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MEMBERS’ GARDENING "SECRETS" All DSSEW members have been invited to contribute descriptions of garden practices which they feel make their garden more special. Kim Isaacson offers the following—I have found using the product Liquid Fence® as a deer repellent has worked wonderfully. I have used it for three seasons with great success. I start applications on all beds when the species tulip starts to pop out of the ground; then four spray treatments, one week apart, followed by monthly treatments throughout the season. Although I do not spray my vegetables, I start spraying the vegetable bed and the perimeter area at the same time as the other gardens and stop spraying this area at the time I start planting the vegetables. This has also been successful in spite of the path the deer have created next to the vegetable garden. I also have a deer path behind the house that runs along the daylilies. This spray regimen has worked great back there too! Liquid Fence (I purchase concentrate and mix my own) does not leave any color on the plant material, but does have a horrendous odor. Once it dries, (particularly on my boots) I no longer gag at the smell. I spray new plant arrivals and newly created beds between the scheduled treatments. Liquid Fence is most cost effective when using in concentrate form. Although a pricey product, the ability to see the plants bloom in the garden is priceless! I don't have any substantial trees from which to gather leaves, but I collect over a hundred paper bags of leaves from relatives by hauling them home in my van; multiple trips, of course. My husband, Glenn, and I have a special preparation process. I dump two bags, he runs them over with the mower into a specific niche against a berm. Repeat, repeat and repeat. Well, you get the picture. This takes time but the nice small pieces of leaves are fluffy and make a wonderful brown winter mulch. I put this mulch in the flower borders about 2" thick. This process is all done at one time in the fall. I can't wait for the ground to freeze or I would never get back out there! The leaf mulch controls the weeds in spring, giving me a chance to keep up with the opening of the garden. It also holds the moisture evenly throughout the spring and summer, incorporates into the soil as an amendment over the seasons, and looks nice, too. At least until the plants get so big you can't see it anymore! Because my time and leaf sources are limited (I am picky, no branches, wet leaves, etc.), I have beds that do not get this treatment. That is why I can tell you how successful this activity is. Weeding is so much more manageable in the leaf mulched beds and there are no cracks in the soil during dry periods. No supplementall watering has been required (new plants excluded).
Ed Kraus offers these ideas: There are two key practices that I believe have led to greater success with daylilies (and all perennials) in my yard. First, most of the newer gardens are raised with new soil brought in and amendments added to overcome the dominant heavy brown clay that is at the surface of my yard. To be effective, the new soil layer has to be at least six inches and more if possible. Even with a six inch layer, some clay has to be removed when planting a daylily for the first time. The raised beds can be put in right over grass – the grass will decompose under the soil. Second, I fertilize with a combination of Milorganite® and alfalfa meal three times: In early Spring, shortly before bloom, and after bloom. In between, I often use a foliar spray with a hose-end sprayer (which is fast and easy) to give the daylilies a quick boost. From Zannah Crowe - There are two elements I think set our Prairiewynd gardens apart from others, edging and container plantings. On edging; (husband) Bob has a talent for putting a clean edge on a garden bed. He achieves this with a flat edged shovel, a wheelbarrow, and a lot of backbreaking work. Once a year he puts a fine edge on the beds and his efforts are definitely recognized. Our gardens have been on tour numerous times and the most frequent comment I hear is “How do you get that edge on your garden beds?!?” It’s the finishing touch that makes the difference. Concerning container plantings, a number of years ago I realized that (a) I had basically used up all of my "plantable" garden space and (b) annuals didn’t like our garden soil. At that point I began gardening in containers. Now, each year I fill several dozen large containers with flamboyant annuals & tropicals, as well as a few perennials (which over winter in the vegetable garden), and distribute them around our deck and patio. They produce a sense of abundance and opulence that could never be achieved by simply planting in the ground. The advantage of container gardening is being able to provide premium soil, moisture and fertilizer levels. The disadvantage is having to water twice a day. Barb Kramer tells us - When we first built our house and started putting in our gardens we found lots of clay fairly close to the surface. It just wasn't enjoyable to put in a new plant, much less trying to plant bulbs in fall. So, we started topdressing the beds with 2"-3" of this mixture: 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 mushroom compost, and 1/3 shredded leaves (shredded the fall before, bagged and stored). We do this every year in April or May depending on the weather. Also, we try to do it after the bulbs are up and before the perennials are too tall and full. After several years of rain working this mixture into our planting beds, we wound up with the most wonderful soil for planting. Most plants want a well-drained soil and that's what we accomplished. It's a lot of work to do this in spring, but it relieves us from a lot of weeding, back breaking digging, and fertilizing during the summer season. My solution for deer/rabbit control is as follows. I sprinkle Milorganite around all the perennials in spring; then, I put out more Milorganite, as needed, around the plants I know the deer and rabbits prefer. On these plants (mostly the tall sedums, asiatic lilies and young trees), I also spray Liquid Fence®, explicitly following the directions. Finally your editor, Harold Steen, offers a few ideas to finish this article. The soil on my property is consistently heavy, with considerable variations in color and content. There is a rocky strip through the back garden about 10 feet wide which sends rocks to the surface each year and other areas have blue clay or hard pan. Because this is the natural situation, there is a year-in-year-out effort to improve soil tilth. I should probably remove all my perennials from an area at least every five years and retill the soil; aerating it and adding amendments such as compost, rotted manure, peat moss and other organic material. Since this takes twice the personal effort of establishing a new bed, there are always other projects of “higher priority” calling. My solution; do a soil rebuilding job at every opportunity even though it may not be more than two or three square feet at a time. I purchased a Honda tiller a year or two ago and that has helped me sustain my enthusiasm for this EFFORT. All transplants or relocations afford the opportunity to rebuild the soil in a small area. Rocks are removed, sometimes with a pick, Milorganite, peat moss and alfalfa pellets added and the Honda then goes to work as deep as it can to aerate and mix. It works!
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