March 15, 2007

This chat has already taken place. Read the transcript below.

Moderator: Hi, everybody. It's time to talk gardening with Jennifer Oldridge, the Garden Spot columnist for the Journal-World and blogger at www.gardengirlgab.com. I'm Terry Rombeck, a features reporter at the Journal-World, and I'll be your moderator for the afternoon. Welcome, Jen.

Jennifer Oldridge: Hi everyone, what would you like to chat about?

Moderator: We've got lots of good questions, so let's get going.

oilrag: Two questions for you, Jennifer. I have a small patch of undeveloped land (40 sq. feet or so) behind my house. I would like to turn it into a vegetable garden - preferably organic. 1. Is it too late to start for this spring/summer? 2. What are the first steps I should take? Thanks and love your writing.

Jennifer Oldridge: No, it is not too late to start preparing for a vegetable garden, in fact a good rule of thumb is to sow cool season annuals on St. Patrick's Day so you are right on track. First thing I would do is rent a tiller and really turn that soil over, vegetables prefer loose soil and if it is an untouched plot this is probably a must. Next spread some compost on the freshly tilled soil and water it a bit, allow that to sit a couple of days and seep into the earth. Then you can get out there and plant beans and peas, potatoes and a few other choice cool season crops. I would certainly mulch after you've sown those seeds and water regularly. This can be a pretty extensive subject since I'm not sure what you'd like to plant so if you have future question or need more explainations please go to my blog and we'll get you ready to go. Also, if you don't already compost, start a pile it will greatly improve your vegetables productivity. Thanks!

blackbird13: This is my first year gardening in the ground (as opposed to containers) and I keep reading books that tell me to work organic matter into the soil while digging new beds. Is this something I can buy at the nursery? If so, what specifically should I ask for. Thanks!

Jennifer Oldridge: You know it really depends, I would contact the Extension offices of Douglas County and they will come out and perform a free soil test on the area, this way you'll know if it is humus or manure that you need or maybe you'll get lucky and have a wonderful balance as is.

EmJones: What to do about solid clay? I want to grow vegetables and flowers, but my yard is solid clay. We've been composting in it, but I think that is going to take about ten years to improve the soil enough for vegetables. Would it help to add fine river bottom sand?

Jennifer Oldridge: You might consider buiding a raised bed, start from scratch and then you know what is in the soil from the get go. Raised beds made of 4 pieces of lumber are extremely easy to build and they allow you to garden longer, by keeping the soil at a more temperate heat/cool, they also will keep the weeds at bay and rather than taking a decade to achieve the garden of your dreams you can get it started in a weekend. PS. If you put a cover over one of these raised beds it serves as a hot house, elongating the growing season even further.

ljreader: We are wondering how to care for hydrangeas. Is it OK to cut back the woody stems at the end of summer? When is the best time to transplant these?

Jennifer Oldridge: Well, it depends on the hydrandea. It is okay to cut back the woody stems of say an Annabelle or Nikko Blue, if it is more of a deciduous hydrandea I would just leave the wood alone. Definately cut off all of the old faded blooms from last year and monitor the hydrangeas, if you start to see little buds on the old wood, leave it be. If you only see new growth at the ground level, cut off all that old wood. I would transplant a hydrangea in the fall after the blooms have faded, giving it ample time to recover from the stress of the move and put on a great show for next year.

altheasus: I planted herbs and tomato plants in pots on my balcony recently. Any suggestions about when/if I should bring them inside and watering tips? Thanks!

Jennifer Oldridge: You've already planted herbs and tomatoes and they are outside, well, humm...it is a bit early for that. At this point I'd have pansies, violas, kales and cabbages and feel comfortable with them being outside and I would bring in those tomatoes and herbs for the weekend at least. I suffer from the same ailment, the minute the weather gets nice I tend to jump the gun, I would just monitor the weather. Keep in mind that pots freeze more easily than plants in the ground so just be aware. I water herbs when they look a little droopy, but in the heat of the summer you should be watering these pots most every day, if not every other day. Herbs and tomatoes generally like it hot and anything in a pot in the full sun in a Kansas summer needs watering very regularly.

dorothyhr: I realize that sweet potatoes need a long growing period, but with our early springs and late falls, that we have now, could they be grown here in Kansas?

Jennifer Oldridge: I would say give it a try, the ornamental sweet potato vine does incredibly well. I would plant them now just like a regular potato, monitor them and let me know how it goes this would be a good subject for an article.

EmJones: What varieties of berries grow well in Kansas?

Jennifer Oldridge: Well, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries do very well in this area. I recently wrote about attempting to grow a blueberry bush this year and was informed that they would grow but the berries would be smaller than the Northern states might produce. A great resouce for this are the Lawson Brothers in Vinland Valley. I will post my article about them on my blog, www,gardengirlgab.com. If you are intereted in berries, their first crops start in late May and it is a beautiful, historic farmstead that is well worth the drive and the education on berries in this area. But by all means plant raspberries, blackberries and strawberries!

lesticia: i have some day lily bulbs i was going to plant last fall but wasn't able to. if i plant them this spring, when will they bloom?

Jennifer Oldridge: If you plant your daylilies in a couple of weeks they might just bloom this summer. I think you'd have a pretty good chance of having daylilies in 2007 if you planted them in a few weeks.

themiddlechild: What kind of pests and diseases control chemicals do you recommend for apricot trees? Thanks

Jennifer Oldridge: Oh that is a tough one, to be honest I don't know a lot about Apricot Trees. I would be happy to research it further, I do know that most fruit trees require an enoromous amount of chemicals to produce fruit with any great success. You might confer with one of the apple orchards in this area, sorry I don't know more about this subject. Thanks!

blackwalnut: Our apple tree got cedar apple rust the year we planted it. We didn't think about the cedar chips that had been used to mulch the read. We treated it ourselves but it still looks terrible. Is there hope of curing it?

Jennifer Oldridge: Ugh, again fruit trees are a slippery slope. My grand parents owned an orchard south of Wichita for many decades and they were constantly moaning about the amount of chemicals it requires to keep fruit trees healthy and happy. I applaud you for trying but it could be past the point of return, you might just want to dig up that tree and start anew.

redglare: We're moving to Lawrence soon and want to plant a backyard garden of both veggies and flowers. What species of flowers are native to Northeast Kansas that will thrive and attract birds and other wildlife? What about wild grasses and other plants that are native, for returning a yard to a somewhat natural state, as opposed to a grass yard, i.e., "green concrete?" Lastly, are there Lawrence codes that require you to mow your lawn so as to prevent growing wild grasses or planting a garden of native plants in the front lawn?

Jennifer Oldridge: I don't believe there is any ordinance about growing "non-grass" in the Lawrence area, many people have converted their front lawns into fabulous beds of various bloomers. Buffalo grass grows well here too, it just requires a lot of sun, very little mowing and is gorgeous to view, go to www.gardengirlgab.com and I'll reprint that article. As for the other question, we could be talking for hours but most ornamental grasses thrive here, coneflowers, vibernums, black-eyed susans, butterfly bush, bee balm, lamb's ear...it is a massive list of show stopping flora that thrives in our climate and the butterflies and bird flock to. We also are on the migratory path of the Monarch butterflies that are travelling to and from Mexico and KU sponsors a group called Monarch Watch that I think might interest you when you move to this area.

Moderator: That does it for this week's chat. Thanks for the great questions, and thanks, Jen, for coming in today.

Jennifer Oldridge: Thank you everyone for being such voracious readers of the column and getting dirty! Please visit me anytime with more questions, ideas for articles you'd like to learn more about, gardens you think are worthy of featuring and lessons to be learned out in the garden. I am alway taking questions and hoping for ideas at www.gardengirlgab.com