HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1980-04-16, Page 38-.•
Organization and Caren'. spiant$," ' gently tap the sides of the Rot "One:half tO one pound 'of
preparation .before strati- Adding' pre-wetted peat • to remove theplant. regular fertilizer per 1p0
splanting seedlings can help moss -to the holes before "Keep the roots and soil square feet of garden space"
ensure a healthy garden, transplanting will 'give the together as Much as' should be adequate,"
says T. J. Blom, Ontario, plants a good start, possible, then put theroots in Provide cucumber s,
Ministry of Agriculture ,and Mr, Filem says it is best to the new'hole and pat the•Soil squash, tomatoes, and
Food horticulturist, transplant ',seedlings at aroundthem." melons with up to four
"First, remove stones and ' night.. Water seedlings After transplanting, Mr: square feet of Space; cab
debris from the garden. several hours before tran- Bloto recommends watering bagelpeRRers, broccoli, and
ext—itsosert the sett and splanting. s needed_and_fergliziag brussell_syrouts,,require lee
poke boles for the tran- When 'ready to transplant, after two or three days, space,
A well-designed rock 'Orden blends into ihe
,
surroundings,
so It looks like a natural part of the landscape,..(Photo by
the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food)
irir 'ttwsame .clullars'AvIt,
ti ariclgar.den tract(If vvitti Yr' nin.vver
Making a rock garden.
By Burke McNeill
Extension
Horticulturist,
OMAF
Many gardeners have
'visions of a beautiful rock
garden as soon as they see a
slope or a terraced situation.
Their visions are usually,
very realistio, but' here
realism often stops. They do
not take' into account the
work required to develop and
maintain the site. Nothing
looks' worse than a poorly
planned and poorly main-
tained rock garden.
Site' selection is 'the most
important decision to make
once you have decided to
plant a rock garden. Weil-
drained locations are a
necessity. If drainage is
poor, a gravel and stone base
should be provided.
Rock gardens should also
blend with the surrounding
terrain, For instance, a
mound of stone and earth in
the middle of a flat front
yard is not a good choice of
location. It will always look
like—a--rn pun €1 dirt. Blend
your rock garden into the
surroundings, so it will look,
like ',a natural part of the
overa ll scene.
Most, plant material used
in rock gardens comes from
mountains, and this is the
type of a scene that gar-
deners are trying to imitate
in, their yards, When plan-
ning your rock garden, try to
picture how this would look
in natural surroundings.
There are many "do's"
and "don'ts" in rock garden
What are your basic tossed
salad ingredients? Lettuce,
radish, tomatoes, green
onions, occasionally spinach
or endive in, season and a
pinch of fresh dill or other
herbs, right?
Very few gardeners know
how good mustard greens
taste in salads. Tender,
young mustard leaves have a
peppery nip and a mild,
distinctive take appreicated
'by almost all adventurous
eaters. Substitute chopped
mustard greens' for half the
lettuce in salads.
• Mustard greens have been
held back by being typed as a
Southern vegetable for
simmering alone or with
pork.. They are delicious
cooked bitt they are not just a
Southern vegetable. 'Quick
4growing-mastard-grevitsswi1l
thrive anywhere in the USA
if planted to mature during
coolweather.
The name "mustard
greens" is unfortunate, The
greens' don't have a mustard
flavor. Condiment mustard
is made froth mustard seeds
construction. For detailed
advice consult the OntariO
Ministry "of AgricultUre and
Food publication "Rock
Gardens", (poblication No.
38). This free publication is
available frorn local
agricultural offices or by
writing to the Information
Branch, Ontario Ministry of
Agriculture and Food,
Legislative Buildings,
Toronto, Ontario, M7A 1A5.
There are also many fine
reference books on the
subject, available in soft
Cover editions at your local
bOok stores and libraries.
English, gardeners have
developed, rock, gardening
into a fine art and
publications from that
country are particularly
informative.
Practically any low-
growing plant material can
be used, in a • rockery. Both
. deciduous and evergreen
shrubs, and many hundreds
of herbaceous perennials,
can be used' .effectively.
tuttately; gar
dening is a very specialized ,
form of gardening• and en-
thusiasts must look far and
wide for many of the choice
plants, such as dryas,
dracocephalium, erigeron
and hellanthemum.
However, the backbone of
any rockery is the moss
phtoxs, sedums, houseleeks
Hens and Chickens), candy-
tuft, perennial alyssum and
thymes. These are readily
available' at most garden ,
centres.
from a different species. The
only similarity between the
taste of greens and prepared
mustard is in the mild
peppery tang.
Mustard greens will
mature in about 45 days from
planting. Your first harvest
will be ready in only 30 days
in the form of surplus
seedlings thituttd out of the
rpw. Young mustard plants
are classed as "semi-hardy"
and can be planted 3 to '4
weeks prior to the average
date of the last killing frost in
the spring. Late summer is a
good time for seeding a fall
crop,
Three kinds of mustard
greens are usually available
—smooth leaf, curly leaf and
a variety with broad stems
preferred for oriental
cooking. Stnooth4eaved
varieties win out where the
soils are sandy because the
leaves are easier to wash.
The curly leaved types are
superior for salads; they
fluff up tossed salads much
like curly endive.
Mustard greens,
a salad treat
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