Get growing with more pleasure and fun
Easy-care plants in a large planter combine two of the ways to reduce labor in the garden. Kathy Morrison
All work and no play makes gardening pretty dull – and less fun. If it seems all you do is pull weeds, where’s the pleasure in growing vegetables and flowers?
On this Labor Day, let’s consider how you spend your time (and labor) in your garden. There are lots of ways to cut down on maintenance and increase production – and joy.
With that in mind on this holiday, here are five labor-saving ideas for your garden:
1. Mulch, mulch, mulch!
This simple step saves moisture, cuts down on weeds and helps plants cope with fluctuating weather. Use organic material (straw, leaves, bark, etc.) and that mulch adds nutrients to the soil, too. Avoid rocks or gravel as mulch; they retain too much heat in Sacramento and can “cook” plant roots. You also can use fallen leaves as mulch – cutting down on another fall chore.
2. Smart irrigation.
Stop dragging hoses. Instead, install drip lines and a “smart” irrigation controller. Drip irrigation puts water where plants need it most – at the roots. A smart controller takes the guess work out of watering. Cued into weather, it also can turn irrigation off when not needed such as during rainy weather – no more wasting water. Here’s another plus: Rebates are available in most local water districts. Check availability at https://bewatersmart.info/.
3. Use bigger pots.
The larger the container, the less frequently it needs watering. It also makes a greater visual impact and allows plants more room to grow.
4. Choose lower-maintenance, slow-growing plants.
Tired of pruning hedges? Constantly edging borders? Mowing the lawn? Transition your landscape to plants that need less fuss and snipping. It’s a matter of putting the right plant in the right place; it will grow healthier and need less care, too.
5. Plant perennials and bulbs.
What’s more time saving than flowers that come up every year with no additional work? Fall is planting season for daffodils, tulips, hyacinths and other spring-blooming bulbs as well as most perennials. Naturalized bulbs can make a big, colorful splash in your garden year after year. With staggered blooming seasons, perennials add low-maintenance flowers to beds year round. Another bonus: Bulbs and perennials tend to need less irrigation – save water and time, too.
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Garden Checklist for week of Sept. 8
Temperatures are headed down to normal. The rest of the month kicks off fall planting season:
* Harvest tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons and eggplant.
* Compost annuals and vegetable crops that have finished producing.
* Cultivate and add compost to the soil to replenish its nutrients for fall and winter vegetables and flowers.
* Fertilize deciduous fruit trees.
* Plant onions, lettuce, peas, radishes, turnips, beets, carrots, bok choy, spinach and potatoes directly into the vegetable beds.
* Transplant cabbage, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower as well as lettuce seedlings.
* Sow seeds of California poppies, clarkia and African daisies.
* Transplant cool-weather annuals such as pansies, violas, fairy primroses, calendulas, stocks and snapdragons.
* Divide and replant bulbs, rhizomes and perennials.
* Dig up and divide daylilies as they complete their bloom cycle.
* Divide and transplant peonies that have become overcrowded. Replant with “eyes” about an inch below the soil surface.
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