28 • The Beacon February 29 , 2024
Plan your garden workshop held at Clary Gardens
By Marianne Austin
With spring right around the corner , it ’ s time to start getting excited about gardening .
Plan Your Garden was a free drop-in event at Clary Gardens on Feb . 23 dedicated to planning a summer garden and sharing ideas . Jodi Morrison and Debbie Gaumer shared their knowledge for successful flower and vegetable gardens and the secret to growing beautiful flowers and shrubs comparable to the ones at Clary Gardens .
“ This is the first year we have done this ,” said Morrison , head gardener . “ We are just trying to get people out in February so that we can work on garden plans for the summer . It doesn ’ t matter what you want to grow . We ’ re looking at vegetables , perennials , annuals , just wherever you want to go . We are trying to get everyone excited for spring and what is coming . Do you
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Marianne Austin
Plan Your Garden was a free drop-in event at Clary Gardens on Feb . 23 dedicated to planning a summer garden and sharing ideas . have a plan for your garden this year ?”
Gaumer from the Garden Patch and Coshocton In Bloom said , “ It ’ s that time of year to be thinking about gardening . If you want to plant seeds , our frost date is May 15-22 . Usually , our last frost of the season and that frost really isn ’ t a killing frost . If you can , get your plants two weeks early and get them outside , keep them well watered , and make sure they get light . It is also good to put them in a windy area because it stiffens up the stem and you don ’ t have a wimpy plant when you are ready to transplant . We use a great , big barn fan so that they become acclimated to the garden weather outside . When you start seeds inside , it is also recommended to have a fan on them for the same affect , and it also cuts down on mildew and dampness .”
The ladies discussed benefits of raised beds using cardboard and recommended Hayseed Hanks Super Soil and Bull Country Compost .
“ It is listed as organic , and what that soil contains is yard waste , horse and cow manure , sand , compost , and there are your nutrients . It is a great mix of everything you need to grow your vegetables in . It has also been heat treated so the manure
CROSSWORD SOLUTION in there will never have any viable seeds ,” Gaumer said . “ If you use straw manure from horses on your farm , you are going to have viable weeds in the manure that will sprout and overrun your raised bed . Soil is very important . The next year add some Bull Country Compost . Using manure from your farm will have weeds . And who wants to pull weeds ?”
Morrison said Hayseed Hanks is the soil nutrient brand they use at Clary Gardens for flowers , shrubs and roses . Mix it with sand for compost in a wheelbarrow .
“ We just go for it ,” she said . “ We dig out the hole and add a decent amount of the soil , sand and mixture or add topsoil if your sand is heavy , and that gives them a lot of nutrients . Put some in the bottom of the hole , add your root ball and put some more on top but don ’ t fertilize too much .”
Rose tone organic fertilizer is another product they use in their gardens to make the flower colors more vibrant . It comes in a bag for roses and hydrangeas . They use it twice a year as soon as the roses start coming out in the spring and again after their first pruning . They trim the bushes down to about 3 feet tall at the end of March through April and fertilize to wake them up .
If you are gardening for pollinators , it is good to have lots of flowers that bloom from season to season . A flowering herb garden is like a one-stop spot for honey bees when they are looking for food . Most herbs that have flower heads like lavender , thyme and mints have multiple flowers so the honey bees don ’ t have to go from flower to flower .
Another tip when growing blueberries is cover them with a net or a cage so the birds don ’ t eat them all . If you want large onions about 6-8 inches , plant them almost a foot apart . If they touch , they will stop growing . When you buy onion sets , they are set to be green onions . Buy onion plants if you want the big onions .
Mycorrhizal Fungi or Pro Mix organic garden mix is good to start flower and vegetable seeds . Pro Mix is a potting soil seed starter . The fungus attaches itself to the roots , which will create a stronger root growth .
“ With that , you can
absorb the nutrients , and it ’ s wonderful . We use it in everything , even our hanging baskets in town . It ’ s ready to go . And as your plant grows , you will still have to fertilize it ,” Gaumer said . “ Blue Lake green beans is the one you want if you want to have green beans all summer . Jade gives you a bluer , tender green bean , but it doesn ’ t have a high yield . Vining beans don ’ t give a huge yield either . Mammoth melting peas are the bomb . Make sure you have at least a 3-foot fence or you can plant them at the end of your raised bed . Make sure they are 2 inches apart and water them well .”
Corn should be planted in blocks or rows instead of a single row so they pollinate through the wind , insects or birds flying back and forth . Corn plants have both male and female flowers . The tassel represents the male flower . When tassels come out , they make a spikelet that grows anthers containing pollen .
Corn pollinates each other with their silk . Sometimes people put one row in their garden , and it ’ s not going to pollinate . Corn needs a lot of fertilizer to survive . Use a lot of nitrogen right away . Also , if you plant field corn and sweet corn at the same time and they pollinate , your sweet corn is going to be tough .
Clary Gardens is a 20-acre botanical garden that is free and open to the public . The garden ’ s mission is to involve the community in developing and maintaining a public botanical garden that provides access to horticultural education , environmental stewardship , local history and the arts .
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