We have the first tomato plants of the season ready for you to take home! It's still too cold to put them out without protection, but the four packs are suitable to transplant into a larger pot and grow out under a grow lamp, while the gallon sized pots could be transferred straight to a plastic tunnel in the garden. Just remember to provide them with an extra layer of protection if it drops into the 20s overnight.
We have:
Better Boy
Big Boy
Early Girl
Roma
Sweet 100
Yellow Pear
Take them home, and be the envy of your neighbors this summer.
Early Spring Annuals vs. Late Spring Frosts:
How to protect your plants
We may be in for a few more nippy nights, but that shouldn't stop you from enjoying early spring annuals! Pictured above is a selection of hardy favorites to look for this spring season.
Top row, left to right: Calibrachoa, Snap Dragon, Petunia
Middle row, left to right: Nemesia, Ornamental Kale, Wallflower
Bottom Row, left to right: Alyssum/Lobularia, Pansy, Dianthus*
*May also be grown as a perennial
We've filled the garden house with a variety of tender annuals as well. Guests with greenhouses often take these home and plant them in liners and hanging baskets, ready to put out as soon as the weather warms.
Cool weather annuals outdoors should be protected on frosty nights. Here's how:
1. Relocate
The most sure-fire method is to plant your annual display in a liner pot or a hanging basket, and simply pick it up and move it to a sheltered spot in a garage or shed overnight when the forecast is for freezing temperatures. Just make sure that you remember to put it back outside again once the freeze has passed!
2. Mulch & Water
For plants in the ground, a thick layer of wood mulch will help insulate the soil. Moist soil conserves heat better than dry soil, so water your flowers ahead of a frosty forecast to give the roots extra protection. Avoid getting the leaves wet, if possible, and if you used your garden hose, remember to decouple it afterward.
2. Cover 'em up
The key thing to remember about covering your plants is that you don't want the cover to actually touch them. You can wrap their pot with a blanket for extra insulation, but leave a cushion of air space around the leaves and flowers to prevent frost damage.
There are a couple different ways to do this. You can cover the plant with a "lid," such as an overturned flower pot, bucket, cardboard box or plastic storage bin- just make sure that you weigh it down with something if there's a chance that a gusty wind could blow it away.
You can also create a framework over the top of the plant, drape a sheet, tarp, drop cloth, etc. over it, and weigh it down around the edges.
You have lots of options for the frame itself. It can be as simple as moving a piece of patio furniture over the top of the plant and covering the whole thing up, or as elaborate as building a temporary hoop house over a flower bed by hammering some stakes into the ground (ready cut 2' lengths of rebar from the hardware store work well,) and arching pieces of 1/2" diameter PVC pipe over your plants.
If you're ready to enjoy an early spring show of your own, stop by our greenhouse and pick out some plants! We've got plenty of early annuals in for your perusal.
Need Some Inspiration?
If you don't receive your 2021 Idea Book in the mail this weekend and you'd like to have one, stop in and pick up a copy! You can browse all the latest offerings from Proven Winners, and get fresh ideas for this year's annual flower displays.
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Mulch Madness:
Stop Weeds Before They Get Started
The soil is warming and green things are sprouting, but not all of them are plants you want growing in your garden! Put down mulch early for weed prevention, and save yourself a lot of labor later. From now through April 24th, get free local delivery on 1-3 tons of bulk wood mulch. Just call our Stone Market at 309-689-2513 from now through April 24th and mention Mulch Madness!
The Green Thumb Garden Show is Back!
The Green Thumb Gardening Show is back on 1470 WMBD, at 7am on Saturday mornings! Tune in to hear Ethan Wise and Dan Diorio talk gardening for Central Illinois.
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