For the past few years, the leaves on the tips of the stems of my rose bush have leafed out a much lighter green than the leaves on the lower parts of the stems.  The veins of the leaves remain dark green though.  Soon those leaves  top leaves turn yellow and then the edges get brown

            I admit I have difficulty identifying plant nutrient deficiencies, especially when it comes to the micronutrients, which are those nutrients other than the big three – nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium – that are found in most commercial fertilizers.  The problem is that the symptoms of many nutrient deficiencies look alike. 

For example, interveinal chlorosis, the yellowing of tissue between leaf veins while the veins remain green, can be the result of a lack of magnesium, iron, manganese, zinc or boron. 

            There are other clues however, that can pinpoint the problem.  One of the easiest is to determine whether the problem is occurring on older, lower leaves or on younger, upper leaves.  In the list above, symptoms of magnesium and zinc deficiencies occur on older leaves and the others appear on younger leaves. 

            Say the problem is on older leaves.  Besides interveinal chlorosis, both magnesium and zinc defiencies cause stunted growth, so that doesn’t narrow the problem down any.  But zinc deficiency also causes leaves to be thickened while magnesium deficiency does not.

            Along with interveinal chlorosis on younger leaves, iron deficiency causes stunted growth.  A lack of boron produces twisted and pale green young leaves and buds may die and a plant with a deficiency of manganese will have brown spots scattered throughout the leaves.

            There is a further twist to the problem though.  After going to the trouble of determining the problem and trekking to the garden shop to buy a bag or bottle of some potion that’s going to fix it, you may be wasting your time and money if your soil pH is not at the correct level for the nutrient to be taken up by the plant. 

I determined that the problem with my rose bush was an iron deficiency, but I learned that iron deficiency is actually rare in soils, and that the problem might be that the pH of my soil was too high.  A high pH ties up the iron in soils and makes it unavailable to plants.  To lower the pH, I sprinkled a few cups of coffee grounds around the rose bush.  In a few weeks it looked a lot healthier.  With all the rain we’ve had, I’ll be adding more coffee grounds again soon and I’ll make a note on my calendar to do it again early next spring before the rose bush even begins to leaf out.

To prevent deficiencies in micro-nutrients in the first place, generous use of compost and foliar feeding with liquid seaweed or fish emulsion should do the trick.

Spend your gardening time and money wisely

      George Washington said “Bad seed is robbery of the worst kind, for your pocket-book not only suffers by it, but your preparations are lost and a season passes away unimproved.”  He makes a good point.  Often you’ll find that those ten-packs-for-a-dollar seeds don’t germinate very well and there usually aren’t many seeds in them.  You’ll end up buying new, better quality seed if it isn’t too late in the season by the time you figure out your mistake, or else just giving up on the project.  I’d hate to think that someone thought they lacked a green thumb because they made the mistake of buying bad seed.

      The same premise holds true when you buy gardening tools.  Buy the best quality tools you can afford or you’ll be replacing them every year.  A dollar store trowel will soon bend and you’ll be back at the store for another.  If you’ve got clay soil, a cheap digging fork will look like a whirlygig after a few uses.  An even better idea than purchasing new high quality tools is to shop at yard and estate sales.  The older tools are the strongest and best.

      Another way that money and time is wasted in the garden is when the gardener is gung-ho in the spring and plants a huge vegetable garden or installs a big flowerbed full of plants that are going to need a lot of maintenance over the growing season.  Then life interferes, the garden chores fall to the wayside, and weeds overtake.  Soon the weeds are so prevalent that just thinking about beginning to clear them out is overwhelming. 

      Avoid this mess by making a commitment at the start of the season to see your plans through.  Be realistic.  You know how much time your other obligations take, and whether or not you can count on family members to help out in the garden.  Scale plans back at the start and you’ll be much happier with the entire project.  You can always add on later in the season or next year if you find that you have extra time to devote to the garden.

      If we don’t get sufficient rainfall, your garden is going to need supplemental water.  Unless you’ve installed an irrigation system, this will also take some of your time.  Don’t waste money on beautiful plants that you then allow to die for lack of water.  Even worse is buying too many plants and never getting them in the ground!

      Perhaps the worst waste of resources is the unharvested vegetable garden.  You’ve worked all season, weeding, watering, mulching, monitoring for pests, and then you’re going to let it all rot?  If you’ve lost your ambition at the end of the season and just can’t can, freeze, or dehydrate any more produce, please donate it to a local food pantry.  For most of the year, food pantries  distribute only non-perishable food items and their patrons are very happy to get fresh produce for the short time it is available in Wisconsin.

      I have an extensive library of gardening books and many binders and file folders full of articles I’ve clipped with gardening tips and advice.  Another place I look to find gardening information is the seed catalogs that fill my mailbox this time of year.  Some of them are so detailed and full of information that they read like a gardening textbook!

      The Gardens Alive catalog has a section entitled “Your Guide to Common Insect Pests and How to Control Them Naturally.”  There are a lot of creepy, but excellent, photos of insects and the damage they cause, a description of the pest and damage, and several suggested solutions.  There is a similar section for plant diseases and some guidance on how to prevent these problems in the first place.  To order this catalog, see www.gardensalive.com or call 513-354-1482.

      The Johnny’s Selected Seeds catalog is packed with growing information for each type of seed it offers.  For red peppers, a full third of a page is devoted to how to sow the seeds, transplanting, use of row covers, insect pests and diseases that may be encountered and how to deal with them, when to harvest and how to store.

      Along with growing information and excellent photos, a 12-page section on lettuce and other greens describes the various types of lettuce, differentiating between. head lettuce, romaine, bibb, and iceberg.  There are several charts in the section comparing different varieties of lettuce offered.  One chart compares five lettuces in regard to color, susceptibility to bolting and tip burn, performance in hot weather, size/weight and taste.

      Elsewhere in the Johnny’s catalog, there is a glossary of terms you might encounter in any seed catalog.  Words like certified organic, hybrid, heirloom, green manure, resistance, tolerance and more are defined.  See www.Johnnyseeds.com or call 877-564-6697.

      The John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds catalog is a little different.  It offers wonderful drawings of plants rather than photos.  Along with growing information and unusual descriptions of taste – shiso, a salad green, has “the bold, complex flavor of cilantro and cumin with a hint of cinnamon” – there are suggested recipes.  For example, daikon radishes can be finely grated and 1 to 2 tablespoons used to cover to cover the surface of  each fish fillet prior to steaming.  They suggest serving with a soy-based sauce and citrus zest.  The website is www.kitchengardenseeds.com.  Phone 860-567-6086.

      Our own Wisconsin Jung Seeds & Plants company also offers some education in their catalog.  Just a few of the tips I found include instructions for pruning summer bearing and ever-bearing raspberries, how long to wait for pear trees to start producing, a design for a perennial border, instructions for pruning each of the three types of clematis with a corresponding type number in each of the 13 varieties of clematis offered, and how to plant hostas.  A catalog can be ordered at www.jungseed.com or by calling 1-800-247-5864.

      Gardeners are continuously experimenting and learning and hopefully gaining some wisdom from their mistakes.

      The gardening mistakes I’ve made over the years basically fall into three categories:   planting in the wrong lighting conditions, spacing plants improperly, and not recognizing that a plant is becoming invasive quickly enough.

      When I first started gardening, I planted a lot of things in the shade that should have been in the sun, and vice versa.  For example, I planted dogwood in full sun and mugho pine in full shade.  Neither did well until they were transplanted to a spot with proper lighting conditions.  Then they prospered.

      Placing plants in the wrong spots can cause expensive problems.  For example, ten years ago, we foolishly planted an apple tree right in our septic field.  So far, with fingers crossed, there haven’t been any problems, but trouble is inevitable in the future. 

      About the same time, we planted a maple sapling too close to a mature maple.  Even though my grandma warned me that they were too close and that the branches would touch some day, I couldn’t imagine that happening.  These two maples are almost 50 feet apart!  This year the branches of the two trees met.  Compounding that mistake, we built our pond about 15 feet east of the younger tree, and in fall all the leaves end up in the pond water. 

      Five years ago, we planted several white pines in the backyard.  Now that they are getting a little taller, I’ve realized that in a few years they will be casting shade on my vegetable garden.  In addition, one of the pines is too close to the brush pile that we burn every spring and that tree gets burn damage every time. 

      One problem that has become serious this year is that I’ve allowed invasive reed canary grass to grow on the part of our property that is unmown.  There was just a small patch about five feet in diameter for 15 years or so.  I didn’t know what it was for many years, and had an emotional attachment to it because my niece just loved to play in that patch of very tall grass when she was a little girl.  About three years ago I identified it as reed canary grass, but it seemed rather benign and I had those good memories of my niece.  Well, this year there are patches of reed canary grass everywhere!  It is completely out of control.  So far, what I’ve done to control it is to cut the seed heads off before they could spread seeds even further, but I think that next year more drastic action will need to be taken.  It was totally irresponsible of me to let that first patch of grass grow once I realized what it was.

      Even long-time Master Gardeners can make mistakes.  I hope you can learn from a few of mine and avoid making the same ones.

      Like every other pursuit, gardening has its own vocabulary.  Here are a few definitions to help you understand what your gardening friends are talking about.

• Beneficial insects.  These insects provide a service to the garden such as pollination or control of insect pests.  Some beneficial insects are bees, wasps, moths, ladybugs, lacewings, dragonflies and spiders.  Neither organic nor synthetic insecticides distinguish between beneficial and harmful insects so avoid using them whenever possible.  Instead try to attract beneficials to your garden by growing plants rich in pollen and nectar, providing water, leaving some weeds for shelter and food sources and installing permanent pathways and mulched beds for beneficial insects to hide in during cultivation.  Beneficial insects can be purchased to release in your garden.
• Deciduous plant.  A plant that loses its leaves each year at the end of the growing season. 
• Deadheading.  Cutting dead flowers off stems after bloom.  Besides making the plants look nicer, the purpose of deadheading is to prevent the plant from spending its energy producing seeds.  Deadheading sometimes encourages new growth and re-bloom.
• Drip irrigation.  An efficient way to water plants by applying water directly to the root zone.  Either a soaker hose or a more sophisticated system of PVC pipes and flexible tubing is buried underground.  Water is turned on at a very low pressure and it slowly drips only where needed instead of spreading out and covering a large area.
• Heirloom plant.  These are plants that were grown by your grandparents.  The seeds have been saved year after year and the plants that grow from them are identical to the ones grown a hundred years ago.
• Hybrid plant.  A plant produced by crossing two plants with different genetic backgrounds to produce a new plant.  Plants may be bred to emphasize disease resistance, longer storage time, size, color, taste, etc.
• Shade cloth.  A very light-weight polyester cloth that is placed over plants to protect them from insect pests or bright sun.  Also provides slight frost protection.  It is usually purchased in long rolls and can be easily cut to the size needed.  Edges are weighted down with stones to prevent insects from getting to plants.  Shade cloth must be removed from plants that need insects for pollination when flowers form.
• Succession planting.  Planting a late crop of vegetables in the same space in the garden that another crop occupied earlier in the season.  For example, radishes and peas are fast growers that are harvested early and can be followed by beans or carrots.
• Top dressing/side dressing.  These terms refer to adding fertilizer plants are growing.  The fertilizer is sprinkled within a row of plants, or in a band next to a row and scratched into the soil.  It may also be applied in a circle around larger plants like tomatoes.

      My dairy farmer neighbors sold their herd last June and have turned their attention to landscaping their farmyard.  A year ago they hired a landscaping company who at great expense installed a small pond, put some plantings around it, planted a mis-labeled tree, and then went out of business.

      I’ve been asked to revive and replant the area.  Many of the landscaper-installed perennials have died and weeds have taken over the bed. 

      Here’s the problem:  the area is almost entirely in the shade all day long and I am admittedly weak in knowledge of shade gardening.  Hosta, violets and lily-of-the-valley are the plants that come immediately to mind and two of those have a tendency to get out of control.  The third, hosta, is not a favorite of my farmer friends.

      At the library I checked out every shade gardening book on the shelves.  The internet is also a good resource, but I prefer books.  I quickly paged through the books and chose the two best, based on good photos and growing information. 

      I went through the chosen books more slowly, keeping in mind that the homeowners like the colors pink, blue, lavender and white, and made a list of all the possibilities for their garden.  I immediately eliminated anything that wasn’t hardy in our area. 

      Some of the things I had to keep in mind were: 1) the pond –it is the focal point and the plants around it should look natural, be low enough so the pond can be seen, and draw the eye to the pond   2) the tree – plants grown under the tree need shallow roots so they are not competing with the tree roots.  Also, tall plants won’t look good in this bed with the tree nearby.  3)  the location – the flowerbed is in the middle of the front yard and is viewed from all directions.  Taller plants will need to be in the middle with progressively lower plants toward the edges.  4) the plants already in place – the homeowner likes these, so we’ll get more of the same.  Some may need to be moved.  5)  deer – always a problem.  The whole list had to be cross-checked with lists of plants deer like and dislike.

      If the flowerbed was in my own yard, I would have spent several days or weeks just looking at the area to be planted, turning various options over in my mind before making any decisions.  Since this flowerbed is a couple miles away, I have to rely on photos I took last fall.

      Though I have photos and measurements, there is nothing like looking at the real thing.  As soon as snow melts, I’ll take my books and my lists to talk with the homeowner and make a tentative planting design plan.  The final decisions on what to plant will of course be determined by which of the listed plants can be found locally or through mail order.

      With all the snow that’s already fallen this winter, the foods that birds can scavenge on their own are mostly covered.  You can help them out by filling your bird feeder with purchased seed, but it’s more fun to make homemade bird treats.  Some of these make great gifts for bird lovers as well.

      The easiest treat is made by smearing peanut butter on a pine cone and rolling the cone in bird seed.  Hang the cone on a tree branch or tuck it in the crook where two branches come together.

      Suet, which is the fat trimmed from meat, can be purchased in the meat department at grocery stores.  If you don’t see it out for sale, ask at the meat counter.  Suet needs to be melted in a double boiler or slow cooker until it is mostly liquid for the following recipes.

      *    Use a cookie cutter to cut bell shapes from pieces of stale white bread.  Dip the bells in melted suet, and then press them into birdseed.  Poke a hole in the tops of the bells and push a cord through for hangers.  When they harden hang them outside from a tree or shrub branch.

      *    Melt 1 cup suet and stir in 1 cup each of peanut butter, oats and cornmeal until evenly combined.  Use a knife to press the mixture into the creases of a pine cone and then roll the cone in birdseed to cover evenly.  Place the cone on a piece of wax paper until it hardens and then hang it outside.

      *    Cook 3 ½ cups of oatmeal.  Stir in 1 lb. melted suet, and 18 oz. peanut butter.  Add 3 ½ cups each cornmeal and cream of wheat.  When cooled enough to hold together, shape into balls.  Let harden and place the balls in a mesh onion bag and hang the bag in a tree. 

      *    Use the same recipe as above, but use cookie cutters as molds.  Place cookie cutters on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.  Spoon the mixture into the molds, lay a looped string into the mixture and press evenly down.  Place in the refrigerator for several hours to harden before hanging outdoors.

      *    To make birdseed wreaths, grease 3 four-inch mini bundt pans.  Boil 6 T. water in a microwave.  Pour 2 T. cold water in a large mixing bowl and add a ¼ oz. package of unflavored gelatin.  Allow it to stand for one minute and then add the boiling water.  Stir until gelatin is completely dissolved.  Stir 2 cups bird seed into the mixture and combine thoroughly.  Spoon the mixture into the bundt pans and refrigerate for at least five hours.  Pop the wreaths out of the pans and tie them onto branches.

      Birds may not immediately flock to your treats.  Sometimes it takes them a few days to get accustomed to a new area before they feel it is safe to come close enough to sample your new offerings.

      Many people enjoy feeding wild birds in winter but have questions.  What kind of birdseed is best?  Will they eat homemade treats?  Will the birds starve if the feeder isn’t filled for a few days? 

      Different birds enjoy different types of bird seed, so the type you buy depends on what kind of birds you want to attract.  Cardinals, nuthatches and chickadees prefer sunflower seed; house sparrows and juncos like thistle seed, millet and cracked corn; finches like sunflower seed and thistle seed; and blue jays have a preference for sunflower seed and cracked corn. 

      Bags of birdseed list what is inside, and just like “people food” the first ingredient is what there is the most of and there is a lesser amount of each ingredient as you go down the list.  Some birdseeds have added supplements to help birds through harsh winters. 

      In most cases, you get what you pay for – the more expensive bags contain a higher quality of food.  Millet is probably the least expensive ingredient in birdseed, and some less expensive brands contain a disproportionate amount of millet, much of which ends up kicked off the feeder by cardinals and blue jays. 

      You can also make your own bird food or just toss your leftover toast, crackers or bagels out for them.  Spreading them with peanut butter first gives added nutrition.

      Here is a fun activity for kids.  Take some pieces of stale (not moldy) whole grain bread and cut out shapes with cookie cutters.  Poke a piece of yarn or string through the bread and spread both sides of the shape with a 50/50 mix of peanut butter and shortening.  Sprinkle with bird seed and press in lightly.  Hang from tree branches.

      You can make bird cupcakes by combining ½ cup melted shortening with ½ cup peanut butter, 1 cup bird seed and 2 ½ cups cornmeal.  Press the mixture into muffin tins and push a stick through the middle of each one to create a hole for hanging.  When the mixture dries, remove the cakes from the pan and take out the sticks.  Thread yarn or string through the hole and hang from tree branches. 

      So, you’ve been feeding the birds for months and want to go on vacation.  Don’t worry; the birds won’t starve when you go.  Bird feeding is so popular that they will easily find a feeder at one of your neighbors’ homes to visit.  They are probably eating there already either before or after they visit your feeder. 

      No birds visiting your feeder?  Make sure it is in an area protected from the wind and that there is a tree or shrubbery nearby that the birds can escape to if they are frightened.  My neighbors hung large red ornaments in their tree next to their bird feeders and those feeders are always busy with visitors.  The brightly colored ornaments seem to attract birds just as colorful flowers and berries do in warmer weather.

      Have you heard the saying, “Plant corn when the oak leaves are the size of a squirrel’s ear?”  Or “Plant peas when the forsythia blooms?”  These are not just old wives’ tales or old farmers’ tales, as the case may be. 

      The advice in these old saying is based on hundreds of years of observation of the relationships between periodic biological events.  The study of such events – usually the life cycles of plants and animals – and environmental changes is called “phenology” which is derived from the Greek word phaino which means “to show” or “to appear.” 

      Planting corn has nothing to do with oak leaves or squirrels, but centuries ago through trial and error the Native Americans found that when oak leaves were the size of squirrel’s ears, the soil was warm enough to prevent rotting, yet it was still early enough that there was plenty of time for the corn to mature for harvest.

      You may have been practicing phenology yourself and haven’t been aware of it.  Many people keep records of ice-out on local lakes and rivers, the date the first robin of spring appears, the date the lilac blooms, or the first fall frost.  You may remember that you had to mow the lawn for the first time in mid-April one year but could wait until May another year.  Or that you didn’t get your first mosquito bite last summer until July 10, but that the year before they were out in force in mid-June.  Or that your allergy symptoms started May 23 one year but not until the May 31 the next year.

      It is easy to keep a running record in a notebook of those events and others such as when the daffodils break ground and when they bloom, when the rhubarb begins growing, when the apple trees blossom, when you can pick the first asparagus spear or raspberry, when you see an outbreak of some kind of garden pest or other, when you see the first firefly, when the leaves begin turning in the fall and when the trees are bare.  It is interesting to record rainfall with the help of a rain gauge and if you are really diligent, the high and low temperatures each day can be noted.  It is very interesting to compare the current year to past years. 

      But what is the purpose of all this record keeping, other than for curiousity’s sake?  You will immediately see a pattern – things happen in the same order year after year.  You will note that seemingly unrelated events predict other occurrences.  For example, when chicory blooms, it is time to take action to prevent damage from squash vine borer and when Canada thistle is in bloom, apple maggot adults are abundant and susceptible fruit should be protected.

      If you enjoy record keeping and want to participate in a nationwide phenology study, you can be a citizen naturalist and join Project BudBurst at www.budburst.org.

Garden supply stores have row upon row of handy tools for the gardener and mail order companies have whole catalogs of gardening tools.  But if you need a tool to do something right now and don’t have the time or inclination to run to the store to buy it or to the internet to order it, you improvise.  Many of the items I use to in the garden were never meant to be used the way I utilize them. 

      One of the handiest items is a five gallon bucket of the type that sealant for asphalt driveways comes in.  It is useful for mixing soil, carrying sand, hauling tools, and toting weeds to the compost.  A rectangular plastic kitchen dishpan works for many of the same tasks and is also useful for carrying produce from garden to kitchen.

      Instead of filling the bottoms of container plantings with heavy stones or gravel for good drainage, use styrofoam packing peanuts.  For very large containers, fill the bottom with empty pop cans, then packing peanuts, then potting mix.  This makes containers much lighter and easier to move and saves money on potting mix.  Place a coffee filter in the bottom of the pot before planting so the soil doesn’t wash out the hole. 

      Yogurt cups are perfect for starting pepper seedlings; my tomatoes get their starts in cut off half-gallon orange juice cartons.  Plastic gallon milk cartons have many uses in the garden.  Cut the bottoms off and cut a slice out of the top of the handle.  Poke a stake through the handle and into the ground next to tender seedlings in spring.  When frost threatens or on windy days, flip the container around the stake and over the plant to protect it. 

      Plastic milk cartons are also useful to hang in apple trees to prevent damage from coddling moths.  Cut a hole a few inches square somewhere in the top half of the carton.  Mix 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup water and a few tablespoons of molasses in the carton and hang it by its handle in the apple tree right after blossom drop.  The solution will attract moths away from the apples.  Check periodically and refill when the solution evaporates.

      A third use for plastic milk cartons is for watering.  Punch holes in the bottom and bury the carton up to its neck next to tomato plants.  Fill the container with water and it will trickle out the bottom to reach the plants right where they need it – at their roots.

      Thick layers of newspaper can be used as mulch to kill grass for a new garden bed or between rows in a current garden to suppress weeds.  Wet it down and cover it with a heavier mulch to keep it from blowing away.

      I have knives intended for use in the garden, but what I reach for when I need to trim away roots to repot or divide a plant is a sharp kitchen knife.  It works better and is always handy.

      And for what do I use the great knee pads my mom got me for Christmas to wear for weeding?  Kneeling to scrub the kitchen floor!