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Bill Padgett

Recent stories

S BLOOMS A BOOST SPECIAL TO THE JOURNAL-WORLD
By Bill Padgett
March 8, 1999
Too early to start thinking about next year’s blooms? Think again.
GIVE THE SOIL A CHANCE TO DRY BEFORE TILLING
By Bill Padgett
February 28, 1999
We’re in the midst of a typically unpredictable Kansas winter. The soil hasn’t frozen hard as a rock yet and the warmer weather is giving us an urge to get an early start on our spring chores. But there is an advantage to waiting. The soil isn’t frozen, but it’s wet, and we need to wait until it dries more — or spring chores such as tilling could ruin the soil for a year or more.
T HIT THE GARDEN
By Bill Padgett
February 21, 1999
Has the Y2K bug taken a bite out of you? With the approaching millennium and the possible computer problems associated with the year 2000, many people believe that catastrophic results will occur, including food shortages, requiring us to be “self-sufficient” in order to survive. This sudden surge in the “self-sufficiency movement” has resulted in many people wanting to grow vegetables that are non-hybrids so they can save their own seeds for survival. Most seed companies indicate which varieties are hybrid (the non-hybrids are usually not identified as such).
COLOR OF ROSES MAY SPELL OUT TRUE LOVE SPECIAL TO THE JOURNAL-WORLD
By Bill Padgett
February 14, 1999
Loving care will help a gift of fresh, cut flowers last longer.
MINIATURE ROSES MAKE TRANSITION TO OUTDOOR LIVING
By Bill Padgett
February 13, 1999
The gray days of winter are upon us. Grays and browns overwhelm the landscape at this time of year, but if you are willing to do a little extra work you can bring some spring into your home. The rose, our most enduring symbol of love and beauty, can be grown indoors. Miniature roses are dwarf versions of roses, including the classic hybrid tea, but they only grow 12 to 15 inches at most. They are pretty and tough, and can be grown indoors and even outdoors in Kansas if you mulch them.
TIS WHAT SEASON? THE DISPLAY OF COLOR MAY NOT BE GREAT AT THIS TIME OF YEAR, BUT THERE ARE STILL THINGS GARDENERS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR. SPECIAL TO THE JOURNAL-WORLD
By Bill Padgett
January 3, 1999
New buds and blooms at Christmas time? Many plants have been fooled this year into thinking spring is right around the corner. Quince, clematis and crabapple have been producing flowers lately with the hope that winter passed us by this year. They were wrong. But luckily, nature doesn’t punish these late-fall bloomers as badly as she does the early-spring bloomers. So, if you have had some plants bloom this fall, don’t worry — their growth and spring blooms should not be greatly affected. But if now is not the season for blooming, what should winter gardeners be doing this time of the year? While not the season to watch the grass grow, it could be important to watch the water puddle because where water puddles in the winter may cause you trouble in the spring.
CHRISTMAS CACTI NEED DARKNESS TO BLOOM AGAIN
By Bill Padgett
December 20, 1998
One of the many joys this time of year is seeing the blooms of Christmas cacti. So how do we keep these beautiful plants, from deep in the jungles of South America, growing and blooming year after year in Kansas? Our common household temperatures are fine, and the plants prefer indirect sunlight. Too much sun can result in yellow leaves. The soil should be kept constantly moist, but not waterlogged. Give cacti a light fertilization every other week and they will normally bloom until late winter or early spring.

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