Just like the medicine they are, all pesticides have unwanted side affects- usually, at the very least, killing some beneficials. The idea that the darkened buds bloom sooner is a side affect that probably went unobserved for decades. All springs are iffy at most sites. As a general rule, least possible harm comes from least possible intervention to achieve desired results when negotiating with Momma Dearest.

I potted up seven more seedlings today, and repotted a couple that I purposely put in small pots, to repot a little bigger as they matured. Trying a couple different techniques with babies this year. Some outside, some inside, some in the same pot until they go in the ground, some repotted twice. And the grand tally _ I have 29 plants, assuming not a single one of the other seeds I have started makes it _ and some of them are looking pretty good. I'm actually starting 15 different varieties this year looking for the best of the best for my conditions. I can't believe I went this nuts! And now y'all are making want to look for a couple other varieties! Someone stop me! For those going to Ricky's swap, I'll have a bunch of tomatoes there. I planted two of each, a few more of some, and I clearly don't have room for that kind of tomato patch on my little 1/3 acre! Seriously, if you want tomatoes and don't want to bother starting them, I'm going to have waaaay too many. And if anyone wants to start some, email me, I still have way too many seeds because I wanted to try so many varieties. Tomorrow: I finish hoeing up weeds in the veggie-bed-to-be (it goes to weeds in the summer, with a few beans, in hopes they improve the soil a little.) And I will mulch it tomorrow. I swear. Yes, that was my plan for today, but gosh it was hot. It won't be so hot tomorrow. LOL. I've got some cow manure I'm going to rake in. Already spread some compost. Then I'll let it sit mulched, with newspaper underneath, for a few weeks before I set out the plants in October. I can't wait! I'm also thinking of trying to do a raised bed in an area where the soil is particularly poor. Actually, I'm thinking of putting tomatoes just about everywhere! I've got a couple of those grow bags, came free a couple years ago with an order of I don't remember what. I'm wondering if I can put some cherries in them and hang them on the wall? And I'm seriously planning to take an unused garment rack out into the yard this year to put a hanging tomato planter on and then plant beans under it, with string for them to grow on. Is that crazy? The soil there could use some bean improvement. The one I can't get to start: Everglades cherry. That surprised me. I thought they were pretty easy. Susannah

Here are my notes from a PowerPoint presentation I gave this spring titled "You Can Have a Tree-mendous Garden!" There's much helpful information here on trees in general as well as twenty tips for dealing with root competition. Sorry, there's probably not enough room on this posting to include all of the pics from the PowerPoint. (If anyone wants a printed copy of the notes, please send me an email.) You Can Have a Tree-mendous Garden! Trees are major competitors for nutrients and water. If you're striving to grow huge, luscious hostas, you'll have to control root competition. Getting to the root of the problem... Problem: Roots Large roots are called structural, or support, roots. Their main function is to anchor the tree. Small roots are called absorbing, or feeder, roots. Their main function is to feed the tree. Horizontal roots are called lateral roots. Vertical roots are called sinker roots. Tap roots- a central, vertical root that grows straight down beneath the trunk. Root collar- the swelled up area at the base of the trunk. Key Points ►Roots of trees grown in the open often extend two to three times the radius of the crown. The extent and direction of root growth is more a function of environment than genetics. ►Roots grow where moisture and oxygen are available. Most absorbing roots are found in the upper 12 inches of soil. In fact, 90% of the fine roots that absorb water and minerals are in the upper few inches of soil. Roots require space, air, and water. Roots grow best where these requirements are met, which is usually very near the soil surface. Problem: Soil The soil may be nutrient deficient. The soil may be compacted. The soil may be impenetrable. The soil may be shallow. Trees compete for water and nutrients. Trees are like giant sponges, wicking up an enormous amount of water. A dry, shady area with low nutrient content and compacted soil is great for a moss garden, but hostas (just like grass) may need to fight hard to survive. A shallow root system is likely where there is shallow topsoil, or rock or compacted subsoil. Erosion over a period of time can cause surface roots to become exposed, particularly with trees on a slope or in an area that gets flooded. Problem: Shade While all trees provide some shade, certain trees create dense shade. Hostas are shade tolerant, NOT shade-loving. They need sunlight to grow! 20 Tips for a Tree-mendous Garden Although there are a variety of techniques to deal with the problem, the method(s) you choose to employ is determined by the amount of effort and money you're willing to expend. But if you choose to ignore it, your hostas will likely continue to decline and may eventually die out. Tip #1 Choose your enemies. Tree selection- Choose trees that have deep root systems. This may require tree replacement with varieties that have a deeper root system and a more open canopy. Note: Shallow roots vs. deep root systems is somewhat of a misnomer, since nearly all trees will have 95% of their roots in the top 12-18" of soil. But some trees are known to have more fibrous root systems than others and make it nearly impossible to garden under. Shallow and fine/dense roots system: Maples -all varieties including Japanese maple -incredibly aggressive root system; will quickly grow into fresh mulch or imported top soil -form a dense crown Willows -suck up a lot of water -fast growing, aggressive root systems -dirty tree which sheds lots of small branches Aspen, poplars -aggressive, fast-growing, spreading root systems; a weak tree Beech, Birch, Honeylocust, Apple, Pear, Elm, Sweetgum, Magnolia, Mulberry Deep root systems: Nut trees- Hickory, Butternut (Black Walnut has tap root to China, but) Oak Ash- but many fine, dense roots make it unsuitable; also emerald ash borer Cypress Dirty Trees: Willow, Birch, Elm, flowering trees- limbs, small branches, flower petals, and seed pods that fall onto hostas and flowers Tip #2 Choose vigorous hostas/plants. Plant selection- Choose plants that thrive in the conditions where you want to plant them. Hostas- Choose the most vigorous ones to plant directly under trees. While most are good growers, those with a lot of white are less vigorous and need more light. Maples are super competitorsand grass is the most invasive weed in the worldit will grow in cracks in the pavement...and if a given tree can defeat it, as we all know it can, then understand that only something as vigorous must be planted under them! Ferns- Dryopteris, NOT Ostrich ferns Groundcovers- ivy, myrtle, pachysandra (the big 3) Lily-of-the-Valley, Virginia creeper, lamium, lamiastrum, ajuga, epimedium NOT- poison ivy, kudsu, chameleon plant (houttuynia cordata), crown vetch Tip #3 Improve your soil. The soil under trees is often nutrient deficient, compacted, and impenetrable for hosta roots. Compaction is also a problem for tree roots, reducing oxygen availability and causing the accumulation of carbon dioxide. Compaction reduces water infiltration and the absorption of minerals. An ideal soil for tree root growth is about 50 percent pore space. In barren soil, there will be no humus added each year from the previous year, particularly if the leaves are raked up each fall. Improve the existing soil by adding compost, etc. Tip #4 Add good topsoil around your trees. Add 6-8" compost or amended soil. Caution: Dont put too much additional soil or mulch around trees that can suffocate roots which need oxygen. Especially important for trees with shallow root systems. Smothering tree roots by adding soil or raising the grade could even kill a sensitive, mature tree. Even if the grade change is not in the immediate vicinity of the root zone, the water table or drainage pattern could be affected, which can adversely impact trees. Dont do spot dressing- Dont dig a hole for the hosta and then dump in good topsoil. The tree roots will head straight toward the invader. EVERY hole you dig for a plant into which you put improved soil will be infilled with new feeder roots from the tree a lot faster than the plant can get established. Amend the soil over a wide area. Tip #5 Raised beds can be attractive. Border the bed with pavers, landscaping timbers, railroad ties, etc. Tips: Install landscape fabric before adding new soil. Stay 2 or 3 ft. away from trunk to avoid suffocation and collar rot diseases. Also, you dont want water to puddle around a tree trunk. Avoid thick layers of mulch around the base of the tree (often called "volcano mulching"), as far too often seen in landscapes. Two or three inches of mulch is the appropriate amount. Later applications to "refresh" the mulch should not increase the depth. Avoid organic material that can mat down and create a hydrophobic layer. Add soil gradually over a period of a few years. Tip #6 Fertilize properly. Fertilize the hostas under or near (large) trees more frequently. Dont spot fertilize. Always broadcast fertilizer under a forest canopy. Tip # 7 Water, water, water!!! Water requirements- the tree needs water and your hostas need water (competition) How much water does a large tree use per day??? A large oak tree can draw up to 50 or more gallons of water per day. Some trees use 15 gallons of water per hour on a hot day, and some can draw as much as 150-200 gallons of water on a hot day. Times that by how many trees you have! The amount of water needed by trees varies with the species, the size of the plant, the air temperature, humidity, light levels, soil type, and wind movement over the leaves. The same is true with flowers and perennials. ►High Demand- Elm, Oak, Poplar, Willow, Silver Maple, Manitoba Maple ►Moderate Demand- Cherry, Ash, Hawthorn, Hornbeam, other Maples (Sugar, Red), Mountain Ash ►Low Demand- Beech, Birch, Cedar, Fir, Mulberry, Pine, Spruce What happens when trees and other plants become water deficient??? Over an extended period (a drought), plants respond by wilting, yellowing of leaves, developing modified leaves, dropping leaves, increasing the production of absorbing roots, slowing growth,...and eventually, death! Water hostas which are under or near (large) trees more frequently. An underground sprinkler system will prove helpful in growing luscious hostas under trees, or at least irrigating during dry times. Tips: Dont spot irrigate, except for new plants. Always broadcast water under a forest canopy. Mulch around your hostas to conserve water. Soil types- clay vs. sand. Because clay soils have a much slower infiltration rate than sandy soils, water needs to be applied slowly over long periods of time. At the same time, clay soils have a greater water-holding capacity than sandy soils. Trees, plants and hostas in "heat islands", such as along driveways and parking lots, are particularly prone to water stress. Tip #8 Get more light. Thin the crown to allow more sunlight and increase light penetration. Shade increases significantly as a forest canopy matures, and sometimes we are unaware of how shady our gardens have become. Some trees have very dense crowns- maples, etc. Thin out and prune off lower branches. Deadwooding- the removal of dead and dying limbs from a tree. Pruning- follow guidelines. The time and method of pruning is different for different trees. For example, prune maples and birches in the fall. Pruning can improve a trees structure or health. Flowering and new growth can be prevented or enhanced. Tip #9 Dont plant babies. Plant mature hostas, not small plants which have not yet developed enough foliage to survive and without extensive root systems. It is NOT going to be a plant and forget situationat least until the intruder achieves some level of establishment. In other words, you cant just slap a young plant in here and there, as compared to inserting a mature plant which can fend for itself, because the tree might win. Getting the invader ESTABLISHED is imperative, for it to try to compete on a successful basis. Tip #10 Spade around your hostas. Use a sharp spade to go around your hostas, shearing off any encroaching tree roots. Can you identify the proper garden spade for the job? Tips: Use a square-bottom spade that has been sharpened to a razor edge using a file. Its easier to do with a pair of hard-soled work boots on, and after a long drenching rain. Do it a few times throughout the summer. Dont allow the tree roots to get too big. Tip # 11 Root prune around the tree. Go around the tree (2 or 3 ft. away from trunk) with a sharp spade to cut off surface roots. Do a couple times every year before roots have a chance to get too large. Or use a trencher. Caution: It may slow the growth of the tree. Tip #12 Selective root pruning. Cut off large roots which are directed toward your flower bed. Use Round-Up to prevent suckers from shooting up. Tip #13 Dont neglect fall clean-up. Vacuum or rake up leaves in the fall, especially with oaks (acidic). Broadleaf trees with large leaves will add a thick layer to the ground (voles, slugs). Tip #14 Rotational farming. Lift out the hostas, rotor till, add compost to improve the soil, open up the canopy above, and deploy soaker/drip hoses and replant. Tip: Do a different flower bed each year. Tip #15 Plant your hostas in containers above the ground. Plant hostas in flower pots, half whiskey barrels, etc. Advantages: You can move hostas around for variation and as size matures. Tips: pots should have drainage holes or tip on side for winter. Tip #16 Plant hostas in containers in the ground. Tips: Wrap landscape fabric on outside, or rotate the pot 90% two or three times throughout the summer. It may be very difficult digging a hole big and deep enough to bury a bucket in a root bound area. Water the area well the day before, and use a very sharp spade. Tip #17 Buckets, barrels, and bathtubs. Nursery pots and other containers such as large waste baskets, plastic drums cut in half, or even an old bathtub to plant large hostas. 5 gal. buckets which can be obtained from a fast food restaurant are suitable. You may also get them from painters and dry wallers. Spray the top couple of inches if you dont want white rings scattered throughout your garden. Drill four small holes, about 3 or 4 inches up from the bottom, to make a constant water reservoir. You can use two buckets to prevent tree roots from growing through the holes. Put one inside the other, but so the holes dont line up. Bury them in the ground and put your plant in. Tip #18 Spin-out bags and fabric. Tex-R Agroliner Spin Out® bags, available from Rose Distributing, http://www.wrdist.com/root_control_product.html (10) 5 gal. $20.95, (5) 10 gal. $18.95 Tip #19 Install a root barrier around the tree. Trench in a root barrier around the tree to restrict the roots from entering your flower bed. May limit/restrict the growth of the tree or cause girdling. Tip #20 Install a root-proof liner under your flower bed. A root-proof liner acts as a continuous barrier to prevent trees roots from encroaching. -more work for flower beds that are already in place -additional benefits: restricts ground moles; constant water reservoir -a variety of materials may be suitable as a liner, depending on affordability: an old swimming pool liner; heavy plastic; landscape fabric (available in various sizes and thicknesses); poly tarps (last much longer in the ground because no UV rays); black rubber pond liner, or roofing material. Dig out the topsoil where your new flower bed will be, to the desired depth. Rake the bottom of the hole flat and smooth. Install the liner. The best material for a root-proof liner is black synthetic rubber which can be purchased from a water garden supplier or from a roofing supplier because the same material is used on flat roofs. It will last a very long time and the seams can be glued so there's no chance for roots to get through. Regardless of the material you choose, proper installation of the liner is essential. Any breech- the slightest tear or hole- will seriously compromise its integrity. Seams must be impervious. The liner must come all the way up out of the ground, and can be fastened to a strip of lawn edging or landscape timber if desired. Be careful not to puncture the liner with a shovel or garden stake once it's installed. Besides preventing root competition, a liner has additional benefits. A liner keeps out ground moles which otherwise would be tunneling through your flowers. And if the liner is leak proof, it can serve as a constant water reservoir, reducing the frequency and expense of regular irrigation. If all else fails, eliminate your trees. Trees make great firewood! Plant your hostas under a pergola or shade cloth.

Pat, We eat all we can while it is fresh. We freeze, we dehydrate, we can. We give away fresh produce (not as much as you'd think, though, because I like canning it) to family and friends. We send lots of produce to work with our son, who is a professional firefighter. Since they work 24 hours shifts, they cook a lot of their meals while working and always appreciate a few fresh veggies (plus, it helps them stretch their food budget). Last year I filled up 3 freezers, the root cellar (aka the tornado shelter), and the "jelly closet" (which originally started out as a coat closet, but is much better used for food storage of home-preserved food). I canned a little over 700 jars, but that's because it was the best fruit year ever and I had 350 lbs. of plums and peaches to process in a fairly short period of time. Most years it is more like 200 or 300 or 400 jars. What does a small family do with all those jars of jams, jellies, salsas and hot peppers? We eat some of it, but give away a lot more than we eat. My DH is a police officer and every year at Christmas he gives gifts of our home-grown and home-preserved goodies to about 80 or 90 co-workers at the PD. We give the same sort of gifts to our friends, including all the members of our vounteer fire dept, and to family members. We donate jars of jellies, jams, salsa and candied jalapenos to local fundraisers for some of our county's volunteer fire departments and oter causes. I think that last year, each gift bag at Christmas had 1 jar each of jelly, jam, peppers and salsa. Of course, the ones for family members had more---maybe 8 jars. I figure if I am going to put all the time into the veggie garden, I want it to be as productive as possible. So, of course, I'm happiest with big harvests. However, in some years you have to be happy with any harvest at all and this is one of those years. We love eating fresh food from our garden and appreciate the fact that we know how it was raised and that it wasn't sprayed with a lot of pesticides. Now that we have become so used to eating from our own garden, it would be hard to go back to eating only grocery store produce because the quality of the fresh grocery store produce just is not the same as that of what we grow. I garden biointensively with very close spacing so I can get the most out of the space I have. I do a lot of succession planting. My favorite way to do succession planting is to start the succession crop indoors 7-12 days before I expect to plant it into the ground. I often start beans and peas in in 3-oz. bathroom cups filled with potting soil. I cut a big "X" in the bottom of each cup for drainage, and for the roots to grow down through later after I transplant them into the ground. I use the paper cups as plantable pots to reduce transplant shock. I germinate the seeds indoors where I can control the temps and light, them immediately move the seedlings outdoors to grow in natural light as soon as they germinate. (This eliminates the need to harden them off.) At the time I'm removing a finished crop like, let's say, the mid-season corn that will be coming out of the bed in a few days, I'll harvest the corn in the morning and replant that bed the same day. In the afternoon I'll likely use my little Mantis cultivator to work the existing mulch into the soil in the early afternoon. In the cool evening hours, I'll transplant the started bean or pea plants, cups and all, into the soil and water it in. Then I'll mulch it. So, if you were at my house early that morning, you might see a raised bed of ready-to-harvest corn. Then, if you came by at 8 o'clock that evening, the corn will have been picked and processed, the bed cleaned out, the corn stalks on the compost pile, and rows of small southern pea or bush bean plants freshly transplanted into the former corn bed. It surprises our friends and neighbors sometimes when they stop by on a day I've harvested/replanted. I'll get a funny look and a question like "weren't your corn plants there this morning...?). Doing a quick turnaround like that speeds up the harvest cycle. For example, in beds from which I harvested onions the first week in June, I'm already harvesting okra from transplants that went into the bed the same day the onions came out. The watermelon plants I put into the ground that day have melons that are the size of softballs, and those plants have been in the ground for only about 5 or 6 weeks. I have a lot of trouble with good seed germination in early spring when soil temps are too cold or soil is too wet or when the cutworms are too active. That's one reason I prefer transplants as much as possible. It is a lot more work and a lot more time-consuming, but you get more consistent germination, and there's not any gaps in a row caused by poor germination since I don't transplant any cups with ungerminated seeds. For something like southern peas that germinate easily in warm soil, it isn't so much that I get better germination in paper cups indoors, but that I get a head start by growing the plants in cups. If I start seeds of southern peas in cups and transplant them into the ground about 10-14 days after I first planted the seeds in the cups, then those plants will produce 1.5 to 2 weeks earlier than plants that would be direct-seeded on the same day. I've grown the crops here so long in that mnner, that it is easy for me to look at the spring plantings and know when it is time to start seed of the follow-on crop. I even start seeds in cups sometimes of veggies that don't like to be transplanted, like carrots. Since a lot of things don't like to be transplanted, I just plant the cups and all right into the ground. The paper cups break down pretty quickly. If every succession crop I put into the ground is already a week or two "old" when I plant it, I get a faster harvest, which allows me to get the next succession crop into the ground quickly too....and so it goes until I run out of space, water, or time. Fall beans are the best! It is nice to be picking them in October when the temperatures are milder. We just called them "October beans" when I was a kid because that's when you picked them. I probably was a teenager before I figured out that "October beans" was a general name for all fall-harvested beans and not a specific variety of bean like "Lazy Housewife" or "McCasland". The older I get the more I like pole beans because it isn't fun bending over to pick bush beans, but I always plant bush beans in spring for the early harvest, and pole beans for fall, and more bush beans for fall in a good rainfall year. I'm not sure if I'll plant fall bush beans or not. In order for me to do that, I want to see some good rain falling first. About the only succession plantings I'm making this summer are additional sowings of lima beans, southern peas (I'm growing pinkeye purplehull, crowder, zipper and cream types), okra and squash. They can take the heat when nothing else can. I'd never, ever, ever sell my veggies at a Farmer's Market. I've been to Farmer's Markets, I've witnessed idiot customers trying to bargain with the grower/seller and convince them to sell their fresh veggies for next to nothing. and it is a pet peeve of mine. It is unreasonable for consumers to expect sellers at the Farmer's Markets to sell their produce for lower prices than they'd pay at Wal-Mart and it just infuriates me. Knowing all the blood, sweat and tears, and time and effort, and worry and sleepless nights on a "frost watch" that go into growing fresh produce, I feel like the growers at Farmer's Markets ought to be able to sell their produce for more, not less, than the price local grocery stores charge. Raising veggies well is labor-intensive and time-consuming and to me it implies a certain lack of respect for the farmer's or market grower's time and effort to try to bargain them down to a "cheap" price. To me, their work and the quality of their produce is deserving of the price they ask, and sometimes I think they sell too cheaply because they feel they have to in order to compete. So, it will be a cold day in Oklahoma in July before you'll see me selling at a Farmer's Market. A friend of a friend of ours sold produce at a local farmer's market for several years and finally gave it up to get "a real job" with a guaranteed income and I can't say I blame her one bit. Our produce is too precious to us to sell it to unappreciative people for whom the only thing that matters is the price they pay. Dawn