Rodd's Seeds of Wisdom Horticultural tips and tricks from Rodd Moesel

We hope you have a special Memorial Day as we remember and honor all those who have served our country. They are so many wonderful and dedicated American citizens that have worked to create our country and to protect our rights and freedoms over the years here in our country and in wars and hot spots all around the world. Over the years we have come to use this holiday to remember all of our loved ones that preceded us, not just those who have committed to military service. Many still practice the custom of planting flowering plants on their ancestors grave or placing boxes or containers of living plants we often call Memorial Day Boxes on those special graves. Make sure you know the rules for each cemetery.

Many other families remember these loved ones by planting a tree, shrub, rose or other special plant each year in memory of their special family members that are no longer with us in body. These memorial plantings often allow us to keep that person’s spirit, memories and love closer at hand and make them a part of our daily or regular experience.

After 2 ½ weeks of rain we have just enjoyed one of the most beautiful weeks of spring weather in a very long time. Hopefully you were able to catch up on planting some or all of those plants you had purchased and were holding for drier soil. This is a great time to plant not just Memorial Day or “in memory” trees and plants but it is a great time to plant just about everything.

The plants we have already planted are just leaping from the ground with the sunshine and warmer weather of the last week after the earlier heavy rains. Remember we will need to start watering our flowerbeds and container gardens now that it is getting warmer and drier. This is a good time to start mulching those earlier plantings to reduce watering and weeding. After all the rains, weeds seem to be coming up everywhere so make sure to pull the weeds before they get out of control or select a herbicide or weed and grass killer that is safe to use over or around your crops. Mulching will dramatically reduce your weed problems. If you haven’t fed your trees, shrubs and lawn yet this spring now is a good time to do that before we get too hot. 

There are lots of things to do in the garden now but planting trees, shrubs, tomatoes, melons and summer vegetables and planting annual and perennial flowers is the main gardening message on this Memorial Day.

Two weeks ago we were really dry and on the verge of drought conditions. How quickly things can change. Now most of the state has been blessed with lots of good soaking rains and many areas are now above normal rainfall for the year. As long as you have well drained soil where your plants aren’t standing in water this has been very good for the plants you have already planted this spring. I have already purchased quite a few more plants to put out, but it has just been too wet to get out and plant them. I don’t like working in the soil when it is really muddy since besides being very messy it compacts the soil and can actually hurt the soil structure and reduce soil quality.

With just a couple of nice spring days the soil will dry out enough to create perfect planting conditions. A friend recently called this the season to dig, plant, water, feed, water and enjoy. Whether your “enjoy” is color and pretty flowers or fresh vegetables and fruit, this is an absolutely fabulous time to dig, plant and feed after these cleansing and refreshing spring rains. We are still at the start of the season and you can get the full benefits of gardening by planting soon.  After all these leaching rains and with our plants in their fastest growth phase of the year this is a great time of the year to fertilize your plants. Remember to water in the fertilizer, if we don’t get more rain within a day or two after you apply the fertilizer.

Hopefully, you have had a soil test, so you will know what kind of fertilizer you need. If not,  I would suggest a good general purpose food where the numbers of N-P-K add up to over 20 like 20 – 10 – 20.  We usually have enough phosphorous in our state so you can generally go lighter on the middle number of phosphorus. Our soils are usually short on nitrogen, the first number so it is often our most needed element. Treat your lawn, trees and flowers to some food. Be responsible and don’t over fertilize but the right fertilizer can make your plants much healthier and will result in more flowers and produce.           

This is also a great time to plant your container gardens so you can enjoy them on your patio, porch or even sitting in your flowerbeds. Now is the best of times to get outside and enjoy time in your garden.

WOW, Last week was absolutely gorgeous and really lived up to those images and dreams of the magical springs of my childhood. I hope you have already been active in planting vegetables, flowers, trees, roses and other wonders of the plant world in your yard. If not, time is a wastin’ as this is the very best season to be planting just about everything.

One by product of the economic uncertainty is that folks seem to be spending more time at home either because they aren’t working as many hours or are just watching their expenses. As a result we are seeing lots more people planting vegetable gardens or sprucing up their patios and yards with pretty flowers since they plan to be home to enjoy it more this year.

The good news is that gardening efforts have multiple paybacks. Investments in vegetable, berry and fruit gardening not only gives you very healthy, home grown produce that tastes better but it is fairly easy to produce $500.00 worth of produce in a very small 100 or 150 square foot vegetable garden with an investment of about $100.00 for transplants and fertilizer. The time spent in the garden can be a very healthy workout and provide some needed sun exposure. Gardening is a wonderful time to meditate, reflect and think while getting a refreshing dose of fresh air.

It has been a lot of fun to visit with so many new and first time gardeners this year. Even my sister in law, Heather and her children, Sydney and Cody are tackling their first vegetable garden and it has been fun to hear the excitement in their voices as they prepared their soil, selected their plants and planted their first tomatoes, peppers and eggplants and started seeds of squash and watermelons. Hopefully they will enjoy this experience and become regular gardeners. In many households and families these skills have almost been lost as many have gone a generation or two buying everything at the grocery store or hiring out their gardening. Many folks have missed this special experience to commune with nature, to enjoy their own fresh healthy produce, their own beautiful inspiring flowers, the success, the joys and the disappointments and frustrations of growing living things.

If you want to liven up your yard with beautiful, uplifting flowers or want to add trees and shrubs to your landscape this is a great time to get outside and just do it. You will reap the dividends later this year in pretty flowers and for years to come when planting trees and shrubs. Trees not only are beautiful and healthy but when properly placed can reduce your heating and cooling bills, will provide you fresh oxygen and absorb and use carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases. Trees, shrubs and landscaping can dramatically improve home values and make your property more marketable. Schedule some time to get outside and plant your yard and container gardens and no time beats now.

Oklahoma weather is always interesting, always changing and makes gardening here a little extra challenging.  In my last column we talked about how far ahead of normal we were.  We promptly had two pretty hard cold fronts, taking us well down into the 20’s.  We appear to have gotten very limited damage in central Oklahoma.  I suspect northwest Oklahoma got a lot more damage to their trees, shrubs and plants that were already budded out since they got much colder.  Here in the city I have seen Azalea flowers that turned brown with freeze burn and I have seen some of the new tender growth shoots on mums, grapes and other flowers that froze out, but on most of these plants the older growth appears fine and new growth should sprout out from below the freeze damage. 

Historically we have now had our last freeze and can get serious about the business of spring planting.  If you plan to plant a vegetable garden, this is the time to start planting your tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and other warm season vegetables.  Many folks are planting vegetable gardens for their first time this year and the quicker you plant, the longer the harvest season you will enjoy.  Tomatoes and peppers are the lead vegetables for most every garden, but think about the other vegetables you enjoy and plant some okra, sweet corn, squash, beans, melons or other healthy vegetables.  Nothing beats harvesting and eating your own fresh vegetables and it can save you significant expense on your grocery food bill at the same time.  If you don’t have room for a vegetable garden, plant at least a few vegetables in large containers on your sunny patio or around the house to get a taste of this fun. 

This is also the time to plant most all kinds of ornamental plants to beautify your yard and feed your soul.  Most of us are spending more time around home this year instead of traveling, so this is a great time to plant more trees and shrubs in your yard.  Consider adding some new flower beds, build a raised bed or add more large decorative containers to plant more perennials or annuals to beautify your home.  Most every garden should include some annuals for the color and excitement they add to the garden through the whole garden season.  Plant begonias, impatiens, petunias, marigolds, zinnias or any of the hundreds of other annuals that create the look and color you want in your yard.

We have about a week to go before our last average freeze date of April 7 and yet many areas of the state have already gone 2 or 3 weeks without a hard freeze. If we do get a hard freeze now we are at risk of some really significant damage with so many trees, shrubs and plants several weeks ahead of schedule. Keep your hot kaps, wall-o-waters, sheets and frost blankets handy in case we get a freeze and you need to protect your tender plants.

We have been blessed with many beautiful days which along with the steady show of blooming bulbs, shrubs and trees had me excited for spring even before the calendar made spring official last week. We still have many beautiful forsythia and quince shrubs in full flower and the flowering crabapples and redbud trees have been spectacular. It is very easy at this time of year to see why our early state leaders made the redbud our state tree as it produces bold splashes of purple, pink, red or white flowers to liven up our yards and natural habitats across the state. They have been especially beautiful this year.

We are seeing many folks plant their first vegetable garden this year and others expand their vegetable and herb gardens or add berries, grapes or fruit trees to their yard. Local garden centers are telling me that vegetable seed sales are up 25% to 50%. Onion plants and sets, seed potato and strawberry sales are also up dramatically as more people are trying their hand at growing their own produce. A little effort can give you a chance to save money on your grocery bill, to grow and enjoy really fresh local produce from you own  yard and the chance to know where your food comes from and how it has been raised. I suspect this trend to grow even more over the next few weeks as night temperatures warm a little more and it is time to plant tomatoes, green beans, peppers, eggplant and the other popular warm season vegetables.

If you don’t have the time or inclination to grow your own vegetables consider your local farmers markets and supporting your friends and neighbors who are growing great fresh food in your community. Nothing beats growing some of your own vegetables to feed your stomach and planting the flowering bedding plants you enjoy to beautify your yard and feed your soul. Plant a garden and enjoy spring up close and personal in your yard.