Transcript Composting and Mycorrhizae - Etobicoke Master Gardeners

Waking Up Your
Garden
Prepared by:
Etobicoke Master Gardeners
Presented at:
Humber Arboretum
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Our Goals today:
• Winter Warm-ups & the importance of garden assessment
• Review garden clean-up & weeding
• Discuss soil & soil improvements
• Provide an overview of pruning techniques & what to prune when
• Favourite tools & tool care
• How to prepare your lawn
• The finishing touches
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• Importance of garden assessment
• The 3 steps
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• REVIEW the past
• OBSERVE the present
• PLAN for the future
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• Did you keep a garden journal?
• Did you take pictures?
• Why every gardener should!
• Journals & pictures help you to review and think about;
• Which plants thrived and why or why not
• Which plants may do better, and which should be moved
• Assess pollinator activity
• Track plant locations & identification
• Determine which plants may need to be replaced
• Allow you to compare your garden from previous years
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• Observe the microclimates in your garden
or lawn
• Hot spots, or cooler zones
• Windy areas
• Effects of hardscaping
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• Observe moisture patterns in your garden
or lawn
• Areas that are wetter after rainfall
• Is there any pooling
• Areas that are damp, or the last to thaw
• Moss growth
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• Observe the light patterns
• Which areas are full sun; partial sun; full
shade
• What can be moved to change the light
pattern
• Light patterns can change
• DON’T FORGET TO TAKE NOTES!
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• Based on your review determine what you are changing
• Prioritize your changes
• Hardscaping
• Trees & shrubs
• Plant materials
• Vegetable patches
• Container gardens
• Research plant materials
• “Map It Out” - choose your plants and their locations
• Plan companion plantings, and crop rotation in your vegetable
garden
• Plan for winter interest (structure, features)
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• Encourage ‘air circulation’ and pull away the ‘sheets’
• Clean Up Non woody Perennials
• Replant perennials that have been heaved out of the
soil, exposing their roots
• Prune Woody Perennials and Roses
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• Consider dividing mature later-flowering perennials if
necessary (overgrown clumps)
• Divide perennials after growth has appeared
• Candidates for spring division could include: Hosta, Daylilies (Hemerocallis),
Ajuga, Daisies (Leucanthemum), Phlox
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• Prepare Soil
• Get a jump start on weeding
• Empty your compost bins
• Make plant tags for emerging plants
• Plant Cold-Hardy Blooming Annuals and vegetable
seeds indoors
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• Get Containers Ready
• Get irrigation lines blown out or turn your outside taps
on
• Pressure wash old worn looking pavers, outdoor
furniture, and decks
• Plan for next year, fall versus spring clean-up
• Seasonal interest rarely applies to perennial
plants
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• Make/repair raised beds.
• Weed and till the soil.
• Add soil amendments (triple
mix, bagged manure, organic
compost – Note: not city
compost!).
• Choose your crops.
• Plan the layout.
• Start seeds indoors or buy
seedlings.
• Keeping a journal is important
here too (note insect and
disease problems).
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• Choose the site(s)
• Choose the containers
• Choose the potting
medium – peat-based
medium is light
• Choose the plants
• Make plans for
watering and feeding
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• Dandelion, Purslane, Ragweed, Burdock, Crabgrass, Canada Thistle, Garlic
Mustard
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Weathered rock material broken down over many years
Sand, silt and clay
Micro-organisms
Organic matter
Water and Air
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Temperature control during very hot/cold periods
Oxygen that roots need to breathe
Anchoring support to stay upright
Water that roots need to drink
Food, food and more food!!!
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Reusing and recycling
It’s natural – occurs in nature!
Helps grow strong healthy plants
Good for soil health and structure
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Adds micro-organisms to root zone
Reduces needs for synthetic fertilizers
Helps improve water drainage in clay soils
Helps improve water retention in sandy soils
Helps clean up contaminated soil (remediation)
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• Greens are high in nitrogen or protein.
• Greens help microorganisms to multiply fast in the piles.
• Greens help internal temperatures in hot compost piles.
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Browns are high in carbon or carbohydrates.
Browns supply the energy / food that soil organisms need.
Browns also help stop odours.
Browns help stop the nitrogen in the piles from leaching.
Browns are essential in the faster formation of humus
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• To maintain a healthy plant
• To keep it from growing too large
• To make it more beautiful, and alter form
• Improve the quality or quantity of flowers,
leaves or fruits
• To renew or rejuvenate old shrubs
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• Clean, sharp tools are essential
• Make the right cut in the right place at the right time
• You prune a stem when you want to strengthen it,
encourage or prevent flower bud formation and/or
cause branching
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• Stem pruning
Thinning
Heading
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• Removing bark
• Root pruning
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• Woody perennials
• Roses
• Flowering shrubs and vines
• Fruit trees
• Ornamental grasses
• Evergreens
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• Some shrubby plants with woody stems need to be cut back
each spring, because they only bloom on new branches
Buddleia is one example.
• Why pruned in the spring;
• to limit winter damage
• to encourage the plant to start sending out those new flowering
branches
• It's best to wait until danger of a hard frost is past
• Other woody plants such as Lavender and Artemisia need to be
pruned to maintain vigorous growth
• Prune when the plants shows signs of opening buds on the lower stem
portions or new growth at the base of the plants
• Remove a third of the oldest stems from the base of the plant every year
for 3 years
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• First step - remove winter protection
• Dig out standards or un-hill others
• Roses should not be pruned until about April, to avoid
winter damage
• Once the leaf buds begin to swell on the bush, it is
safe to prune
• Pruning before the leaf buds open causes the rose
bush to put its full energy into new growth
• Hybrid tea, floribunda and shrub roses – prune
• Climbing roses flower only on old wood and need little
or no annual pruning, just clean up of very old wood
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• If you left your ornamental grasses up
for winter interest, you can cut back
warm season ornamental grasses that
have totally browned
• Cut grasses to within a few inches of
the ground
• You don't need to wait for new growth
• They'll come back up when they're
ready
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• Perhaps the most confusing group of plants, when it
comes to pruning times
• A general rule of thumb:
• Prune summer and fall flowering trees and shrubs
in the dormant season (late winter / early spring)
- Caryopteris and some Spiraeas
• Prune spring flowering trees and shrubs soon
after their flowers fade – Forsythia, Lilac,
flowering Quince
• The confusion comes with plants like Hydrangeas
, Roses and Clematis; some of these flower in
spring, some in summer or fall, some flower
repeatedly
• Always prune away any dead / diseased/rubbing
wood
• Prune every year, so that plants are regenerated
over time
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• Fruit trees and berries will steadily decline unless they are
pruned and tended
• So if you are growing tree fruits or berries to harvest, pruning
them should be given high priority
• Pruning:
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promotes flower/fruit production
increases sunlight into the crown to help ripening
Removes less productive growth
Shapes the tree into a more efficient shape
• Most fruiting plants need to be pruned while they are dormant
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• As a general rule, evergreen trees don’t need to
be pruned
• It is not recommended that you use pruning to
keep an evergreen tree’s size in check
• You will just stress and distort the tree
• Choose a smaller, dwarf evergreen rather than
trying to size down a large tree
• To improve the fullness of the shape of the bush
• this can be accomplished with well timed
pruning.
• It is best to do this while the tree is young
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• Rakes – Flex or Fan Rakes
- Straight or Rigid Rakes
Hoes - Trench hoe or Fork Cultivator
• Shovels, Forks and Trowels
• Secateurs – Bypass, Anvil and Ratcheting
• Loppers – plain and extended handle
• Saws – folding, pole saw
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• Rake the lawn to remove dead growth and
winter debris
• Aerate/dethatch if needed
• Cut grass long (2 1/2 inches)
• Leave clippings on, water deeply and less
frequently (1 inch of water per week)
• Re-seed bare patches of lawn
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• Rake bare spots firmly with a
metal rake before seeding
• Top dress to fill low spots and soil health
• Sprinkle grass seed into a bucket of soil and
spread evenly over the bare spot
• Keep well-watered until seeds germinate and
the new grass establishes
• Pre-emergent herbicides such as corn gluten
may be applied
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• If you fertilize use composted manure or a balanced
organic slow-release fertilizer
Nutrients:
N = Nitrogen
• stimulates lush green growth of leaves and new shoots,
promotes dark green colour
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P = Phosphorus
• promotes development of strong healthy root system and
setting of flower buds
K = Potassium
• aids in the overall strength of stems and roots and
resistance to disease
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• Mulching
• Add mulch (or top up) to areas of exposed bare soil
• 3” max thickness
• Ensure mulch doesn’t touch crowns of plants and/or
stems and trunks of trees
• Mulch flower beds with compost or other organic
materials
• Use leaves, and organic mulch
• Mulch open soil areas to
minimize the spread of weeds
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• Common mulch options include shredded bark, bark
chips, and stone chips
• Carefully consider which mulches you choose
• Coloured cedar chips, attractive but carry dyes and
chemicals
• Wood mulches may attract ants
• Peat moss acts as a wick and is an ecologically a
poor choice
• Cocoa bean shells, may encourage mould
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• Edging
• Reshape garden edges, and trim grass along edges
• A clean edge improves the overall appearance of
your lawn
• Create ditch edges or a mowing strip along the
edge
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Etobicoke Master Gardeners
& Humber Arboretum
Thank you!
Questions?
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