Beaver Valley Probus Club

Things to do in your garden this month—taken from the Ontario Master Gardener Calendar by John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario.

Please contact John for more information!

April 2022:

Here are the things to do for your garden in April!

• Make sure you have done everything you were supposed to do on the March Master Gardener's List
• Do stretch and bend exercises before you start in the garden. I find skiing muscles have nothing to do with gardening muscles. Take it easy. There are a lot of gardening days before the ski season comes again.
• I hope you had a chance to spread 19-19-19 general purpose fertilizer over the snow on all your flower beds and shrub boarders before the snow disappeared. It melts down through the snow into the ground as the snow goes away. It and other fertilizers are available at the Co-Op in Markdale, at 10% discount for 599 Members. If you missed this step this year, plan for next winter and buy the fertilizer in the fall.
• While the snow may be gone, it may be back once or twice in April. If it is, you can still spread the triple 19 as long as it does not get on to the emerging plants, as it may burn them.
• Organize your compost pile for the new season. Start a new one with the top foot of compost from last year’s pile as a base.
• As the weather warms and the ground dries, prune back perennials and ornamental grasses to 1” to 2” from the ground. Collect the dead material and put it on your new compost pile. Shred it, if you can.
• Push any plants that the frost has heaved back into place.
• Prepare garden beds for planting. Dig in compost, and/or manure, and/or other organic material around each plant. Remove any weeds that have come through from last fall. When you have cleaned up the beds, ADD 3” TO 4” OF MULCH to control weeds this summer.
• Remove rose protection. For Hybrid Teas, prune back to 6” or 8”and apply dormant oil spray before the buds break.
• Apply dormant oil spray to shrubs like euonymus that may have suffered from scale last year. Do it before the buds break.
• Prepare your vegetable garden with a good digging. Add compost, if you have it. Mid-month, plant the seeds of cool-weather vegetables like peas, spinach, lettuce, onions, beets. Plant seeds of frost resistant annuals like larkspur, sweet peas and calendulas.
• When dry, rake your lawn vigorously to remove any thatch; repair damage with weed-free topsoil. Add grass seed to bare spots. Keep moist.
• Fertilize your lawn with slow-release high nitrogen fertilizer (the first of the 3 numbers on the bag). Slow-release urea costs more, but it’s worth it, as it should last until the fall.
• Apply crabgrass pre-emergence herbicide to your lawn, if required.
• When spring finally comes, plant trees, shrubs, perennials and biennials in your garden. No need to wait until May 24th for perennials, that’s for annuals. It may be the first week in June before you can get frost tender annuals safely into the ground.
• Re-fill your pots and planters with compost. Put empty plastic bottles with tops at the bottom of large pots. You will need less soil and they will be lighter to move. Add slow-release plant food to the top 4 inches.
• Then plant frost-resistant pansies NOW for a little spring colour.
• Start mowing your lawn only as needed. Keep it long.
• Save Saturday June 11th for the St. George’s, Anglican Parish of the Blue Mountains, giant annual Plant Sale on the church grounds. There will be over 1,200 perennials, shrubs and tomato plants to choose from, plus free gardening advice from 599 Garden Club experts.

John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario

• More information about Master Gardeners of Ontario Inc

Things to do in your garden this month—taken from the Ontario Master Gardener Calendar by John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario.

Please contact John for more information!

March 2022:

Here are the things to do for your garden in March!

• Start tuberous begonias & caladiums corms in pots.
• Plant brassicas (the cabbage family) seeds and hardy annuals for May planting outdoors.
• Start tomatoes, lettuce and other fast growers from seed in late March to early April.
• Make a list of spring chores in the order they should be done, if you haven’t already done so.
• Order summer flowering bulbs. Try www.botanus.com
• Order/buy seeds for summer planting NOW!
• Check, repair and sharpen your gardening tools.
• Apply combination dormant oil spray to fruit trees & pest-prone shrubs when above-freezing weather permits.
• Bring Spring indoors. Start forcing branches of spring-flowering shrubs like Forsythia.
• If you can find them, buy narcissus bulbs and grow them in gravel with water.
• Prune summer-flowering shrubs and vines.
• Before the snow goes, apply triple-19 agricultural fertilizer liberally over the snow only your flower beds. It’s available at Huron Bay Co-Op in Markdale at $33.38 a bag.
• When the snow goes, loosen up packed winter mulch and press any perennials that have heaved, back into place.
• Plan to plant a few bird-attracting, native berry plants and shrubs.
• If there are any students out there who are Interested in garden work after school this spring and summer, please get in touch with me now. There are lots of jobs available. 

John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario

• More information about Master Gardeners of Ontario Inc

Here are the things to do for your garden in February!

Taken from the Ontario Master Gardener Calendar by John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario. Please contact John for more information!

February 2022:

Here are the things that you should have done before we had all the snow. Just in case we get a mild spell and some rain to wash away the snow, here are a few things you still can do.

• There is now lots of snow cover. But if we get a February Melt and the snow goes away, mound up all the available snow and any new snow that falls, around tender plants like roses. If you have a few branches left from your Christmas tree, put them over tender plants to catch the snow. It is the freeze/thaw that kills plants, not just the cold. The snow is wonderful insulation!
• Start planning your garden projects for 2022. Make a list for the Spring, then you will know what you didn’t get done when you check it in June. I have mine done and I am tired already. A garden is never finished! 
• If you have a few tulip or daffodil bulbs that did not get into the ground last fall, pot them up now, put them in an unheated garage or shed for 6 weeks and bring them inside to bloom.
•  If you can find a store with narcissus bulbs, buy 5 or 6 and put them in a shallow dish, or a tall narrow glass vase on top of gravel and keep the gravel wet. You should have spring bloom in 3 to 4 weeks. 
• Start propagating stem cuttings of geraniums, fuchias, etc. by the end of the month. 
• Plant slow-germinating seeds inside, like impatiens, peppers, eggplants, etc. 
• As the weather warms, you can start pruning shade trees, fruit trees and shrubs, if you can get to them through the snow. Leave trees that “bleed” like maples and birch until after they have leaves. 
• Visit local nursery greenhouses to smell the coming of spring. Stop by the Garden Gallery just west of Barrie on Hwy 91 on the way to Angus just to inhale the SPRING. 
• You can AGAIN forget about the big garden shows like Canada Blooms and the Peterborough Garden show this spring. They have all been cancelled because of COVID. Think Spring 2023.

John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario

• More information about Master Gardeners of Ontario Inc

Here are the things to do for your garden in January!

Taken from the Ontario Master Gardener Calendar by John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario. Please contact John for more information!

January 2022:

Here are the things that you should have done before we had all the snow. Just in case we get a mild spell and some rain to wash away the snow, here are a few things you still can do.

• Inspect house plants for white flies, spider mites and aphids.
• Apply insecticidal soap and spray with water.
• Inspect spring bulbs you may have stored or forgotten about. Discard soft or mouldy ones.
• Plant left over, not-yet-planted spring bulbs like daffs, tulips etc. in pots with good potting soil and a little bone meal. Water. Put the pots in an unheated garage or garden shed for 6 weeks. Take them inside in February or early March. You should get spring blooms in less than a month.
• Not much snow yet. If the thaws continue and before all the snow melts away, mound any remaining snow over roses and tender perennials.
• Cut the branches off your Christmas tree and place them over tender plants to catch the snow. It’s the freeze/thaw cycle that kills the plants.
• Expand your personal knowledge through on-line courses, plus look online for seed and plant catalogues.
• Start planning your garden for next spring. I’m already making lists of plants to divide.
• Make detailed lists; BIG projects, regular maintenance, new plants to buy and plants to divide and donate to the St. George’s Plant Sale, June 4 or 11 2022. Call 519-599-5846 for more info.
• Google “Seed Catalogue Websites” and see hundreds of seed sources.
• Order flower and vegetable seeds. Decide which seeds should be started inside.
• If you can find them, try forcing amaryllis and paperwhite narcissus now for indoor winter bloom that will cheer you up.
• At the end of the month, start the slowest germinating seeds like begonias and geranium, also seeds for early spring bloom e.g., pansy, verbena, alyssum and dianthus.
• The Markdale CO-OP, 1-519-986-2031, has a good supply of Triple-19 fertilizer still available. This is the strong agricultural fertilizer to put on top of the snow, only on your flower beds in March. It will fertilize your gardens all summer long. It’s worth the drive to Markdale!       

John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario

• More information about Master Gardeners of Ontario Inc

Here are the things to do for your garden in December!

Taken from the Ontario Master Gardener Calendar by John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario. Please contact John for more information!

December 2021:

Here are the things that you should have done before we had all the snow. Just in case we get a mild spell and some rain to wash away the snow, here are a few things you still can do.

• Loosely wrap evergreens and especially rhododendrons with Burlap. It is better to use 3 tomato stakes and make a triangle of burlap 6” away from the plant. The objective is to break the drying wind and shield it from the winter sun.
• Protect young trees and shrubs from rodents with spiral plastic wraps. I know they are ugly, but they are white to reflect the sun and minimize sun scalding.
• Hill up the soil or add compost around your hybrid tea roses and other tender plants and shrubs.
• I place loose straw over my potentially tender phenomenal and Check lavender to create an iglu of protection.
• Bring in, drain and store all hoses and water related equipment.
• Wash all your garden tools. Wipe the metal parts with a cloth soaked in 3-in-1oil. If you really want to be fancy, wipe the wooden handles with boiled linseed oil.
• Make sure you have stocked up on firewood for the winter.
• With all the snow cover that just arrived, the ground will not be frozen yet. That means, if we get a break in the weather, you can still plant those spring bulbs that you forgot in your garage or basement.
• I’ve planted tulips on Christmas Day in my garden by the sidewalk in downtown Toronto. An elderly gentleman passed by and asked me, “Whatever are you doing?” I told him “It’s an old Hethrington tradition. I always plant tulips and daffs on Christmas Day”. He shuffled off shaking his head, but there were blooms in April. So, stick them in the ground before it freezes.
• Inside, check to see that your house humidifier is maintaining the humidity at over 40% to benefit both house plants and people.
• Put lots of garden tools and garden books on your Christmas list
• Order seed catalogues and start dreaming about SPRING!

Merry Christmas from your Beaver Valley Master Gardener!

John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario

• More information about Master Gardeners of Ontario Inc

Here are the things to do for your garden in November!

Taken from the Ontario Master Gardener Calendar by John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario. Please contact John for more information!

November 2021:

• I usually recommend a little last-minute deep watering, but with all the rain this year we should be OK until spring.
• Buy discounted bulbs on sale and get them in the ground. The Grey Heron nursery on Hwy 26 just south of Meaford still has a good selection of a variety of spring bulbs. Your extra efforts will bloom in the spring. See the article "Bulbs, Bulbs, Beautiful Bulbs - Work Now Enjoy Them in the Spring" also posted this month.
• Remove plants from your pots and other containers and empty the soil. Dump plants and soil into your compost pile; clean pots thoroughly and store them.
• There is an annual argument as to whether you should cut back your perennials, grasses etc., in the fall, or leave them long for “winter interest”. Up here, most perennials are covered by 2 feet of snow, so you can’t see them anyway. Since Spring Clean-Up can be daunting and there can be wet weather, a late spring and/or instant summer, this year, I am opting for a BIG FALL CLEAN-UP to get a jump on spring 2022. Suit yourself.
• Dig up and bring in dahlia tubers, tuberous begonias and gladiola corms, cala lily bulbs when the leaves turn yellow. Remove the soil and wash the tubers. Remove little cormlets from glad corms for more plants next year. Cure the tubers and corms for 2-3 weeks in a warm dry place. Place in trays and cover with dry compost, peat moss, sand or perlite. Store at about 5 C in a cold-cellar, or slightly heated garage.
• Try potting up some spring bulbs like amaryllis and paperwhite narcissus and force them into bloom for Christmas and/or for late winter indoor colour. Different bulbs will require various lengths of cold to flower, so read the product packaging carefully. Store the bulbs in an area where they will not freeze (about 5°C). A fridge or cold cellar will work well for this.
• Complete winterization procedures for plants, containers, drain hoses and clean all other garden equipment. To be a perfect gardener, sharpen tools and put linseed oil on wood handles. Paint small hand tool handles RED so you won’t lose them next spring.
• Protect young trees from rodents by using wire collars or plastic protectors.
• Hill up your hybrid Tea and Floribunda roses with 10 inches of compost covering the stems, or use a metal or plastic “Rose Collar” and fill it with compost before the ground freezes.
• Create one or more Winter/Christmas urns using a variety of evergreen branches. Find branches with berries and add colour with red dogwood and dried hydrangea blossoms.
• Check mulch levels in gardens. Pull mulch back 2”-3” from around shrub and tree trunks to discourage rodents. Add more compost or leaves to beds if you have them. Provides winter homes for pollinators and other insects.
• Order seed catalogues for next spring.
• And finally, buy your supply of Triple-19 fertilizer from the Co-Op in Markdale for March application ON TOP OF THE SNOW on all your garden beds. Then, you will have the fertilizer when the time comes to apply it in March. Many times, the Co-Op’s summer supply has not arrived until after the snow has gone from your garden beds.

 

John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario

• More information about Master Gardeners of Ontario Inc

Bulbs, Bulbs, Beautiful Bulbs - Work Now, Enjoy Them in the Spring

Spring flowering bulbs are the best blooming investment you can make in your garden, BUT you have to do the work NOW have beautiful blooms this spring! While you can plant bulbs into late November, get them into the ground in October or early November; water them well and their roots will grow vigorously this fall to give you better blooms next spring.

Now, what to plant? There is a huge variety of spring bulbs, different colours, different heights and most important, different bloom times. Your objective should be to use this variety to generate the longest possible period of bloom, from snowdrops in early April to alliums in June.

EARLY	MID SEASON	LATE
Snow Drops	Trumpet Daffodils	Late Flowering Tulips
Crocus	Hyacinth	Lili Tulips
Anemone Blanda	Mid Season Tulips	Grape Hyacinths
Mini Daffodils	Double Daffodils	Giant Alliums
Early Single Tulips	Fritillaria Imperialis

When buying bulbs, as in most things in life, SIZE MATTERS. Bigger bulbs make bigger blooms. Check out the size of the bulbs that are available. Look for 12-14 cm (the circumference of the bulb) or more for daffs and pay a little more for bigger bulbs. Some online suppliers provide mixed collections of different colours that will save you money. If you order from a catalogue, get your order in fast, as some suppliers run out of the most popular kinds early in the season. Gray Heron Nurseries (formerly Ormsby’s on Hwy 26 just before Meaford) still has a wide variety of bulbs available.

Planting is easy. Select a sunny area, the more sun the better. If your garden is shady, don’t worry, plant very early bulbs which will enjoy the sun coming through the bare branches before they leaf out. Your soil should drain well, as bulbs don’t like wet feet. If you have clay soil, add 3 inches of sand or ravel to the bottom of the hole. Ideally, you should have a loose soil with lots of organic material like compost, at least for the soil used to fill up the hole over the bulbs.

Plant bulbs in concentrated groups of 7 to 11 in several spots in your garden for a real show. Otherwise you will have a spotty “meals” display with little impact. Avoid long rows of say 20 daffs. Five groups of 5 (I know it’s 25) will be more impactful. Plant a minimum of 5 to 7 bulbs in each hole, with the bulbs spaced 3 inches apart. The experts say, always plant odd numbers of bulbs 5, 7 or 9. (I’m told it’s a design thing.) Check the package for the proper depth to plant, as it varies by type of bulb.

Dig a good-sized hole to an inch below the correct depth, loosen up the soil at the bottom, add a sprinkle of “bulb food” or bone meal (formula 4 -10 – 4, make sure it’s a big middle number) and mix it in, tamp down the soil, add an inch of compost and set the bulbs in the compost. Fill up the hole with more soil/compost mix, adding a sprinkle of bone meal when the tops of the bulbs are covered by 1” of mix. For our cold winters, when the snow melts away in mid-January, it’s good to add a couple of inches of mulch over the planting hole. It will help keep the soil temperature more even. Pull it back in early spring and let the warm sun in. Reapply the mulch after blooming to deter weeds.

Now what about pesky squirrels, chipmunks and skunks? They love tulips and will dig up your tulip bulbs this fall and eat the blooms in spring. Some people recommend moth balls on the top of the soil, but don’t go as far as a pellet gun. I recommend a piece of chicken wire placed an inch below the soil over hole where the tulips are planted and then and cover it up. You can add moth balls on the top of the soil for good measure The key is, the squirrels can’t get through the chicken wire, but next spring, the tulip stems will come right through the wire and bloom.

Happy Gardening,

John Hethrington, Master Gardener, Emeritus
Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario

• More information about Master Gardeners of Ontario Inc

Here are the things to do for your garden in October!

Taken from the Ontario Master Gardener Calendar by John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario. Please contact John for more information!

October 2021:

• after a warm summer, and 2 more weeks of summer in September, FALL is definitely here with the nightly risk of FROST.
• There is an annual argument among gardeners as to whether you should cut back your perennials, ornamental grasses, etc., in the fall, or leave them long for “winter interest”. However, up here, most perennials are covered by 2 feet of snow, so you can’t see them anyway. Spring Clean-Up can be daunting. There may be wet weather, or a late spring. For these reasons, I am opting for a BIG FALL CLEAN-UP again this year to get a jump on spring 2022.
• I say it’s time to trim back perennials and divide them as needed for your garden, or to give to your neighbors, or to pot them up for the St. George’s plant sale in June 2022 and get a Tax Receipt. Make sure it is a cool, cloudy day and add bone meal fertilizer to the pots, or your new plantings. October is a great time to plant perennials.
• Buy and plant spring flowering bulbs. Add a little bulb fertilizer, like bone meal, to the bottom of the hole and water well to get the roots started. Your efforts NOW will bring big dividends in April and May 2022.
• For a longer bloom season, plant a variety of bulbs, like winter aconite, snow drops and crocus. You can also plant early, middle and late blooming tulips and daffodils for a much longer season.
• Place chicken wire just under the surface of the soil over any tulip bulbs you plant. The squirrels will hate you. Daffodils should not need this protection.
• If there is an early frost warning, cover tender annuals overnight with an old bed sheet. They should make it through and keep on blooming.
• Bring in house plants when the evenings start to cool down, or when you get a frost warning. First give them a thorough spray with insecticidal soap, so that there are no unwanted hitchhikers coming into your home.
• Fertilize lawns with a low “first” number and high “middle” number or with a “Fall Formula” fertilizer.
• Start cutting your grass much lower than in summer to avoid winter matted long grass next spring.
• Water shrubs, evergreens and trees weekly and deeply at least until frost.
• Buy the Triple-19 fertilizer now, so you will have it to put on the snow that will be covering your perennial gardens in March 2022. The problem is, the Co-Op may not have any in stock in mid-March next year, before the snow disappears. It’s available now at the Markdale CO-OP for $30.50 for a 50-pound bag.

John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario

• More information about Master Gardeners of Ontario Inc

Here are the things to do for your garden in September!

Taken from the Ontario Master Gardener Calendar by John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario. Please contact John for more information!

September 2021:

• Trim back perennials like Daylilies and Iris. Divide them as needed. Make sure it is a cool, cloudy day to divide and replant, or pot up for your neighbors or fall plant exchanges.
• Buy and plant spring flowering bulbs. Your efforts will be rewarded next spring. Check out Botanus on line at www.botanus.com. Add a little bonemeal fertilizer or special bulb food to the bottom of the planting hole. Water well after planting to start root growth.
• Take a critical look at your garden. Then fill in any gaps that may have developed with new perennials, shrubs and/or evergreens. They will get a huge head start over plants planted next spring.
• Bring in house plants when the evenings start to cool down. First give them a thorough spray with insecticidal soap so that there are no unwanted hitchhikers coming into your home.
• With cool nights and hoped for fall rains, it’s the ideal time for lawn repair. Dig out weeds, add clean, weed-free topsoil and re-seed. Water as required.
• Fertilize lawns with root-building “Fall Fertilizer” with a low first number (nitrogen) and a high third number (potash).
• Don’t use the lawn fertilizer you have left over from the spring, probably with a high first number (nitrogen). Save it for early next spring.
• It’s been first, a dry summer and then lots of rain, so water perennials, shrubs, evergreens and trees deeply. Dig a little test hole, say 14”-16” deep. Check moisture levels at that depth. If the bottom of the hole is dry, water weekly until frost.

John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario

• More information about Master Gardeners of Ontario Inc

Here are the things to do for your garden in August!

Taken from the Ontario Master Gardener Calendar by John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario. Please contact John for more information!

August 2021:

• A cool dry May and June, followed by thundering rain, has made the weeds incredible. Keep adding mulch as it starts to work into the soil. Keep it at least 2 inches deep. It works to suppress weeds, keeps the soil cool and damp and protects the rain we get.
• Sow vegetable seeds for a fall harvest e.g. spinach and some varieties of lettuce.
• Tidy up plants and shrubs with a little judicious pruning, but early in the month.
• Stake tall perennials against the wind. 
• Cut your grass at least 2’’ high to combat drying out. Water well when needed, or when it is allowed.
• Check out bulb catalogues and order before they are sold out (try www.botanus.com from BC for lots of unique varieties).
• Order spring flowering bulbs now for planting in October. 
• Fill in gaps in your flower garden with fall-flowering perennials, like mums and asters. Start drying flowers and herbs.
• Start to divide daylilies, iris and peonies later in the month.
• Collect seeds that have matured but not fallen from the plant. Once they have completely dried, store them in air tight containers in a cool location.
• Take a hard look at your garden and decide where there are empty spaces for new plants this fall. Identify any plants that have not performed well and plan to replace them with a fall planting program of shrubs and perennials.
• Early Fall is a great time to sow grass seed and plant perennials, trees and shrubs. You will l get a big jump on next Spring!

John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario

• More information about Master Gardeners of Ontario Inc