
  
CTV Canada AM 
  
  
  
Facebook 
  
Join Our Mailing List
My First Annual Fundraiser:

"Pumps for Food" Golf Tournament

Date: August 26

Location: Pheasant Run Golf Club,

Time: shotgun start at 1:00pm

Cost: $150 per person

 

Register today for the "Pumps for Food" golf tournament, hosted by Dr. James Clubine and Mark Cullen to benefit S.H.A.R.E. Agriculture Foundation

 

Join us for a day of excellent golf and great food and fun, while raising much needed funding for "Pumps for Food".

 

"Pumps for Food" is a Mark Cullen and Dr. James Clubine initiative that raises fund for irrigation systems to produce food in the long dry season in Honduras and El Salador.  A 'game changer' for co-operatives of subsistence farmers.

 

Sign up today!  Space is limited!

 

Thank you to our Gold Sponsors:

    

    

To Do in the Garden  

  

- Only water your lawn once a week, but for 2 hours. If at all. If we enter a heat wave, forget watering altogether until August.

 

- Deadhead recently spent flowering perennials: peonies, lilacs, roses and others that have delivered good looking blossoms earlier on, perform better and often re-flower when they are 'deadheaded'.

 

- Fertilize roses, tomatoes and other heavy feeders. Use Green Earth Rose Food and Green Earth Tomato fertilizer.

 

- Mulch. July is a great month to spread 6 to 8 cm of finely ground up cedar or pine mulch to reduce weeding by up to 90% and watering by up to 70%.

 

- Plant. Yes, you can still plant perennials and some of the large format annuals that are greenhouse grown in large pots. Consider adding some colour to your patio, deck or front door. Note that the hot summer weather demands that your container plants need more frequent watering. I only use rain water from my rain barrels for this purpose and I get terrific results.

 

- Sow a late vegetable crop: carrots, radishes, Swiss chard, spinach, lettuce, arugula and beets for September/October harvest.

 

- Stake your tomatoes: use a spiral Mark's Choice stake [item# 5010-410] and double your crop by getting it off the ground.

 

- Apply Bordo mixture to all tomatoes every 2 weeks all summer to prevent early and late blight.

 

- Support tall growing perennials and hydrangeas, before a heavy rain fall pulls them down. Check out Mark's Choice plant supports. Don't leave this job too late!

 

- Harvest raspberries and other fruit bearing plants as the fruit becomes ripe to encourage more fruit production and to avoid rot.

 

- Spray apples, peaches, pears, plums and other fruit bearing crops. I use Green Earth Insecticidal Soap combined with Garden Sulphur.

 

Connect with Mark
 

- Check out Mark Cullen Gardening on YouTube for 'How To' videos to help with your lawn & garden.

  

- Watch my weekly segment on CTV Canada AM with Jeff. Every Wednesday, between 8:30 and 9:00am. If you miss a segment, watch them online.

  

- My weekly newspaper column can be found online at The Toronto Star.

  

- Follow my daily Tweets on Twitter (@MarkCullen4)

  

- Listen to my weekly gardening tip 'The Green File'. I post a new audio clip every Wednesday.

 
- Follow my daily postings on my Facebook page and join the discussion to receive advice from other gardeners. 
 
- I encourage you to visit My Library to search for great gardening information.   
Contest Winners!
 

In my July newsletter I invited you to enter a photo in my contest.  I was overwhelmed by the number of photos entered.

 

I have randomly chosen 30 winners who will each receive a copy of The Harrowsmith Almanac Gardening Digest.

 

Congratulations to:  

Jan Hornick, Sandy Searle, Elizabeth Brims, Marilyn Richard, Liz Pratt, Colleen Broderick, Janet Dempsey, Diane B�dard, Deb Abbott, Bonnie Nicholson, Tina Russwurm, Sue Brown, Jane McGee, Brenda Vermeiren, Ayon Pratim Banerjee, Marianne Kampf, Cynthia St Amour, Kathy Eaton, Bonnie Ashcroft, Candice Lane, Carrie Klians, Linda Black, Chris Williams, Frank & Helen Nagy, Tracey Grieveson, Marion Collins, Patricia Lyon, Marg Hundt, Evelyn Thompson, and

Julie Andersen

Where to Find Mark
 

Mark July 24 - Dolly's Home Hardware, Qualicum Beach, British Columbia. 10am to noon. Contact the store for more details 250-752-9833.

 

July 24 - Garden Talk, Qualicum Beach Civic Centre, 747 Jones Street.  7-9pm.  Tickets $5 each to be purchased at Town Hall or the Civic Centre.

 

Submit Your Event Listings 


Events

Do you have a 'gardening' event you would like to promote, I would be happy to include your event listing in my monthly e-newsletter.

 

Send your info to [email protected] with the subject line 'Newsletter Event Listing'.  Please provide a brief description of the event, along with a website for further information.

 

Annapolis Royal's Historic Gardens 
Nova Scotia
 
Annapolis Royal

Stop and Smell the Roses.  

 

In a beautiful setting overlooking a tidal river valley, the Historic Gardens is a premiere Nova Scotia attraction showcasing gardening methods, designs and materials representing more than four hundred years of local history.

 

Our Rose Collection boasts hundreds of rose cultivars and thousands of fragrant and colourful blossoms.

More info.  

Garden Aurora

Ontario

 

Date: July 23

Time: 8 pm

Location: Royal Canadian Legion, 105 Industrial Parkway North.

 

Presentation: Taming Wildflowers

Presenter: Miriam Goldberger

Join Miriam and the Aurora Garden & Horticultural Society for "Taming Wildflowers".  

 

More info.

The Greater Toronto Water Garden & Hort. Society
Ontario 
 

Annual Water Garden Tour

Date: July 27

Time: 10am - 4pm

 

Registration forms are available for this self-guided tour, through www.onwatergarden.com.

 

Nine private gardens.  Tickets are $12 per person.  Bring your camera & notebook and come enjoy these beautiful picture book gardens. 

The Butchart Gardens

British Columbia   

 

Saturday Night Fireworks

All ten summer Saturday nights feature a jaw-dropping, dazzling Firework show with both aerial and ground displays choreographed to show tunes.

Time: 10:15 pm - 11:15 pm

 

More info.