Great garden hints this spring

Old Lamp Shades? Great Frost Protectors!

It’s Friday, so how about some gardening hints and tips?

It’s just about springtime here, and it is a wonderful time to get out and start those jobs that you have been itching all winter to do, right? Are you anxious to get your hands dirty? So much to do!

Increasing your Succulent Collection

Here in the USA in Ohio, it is almost springtime and it is at this time of year that my succulents experience their awakening growth spurt. I usually take this time to add to my collection by separating some of the chicks from the sempervivums or take cuttings from the sedum. It is very easy to do with this type of plant (and one of the reasons why I love them so much).

I can take the little chicks and put them into their own tiny pots and wait for them to develop some great roots and add them to my new troughs.

Succulents - Spread them Out in Spring

The cuttings from the sedum will grow easily, such as these long strands branching there. Buds will grow along the branches and create a whole new plant.

And each little branch’s end can be made into a new plant. These can be cut apart and put into a drying tray. Leaving them for a few days or week is not a problem. You may have better rooting that way. Easy peasy!

I am getting ready for spring in our new house and new garden, so I will be checking on all plants and harvesting what I can for new areas to plant. I hope all of my hypertufa containers survived the winter here. I have seen a lot of pots which seem to be “losing surface.” Small piles of sand-like stuff around them. Hopefully no big problem.

I am so excited about my new garden areas and all the changes we’ve made and I plan to film some videos to include in some of my future posts.

Tricolor sedum budding in spring

How are your Seedlings coming along?

If you have any large seeds that you are planting, those ones with the hard coating which need to be nicked or cut slightly to facilitate sprouting, use your pet’s nail nippers.

Just carefully hold the seed and just nip the edge off and Voila! All ready for planting.

 

Great garden hints with an old lamp shade

 Easy and Simple Seedling Protection

If you are as anxious to plant as I am, you will be itching to set out a lot of little plants already. Weather gets colder on some nights and you worry about frost , high winds, even a sunny 90° day appearing out of nowhere.

Be ready for that with an old lamp shade. I have quite a few nested together in the corner of the garden shop. Use them for quick frost covers, shade for new transplants on their first few days, or even a guard against strong winds.

That metal framework of the lamp shade will allow you to set a heavy brick or sandbag across the top to weigh it down with no problem. You can even place a small towel over the opening at top so there is no rush when the morning sun comes out. Haven’t we all panicked when we have covered a seedling with plastic and we see the morning sun shining on it! Oops!

Protection from Cutworms

If you feel the need for protection from cutworms, you can wrap about a 4-5 inch piece of wax paper, tin foil, or even just a wet coffee filter around the stem of a plant covering the portion below ground and slightly above. This will protect the stem from cutworm attack.

I prefer the coffee filter or wax paper because they will just deteriorate with age and become compost. But you may do it with foil and remove it later for re-use.

Well, we are expecting a cloudy  and windy 47°F day here and I have a lot to do before expected rains later . What will you be doing this weekend? Have a nice day and get your hands dirty, OK?

Remember your sunscreen!

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2 Comments

  1. I love the idea of using old shades for protection..maybe I could use them on extremely hot days for shade also!

    1. Hey, that is a great idea too for sunny days, or even windy days, on a fragile plant. Good job!

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