Charleswood

Salt Deposits

To remove the salt deposits that form on clay pots, combine equal parts white vinegar, rubbing alcohol and water in a spray bottle. Apply the mixture to the pot and scrub with a plastic brush. Let the pot dry before you plant anything in it.

Dirt Under Fingernails

To prevent accumulating dirt under your fingernails while you work in the garden, draw your fingernails across a bar of soap and you'll effectively seal the undersides of your nails so dirt can't collect beneath them. Then, after you've finished in the garden, use a nailbrush to remove the soap and your nails will be sparkling clean.

Collecting plant material for indoor displays

Do you want to collect plant material for use in your Christmas indoor or outdoor display?

Carol Bergman, a MB flower farmer/arranger suggests that to keep greens such as cedar and pine fresh, put it in a plastic bag and leave it outside or in a very cold garage until you are ready to use it. It can be totally frozen and it won't harm the greens.

Holiday Arrangements

When cutting greenery for holiday arrangements, use clean, sharp cutters to cut, crush the ends of the woody stems promoting maximum amount of moisture absorption and immediately put cut ends into water until ready to use.

Red Lily Beetle

Start checking your lilies early in the spring for the emerging Red Lily Beetle. Later, their bright orange eggs are also really easy to spot.

Tomato Blight

How are your tomatoes doing this year? Are the leaves getting discoloured? Check out this article by Sage Garden Tomato Blight

Starting Seeds Indoors

Thinking of starting seeds indoor? Here is a great article by Getty Stewart on Tips for Starting Seeds Indoors . She has developed a handy guide for right here in Manitoba on when to start your vegetable seeds. She also has information on providing the right growing conditions for your little seedlings.

Successive Planting

Are you getting ready to plant your cold-weather seeds (peas, radishes, lettuces, spinach etc)? Put aside some of your excess seeds, mark your calendar for the third week in July and plant these again for a later crop.

Transplanting Tomatoes and Peppers

How deep can you plant your tomato and pepper seedlings when transplanting? Completely bury them up to their first true leaves and they should generate additional roots quite quickly.

Starting Seeds Indoors

The window of time for starting tomato seeds indoors is between the last week of March and mid-April.

Plant in fall for early spring germination

Dave at Sage Gardens reminds us that we can plant carrots, dill, basil, marigolds, nasturtiums, beets and turnips around beginning of August. In mid-August go ahead and plant some mustards, arugula, cilantro, lettuces, mesclun, kale, Asian greens and non-heading broccoli!

Starting seeds

Are you itching to start some veggie seeds indoors? Using heat mats and 12-14 hours of artificial lights you could have started your very hot peppers in January and hot peppers and some perennial herbs such as sage and thyme in February. In March you could start thinking about sweet peppers and nearer the end of the month plant some tomato seeds.

Propagate your own annuals

Consider buying a bushy annual plant for your garden early then snipping and rooting the cuttings. Voila. Many plants.

Do the Chelsea Chop

Beginning of June is time for the Chelsea Chop! This is a pruning method which limits legginess and increases flower production. See more at The Chelsea Chop

Extend your Growing Season

If Winnipeg's First Fall Frost day is ~Sept 21, consider sowing some of those Asian greens, baby kale, radishes and lettuces. July 27 gives you 8 weeks until frost and from Aug. 24 you have 4 weeks.

Root Washing Transplants

Root washing helps transplants get better established into a landscape: Washing off as much root soil as possible before transplanting containerized or burlaped perennials, shrubs and trees ensures the plant has better direct contact with the new surrounding soil.

Fall Mulching

Make sure ground is frozen before finishing your extra fall mulching for special plants so the rodents don't move in and make a winter home.

Seed Germinating

In a few months you will be getting out your seeds and wondering if some of those seeds are still viable. Take the time now to roll up some of the seeds in a wet paper towel in a zip-lock bag in a warm spot and check regularly to see if most of them germinate.