Quotation of the Week: "Show me your garden and I shall tell you who you are." — Alfred Austin

Shade Loving Plants and Sun Loving Plants

Many of the most popular shade plants are also acid-loving plants. Also, many shade plants come from areas with a high annual rainfall (50 inches or more). If your soil is alkaline, you will need to prepare the soil first. And you will need to take into account the water needs of such plants. Preparing the soil for shade plants: Your very first step should be to get your soil tested. Is it acid, alkaline, or balanced? That does make a difference. Your next step should be to amend the soil with a good planting mix, using enough for the area. If your soil is too alkaline or the plant is a real acid lover, we recommend Farmers Azalea & Camellia Planting Mix. For more balanced soil, use Kellogg Gromulch to help the soil retain its moisture during hot summer days, yet allow good drainage in case of a deluge (root-rot is no fun either). Sun-loving plants can often handle poor soil better than shade-lovers, and are often more drought-tolerant, but a good planting mix is still needed if you want a truly healthy plant. Again, use a good acid planting mix (see above for our recommendations) or general planting mix, depending on the plant's needs. Our professionals will be happy to help you find the right soil amendments for your plants. When planting in a container, use a good potting soil, such as Miracle Gro Potting Mix.

VEGETABLES!

 

 

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Heirloom Tomatoes

Over the past twenty years, commercial growers have produced tomato varieties that valued shelf-life and unblemished prettiness over taste — and the result has been an almost tasteless tomato at your local supermarket (the baskets might taste as good). Put taste back on top with heirloom varieties — some can even flourish on your patio in a 7-gallon-sized container! Heirlooms vary in their production time, so you can sequence your varieties over the summer. A vine-ripened tomato salad can be yours for the picking! These tomatoes may not look as pretty as the ones in the local supermarket — but the taste more than makes up for it. Planting and growing – directions: The one disadvantage to heirloom varieties it that they tend to be less disease-resistant than the hybrids. Choose the healthiest plants you can find, buy a few extras in case, and especially keep any cigarettes far away (if you smoke yourself, don't even think about tending them with a cigarette in your mouth — that's asking for trouble even with the hybrids). If you've grown a few extra, and they all stay healthy, your non-gardening neighbors will probably be happy to take some of your great-tasting tomatoes off your hands. Once you get your plants, if they are greenhouse-grown, harden them off for a week or so before transplanting (leave them outside for just a couple of hours the first day, then gradually increase the length of time, watering as needed). Before you transplant, amend your soil with a good planting mix, such as Kellogg's Amend, or use a potting soil such as Miracle-Gro "NEW - Organic Choice" Vegetable Potting Mix for tomatoes in pots. Plant them in the evening or on a cloudy day, and they will be less likely to droop. To make for a stronger plant, bury tomato stems up to the plant's second true set of leaves (they'll develop roots all along the buried stem). Stake or cage as needed (depending on the variety), water as necessary, and fertilize with Miracle-Gro " NEW - Organic Choice" - Vegetable Garden Fertilizer and you'll have a tomato crop that can't be beat! A note to those trying to grow tomatoes in pots on a narrow patio: you can espalier tomatoes! They won't produce as well but if it's the only way you'll have the room to grow them at all, try it — half a crop is better than being stuck with the tasteless 'tomatoes' sold in the supermarkets.

What you need: 2 cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey 1 cup chopped green bell pepper 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, cubed 1 jar (8 oz.) salsa 8 (6-inch) flour tortillas 3/4 pound (12 oz.) pasteurized process cheese spread, cut up 1/4 cup milk Step by Step: Stir chicken, bell pepper, cream cheese and 1/2 cup salsa in a saucepan on low heat until cream cheese is melted. Spoon 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla; roll up. Place seam-side down in a lightly greased 12 x 8 inch baking dish. Stir process cheese spread and milk in saucepan on low heat until smooth. Pour salsa over tortillas; cover with foil*. Bake at 350ºF for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated through. *Before covering casserole with foil, spray the foil with cooking spray to prevent topping from sticking. Yield:  4-6 servings