Dig This!

Some plants will bloom more profusely if the old, spent flowers are removed, a process called deadheading. Annuals especially, focus their energy on seed production to insure that the species survives. If you remove old flowers, the energy normally used to produce seed is now available to produce more flowers. Perennials can also benefit by lengthening the blooming season. However, some gardeners enjoy the look of spent flowers of perennials such as sedum or purple coneflower. Also, the seed produced can be a good food source for birds. Not all plants need to be deadheaded, including sedum 'Autumn Joy', melampodium, impatiens, most flowering vines, Lythrum, periwinkle (Catharanthus), and wishbone flower (Torenia).    Those that do increase bloom in response to deadheading include hardy geraniums, coreopsis, petunias, marigolds, snapdragons, begonias, roses, campanulas, blanket flowers, delphiniums, zinnias, sweet peas, salvia, scabiosa, annual heliotrope, geraniums (Pelargoniu...

The June RCEMG meeting began with an educational program about Bee Hotels by Pam Paulsen. POLLINATORS According to the USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service, 3/4 of the world's flowering plants and about 35% of the world's food crops depend on animal pollinators to reproduce. Worldwide there are close to 20,000 bee species and North America is home to around 4,000 species. Approximately 90% fo bees are solitary. Most solitary bees are non-aggressive . NATIVE BEES More than 4000 species. Many are solitary. Better pollinators and less prone to diseases than imported honey bees. 70% ground nesting. To encourage, leave areas of uncovered ground. 30% cavity nesting (hollow stems, wood.) To encourage, leave dead wood, build bee hotels. Insect hotels & nest blocks provide nesting sites for solitary bees and wasps and an overwintering site for beetles, bees, wasps, butterflies and moths. NESTING BLOCK CONSTRUCTION Materials: small logs; tree p...

Pollination: it's vital to life on Earth, but largely unseen by the human eye. Filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg shows us the intricate world of pollen and pollinators with gorgeous high-speed images from his film "Wings of Life," inspired by the vanishing of one of nature's primary pollinators, the honeybee. Be sure to watch this on the largest computer screen you have; (HD if possible) and have your sound turned on.  The hummingbird doing rolls chasing a bee is not to be missed. Be sure and watch closely, check out the baby bat under its Mother.   If you never knew what goes on in the garden when you aren't paying attention, watch this -  The Beauty of Pollination

Geum, also known as Avens, are certainly not counted among the most common perennials, despite having been cultivated in gardens for many years. A relative of roses, their brightly colored flowers bloom freely for many weeks in late spring and early summer.  Geum is perfectly sized for the front of the perennial border, as a single specimen or in groups. It’s a great companion for a variety of perennials and grasses such as cranesbills, sages, catmints, coral bells,  prairie dropseed, and little bluestem. Brightly colored orange and red geum are nicely paired with other strong colors, particularly deep blues and purples. They are also good in naturalized landscapes and container plantings, and in the case of prairie smoke (Geum triflorum), in rockeries, gravel gardens, and green roofs.  Hardy in zones 4-9, plant your geum in full sun to partial shade.   Keep the soil moist but not wet. Providing sufficient moisture throughout the growing season is importa...

Master Gardener Earth Day Challenge To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, Master Gardeners were challenged to CLEAN UP for Earth Day on April 22. Our goal was 50 hours of work cleaning yards, parks, streets and roadsides. We exceeded our goal: 85 hours.  Because we were in sequestering mode, we were not able to do this as a physical group but we can still enjoy our efforts with photos and quips. Kathy clocked 2 hours in her yard, 3 hours at a friend’s farm, and 1 hour picking up trash on the walking path.  As a result of recent surgeries, Karolyn has not been able to do much gardening, but she was motivated by the Challenge to spend 2 hours cleaning up her yard and planting some beautiful flowers. (At her request, no photos allowed of Karolyn bending over!) Julia and Becky did some clean up at the HCC garden and YMCA, then planted tomatoes for the kids at the Y. We had lots of "helpers", including spouses, granddaughter...

5 Tips for Growing Tomatoes in Pots Article from The Spruce by Kerry Michaels, updated 4/16/20 Illustration: The Spruce / Maritsa Patrinos Tomatoes can be challenging to grow in containers, but they continue to rate among the top summer plants in gardens. Here are five controllable factors for successfully growing tomato plants in containers. A great benefit to growing plants in portable containers is that they are moveable and you can adjust their growing location and several other factors to adjust the growing process. Although, if you have very large containers, you cannot do much against unfavorable weather conditions,  late blight , or critter problems. Control   what you can and hope for the best! Use really big containers One of the most important things you can do to ensure tomato success is to use a big enough container—the bigger, the better. For one plant, you need a container that is at least 1 square foot, but 2 square feet is b...

HOW TO GROW BUCKETS FULL OF BELL PEPPERS Edited from an article published: May 2, 2018 · Modified: Mar 16, 2020 by Susan Patterson   There is nothing more beautiful than a basket full of homegrown bell peppers but there are many reasons to love bell peppers besides their beauty. For starters, they are really easy to grow, they are loaded with nutritional value and they taste amazing raw and cooked. If you are a first-time gardener, peppers are a great place to start. Bell peppers, also known as sweet peppers can be red, yellow, orange, green or even lavender and white. Bell peppers are the only members of the genus Capisicum that does not produce capsaicin, the extremely hot chemical that we are familiar with in hot peppers. To grow this tender tropical warm-season plant in Kansas you can either start seeds early indoors or purchase plants after the risk of frost has passed. Plants will need between 6 and 8 hours of sunlight daily. STARTING SEEDS Starting see...