Category: Uncategorized
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Container gardens
Container gardens, Despite July’s generous rains, watering may be needed in containers where limited room and exposure to heat and sun from all sides mean they dry out quickly. Check containers by wiggling your finger down in until you reach the second knuckle looking for wet soil. If it is dry, water until it comes out of the bottom of the container. And never leave pots sitting in water-filled saucers as this can lead to root rot.
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Be patient
Whether it is blueberries turning blue or tomatoes turning red. The first sign of color is just that. Real flavor will develop over the next few days so as the berry and tomato increase in size and sugar content. With tomatoes, do not remove healthy foliage. Fewer leaves mean less food produced for the plant—and for you
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Remove spent flowers
While there are a few varieties out there that promise endless flowers without the trouble of deadheading, most plants require you to dead-head them for a for a reliably long bloom period. Picking off flowers that have passed their peak prevents seed heads from forming and stops the plant from receiving a signal that its work is over. Snap off large flowers with your fingernail. For small blossoms, or hanging plants gone straggly, shear them back by half. Wait a week, and cut off anything not producing flower buds. You’ll be rewarded with a new crop of flowers and tidier plants, especially if you follow up with a light feeding.
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Leave the lawn long
If you haven’t already, move the blade on your mower up to 3”. The higher grass will shade its own roots, making them less water thirsty while also shading out new weeds. Consider replacing the grass in hard-to-grow areas (shady areas for one) with perennials or shrubs that are happier in shade and require less maintenance while providing flowers and interest throughout the year.
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Leave the lawn alone
Your grass wants to go dormant in the heat of summer; don’t fight Mother Nature. Trying to keep it lush and green by excessive watering or fertilizing serves only to create a cycle of chemical (and water) dependency that is both expensive and, ultimately, not all that successful.
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Weed as though your plants’ lives depend on it
They do – your plants will be competing with weeds for water, sunlight and nutrients in July, and the weeds are, too often, better at grabbing available resources. Your flowers and vegetables win the fight only when the weeds lie, gasping for breath, in the aisles or in a bucket.
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Put your trowel down
The heat of mid-summer is not the time to be planting vegetables. You may have a strong temptation to fill in spots in your vegetable garden where cool-weather crops have bolted or been harvested. Resist that temptation until a long-range forecast (two weeks or longer) shows the heat has broken.
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Plant Sale
LCG Annual Plant Sale
LCG plant sale in the Common on Saturday, May 13, 9-2. This is the day before Mother’s Day. New emphasis on native plants.
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Holiday Centerpiece
Holiday Centerpiece
The December project at the library was making centerpieces.
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Holiday Bazaar
Holiday Bazaar December 3
See Littleton Country Gardeners holiday decorations at the Littleton Middle School gym on Saturday, December 3.
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Fall Centerpiece
Fall Centerpiece Craft
This project was held Monday, November 14th, 3:30 in the Sturtz Room.
