GARDENING WITH MR. C. - SAVE MONEY WITH DIY GARDENING!

Are you buying annual flower plants each year?  With some planning and an initial investment, you can have a sequence of blooms all spring, summer, and fall by creating permanent flowerbeds using combinations of perennials, biennials,  and/or "self-seeding" annuals.

As I age, my appreciation for flowers increases, just as I had been told it would. I have at least one of each of the above types. The bed shown below has all of these types.  Blooming in spring are crocuses, tulips, hyacinth, scalla, yellow irises** (in the far corner bed), and many other bulbs. The bleeding heart blooms next. The summer blooms you see are self seeding annuals mostly echinasia (cone flowers)** and brown-eyed susans**. In the fall, before cutting down the dead stalks, I pick the dried seeds off (and spread enough to insure that there will be no room for weeds or grass to invade. The rest I collect to give away (would you like some?). The mums will bloom in the fall.

                                                                Country Garden

I have another wrap-around bed with purple irises. These are perennial herbs which grow from rhizomes (ginger root is a rhizome - for definition, click here).  This bed also has hostas, daffodils, and small flowering bulbs* along with the "tiger-lilies* seen below. I have added other assorted lilies and tulips.

                                                                           Lilies

I have pachysandra (ground cover) on one side of my house and Lily of the Valley on the other. I have another bed with daffodils, which bloom first, followed by tulips, lilacs, peony's**, and gladiolas (in late summer). Note, gladiola bulbs and dahlia tubers, must be lifted from the ground in the fall and stored in cool frost-free conditions during the winter. Spring blooming bulbs can remain in the ground year round, but daffodils should be dug (after the tops die off), divided (to prevent overcrowding), and replanted every three years.

I do not have what is commonly referred to as a "wildflower" garden but a friend has the delightful one pictured below. You can buy ready mixed seed assortments or individual varieties and blend your own. An easy planting method is to spread the seeds over the prepared soil and cover them with topsoil. These blooms are from last years reseeding. Some control of reseeding or spring thinning and weeding maintenance may be required. I have a spot in mind to start one next year. For more on wildflowers, click here.  Wildflowers

                                                                    Wild Garden

Tips for planning your beds: To obtain eye-catching displays, plant in clusters, not rows. Group similar color blooms together. Limit bed widths for easy reach. Use 5 inch wide edging with 1 inch above ground. Gently sweep the inner border of corner gardens for easy mowing. These will have deeper beds,so  add "reach" or walk stones.  Plant taller varieties in back.

Credits: The previous owners left me several gardens and the plants denoted with  '*' 45 years ago. My gardening mentor gave me the plants and seeds for the annuals denoted by "**".

Happy Gardening,

Mr. C.

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Gardening with Mr. C. - Save money with DIY Gardening!

This weeks money saving tip about lawn weed control is remotely garden related (ex. lawn weed seeds can carry into your garden), but it is one that I am obsessed about.  My wife is allergic to chemicals, so I had to either tolerate weeds or eliminate them one at a time the old-fashion way.

Dandelion greens are healthful and tasty if gotten before they flower, and some people make wine from the blossoms. But you may prefer an attractive lawn without using expensive/toxic weed-killer (and be able to safely use the grass clippings in your compost pile or as mulch on your garden). I have tried a few removal tools. One was similar to the green bulb tool shown below (it had spikes at the bottom and removes a divot). The other two shown have forked ends. All these left some root that would grow back. The only tool that works and gets the entire root is my trusty spading fork.

                                                      Weeding tools

I would push two tines of the spading fork under the weed and pry up the soil. If the weed didn't come all out (usually dandelions with deep roots), then I would push the tines deeper and try again. I could then easily pull the weed with the entire root and push the sod back. If a small scar remains, it will heal quickly. To promote a healthy lawn and discourage new weed seeds, sow grass seed in any bare areas.

                                                      Dandelion removal

Using this method, following a plan, being persistent, and by putting forth the effort, I have gradually cleared my nearly half acre yard of most dandelions, buckhorn plantain, broadleaf plantain (in that order). Fortunately, different weeds flower and go to seed at different times. So as not to be overwhelmed with the task, I tackled one area at a time and only removed the weeds that were in flower or were going to seed. Also, I sometimes worked backwards so I could see what I had accomplished instead of what remained. If I didn't have time to finish an area, I would pluck off blossoms or puff-balls before moving to the next area.  The weed in the picture below is a broadleaf plantain going to seed. This weed has seeds that drop near the mother plant. If the ground is soft, these can often be removed by hand by grabbing the entire plant and pulling.

                                                      Broadleaf plantain

In contrast, the buckhorn plantain has slender leaves and a tall stem with puffy seeds on top that will scatter by the wind. These can also sometimes be pulled by hand after a heavy rain, otherwise I use the spading fork (to get all the root).

                                                     Buckhorn plantain

I can now easily manage the ones that grow from the seeds that blow over from the neighbor’s weeds. I don't have a "golf course perfect" lawn, because I allow violets, clover, creeping Charlie, and some others that are to numerous as long as they blend in. To see additional pictures and names of the weeds in this article as well as over 65 other weeds you might encounter, click here.  Some that I occasionally have to dig are wild carrot (Queen Anne Lace), milkweed, and thistles. My next major challenge is crabgrass that spread from seed and underground runners (to view click here) and any weeds that grow faster than the good grass.

Happy weeding - Mr. C. 

Gardening with Mr. C. - Save money with DIY gardening.

Mr. C. says it pays "to know your onions" (and garlic). If your onions (or shallots, etc) and garlic tops are dried or mostly dried, it is time to harvest them.

The four pounds of garlic below are from two pounds of cloves (some from Agway and some from the supermarket) which were planted last fall (early Nov.). After they sprouted, I covered them with leaves until spring. This is only a two-to-one yield, with some of the bulbs only growing single. After checking this website (click here) I now see the value of paying more to get the proper seed. I also, see why waiting to long to lift them that most bulbs had no top remaining and many of them are separating and some individual cloves have no sheath (or parchment) at all. Note: Because of personal and family illness I have had less time for gardening (and part of the reason for no blog last week). The bare ones will have to be used first. Others have only one or two sheaths (this is explained in the link above) will not keep as well as other years when I would twist the dried tops together and hang them in my cellerway to store. The fish scale is in all the pictures to give you a size perspective.

                                                                                               Garlic 

Below is a small (four pound) sample of the "stuttgarter" onions I grew (have lots more to pull). I have had good results in size (1 to 2 inch dia) and storage of this variety. The four long green tops are due to some trying to go to seed (I removed the seeds to stop the process). Tops will eventually dry off and onion will still be usable.

                                                                                          Stuttgarter onions

The shallots below were planted in the spring. I carefully pulled, washed and sorted them by the number of shallots in each cluster to determine the degree of multiplication. From right-to-left in the picture below of 205 clusters shown below, 105 (about half) are singles, 63 (about one third) are doubles, 20 had three, 13 had four, and one each with five and six. When separated will result in a total of 354 individual ones to replant (a 173% increase - not quite double). I still have more shallots to pull.

                                                                                     Shallots multiplied 

I have dug, washed, and am sun drying the sixteen pounds of shallots seen below. I have already divided the multiple bulbs. Some still have green tops and will take longer to dry. These were planted last fall (and covered same as the garlic) because they started to sprout from being put away not totally dry. This turned out well as they are considerably larger than the ones I planted in the spring (see above picture). I will use some of both groups for cooking (the larger ones), planting this fall, and bartering in the spring (in exchange for plants at Country Marketplace).

                                                                                                 Shallots

Until next week, happy gardening.

Mr. C

FOODIE FRIDAY FREE PIZZA WINNER IS...

Congratulations Karen!  I will send you a message to confirm that you won.

Tonarlo's Pizza & Restaurant would like all my followers to try their pizza so they are offering a buy one large pizza and get the second pizza half price.  Discount is only valid on Tuesday.  Print this blog post and take it to Tonarlo's to get your discount.

FOODIE FRIDAY PIZZA REVIEW!

Tonarlo's Pizza & Restaurant was our pick for the week.  I ordered the pizza for 5:45 pm.  When my husband got there the pizza was ready and hot.  The pizza was a round thin crust plain pie.  The pizza had a really good flavor.  The blend of cheeses was really nice.  The crust was a little chewy but tasted great.  The sauce to cheese ratio was perfect.   My family will definitely have Tonarlo's Pizza again.  Tonarlo's Pizza & Restaurant is located 1113 Conklin Road, Binghamton.  Call 775-9299 to order ahead.

Follow our Pizza Pick circuit and try Tonarlo's Pizza & Restaurant for yourself.

PIZZA PICK OF THE WEEK!

Tonarlo's Pizza and Restaurant is the PIZZA PICK OF THE WEEK. On Friday, my family will have Tonarlo's pizza for dinner and I will write a review. One of my lucky followers will win a FREE pizza from Tonarlo's Pizza and Restaurant, 1113 Conklin Road, Conklin so they can also try the pizza. I will draw the FREE pizza winner on July 29th at 8:00 pm EST.

Make Ahead Monday Dinner Review!

My family gave this dinner a 7 out of 10.  Tonight we had Beef Roast with Sour Cream Gravy.  The beef was tender and fell apart.  It had a nice flavor with just a hint a dill.  I only put the carrots and onions in with the beef.  My family does not like potatoes cook with the meat.  The sour cream gravy was different.  Two of us liked the gravy and two didn't like it at all.  I guess it depends on your taste buds.  Over all the dinner was okay.  I would make it again, but I would have can gravy for the people who didn't like the sour cream gravy.

If you have a recipe you would like us to try, let me know.  We would love to try it!

HOW WE RATE THE DINNER FROM 1 - 10.

1 - PLEASE DON'T MAKE THAT AGAIN!
5 - IT WAS OKAY WE CAN TRY IT AGAIN!
10 - THAT WAS AWESOME CAN WE HAVE THAT AGAIN!