All posts by Tom Roberts

It is about time we got back to the blog.

For one reason or another there have been no posts and I am sick of it, not to mention that spring is just around the corner.

The greenhouse is starting to come alive with seedlings and new plants. This year we decided to work with some fuchsias and we have been rewarded with a bumper crop. They should be ready for spring baskets.

We did have a set back a few weeks ago when the greenhouse door was left ajar on a 15 below zero night. The problem is ice that forms on the inside of the aluminium door when the temperature inside is warm while the temperature outside is below zero. The door appeared to be closed tight but the ice forced it open.

We lost a number of plants but thank goodness there were many more that were spared. The new geraniums were on the bench very near where the heater blows and they were spared.

Unlike the problem last spring when we failed to anticipate a cold night and our crop of regal geraniums was badly damaged.
It is very important that we remember that zone 4 temperatures can dip to 30 below and more. Spring can start early and seem warm but we have had snow on mothers day.

I think we will be doing some work on the greenhouse this season including a better insulated door and new siding for the front and rear.

Phyllis really likes bread and butter pickles and although I prefer garlic dills I have to admit a good bread and butter pickle goes with almost any sandwich. Well maybe not peanut butter.
I remember back when I was first exposed to this type of pickle, in my mothers canning cupboard. I was a little confused by the presents of many things that I did not consider to be pickle. Of course the cucumber was identifiable but why were there onions in there and what are those little round things and other strange looking ( to me ) things that settled to the bottom of the jar?
Since in those days, I did not pay much attention to my mothers canning, there was no way for me to know about the various spices and vegetables that were combined to give the bread and butter pickle its sweet and spicy flavor.

Fast forward to 2004 and we were getting ready to plant our first official garden at our new place. As the seeds began to arrive in March we noticed a pack of cucumbers that we did not order. I believe it was from Park Seeds. It was called the Eureka Cucumber and we were not sure we wanted to plant them. They looked a bit squat and stubby and not like a pealing cucumber at all. But waste not want not, we started some and set them out to grow on the stick fence that surrounds the asparagus garden. We put a few more of them in the row gardens with no staking.
The weather that year was a bit wet to begin with but they did well. We were really surprised at how fast they went from fingerling to full blown cukes. That is if you can call a 6″ by 2″ or 3″ cuke full blown. We sliced up a few and they were OK for eating but the trouble was they were coming in by the peck each day. We put some on the stand and they sold but we had many more than we could possibly deal with.

Since they were billed as a dual use cuke, for pickles and slicing, we decided to put some up. The fruits were rather fleshy with medium sized seeds and they would become fat and yellow in a day if we did not pick them in time. So we continued to picked them and kept them cool.
We decided to make both bread and butter and dill pickles but in the end we made 2 versions of the bread and butter and one of the dills. As it turned out they worked perfect for the former and not so hot for the latter. The problem with the dills is they were soft and opaque, and not to my liking. The kids on the other hand made short work of the dills.
We found the recipes at at the Minnesota cooperative extension web site. We use them a lot since their climate is similar to ours.

Our favorites were the spicy bread and butter pickle. We omitted the liming process and they were fine. The trick is to get them just as they are ripe, because if you wait a day more they become soft and not so good.

We have run out of pickles and we went to the store to see what was available. We were very disappointed when we found every version of bread and butter pickle had high fructose corn syrup as a sweetener. Except for one and that one had Splenda. This is a perfect example of why it is far better to put up your own. I am ordering the seeds this week.

There is a phenomenon long observed in the north country called the “January Thaw”.

I don’t really know and can not remember if it thaws every January but at least when warm weather interrupts our winter we have something to call it. I don’t think we have to completely thaw, that is all show and ice melting, but the weather must be above freezing for at least a few days.

For example, the weather goes from ten below zero to 20 F. we sarcastically remark, “well that’s our January thaw”, but in reality this example does not count. To be an official January thaw the temperatures would need to stay above freezing for 2 or 3 days.

In this years thaw everything is melted. The temperature has stayed above 32 degrees for something like a week or so, even at night. Phyllis came up from the greenhouse the other day and said she could hear the water sinking into the ground. With the early snow cover and now this warm weather the ground is not frozen yet and is more or less like a sponge.

This is good because we can easily open the cellar and greenhouse door and we are not using a lot of oil. But it is not so good in that the perennials are going up and down in temperature. It is better if they stay frozen for the winter and that is why we keep them in the shade this time of year. That way sun does not melt the show covering the containers.

It now looks like our temperatures will slowly drift back down to the 20’s and 30’s and that is fine with us. We can remember years when the temperature stayed below zero F. for weeks at a time, dipping to 30 and 40 below so anything in the 20’s and above is balmy by comparison.

This time of year our mail box is chock full of seed catalog. Every year we get more and more so we thought it would be fun to highlight some of the more interesting, useful and unusual ones, so here is our seed catalog review.

The other day we received a catalog that we have not seen before. It is R.H. Shumway’s Illustrated Garden Guide. The first thing we noticed was the size. Not the thickness, this catalog is 10 inches wide and 13 1/2 inches tall. For you metric types that’s about 14 furlongs by half a hogs head.

The catalog is profusely illustrated in black and white, much like the wall street journal and there is a photo of the old boy him self with the caption, ” The American Pioneer Seedsman”.

The “Guide” is more of a catalog with the usual items and a few odd balls like cranberry plants. But just because it calls its self a guide doesn’t make it so. In order for a catalog to be a guide there should be some growing tips and information. Although this catalog has a feel like a farmers almanac, there is non of the sage advice we were hoping for.

We went to the website and were more disappointed. It is so bad we will not put a link here but if you try you should be able to figure it out. Any site that has images that claim, “no image” needs work.
I think they have a good idea but poor execution. We would give this catalog a 2 on a scale from 1 to 10.

This year has been funny in that we have had some snow cover since November. Funny in that for the past few years the winter has been relatively dry. When we do not get much snow fall the ground tends to free faster than when there is cover.

And in spite of the fact that we have had snow, the temperatures have been above 0 degrees Fahrenheit. This combination of warm relatively warm temperatures and snow cover means the ground has not total frozen.

As a matter of fact Phyllis was able to pull the paver blocks up from in-front of the greenhouse door with no problem. We have 4 – 18″ square blocks in front of the door to the greenhouse so that a mud hole does not form in wet weather. Normally they would be frozen to the earth and we would need to pry them up with a crowbar. As a matter of fact in past winters the ground would heave by now, from being frozen, to the point where the pavers make it impossible to fully open the door.

One problem is the stone around the green houses is not frozen so when we run the snow-blower around the outside it tends to pick up some of the gravel. It really is no problem for the snow blower but if a lot is removed we will have to replenish it.

This year is not shaping up to be much of a zone 4 climate, more like zone 6 or 7 !
The warmer weather and cover may allow us to have a good wintering for the perennial garden plants. We put them up in gallon pots and winter them over in 2 beds which measure 5′ by 20′ each. The beds are made from 2″ by 12″ larch and we fill them up with next years perennial plants.

The beds are situated so they stay in the shade until late spring so the sun does not have a chance to melt the covering snow. These plants usually come through stronger and are ready for the garden in late spring until fall.

In the spring the sun get up to a point to where the beds are in full sun from the end of March until October which is perfect for wintering. We only hope the voles stay away.

One of the challenges for zone 4 gardening is dealing with the effects the cold weather has on the plants. Not the ones in the greenhouse but the ones in the beds. Winter Greenhouse and Garden Chores are a necessary job in the gardening business.

When we have a good amount of snow, as we do this year, the plants are insulated from the cold. A good cover of snow will dampen the effects from a cold snap, and by cold we mean in the neighborhood of twenty below zero of lower. All the perennials we have in the permanent gardens are suppose to be hearty to at least 30 below but when the ground is bare all bets are off. So at least we are covered for now.

The other plants we are concerned with are the perennial stock in the raised beds. These are last years starts put up in one gallon pots. One of 3 things will happen to these plants,
They will survive all assaults and we will have a nice crop for spring sales.

The cold will kill a certain number of them and we will need to start from scratch.
The voles will eat the roots, killing some of the plants.
The good news is with the snow cover the pots will be protected from cold and freeze thaw that can kill the plants.

The bad news is the snow cover provides a hiding place for the voles. Last year we tried to use straw to bed the gallon pots but the seed in the straw fed the voles. They gathered the seeds and buried it in many of the pots. While they were there they ate many of the plant root systems. This year we have decided to forgo the straw and let the show do the work. We shall see in the spring.

One thing is for certain. We will be starting a number of popular perennials this year, to cover ourselves in-case the plants die or are eaten and also to provide a new stock for the 2009 season. It pays to plan ahead.

The weather men were all excited as the forecast of a snow storm blared from the TV, radio and Internet. You would have thought that we had never seen snow before. Shoot I can remember Decembers when we got over 100 inches of snow. When we were kids there was always plenty of snow. And nobody had snow-blowers. My parents shoveled the snow by hand.

But every winter we endure the first heavy snow of the season just like we have been doing for many years.

I can remember one winter they were shoveling out the drive and we were on a snow bank looking down on the top of the car.
Anyway I digress. I really like blowing snow so today we went out and did everything including around the greenhouse. I really don’t know if it is important but I like to keep the snow off the plastic if I can.

It really shows the insulating properties of the double layer plastic when there can be snow and ice on the top and its 75 comfortable degrees inside.

We have gravel beds around the outside of the greenhouse where the summer plant racks sit. This way we do not need to worry about trimming weeds under the plant benches. We made them by securing 1 inch by 4 inch larch boards in the ground using 2 foot lengths of 1/2 inch conduit. The board are parallel to the sides of the greenhouse and 3 feet out. Then we put landscape fabric down and then pea gravel on top of that. It is the same 1/2 inch gravel that serves as the floor of the greenhouse.

The original design was to make the benches just wide enough to cover the gravel so the snow blower wold not pick it up when going around the outside. Unfortunately there is not enough room for the snow blower to keep a safe distance from the plastic. If we were to contact the wiggle wire the snow blower could rip the plastic and I don’t even want to think about changing it in the winter. I am not sure the mending tape would work either.

At any rate we plowed a nice wide path to the greenhouse and a 4 foot swath all around. After all its winter and we never know when we will get a real snow storm.

The snow is finally here and the days are getting shorter. We are fast approaching the shortest day of the year know as the winter solstice. The shortage of light is thought to cause depression in many people.

It is also thought that bright light can help to alleviate the effects of a long winters night, but as it turns out there is a bit more to it than just bright light. Apparently the timing of the light is important. An article at Web MD points to studies that indicate the best time for bright light is in the morning.
It seems this will help to reset our internal clocks, thus helping us cope with the effects of light deprivation.

This may explain the euphoric feeling when working in the greenhouse during a bright winter morning. I used to think it had something to do with the extra oxygen that the plants start producing in the morning. If the temperature is below 80 degrees in side the vents do not function so all the extra oxygen is trapped in the greenhouse.

I think it would be fun to test the concentration to see if I am right.
Anyway now it seems that the light may have something to do about it as well.

Much has been written about the pros and cons of the big box stores and their garden sections. More con than pro.
The box stores may not be the best place for garden needs due to the lack of training and education for the workers.
But there is a really good reason to stop in often and that is clearance sales to take advantage of seasonal gardening deals.

Years ago, not that many really, I worked for a large hardware store. This was before the day of the chain style corner hardware store. This store carried hardware, tools, paint, kitchen supplies, farm supplies, gardening, appliances and on and on. The company had 3 large warehouses in which to store the stock as they were regional distributors for many popular lines.

Many items such as garden hose, bicycles, ice skates, shot guns and so on we sold seasonally according to the market. So in the fall any garden hose was put into storage for next season and ice skates that were left over from last season were brought out of storage. Naturally new stock was ordered in anticipation of the coming season but the point is the left over stock was not sold off at clearance. Why would the owners loose money on the investment if they could save the stock for next year.

Now a days the formula is vastly different. The stores have very little storage space and they do not tie it up with overstock. Usually the stock arrives from a central warehouse or distributor and is immediately placed on the floor for sale.
This is where the clearance deals come in to play.

It is not uncommon to find many perfectly good items at drastically reduced prices. For example we were in a blue big box store recently and they were liquidating some 8’ tropical palm trees. Being that we are in a cold climate they would die right away if left out doors so they would not be good for the garden, but if you had a large enough space you could buy one for $2.00. Originally about $60.00
Of more interest to us were the giant terra cotta pots. The ones that will hold a small tree. Originally $70.00 we bought 3 for $25.00. They are really big and heavy but they will hold an elephant ear or cedar tree nicely. And we can store them until spring.

Another item usually found are box wood or other small shrubs that can be dug in for the winter. Just be sure to check the gardening zone chart. It is not uncommon for these stores to stock plants and shrubs out of zone so know your plants or read the label. Never the less, a nice canna can be kept indoors in a sunny window and it will bloom all winter long, or just save the bulb for next spring.

Watch for whole lines that may be sold off. We were able to buy a boat load of wire plant hanger baskets complete with coco liners for $1.00 each just because the store was switching to a new distributor. They needed the space for the new stock so the handing baskets were sold off cheap and quick.

Find out when your local stores place the specials out. Some of the stores around our area put the stuff out Saturday morning but many deals can be found Friday as the stock is put out in advance of the Saturday crowd.

And don’t be afraid to ask for an additional price reduction, especially if you have noticed the item on clearance for a number of days.
Good hunting and happy gardening !

Now that the temperature is falling below freezing at night we need to bring in all the ceramic pottery.
This includes all terra cotta pots, glazed ceramic pots and any other pots or crockery that might break when left out.

There seems to be a misconception about freezing and breaking pots. We make terra cotta bird houses and feeders and we leave them out all year with no damage. But if we were to leave a terra cotta pot with dirt out the pot would probably break.

The reason the pots break is they are filled with soil which holds moisture and when the moisture freezes it expands and the pots break. The bird feeders have no place for the water or soil to collect and the shape is such that even if there were wet bird feed in the feeder it could not break.

Smaller pots are emptied into a wheel barrow and the collected soil is removed to one of the compost piles. The same goes for most of the larger pots, the only difference is they take much longer to empty . We use some of the bigger pots for elephant ears and we take the bulbs in for planting next year along with the cannas.

The pots are cleaned out with clorox to kill bio organisms and they are stored for next season. We have quite a collection of pots and it would be a waste to let them break.