Home Garden Companion

Ilona's Garden Journal

buy quality plants
  • Plant Library On The Journal
  • Garden chores
    • Do as I say
  • Ilona’s Garden Home
    • Old House Blog
    • Garden Librarian
  • Ilona’s Garden Flavor Shop
  • Privacy Policy

garden chores gardening tips Landscape Trees Vegetable garden

Springtime Garden Tips

Planting New Trees and Shrubs

Earlier in the season my son-in-law asked me about planting a new arborvitae. He lives in Georgia, and I had seen his homesite for a screen he wanted in his back yard during last year’s visit.

Arborvitae was a fine choice for what he wanted and where the plant would be situated. Some people plant them near their house as a foundation plant, but these are true trees and get large. As a hedge or screen area, they take shearing well and grow quickly.

While answering his questions on basic transplanting of a tree, I included something controversial among gardeners, landscapers, and researchers. I gave advice to use Starter fertilizer.

Experts now give opinions ranging from saying that fertilizer will damage the roots to saying it is nothing more than a placebo for the gardener. That hasn’t been my own experience, though.

watering can

Not to say that I am smarter than researchers, but I am not sure of all the factors that led to the conclusion that transplant fertilizer is an unnecessary part of the process. And the same thing applies to the now accepted view that it is better to not amend the soil for a new shrub or tree.

My inkling is that it all roots back into the American way of thinking that if a little of something is good, a lot of it is ten times better. Joe Gardener has been known to over fertilize and kill things, so no fertilizer is better until the plant gets established. Now that is just surmising on my part.

What I know is that when I first gardened and added transplant solution to a new tree it thrived much better than when I followed the changed method.

Perhaps because I am often sparing in such things… my results from adding in peat moss and some compost were better, and I say that after more than twenty years of observing these trees. They were once no taller than my twelve year old child, and now rival the height of my two story house. They thrived! But the ones that I took more care of at the start, they thrived better.

Old timers advised using things like compost tea, or manure tea. I had particularly good results when I used a seaweed additive.

You don’t need to use a starter fertilizer, but if you do the rule is to use it watered down and sparing. My opinion on peat moss is known… I ♥ Peat Moss


Planting Veggies

Vegetable gardening is underway for the season.

An old phenologically based garden tip for Ohio is to plant corn when the oak leaves are the size of a mouse ear. The time has come to plant those corn seeds in Central Ohio.

Why Rotate Crops?

Two years ago I was painfully reminded of the importance of crop rotation. I had planted a mesclun mix of greens which included kale. Those kale plants persisted in my vegetable patch.

I didn’t think much of this until two years ago when I ramped up the food gardening again and my broccoli plants became stunted and weak. Clubroot. Easily prevented by liming the soil and rotating the crops. Which I did last year, and produced a sumptuous crop of broccoli … my children still remember and ask for the chicken broccoli casserole.

Lesson learned: rotate your crops. Don’t keep planting the same vegetable plant in the same place each year.

Crop rotation illustration

Rotate four types of vegetable crops for best practice


It is a good time to go around and give everything its first dose of fertilizer. I’m ready to do that now. Especially the roses, as they are putting on new growth right now.

Everyone hated the snow, but my garden has had less damage than most years- the blooms are breathtaking this year.(Except for overweighted and broken evergreen shrubs… but that was winter’s story). I am going to prune them a bit.

Mugo Pine New Shoots

Oh! That reminds me. The shoots on the mugo pines, called candles, are now ready to prune. Another task to put on my list for today- which is not at all burdensome since the sun is shining and I feel like I need to be in the calming presence of my garden.

Need to know more about pruning mugo pines? Start here.

Get a good pair of pruners if you don’t have some already.

‘Til Next time, Friends!


DISCLOSURE: I may be an affiliate for products that I recommend. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. Thank you, in advance for your support! Privacy Policy
« Beware
early bloomers »

Oh, hi there!

I was a garden blog pioneer, and began writing on this blog in 2003. Before that I had begun a garden website that has been at its own domain since 2006, Ilona's Garden.

I still love writing, gardening, and art after all these years, although travel and grandchildren have become a big part of my life, now.

Standouts

Do You Grow Herbs? 10 Reasons To Love Them

There are so many ways to enjoy herb plants, that they are not for herb gardens only. Think about tucking them into the landscape, into containers or into your home. I do I enjoy thee? Oh, Herb, Let me count the ways! 10 Ways I Enjoy Herbs (and you can, too!) In companion plantings, herbs […]

10 Cool Season Annual Flowers To Plant

Shirley poppies and Bachelor Buttons Not every garden writer alerts you to the fact that annuals can have seasons that are shorter than other choices. For places like Ohio which have hot summers, there are common annuals that only do well when our weather is cooler, such as in early summer. Those flowers sort of […]

Newest Postings Here

  • HELLLOOOO, From The Other Side
  • February Gardening, Last of Winter in the Flower Garden
  • Compilation of Past Mini-Posts of 2003
  • Wayback in Ilona Garden Time
  • 3 Tips For Landscaping Successfully With Ornamental Trees

Finding your way home via the garden path


Read reviews from the GardenLibarian

Visit For A Spell

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Google +
  • Wanelo

Portrait of a Gardener

gardener musings

Musings

What’s Wrong With Today’s Gardening?

Modern gardening

What Is Wrong?

Garden Journal

fine garden journal

Journal, Planner and Log Book

Shop Small Trees and More

People’s Choice

Wayback in Ilona Garden Time

posted in Uncategorized

1910 garden plan

3 Tips For Landscaping Successfully With Ornamental Trees

posted in Landscape Design Know-How, Landscape Trees

Garden update

Mid-Ohio Gardening Update

posted in 2018, How's the weather?

All Season Garden Color with Bold Foliage Effects, Masterful Contrasts

posted in Garden design ideas, Landscape Design Know-How


Bonsai Trees

Stay updated!

Get all the latest tasty goodness straight to your inbox!

Topics

Past Posts

Join Me

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Garden Enthusiasm

Garden Enthusiasm Delivered

* indicates required

View previous campaigns.

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Copyright © 2021 · Part of Ilona’s Garden by Ilona Erwin