June 19, 2006

Plenty of Thyme

Our thyme is blooming, with its light pink flowers adding a bit of additional interest to the variegated leaves of the fragrant plant. At about two years old, our thyme has grown to over eight times the size of the young plant in the two-inch pot we purchased at the locale garden center. We've given it little attention other than occasionally watering its garden bed and cutting a few sprigs every now and then for cooking.

Thyme is a very hardy plant, only really requiring nicely drained soil. It does best when planted in full sun. When planting, work some compost or other organic material into the soil to help the soil drain better and to provide nutrients to the young plant. Thyme also does well in containers.

After three or four years, thyme starts getting increasingly woody. When this happens, it's time to divide your plant. In April, dig up your thyme and shake or brush as much of the soil from the roots as you can. Gently tear the plant in to three or four pieces and replant them. Give them a few months to gain back their strength. Harvesting can start again in mid- to late-summer.

Thyme is a very flavorful and fragrant herb, used in many different types of dishes. I like to mash it up with sage and rosemary from my herb garden and cook some Herby Flank Steak. It's also great when added to gravy, sauces, vegetable stock or even sprinkled lightly over scrambled eggs.

If you've got a spare sunny spot in your garden, you should definitely plant a small bush of this easy-to-grow herb. In no time, you'll have plenty of thyme.

• http://gardenaction.co.uk
• http://www.ehow.com/how_322_grow-thyme.html

Posted by mike at 09:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

May 02, 2006

Bishop's Weed

Bishop's weed is perfectly suited for its garden bed on our property. It fills in a long, 3-foot wide strip of land between our house and our driveway. It's bordered on all sides by concrete, so it will not be spreading anywhere soon. It's also on the shady, north-facing side of our house that is not reached by our sprinkler system. Despite the lack of sun and the dry earth, it remains bushy and colorful throughout the summer, adding a bit of interest along an otherwise boring bit of driveway.

For next spring, I am planning on planting either tulips or daffodil bulbs along this same strip of ground. The flowers will bloom just as the bishop's weed begins to peek out of the dirt. As the flowers and their greenery fade, the bishop's weed will just be reaching its 10 to 12 inches of height and will take over the strip for the summer.

Technorati Tags: gardening groundcovers garden

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April 25, 2006

Apple Blossoms, or Why aren't there many apples on my tree?

Given the large number of blossoms on our apple tree, we get surprisingly few apples in late summer and fall. One big factor in this is that we have a lonely tree. It's the only one in our yard and none of the neighbors bordering our backyard have an apple tree. Apple trees are considered self-incompatible, or in other words, they cannot pollinate their own flowers or any flowers of trees of the same variety. If an apple tree can get cross-pollinated from a tree of another apple type, it will greatly improve the quality and yield of the apple harvest.

Our apple tree is large and its small apple production is still way too much for Carol and I to take advantage of, so we're not too concerned about improving the apple production. If we were, though, we'd have to be sure to pick out another apple tree that blooms at the same time as ours, since the flowers only bloom for a short time. A crabapple tree could also provide suitable pollination if both trees bloom at the same time.

References:

• http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8301.html
• http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/stateline/000928.html

Technorati Tags: gardening flowers apples trees

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November 04, 2005

Planting Dahlias

I've pulled up a raised bed's worth of ground cover with the thought of planting dahlias there in the spring. I've been doing a bit of research on planting tips and came across an informative site, The Garden Helper. Here's what their page on dahlias had to say:

Dahlias should not be planted until all danger of frost has passed, and the soil temperature reaches 58-60 degrees F. Excessively wet soil may cause the tubers to rot, so if your weather has been wet and stormy, you may want to wait for a drying trend.

Dig and prepare a 12 inch diameter by 12 inch deep planting hole. Mix a shovel full of compost, a handful of bone meal, and a little Dolomite lime to the soil which was removed.
Fill the planting hole with the soil mixture until it is about six inches deep. Then place the tuber horizontally in the bottom of the hole with the eye pointing upward. Tall varieties will need staking, so this is a good time to set an appropriate size stake into the ground next to the tuber (near the eye). This will prevent damage which can result if it is added after the tuber has begin to grow.

Cover the tuber with about two inches of your soil mixture and water thoroughly. When the sprout begins to emerge from the soil, gradually add more soil mix until the hole is entirely filled. Once the plant attains sufficient height, secure it loosely to the stake. (I recommend using a length of an old nylon stocking because it will stretch as the plant grows, rather than cutting into the stem, as string will do.) Add more ties as the stem grows until the plant is supported approximately 24 inches below the eventual top of the plant.

A Dahlia in bloom is a heavy feeder, so you may want to consider using a water soluble "bloom type" fertilizer about a month before the plants begin to bloom.

Dahlias which have been started in pots may be planted in the prepared hole following the same procedures you would for any other perennial plant.

That sounds a bit fussy compared to what I've done with garden over the past year, but after seeing what a year of near neglect does, I'm ready to get my hands dirty in the yard again.

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