Pest management for home gardens

The May 2013 meeting of the Garden Club of PEI welcomed Stephanie Compton, who spoke about pest management in home gardens.

Stephanie lives in Savage Harbour.  She has worked at golf courses, at Vesey's Seeds, and with the provincial Department of Agriculture.  She is starting a small business which offers horticultural services, and her family has taken over the management of Island Gold Honey.
For more about Stephanie, click this link:
http://acornorganic.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/meet-acorns-fruit-and-berry-network-coordinator

She says dealing with pests is about management, not control, because we will never rid ourselves of all pests.  The most important tool is using organic mulch.  Mulch will control up to 78% of weeds.
Organic mulch can be composted bark mulch, straw, eel grass sea weed, all of which have no weed seeds.  Using wood chips or sawdust as mulch has one drawback:  as it decomposes, it uses up nitrogen that is needed by the growing plants.  Newspaper and cardboard also makes effective mulch.  Compost is a very good mulch that adds nutrients to the soil.
Inorganic mulch includes plastic, landscape fabric, and biodegradable film.  Organic mulches are preferable to inorganic mulch.

The weed want sold by Vesey's Seeds is powered by a propane cannister.  It is a good organic way to control weeds on walkways.  Use caution, howver - you could start a fire.

Chemical weed control:  Iron is toxic in high doses. Iron is the active ingredient in products such as Weed b Gone.  It can be used as spot control for perennial weeds, but it will leave dead spots in your lawn.
Corn Gluten Meal, when spread on lawns or gardens, inhibits all seeds from germinating.  It does not affect plants that have already sprouted.  Do not spread corn gluten meal on a garden before your vegetable seeds have sprouted.  Buy it at Agri Co-op.  It is much cheaper than at a garden supply store.
Vinegar (ascetic acid) burns weeds.  It is effective on walkways.  It lowers the pH of the soil, and so it is necessary to apply lime to restore a balanced pH.  Use a spray bottle to apply it.

Disease control
Prevention is key.  Plant disease-resistant cultivars.  For example, Knock-Out roses are much more resistant to fungus diseases than regular hybrid varieties.
Boron will kill moss growing on lawns.  Spot spray a product called Solubor at the recommended application rate.
Clean garden practices will prevent many disease problems.  
Don't plant the same types of plants in the same spot year after year.
If you make your own compost, it must heat up to 60 degrees C in order to kill weed seeds and pathogens.
Dispose of infected material properly.  Do not put it in your own compost heap.  Double bag it and take it to the Energy for Waste facility.  Do not dump it in rural areas.  For example, tar spot on infected maple leaves will spread to new areas when leaves are dumped.
Late blight on tomatoes or potatoes:  double bag infected plants and leave in the sun to break down.
Black knot is a disease affecting wild cherry and choke cherries.  This is a disease that is hard to control.  Continuous pruning is the only method of control.  The affected branches should be pruned six inches from the affected area.  Burn the material or double bag it and take it to the Energy from Waste plant.

Chemical disease control

Sulphur dust forms a barrier that prevents fungus spores from attaching to the plant.  Repeat application after a heavy rain.  Baking soda dissolved in water can be effective.  Apply every 7-10 days or after a rain.
Copper mixes have been used in the past.  They are not used as much anymore.  Use caution.  Copper is toxic to fish and plants.
Bordo or Bordeaux is copper sulphate and hydrated lime.  It causes a drying action that dessicates plants.  It  forms a protective film which is drying and toxic.  It is best to apply it using a hand pump sprayer.
Compost tea fights diseases when used as a spray on plant leaves.  To make it, put some active compost in a burlap sack and soak in water 4-5 days.

Pest insect management
Monitor plants and check for problems often.  Insects can be monitored using sticky traps, lures, bait, pitfall traps, a sweep net, and by observation.  If you catch an insect and you want to know what it is, take it to Agriculture Canada research station on University Avenue, and an entomologist will identify it for you.
A home-made insect trap:  cut a plastic pop bottle in half.  Pour wine, vinegar, or sugar water in the bottom.  Squeeze in a teaspoon of dish soap.  Insert the spout end into the bottom end.
Or take a pop can, fill it half-way with diatomaceous earth, and lay it on its side in the garden.  It will attract earwigs, which will have their outer skins cut by the sharp diatomaceous earth.  Buy this at Agro Co-op in a 45-pound bag, which is much cheaper than buying it in small amounts at a specialty store.
Lures
A plastic dish half-filled with beer will attract and drown slugs.
to attract fruit flies, put balsamic or white vinegar in a dish, cover with plastic wrap, and poke a few holes in the top.
a mixture of sugar water and yeast will attract mosquitoes.
Red bait will attract apple maggot fly.
Meat will attract wasps and flies.
Diatomaceous earth will kill all crawling insects that walk through it.  Put a 4-inch wide circle of diatomaceous earth around each hosta plant to protect it from slugs.  Coffee grounds may work.
A circle of copper pennies around plants will deter slugs. They get a shock from the copper.
A mosquito magnet or a UV light trap or a bug zapper may attract more bugs to the area than you already have.

Mating disruption
This is not commonly used by home gardeners.  To fight coddling moth in apples, growers put twist ties impregnated with mating hormones.  this confuses the moths, and they won't be able to find each other to be able to breed.

Physical barriers

•  
• Diotomaceous earth (right) 
• copper or tin foil, coffee grounds, lime sulphur, nets and screens, are very expensive to use in large amounts.  It is not viable for low-value crops, and very labour intensive to apply and maintain.  

Natural insect repellant:  lemons, garlic, cinnamon, lemon balm - cinnamon and lemon rind keeps cats out of children's sand boxes.  Plants evolved to have strong smells as a way to protect themselves from pests.  e.g. scented geranium.  

Poisons

Bacillus thuringingus (Bt)- will kill caterpillars, mosquitoes, colorado potato beetle.  Need to apply the correct variety of Bt for the insect targeted.  Check the label.  

Pyrethrum or pyrethrin are neurotoxins which attack the nervous system of all insects.  They are not toxic to humans or dogs.  They break down when exposed to sunshine.  They can be toxic to fish, cats, and beneficial insects.  

Insecticidal soap must hit the insect directly and has no residual effect.  It dissolves the waxy cuticle of the insect's exoskeleton, dehydrating it.  The soap breaks the surface tension of water, clots the breathing tubes of the insect adults, larvae, and eggs.  Be sure to spray the undersides of leaves, where eggs are laid.  

Beneficial organisms

Ladybug larvae

Ground beetle

Beneficial organisms include earthworms, ladybugs (adults eat aphids), bees, spiders, butterflies, bats, hummingbirds, ground beetles, dragonflies, lacewings, assasin beetle.
Bees and butterflies are natural pollinators.  The other species are predators.
Ladybugs can be a problem for grape growers.  They land on the ripe grapes when being picked, and give  the resulting wine a bitter taste.

To encourage the growth of beneficial soil organisms, aim for soil pH of 6.5.  Add organic matter and compost and mulch to help good bugs thrive.


Mycorrhizae (soil fungus) has a symbiotic relationship with roots.  It attaches itself to roots, gets some sugar from the roots, and in return brings nutrients to the plants.

cranefly adult

Cranefly larvae eat grass roots, and overwinter on slopes.  They kill lawns in spring.  Solution:  resod the area or plant with white clover, which is not affected by crane fly.  Mix white clover into lawn seed.

cranefly larvae

Lawn seed usually has three kinds of seeds:  perennial ryegrass, fescue, and kentucky bluegrass.  White clover is more drounght tolerant than grass, attracts beneficial bees, and adds valuable nitrogen to the soil.

white clover

April 2013 meeting - new plants

The April 2013 meeting of the Garden Club of PEI welcomed Dave Carmichael from the PEI Department of Forestry.  He also runs the provincial tree nursery located on Upton Road in Charlottetown.  Dave talked about the many new plants that are suitable for PEI gardens.  check the website for the Canadian Landscaping Association for more listings of new releases.

Shrubs and trees

• White flag forsythia - pink flowers
• Paper bark maple - interesting bark
• Hardy kiwi - need a male and female plant to produce fruit.  Males have white and pink variegated leaves.  It produces smaller fruit than what we see in the supermarket.  The vine is twining.
• Bottlebrush buckeye
• Five-leaf Akebia - a twining vine with pink flowers - likes shade and moist soil
• Red buckeye is parent of chestnut - red flowers - likes dappled shade - produces no nuts, is infertile
• Leadplant - purple spikes of flowers, multiple leaflets like a peashrub
• Porcelain vine - climber - puts out tendrils - variegated leaves, blue fruit
• Hardy cactus - Optunia sp - to propigate, allow a piece to calus, then stick into soil - grows well, related to prickly pear

Purple pearls beauty berry

• Beauty berry - purple berries, pink flowers are hidden in the leaves - dies back to ground in winter
• American hornbeam - colourful fall leaves
• Horse chestnut was wiped out by disease.  American chestnut is tolerant to blight.  The leaves are leathery
• Catalua - grows 8 feet in 4 years - likes shelter and full sun
• Hackberry - blue berries - tolerant to urban locations
• Buttonbush - moist soil, flowers in early summer, white pom-pom like flowers



quince

• Quince is underutilized plant - flowers on older wood - in spring, trim back twigs to flower buds - colour choices include red, and orange
• Yellowwood - produces long racemes of flowers like wisteria
• Summersweet - glossy leaves are as a rule more tolerant to disease, saltspray, shade and sun - pink flowers
• Sweet fern - likes poor soil - pleasant fragrance when crushed - spreads by rizomes - can support river banks
• Kousa dogwood - easy to grow from seed - great fall colour - flowers are actually 4 bracts (specialized leaves) with tiny flowers in centre - produces big red berries
• Cornelian dogwood - early flowering, big red berries - fragrant flowers appear before leaves
• Dove tree:  Davidia involucrate - flowers look like dogwood
• Blue bean shrub - grows in the understory - produces long beans - has few pest problems
• Red vein enkianthus - horizontal branching
• Caluna/Erica collection:  heaths and heathers are now surviving better on PEI because winters are milder - climate change
• Fothergilla - white, fragrant flowers in mid-summer
• Franklinia - withe flowers and yellow anthers
• Kentucky coffee tree - native to south-east US - produces big pods - tolerates urban conditions - bipinnate leaves (many leaflets make up a complete leaf)
• Carolina silverbell - native to US South East - white flower bells - orange fruit in winter persist a long time
• Witchhazel - native
• Seven sons - white flowers at first frost in fall - red fruit, peeling bark
• Oakleaf hydrangea
• Hypericum (St. John's Wort) Palace Purple produces purple berry, yellow flower, purple fall colour
• common St. John's Wort - yellow flowers, green leaves - a low shrub

Mountain laurel

• Mountain laurel - one of Dave's favourite plants - flowers can be red, white, or pink - grows 2 m
• Castor plant - auralea - spiky twig
• Bush clover deutsia bicolour - arching branches, pink flowers - cut to ground in spring - new growth produces flowers
• Leucothoe - variegated leaves

Tulip tree

• Tulip tree -  one in York is the largest in Atlantic Canada
• Magnolia sieboldi - white flowers with red centre - easy to grow - red fruit
• Partridge berry - native to PEI - makes a good evergreen groundcover - white flowers, red berries

Lily of the Valley tree

• Lily of the valley tree - another of Dave's favourites - red fall colour - Oxydendrum arboretum
• Persian parrotina - red/purple flowers
• Paulonia - huge soft leaves - there is one on Upton Road
• Amber Jubilee ninebark
• Oriental photina - fall colour - from the rose family - white flowers - a small tree
• Mountain Pieris floribunda - white flowers, upright shrub
• Pieris japonicum has variegated pink new growth
• London plane tree - no disease or insects - from Europe
• Fragrant Epaulet - white flowers
• Pyrus calleryana - ornamental flowering pear - good fall colour, non-edible fruit
• Shingle oak
• Rhododendron Carolina -new growth has red twigs
• April rose rhododendron - semi-evergreen - flowers bloom before leaves appear
• Azalea are ideal for PEI
• Winter current: Ribes sanguinium
• Clover currant - fragrant flowers in spring
• Santolilna - gray foliage, good for carpet beds, low shrub
• Sassafras - native to US northeast - red flowers
• Japanese pagoda tree
• Japanese stewardia - speckled bark
• American snowball
• coral berry - turquoise berries
• Wingnut - Triplerygium regelii
• Crowberry grows on the north shore in exposed conditions - sandy soil, red berries - at Basinhead
• Bearberry - groundcover
• native roses:  Rosa carolina
• Prague viburnum
• Wild raisin
• High bush cranberry - viburnum
• Korean spice bush - viburnum - fragrant - all viburnums are susceptible to viburnum beetles
• Summer snowflake viburnum
• Yellowhorn xanthocer
• Yucca - an underutilized plant - some are variegated

Perennials

• Hosta rainbow's end and Goddess green



Echenacea PowPow

• Echanacea Powpow, Aloha, Quills & Thrills, Secret Pride, Double Scoop
• fall flowering aster:  Blue Autumn
• False Indigo:  likes fertile soil - Decandence, capella blue Rivulet, Summertime moves
• Delosperma:  Firespinner (ice plant)
• Red Sun Gallardia
• Mesa bicolour Gallardia
• Tickseed:  Sweet Marmelade
• Heliopsis:  Yellow flag
• Helebore:  Peppermint Ice, rose Quartz
• Heuchera:  Stainless Steel - grown for foliage, not flowers
• Heuchera:  Berry Smoothie
• Heuchera Solar Eclipse
• Heuchera Creole nights:  purple
• Heuchera Spellbound
• Hibiscus:  TieDye - big flowers
• Iris:  Anaconda
• Ligularia:  Bottle Rocket
• Variegated Solomon's Seal - likes shade
• Salvia:  Sweet 16
• Sedum:  Razzleberry - low growing, likes dry conditions

Annuals

• Coleus:  Shadow King, Sultana
• Osteospermum 3-D

Sweet Caroline sweet potato vine

• Sweet Potato Vine:  Sweet Caroline
• Verbena:  Seabrook Lavender

Tips

When you notice a complete change in a plant from one year to the next, e.g. a new colour or texture to a rose, probably it was a grafted rose.  The top died, and the root system produced shoots of a different variety from the top.

A stressed Mountain Ash grows slowly, but produces a lot of berries.  They don't like poorly drained, compacted soil.

Climate change will see an increase in temperature of 3-4 degrees.  It affect insects - more will survive the winter.

Viburnum leaf beetle attacks - check to see if you have it by looking at last year's growth:  the stems feel rougher, there are pits and mounds in the bark - eggs have been laid in the bark - there are no products available to fight these pests - cut out the egg masses and destroy them - try applying Safer's Soap

Earwigs there is no solution to completely eradicate them - for every 100 you kill, there are 1,000 more out there - they were introduced from Europe - we will see more in the next few years - there is no natural control here in north America, no natural disease or predators

Dutch Elm disease - a few clones of elms are tolerant to this disease

Forest Tent Caterpillar - wasps lay eggs in their bodies, they hatch and eat the caterpillars from the inside

Japanese Beetles are in Charlottetown and Cornwall now - larvae look like June bugs

Gypsy moth is here now too

Invasive plants were introduced by landscaping - check the Invasive Species Council at www.invasive.org

Whitefly usually occurs in greenhouses.  You can introduce small predacious wasps, praying mantis, ladybugs, but there is no guarantee they will stick around your yard if they are released outside.

Neem oil may be effective against emerald ash borer if injected into the tree

Take soil samples to be analyzed to make sure that you are applying the right amendments to your soil - dig down 6-8 inches, take several samples, mix together in a bucket, take to Biocommons to be analyzed.  Taking a soil sample will tell you what you need, as opposed to taking a shot in the dark.  It's a good value.

Garden sulphur may control black knot - cut out the infection - need to repeat often

Tar spot in maples - usually affects Norway maples, not other kinds - native maples like sugar maples are not as susceptible - this disease does not cause long-term issues - it is cyclical - last year was not as serious as previous years.

Leatherjackets look like big mosquitoes - a specific type of nematode could be applied to feed on these pests.

Attracting wildlife using native plants

At the March 2013 meeting of the Garden Club of PEI, Ben Hoteling was the guest speaker. His topic: Attracting Wildlife to Your Garden Using Native Plants.

"I'm not much of a gardener, but I love plants," says Ben.  Ben talked about plants that create a habitat for wildlife.  Wildlife such as birds, insects, and small mammals need food, water, cover, and space. Give wildlife a space to live by creating brush piles.  Don't throw away your Christmas tree.  Use it to start a brush pile.  .  Lawns are a wildlife desert.  They don't support wildlife.  When his property had to be dug up to install a new septic bed, he decided to experiment with planting half the lawn with native plants instead of grass, and was very pleased with the result.  

Ben's recommendations for plants that attract wildlife:

• alternate-leaf dogwood produces red berries that attract bohemian waxwings.  It is a pretty shrub that requires no maintenance and grows up to 4 feet tall.  It has white flowers and produces berries that persist through the winter.
• high-bush cranberry produces clusters of white blossoms and grows up to 3 metres tall.  The fruit is very sour, but can be cooked, mashed and strained, and mixed 50/50 with sugar to produce a tasty jelly.  This is not a true cranberry, but a viburnum.  The viburnum beetle is a pest that should be hand-picked.  
• he recommends using glycophosphate (Round-Up) to clear a patch of land in the fall to plant a garden next spring.
• wild apples are not natives but are great source of food for wildlife.  There can be a problem with infestations of webworms, but a tree must be defoliated 3 years in a row before it is killed.  Dormant oil prevents apple scab, but scab does not affect the quality of apples. Ben does not use dormant oil on his trees.  He also says to leave dead wood in place, don't cut it all down, because it provides good wildlife habitat for bats and nesting birds
• winterberry holly has red berries and grows in the salt marshes at the National Park.  It attracts Bohemian Waxwings
• American mountain ash, European mountain ash, and Showy mountain ash produce clusters of white flowers and red fruit attractive to birds
• hawthorns attract ruffed grouse 
• cherry, chokecherry, and plum trees are susceptible to black knot disease.  Pin cherries have less problems with black knot
• wild raisin is a shrub grows that under a shady canopy of larger trees.  When ripe, the fruit shrivels and looks like raisins.  The leaves turn bright red in the fall.
• Rugosa rose produces rose hips that are one of the highest natural sources of Vitamin C 
• Saint John's Wort is also high in vitamin C, but it is not recommended to ingest this plant because it has side effects.  It is a treatment for depression.
• raspberry and blackberry are easy to grow and produce good fruit for wildlife

Weeds
"I love weeds.  They are just an unloved plant in the wrong place at the wrong time."  Ben urges us to let these plants grow and produce seeds to help the birds get through the winter.

• Bull thistles are tall and prickly.  The first year, they form a low rosette of leaves.  The second year, they produce lots of stems and flowers that attract butterflies.  The seeds are loved by goldfinches.
• Common mullein also produces a low rosette the first year and then a tall stalk of yellow flowers the second year.  It produces capsules of seeds that are held by the plant throughout most of the winter.  Its reproductive strategy:  it drops the seeds when there is a crust on the snow.  It has hairy leaves, which are a defensive strategy.  When touched, they can cause contact dermatitis
• Evening primrose flowers glow in the dark.  They produce black seeds that drop in late winter
• Deadly nightshade is a vine that produces purple flowers with yellow centres.  It is related to potato, tomato.  They all attract potato beetles.  You can make wreaths from nightshade vines.  The red fruit is eaten by birds, but it is poisonous to people.
• monkshood has escaped from gardens and is now growing wild on PEI.  All parts of this plant are poisonous.
• dandelion may seem a pest, but it attracts beneficial insects.

check www.butterflywatch.ca to report butterfly sightings.

Butterfly species found on PEI:

• Fritillary
• Monarch eats milkweed, which is not a native weed.  This butterfly tastes bad to birds, and birds learn to avoid it..  
• Viceroy butterfly looks like a Monarch.  It has the same colouring as a defensive mechanism.  Birds think it is a monarch and tastes bad, so they avoid the Viceroy.
• painted lady
• question mark
• red admiral

To attract wildlife, provide water.  Create a garden pond.  The sound of running water attracts birds such as warblers.  Put a stick or a pile of rocks in the water so that if an animal accidently falls in, it has a way to get out.  Frogs are attracted to ponds.  Add some duckweed, which is the smallest flowering plant on PEI.  This plant reproduces very quickly, but is not destructive or harmful to the ecology of the pond.

• Spring peepers are almost deafening in the spring as they try to attract a mate
• leopard frog, green frog
• blue-spotted salamander
• dragon flies when at rest hold their wings horizontally
• damsel flies when at rest hold their wings close to their bodies
• ebony jewel wing dragonfly also has hairs on its front legs that it holds like a basket to catch prey while flying

Invasive species

• purple loosestrife got here by escaping from gardens - it is not widespread on PEI
• gooseneck loosestrife spreads very quickly
• himalayan balsom is a species of impatiens - is over 2 metres tall.  It has spread all over wetland areas.  The ripe seed pods explode when touched.  It is also called touch-me-not.  This is a strategy for disbursing seeds.  It is related to the native plant spotted jewelweed.  The juice of jewelweed when applied to the skin can take away the itch of mosquito bites and the pain of wasp bites and poison ivy
• Japanese knotweed looks like bamboo.  It is very invasive and impossible to get rid of.  It takes years to totally remove it.
• Giant Hogweed looks like a larger version of angelica or cow parsnip or wild parsnip.  The sap causes blisters on the skin.

 

Starting Seeds

At the February 2013 meeting of the PEI Garden Club, Heidi Carmichael of Veseys Seeds was on hand to talk about starting flower and vegetable seeds indoors.

She listed several reasons for starting seeds rather than buying plants:

• more varieties available
• allow slow-growing varieties to get a head start
• as a hobby, starting seeds is rewarding and enjoyable
• results in an earlier bloom or harvest time than waiting to plant outside.

Heidi showed garden club members a slide show explaining how to start seeds inside.  She advised us to keep our plantings manageable, and consider how much time and space we have to devote to this project.  

Equipment needed includes: lights, heat mats, growing trays, and soilless mix.  

Seeds that are easy to start inside include coleus, geranium, canna lily, coleus, and bacopa.  Start geranium and begonia seeds the first week of March.  

Perennial seeds that you can start inside include campenella, echanacea, hollyhocks, hibiscus, delphinium, and dianthus.  

Because each type of seed has slightly different preferences, follow the growing directions on the back of the package.  If in doubt, go to www.veseys.com and check the growing instructions you will find there.

The soil used in starting seeds is not like outside garden soil.  Use soilless mix, which is made of peat, perlite, and vermiculite.  New plants can grow their roots through this light mix much more easily than heavy garden soil.  It is sterile, carries no diseases or weed seeds, and retains water well.  

Small seeds generally should not be covered with soil because they need light to germinate.  Large seeds can be buried at a depth about twice their height.  Pansey and geranium seed germinates best in the dark.  Cover the seeds with soil or cover the container until they germinate.

Many plants don't like their roots disturbed when they are transplanted.  For them, it is best to start the seeds in peat pots.  When it is time to plant outside, tear up the pot a bit and plant the entire container in the ground.  

Peat pellets are a good option for growing geraniums and petunias.  Before planting, soak the peat pellets in water.  They quickly expand and create a perfect container to start a seed. 

 

If seedlings develop yellow leaves, that is a sign of too much watering.  The plant may die.  Too much or too little water is a major cause of the death of seedlings.   

Microgreens are the leaves of lettuce and other plants that are harvested when very small.  They are ready to eat in a few weeks and are delicious and nutritious.  

To get good seed germination, the soil temperature should be about 17 to 22 C.  Other than cole crops, most types of plants will react to bottom heat by germinating more quickly and reliably.    Putting a heat mat under the seed tray will heat the soil.  Some seeds will not germinate well without bottom heat.  Take away the heat mat as soon as the seeds germinate, or the new seedlings will grow too long and spindly. 

When preparing the soil for packing into the seed trays, moisten the soil first.  Sow the seeds, pat down the soil gently, and cover with the clear plastic dome.  The dome helps retain heat and moisture.  

Place the seed trays in a bright location.  Too little light will result in tall, leggy plants that may fall over.  Seedlings need 10 to 12 hours of light per day.  If using artificial lights, keep them 2 to 3 inches from the plant.  

When the third set of leaves is showing, it is time to begin fertilizing with a weak solution of 20-20-20 balanced fertilizer.  Do not over fertilize, and don't let the fertilizer touch the leaves.

Damping off can be a problem.  This is a fungal disease caused by too much humidity and too little air circulation.  The stems develop a weak point and fall over.  To prevent this, water only from the bottom, make sure there is good ventilation, and don't crowd the plants.  Use new containers or sterilize used containers with a weak bleach solution before planting.  Always use fresh soil.  Use water that is room temperature.  Make sure the air temperature and light is right for your plants.

Seeds should be stored someplace cool and dry.  Many seeds can be saved from one year to the next.  However, petunia, carrot, and geranium seeds lose much of their viability in their second year.  If in doubt, test the seeds' viability by germinating some in a wet paper towel.  

Things to avoid:

• acid soil with a pH of less than 6.5
• watering from the top
• watering with cold water - use room temperature water
• transplanting or taking cuttings when the soil is too wet or too dry
• over watering
• allowing the soil to dry out
• high humidity
• over crowding
• planting too deep
• don't water in the evening.  daytime is better.

Some new offerings at Veseys this year include a combination of bacopa and petunia pelleted together.

Large seeds often grow faster if they are soaked first in water for a few hours.  For hard seeds like morning glories, file or nick the seeds with a knife to help the seed coat split open.  Banana seeds take up to 3 months to germinate.  

Heidi talked about growing artichokes, and said that last year was not a successful year for most people who were growing them. It was too hot and dry.  Start them in peat pots because they don't like their roots disturbed.  Put them outside in mid-May.  They can take some frost. 

Heidi invites everyone to visit the trial gardens behind Veseys and across the street to take a look at the plantings of flowers and vegetables this summer.  Veseys is located on Highway 25 in York, a few kilometres east of Charlottetown.