Planting Herbs in Container.....yes or no?

 Thanks for the question Kelli Jo. She was wondering about growing basil, dill, mint, rosemary & sage together in a container. The quick answer is yes, if the container is large enough. My list of considerations:

• if it's more for looks, than these 5 would do okay in a 4-5 gallon pot. (yes it's large)
• if you really want to harvest reasonable amounts, than plant each in it's own 2 gallon pot
• containers normally need water daily, unlike plants in garden beds
• if the container is too small, eventually some of the 5 will take over and the rest will suffer

 Above is dill that will typically re-seed itself, even in the same season! Dill is usually at least 18" tall.

 Peppermint is above. Mostly all the mints are invasive if allowed in the garden beds unchecked. Most will winter over in a pot, it the pot is big enough in relevance to the rootball. If the plant is over grown, and a large amount of roots are up against the sides the pot, there is no winter protection. Late fall, good time to repot to a larger size w/o disturbing the root ball so you can offer a few inches of soil protection around the rootball.

 Rosemary will seldom if ever winter over. It would be the shortest in your group. Some folks try to winter over indoors, a lot of work w/little success.

Very hardy. Many types are biennials, only lasting 2 years. Earthworks carries true perennial sage. I love them mixed in the perennial bed as they offer a contrasting texture and color. They are slow to rebound in the spring, so don't dig and toss too early! These winter over well in pots, but again it is the rootball vs. pot size issue.
Hope that has given you ideas!

My blog tells me when it's crappy out!

The stat counter that is. My viewers set a record today for Earthworks. 110 pages of my blog were viewed just today!!!! That's awesome. (for me anyway!) Crappy days always bring more readers, sunny days....not so much!  Thanks to all who read.....now.....more questions please!!!!

Protecting Plants

 Cold nights may be on the way for us. Perennials will be okay. If they suffer a little....they will grow back. The warm weather crops like pepper or tomato ......that's another story. BUT had you listened to me in the first place you wouldn't be in this dilema! Shown here are a couple of methods. You can cut off the bottom of a 2-liter soda bottle or milk carton. The issue can be holding them in place.

You may not have enough materials on hand to save them all. If you just installed them within the last week, digging back up is an option. They likley have not grown out of the rootball much yet. I would only attempt this if frost is predicted 2-3 nights in a row. It's difficult to stay current with the ever changing weather reports, and then what actually happens! The above system, shows fabric around stakes or a cage. Then, I would gently tuck in straw or dried leaves in around to help protect the plants. If the daytime temps are below 50, I'd just leave the protection in place. Once good weather returns uncover. If your plants are croaked, we will be having transplants at  Earthworks In May!

Dayliles for the garden!

 Today me and my girl crew potted up lots of daylilies from the field at Earthworks. Several new ones that have not been potted here yet....waiting patiently in the field for their turn to shine! Above is "Warm Plum Smiles." A more rounded petal, very pretty.

 Above is "Tiger Kitten," a smaller plant at 22" with 3" blooms.

 "Raspberry Suede." Very dramatic! Diamond dusted and a 'premium' daylily in the industry.

 "Artist's Etching." Can be more peachy looking.

 "August Frost." (let's hope not!) Late bloomer with a large flower, also a 'premium variety.'

 "Daring Deception." a mid season bloomer that re-bloomers. Love that edge.

 "Black Eyed Stella." early season flowers and a re-bloomer.

 "Jedi Free Spirit." Lotsa buds on this one and fragrant! Very pretty.

"Summer Blush."  Sweet fragrance on these diamond dusted 5" blooms. Gorgeous.
So digging and potting these were a few of the many things on our potting list for the day. Back again tomorrow!

My summer home.

 The shed is taking shape. Planning to add a 12' pergola across the full length of the front, and also on the south side of the building. Shade baby! I have worked these 10 acres in the sun since 2004. The set of French doors are salvaged from my solarium from the tornado house.

 The floor was installed today in my sales side of the shed. There are 3 sky lights on each side of the roof that will help to bring light in. 



The other side will have a gravel base for parking my team of work horses, 'the John Deeres.'
Tomorrow a dividing wall between the 2 areas will be installed from top to bottom. It will take a while to get it all set-up, very exciting. My good friend Deb has offered to help, always appreciated.
It's going to be so handy to be able to keep all my tools and farm junk stored right there. Eight years of hauling everything back and forth is enough!

How to plant tomatoes & build tomato cages

You may have to click on the smaller drawings to see them better. Trench planting tomatoes is the only way for me. I don't even plant them as deep as shown. The deeper you go down, the colder the soil is, the longer it takes for the plant to get going. The soil on top is nice and warm, so why not pull up a pile over the plant. Don't try to hard to straighten up the top if it seems sideways, it will straighten on it's on.

 The plant above looks very healthy but a bit big for going into a garden. The bigger the plant, the more difficult the adjustment can be. A plant in a 3-4" pot is about the biggest I would recommend for the garden. The quart/gallon size above would be better suited for a container. You should only plant tomatoes when the night temps are consistently above 50 degrees. For zone 4, we can get frost up to May 15th, our 'mean' date. Tomatoes will take NO frost. Trying to rush them will only stress the plants and they may have long slow recovery if at all. Time wise, you gain nothing. Much easier and less stressful for you to just wait, unless you want to stand outside with a blow dryer all night. =)

Above are samples of planting systems. I prefer the straw method. Once you start using straw in the garden, you're addicted to using it. The benefits are huge when talking about prevention of moisture loss....like 90%!  Instead of having plants wet-dry-wet-dry, the mulch helps to keep the moisture in and provides a steady supply to the plants. Plus, you can cut your watering in 1/2. Also, by keeping the soil moist, it stays loose allowing easier root growth. A layer of 6" or more will also help with weed control. With at least 6" of straw, most of the sunlight does not reach the soil surface so weed seeds don't sprout. Bonus.

Tomato cages. Above is the best type. The junky ones most places sell are better suited for peppers than tomato plants. You do not have to cage tomatoes. They are a vine plant and their natural habit is to sprawl. That's what I do......let'em sprawl! I sometimes plant them in geo-tech materials with straw on the top for superior weed control, and sometimes just straw. The straw also prevents the fruit (yes, fruit) from sitting on the soil and rotting. There usually are a few rodents who will eat some of the fruits, brats. The fruit are also easier to spot, them trying to fiddle threw all those leaves stuffed in a cage. Sprawling does take up more space though. The most I planted in any one year was 600.
My favorites are Celebrity for a gorgeous slicer, Sungold a supersweet orange cherry, Juliet for salsa and canning (so juice and sweet). Earhtworks will have tomato plants for sale early-mid May, and tomatoes in the summer.

Strawberries & Black Walnut Trees

 Kathy was inspired to consider strawberries in her garden. She was asking about using raised beds as she has Black Walnut trees in her yard. I think that is likely your only option. The root systems of black walnut trees emit a chemical that is toxic to many other plants, especially the Nightshade family. Nightshades: peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant. Even destroying the tree will not help, there is no fix. Nearly all parts of the tree give off the chemical juglones. Even rain dripping off the leaves of black walnut can be toxic to some plants. So let's chat about raised beds. Several things come to mind about the one pictured above.

• looks junky
• so small, why bother?
• cheap material
• may last on season
• likely will not look like this after winter 

The above raised bed looks better. However, the boards are likely to bow out after a year or so. Support pieces of 2x4 should be used as reinforcement on the inside and outside, attached to both boards and also going about 8"into the soil, like a big stake. With the black walnut poison lurking around, I would line it with a heavy plastic. What about drainage....hmm. i would make a few small slits in the plastic, like 1 per square foot. I think I would make the bed at least as tall as shown 20" or so? Strawberries are shallow rooted plants, and won't go more than 8" down. Before installing the boards, I would drill weep holes along the bottom several inches off the bottom board to allow water to seep out. About 1 small hole every 6 inches. Make sense? Can you see it in my mind?

I don't care for this tiny cirlce shape, but if you plan to live where you are for many years, I would choose to make beds out of pavers or field stone. I admit, I am a stone lover. They look more natural in your yard as opposed to lumber or plastic beds. Also, do not use black walnut leaves for composting or covering plants in the winter or for summer mulch. Thanks for the questions, keep them coming, then I don't have to 'think' about what to post next, I can just get at it!  =)