A cover crop is simply a dense planting of quick-growing plants that protect the soil and can provide many nutrients to the soil. The most common cover crops are grasses/grains such as Winter Rye. The other favorites are legumes such as clover, vetch, and peas that fix nitrogen in the soil. When the green cover crop plants are tilled into the soil it is called a “Green Manure” crop. These terms are used alternately. You can plant cover crops; during the growing season to keep weeds at bay, in the fall to overwinter adding nutrients and protecting the soil, or in the spring for areas where you will be planting later crops.
Why plant cover crops?
They hold the soil in place. Providing protection from wind and water erosion. The dense planting provides weed suppression. Winter Rye actually has allelopathic properties that inhibit other plant growth. Cover crops enrich the soil by nitrogen fixation from legume plant species and add organic material for helping the soil structure and providing food for beneficial microbes and worms. Cover crops help to reduce garden insect pests by attracting beneficial insects and bees and bumblebees are attracted to the early blooms of some of the species.
Soil Protection:
Protecting the soil is very important. Planting a cover crop is like a living mulch. The roots hold the soil in place and penetrate deeply into the earth, bringing moisture, nutrients, and airway down into the depths. The leaves shade the top of the soil keeping the top from desiccation from wind and sun, and allowing the microbes and earthworms to continue to enrich the soil. Allowing annual cover crop species to just die in place and cover the soil aids in this process and during the winter helps to hold the snow on the soil. It is important to mulch to cover the soil even if you are not using a cover crop. Just use leaves, newspaper, or cardboard covered with burlap or netting to hold it down. The worms love decaying leaves!
Weed suppression:
Cover crops help to combat weeds firstly by sheer numbers. Cover crops need to be planted thickly. Weeds love bare soil! Planting a cover crop in the fall to till under in the spring is a good way to get ahead of the spring weeds. Try to get a fall-planted cover crop for spring tilling in at least 1 month before killing frosts in the fall. Use a spring-planted cover crop to combat weeds in areas between rows of crops or in orchards. Cover crops are effective whether you till or not. They can just be mowed off and in cold winter areas, most annual cover crops die on their own and are a good mulch in place even when dead.
Soil enrichment:
Clovers and legumes enrich the soil by taking up atmospheric nitrogen in nodules in their roots. They are able to achieve this because they are a host to a bacterium, Rhizobium. The relationship between these plants and Rhizobium is symbiotic, meaning they are mutual beneficiaries. The bacteria are fed by the plant and the plant is fed by the bacteria. Plants cannot use nitrogen the way it exists in the atmosphere. Rhizobium converts atmospheric nitrogen into a useful form for plants and animals to utilize. Rhizobium takes up residence in the plant’s root system and forms nodules. Clover and other legumes are susceptible to this type of bacterial “infection” and that is why these plants are great fertilizing plants.!
– Remove seed pods from spent and dried flowers.
– Break apart seed pod to release mature seeds.
– Scatter seeds and stir them into the soil surface.
2. Replanting new starts
– Locate new seedlings starting from established perennials.
– Carefully dig out these seedlings.
– Replant in a new location and water thoroughly.
How to make plants grow more flowers?
Someone somewhere has certainly declared “The more flowers, the better”. This is a sentiment I share with that “someone, somewhere”. I have two assignments for you if you’d like to set yourself up quickly and easily to have more flowers in your garden next year.
Your first assignment is to go stand in the part of your garden that has wildflower-y plants. You’ll notice two things. The first thing is that there are lots of spent flowers and seed heads that need to be deadheaded. Everything from rudbeckia to dill to penstemon has mature seed heads. You can always collect these seeds and put them in little envelopes to save for spring or you can take my lazy way out and snip off the seed head and fling it in the general direction you’d like it to grow next year.
The second thing you will see is that flowering plants always seem to migrate to the edge of the garden bed and need some encouragement to move to the middle and back of the bed. Keep flinging seeds knowing that some of them will germinate right where they fall…so fling them merrily for…
More flowers!
Your second assignment is to find a spring or early summer bloomer and stand in front of it. A Columbine or Penstemon, Agastache, and Echinacea are good possibilities. Often right at the feet of these now-finished beauties are dozens of little plants or even seedlings that have germinated in the past month and are growing next year’s plants. I take my hori-hori knife and gently dig or carve out (we have lots of clay soil) a nice plug of soil that keeps the baby plant’s roots intact and put it where I’d like more plants. If the plant is young and you didn’t disturb the roots much, there won’t be transplant shock…just a new perennial that will bloom next year.
In conclusion, whether you are flinging seeds or digging up plant plugs, you’ve saved yourself a lot of time and fussing with seed starting trays under lights and you’ve tricked Mother Nature into letting those perennials bloom next year. New plants, more flowers – easy, quick, and free. That’s my kind of gardening.
People also ask:
What are some tips for digging up and re-establishing plants in my garden? Make sure that the plant that you are going to dig up is well-watered and healthy. Dig the new hole twice the width of the transplant and not any deeper than the rootball. Dig around the base of the plant outside of the roots area. Keep the root ball intact.
How and when do I transplant seedlings?
Anytime after the seedlings have developed their second set of true leaves.
How do I save and store flower seeds?
Wait until the flowers have finished blooming and the seed pods have turned brown and dry. Lay seed pods on paper towels to make sure they are thoroughly dry. You can store the pods whole or remove the seeds from the pods. Store harvested seeds that are well-dried in a cool place in a sealed glass jar. A small desiccant packet can help eliminate any moisture in the jar. Individual seed species can be stored in envelopes. Label and date the envelopes holding the seeds. Plan to use within 1-2 years.
What are the dos and don’ts of deadheading flowers?
Deadheading is the process of removing spent or faded flowers from the plant. The plant begins putting its energy into producing seeds after the blooms fade. To keep the plant’s energy directed towards blooming more flowers, remove the faded ones. Don’t just remove the flower top, remove the entire stem back to the live stem.
https://bbbseed.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2-Easy-Ways.-min.jpg8531280konabirdhttps://bbbseed.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/BBB-Seed-Logo-2024.pngkonabird2022-08-25 06:00:002023-09-06 15:41:432 Easy Ways to Have More Flowers Next Year
It is good to understand the importance of beneficial insects in the garden — both pollinators and predators. We try to encourage the good guys into our gardens and celebrate their appearance.
Except…how can you be sure that the less-than-cuddly-looking four-legged creatures walking amongst your blossoms are the right ones? After all, heroes aren’t necessarily handsome (although we always assume they must be). No, your knights-in-shining-armor may have a face only a mother could love — or a gardener.
Ladybugs
You might be surprised at how many good guys you don’t recognize. For instance, most people are very familiar with ladybugs and recognize them as part of the cavalry. The Volkswagen-shaped beetles will consume about 50 aphids a day, munching on plant mites and scales while they’re at it. They are definitely beneficial insects!
Yet I wonder how many ladybug children are killed simply because they don’t have Brad Pitt’s good looks. If you didn’t shudder when I mentioned the little darlings, then you probably haven’t met them. If you can picture a cross between an alligator and a lobster wearing black and orange/red leather biker pants — only creepier — then you’re on the right track. As far as looks go, ladybug larvae have nothing in common with their charming parents.
Ladybugs overwinter as adults, hiding under leaf debris. They do a quasi-hibernation called “diapause” and wake up when the days start getting longer or warmer. When they wake up they are hungry and look for pollen and insect eggs (like aphid or mite eggs).
Ladybug facts:
There are over 300 types of Ladybugs just in North America
Ladybugs come in many colors besides red: pink, yellow, white, orange, and black.
The hard shell covering the adult ladybug protects the fragile wings and is called the elytra. It is so thin you can see through it and is used to make the ladybug look dangerous to predators. They actually secrete a foul-tasting, orange fluid from the joints in their legs. Ladybugs will even play dead if threatened.
Another bug I met this week is what insect scientists call a “true bug” whose common name is “Assassin Bug”! All of the creatures we call “beneficial insects” are beneficial because they eat bugs we don’t like in our gardens. We love the predators that eat thrips and whiteflies or all the beetle eggs on squash. We’re so happy to see the insects we like eating the babies of the insects we don’t like. But sometimes the top predators aren’t too picky and they eat bees and ladybugs and butterfly caterpillars too. Fortunately, they assassinate many more bad bugs than good bugs.
The bugs at the top of the food pyramid have some great names like assassin bugs or pirate bugs. They are still beneficial in our book because they are eating lots of the bad guys. Of course, they happily eat cute ladybugs and even their own siblings when they’re ravenous after hatching. Keep an eye out in your garden for some of these more interesting creatures.
Pirate Bugs
Predatory Stink Bugs
Big Eyed Bugs
Damsel Bugs (Another example of a less-than-lovely beneficial insect. As the old saying goes; she’s plainer than a mud fence”.)
There is a look-alike bug to the stink bug called the Spined Soldier Bug who is a bug superhero! This bug eats two of the most damaging villains in our gardens: the Mexican bean beetle and the Colorado potato beetle. It also eats the eggs of its look-a-like, the Brown Marmorated stink bug. Learn to tell the difference between this beneficial insect and the annoying stink bug. The Soldier Bug has sharp spiny shoulders and is more likely to be alone and not as afraid of you. My rule for pulling weeds is always, “Don’t pull anything unless you know its name.” My rule for killing bugs is now the same, “Don’t kill anything unless you know its name for sure!” No guessing!
How to tell the difference
Pictures of Beneficial predator insects
Crickets
Crickets live in our gardens and yards all year and we mostly don’t even notice them until they begin their singing melodies announcing that the end of summer is coming. Crickets play a large role in our garden ecosystem. Crickets are Detritivores and Omnivores. They love their meat like small insects, egg pupae, scale, and aphids. Some feed primarily on plant material. Others balance their diet with pollen and nectar. They are known to eat a lot of weed seeds and mostly they eat decaying plant material and fungi. They live in and feed on the decaying leaf litter of the garden and yard. They leave behind tiny little cricket manures that help fertilize the soil. Another great beneficial insect.
Crickets are an important part of the food chain. (Another good reason not to use insecticides.) The list of who eats crickets is long: birds, mice, shrews, bats, rats, toads, frogs, small snakes, and salamanders. Other predators of crickets are lizards, mantids, spiders, wasps, ground beetles and ants, and of course, humans!
These leggy creatures are our friends! I’m not suggesting that you invite black widow spiders into your house, but spiders in the garden are hugely beneficial. Daddy Long Legs, otherwise known as “Harvestmen” eat bugs, especially aphids. Once again, we discover that we have yet other friends helping us produce food and flowers. They also eat other bugs and mites, dead insects, and bird droppings. Daddy Long Legs are related to the spider family but have no venom sac and no fangs.
The most important thing you can do in your garden and yard for all of the beneficial insects is not to clean up very well. You can pick up lots of leaves, but leave some of them scattered throughout the garden and in out-of-sight areas to give them a safe place to overwinter or lay eggs and forage. In the fall it’s best to try to not tidy up too much. Leave standing flower seed heads, leave leaf litter, and leave some hollow stems of plants and shrubs if you want your yard to be natural habitat. Most songbirds switch from eating seeds to insects during nesting season, then turn back to seeds for fall and winter. Lacewings, Ladybugs, and solitary bees hide in tiny nests under grasses and at the feet of willows or in debris under the shrubs. Leaving your garden and yard a more natural habitat will provide seeds for birds and give beneficial insects a place to nest all winter.
So, you can see how vital insect recognition can be if only so you don’t squash the same critters that are there to save the day! The best place to start is by learning about the insects local to your area. I like having a bug identification page called Mac’s Field Guide and they’re available for different regions. This large, laminated card has good garden bugs on one side and bad ones on the flip side. The one I have for California has images of the kids next to the adults, too. It also tells you where to look for both good beneficial insects and bad bugs and which plant whets their appetites.
If a particular insect really piques your interest, catch it in a jar. Bring it down to your local nursery or your local Cooperative Extension Office (Master Gardeners) for proper identification. You were probably going down there to see what new vegetable starts they brought in this week anyway.
https://bbbseed.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/BBB-Seed-Logo-2024.png00Mike Wadehttps://bbbseed.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/BBB-Seed-Logo-2024.pngMike Wade2022-08-17 08:00:572024-08-16 17:38:35Learn to Recognize Your Beneficial Insects
Not sure about pruning your plants? We’ve compiled 10 reasons why you should prune trees and shrubs in your yard or garden to help maintain their long-term health.
Practicing simple techniques, using the right tools, along with proper timing for each plant species is the key to effective pruning and most require very little pruning in order to achieve the gardener’s goal. But before taking sharp tools to your plants, you should understand exactly what those goals are and why you’re pruning them in the first place.
Remember that every cut made will alter the plant’s shape and growth. In fact, the list below addresses the many reasons that any tree or shrub should be pruned in the yard or garden. If you are interested in having your trees or bushes trimmed, remember that you can use a service like TreeSurgeon.Care to help.
Here are ten great reasons to prune trees (including fruiting) and shrubs:
Reason #1: Vigor
Pruning a growing shoot stimulates new growth production. So if you’re looking for some vigorous new growth on a shrub, prune it hard (a lot). Consider this type of pruning when you have a shrub that has a weak section of growth; such as the back. In fact, when you “pinch” back new growth with your fingers on any plant, you’re actually pruning.
Reason #2: Shape
Plants that have grown out of balance with either the yard or their own growing pattern (such as stray and awkward branches) can be reshaped by pruning.
Reason #3: Restrict a Plant’s Size
This can be especially important if you live in an area with restricted space. Gardeners living in urban and suburban areas almost always have to prune trees and shrubs to keep them from out-growing the yard, garden, or container. Root-pruning is another technique that can help restrict the size of plants in containers.
Reason #4: Let in More Light
If you have an extremely shady yard or you’d like to have more sun reaching the area under a tree for plants or lawn, careful pruning can let in a little extra sunshine.
Reason #5: Health and Structural Soundness
Any diseased, injured, dying, or dead branches should be removed for the health of the tree. Branches that rub together should be removed to eliminate potential damage to a main branch. Much of maintaining structural soundness in a tree is about careful pruning practices such as not “topping” trees. Topping can make the tree weak and susceptible to pests. It’s also associated with the slow death even if it takes years for the tree to actually die.
Reason #6: Create Special Effects
Most often, pruning for special effects is seen in formal-type gardens. They often take the shape of boxwood topiary or an apple tree that’s been trained as an espalier. Pollarding or coppicing pruning techniques may be used, as well.
Reason #7: Encourage Flowering and Fruit
Pruning can coax growth spurs (produces the flowers and the fruit) to form on the branches. Strong flower buds are also encouraged to form due to pruning. Fruit trees can be lightly pruned in the summer which will provide better air circulation around the fruit. This results in less trouble with fruit diseases and the fruit ripens faster.
Reason #8: Protect People and Property
Prune trees that have been planted near homes, sheds, play structures, and other buildings as they propose a potential threat to human safety if heavy branches break off or the tree falls. They can also interfere with telephone or power lines. Proper pruning can keep people, pets, and property safe.
Reason #9: Keep Evergreens Proportionate
Pruning will keep boundary hedges under control. Evergreens benefit from light pruning as it keeps their foliage dense, and therefore, attractive.
Reason #10: Improve Appearance
Many gardeners’ top priority when pruning their plants is about their appearance in the yard or garden. Removing dead, unwanted branches, as well as suckers creates a pleasing shape and leaves plants looking neat and tidy. Many lovely blooming shrubs such the Butterfly Bush (Buddleia spp.) are capable of spectacular blossom displays due to good pruning techniques.
Usually pruning is about working with a plant’s natural growth pattern as it’s developing, as well as maintaining mature tree and shrub species. One of the few exceptions is when it’s used to create effects such as espalier. In general, a successful pruning job will leave your healthy, beautifully-shaped fruit trees or shrubs looking like they haven’t been touched at all.
https://bbbseed.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/10-Reasons-Why-You-Should-Prune-Trees-and-Shrubs.png12602240Chris McLaughlanhttps://bbbseed.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/BBB-Seed-Logo-2024.pngChris McLaughlan2021-07-05 17:01:122024-08-16 17:38:0110 Reasons Why You Should Prune Trees and Shrubs
The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is one of the most commonly recognized hummingbirds in North America, especially in the eastern half of the country where they spend their summers. They are the only hummingbird to breed east of the Great Plains. Commonly found in open woods, forest edges, parks, gardens and yards, their familiar green and red plumage make them easy to identify.
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are 3-3.75 inches in length and weigh around 10-13 ounces with a life span of about 4-6 years. These speedy little birds flap their wings 53 times per second, can hover in mid-air and fly upside down and backward. The males have a striking bright red or red-orange iridescent throat. The males’ upperparts and head are bright green. The female’s underparts are plain white and upperparts green, but they lack the brilliant red throat of the male.
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds feed mostly on nectar and insects. They are strongly attracted to red and orange flowers, like those of trumpet vine, red columbine, bee balm, scarlet sage and many Penstemon varieties. They happily feed from nectar feeders too.
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are solitary birds that only come together to mate. The female builds her cup-shaped nest about 10-20 feet above ground in a well-camouflaged area of a shrub or tree. Here she will commonly produce 1-2 broods of 2 white eggs per year. The incubation period is 10-16 days. The female, alone, will care for the young for 2-3 weeks before they are mature enough to leave the nest.
In early fall, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird will begin its migration to Mexico & Central America crossing over 500 miles of water in their nonstop journey across the Gulf of Mexico. They can become a little more aggressive near food sources in late summer as they begin preparing for the journey.
To attract more of these lovely birds to your yard keep a clean and full nectar feeder, plant more nectar-rich flowers in their favorite colors of orange and red, limit insecticide use and provide a water source such as a mister or shallow fountain for these birds to bathe and preen in.
Mid- August to Mid- September is the prime time to start planning and planting your fall vegetable garden and your cool season vegetables. Even though it’s still hot outside, the nights are getting cooler and the days shorter. Now is the time to get those quick-growing, cool-season vegetables in the ground. For bountiful late-season harvests here are a few guidelines to follow.
-Know which crops to plant and when. Here’s a list of our favorite cool-season vegetables and their days to maturity.
Kale should be planted 85 – 90 days before the first frost. The leaves can handle a few light touches of frost and become sweeter each time.
Carrots can be planted 80-85 days before frost. They can be harvested when young and tender. Even after the cold temperatures shrivel the tops, they can be dug, sweet and juicy, from the ground throughout the fall.
Beets can do double duty with green tops for salads and tasty roots as well. Plant seeds about 65-70 days before frost, depending on the type you choose.
Leafy greens such as spinach and leaf lettuces, arugula, mustard greens and Swiss chard all do best in the cooler temperatures of fall. Plant seeds about 50-60 days before frost depending on the type of green chosen. These can be harvested when young and immature for delicious baby greens.
Photo courtesy of pexels by kaboompics 5809
Radishes are always great to spice up salads. These are fast-growing and can be planted 30-35 days before the first frost. Pull them when young and tender.
-Keep moist. The garden will dry out more quickly in the warm days of late summer than it did in the spring. Keep a close eye on new plantings to make sure those seeds or seedlings stay well-watered. A light covering of grass clippings or straw can serve as mulch, helping to retain moisture. Using a light row cover over newly planted areas can also help retain moisture, provide shade and protect against light frosts further down the road.
Fertilize once a week with an organic fertilizer with nitrogen and enjoy delicious salads and veggies all fall long.
https://bbbseed.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/BBB-Seed-Logo-2024.png00Heather Stonehttps://bbbseed.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/BBB-Seed-Logo-2024.pngHeather Stone2019-08-20 05:06:182021-02-08 10:42:29Plant Your Cool Season Vegetables Now
We are deep into August. Here are a few tips and reminders about where should we be focusing our time and efforts in the garden this month to make the most impact.
For many, August in the garden is an explosion of flowers, fruit and vegetables. Keep on top of harvesting! A daily inspection of zucchini plants ensures none escape your eye and turn into what more resembles a baseball bat than a vegetable. Check tomatoes for blossom end rot and adjust watering if needed.
Start gathering recipes for the crops you have in abundance. Hit up some of your favorite websites or blogs for recipe ideas. Check out our reader shared recipes here.
2. Harvest herbs for either fresh use or to save for later. Here are some tips for preserving herbs by freezing, drying or in vinegar.
3. As crops are harvested and bare space appears in the garden another August garden chore is to protect your soil by covering it with mulch or planting a cover crop.
4. Side-dress your warm-season crops with a little compost to give them a boost to finish out the growing season.
5. Now is the time to plant another sowing of cool-season vegetables like lettuces, chard, kale, radish, spinach, arugula, beets, carrots and peas. This doesn’t have to take long and you’ll thank yourself later when you have fresh salad greens throughout the fall. Plant another row of bush beans too for a fall harvest.
Photo courtesy of pixabay – couleur 3702999_1280
6. Keep weeds under control in both the perennial and vegetable gardens. Weeds rob moisture, nutrients and light from our desired plantings.
7. Keep perennials deadheaded and cleaned up. Tuck a pair of pruners in your pocket while walking through and enjoying your garden. I little clean up here and there helps keep pests at bay and saves on time later.
8. Continue to care for your plants in pots by deadheading, removing dead and diseased foliage and regularly fertilizing.
9. Take notes and/or pictures of what worked and what didn’t in your garden. These reminders will help next spring when it’s time to plant again.
If you have space, make room for a hill or two of watermelons in your garden. They are easy to grow and like any fruit and vegetable, they just taste better when they are plucked straight from the garden. Besides, nothing says summer quite like a juicy slice of watermelon.
Here are a few tips for successfully growing watermelon.
Choose the right variety for your climate
Most watermelons need 80-95 days to ripen, but some varieties require even longer. Choose one that works for your area. You can get a head start by starting seeds indoors about three weeks before your last frost date or by purchasing established plants. Plant outside when all chances of frost have passed and the soil temperatures are in the 70’s.
Give them room to roam
Watermelons need lots of room to ramble. It is not uncommon for vines to reach up to 20 feet in length. The vines don’t like to be regularly moved so pick a spot where you can let them roam freely.
Know when to water
Keep plants moist when starting off and until fruits begin to form. Watermelons are fairly deep-rooted plants, so in some climates, you might not need a lot of extra moisture except during extended dry periods. When watering, water at the roots and try to avoid getting the leaves wet. This helps to keep down on the spread of fungal diseases. Once the fruit has begun to set, experts say to hold off on the water to concentrate the sugars in the fruit, giving you a sweeter melon.
Know when to harvest
Photo courtesy of pixabay
It’s not always easy to know when your watermelon is ripe. To start, check the “days to harvest” of your variety and begin to check for maturity when plants have reached that age. The color of the bottom spot where the melon sits on the ground will turn from white to yellow as the melon matures. Also, watch for the rind to turn from a bright, slick appearance to a more dulled look. The skin or rind should be tough enough that a thumbnail won’t pierce the skin. After picking, chill for best flavor.
https://bbbseed.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/BBB-Seed-Logo-2024.png00Mike Wadehttps://bbbseed.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/BBB-Seed-Logo-2024.pngMike Wade2019-07-31 09:43:032021-02-04 11:16:09Four Tips for Growing Your Best Watermelons
One of my favorite plants began blooming this week, Lacy phacelia, Phacelia tanacetifolia, so I wanted to take a moment to tell you all about Lacy Phacelia. It has many common names including lacy scorpionweed, tansy leaf phacelia, blue tansy, purple tansy and my favorite, bee’s friend. Clusters of light blue-violet flowers that unfurl in a fiddlehead shape sit atop attractive fern-like foliage. Reaching heights of 1-3 feet and blooming for 6-8 weeks this fast-growing wildflower is an excellent addition to any garden. It also makes an excellent cut flower.
Native to the southwestern United States, this easy to grow annual does well in hot, dry conditions but easily adapts to a variety of site conditions. Lacy phacelia seeds germinate readily in 15-30 days. Sow seeds early in the spring while there is still a possibility of frost. Ideal soil temperatures for best germination are between 37-68 degrees F. Press seeds gently into the soil at a depth of ⅛-¼”.
It’s not only the lovely blue-violet flowers that make lacy phacelia one of my favorite plants. Lacy Phacelia is well known for its ability to attract bees and butterflies to an area. It is a heavy nectar producer and is listed in the top 20 pollen-producing flowers for honeybees. Having this source of high-quality nectar and pollen means you’ll be attracting many native bees, bumblebees, honey bees and butterflies to your garden. I have these flowers growing near my front porch and just this week I counted 4 different varieties of bees on the few flowers that just started blooming.
Image by rihaij from Pixabay
Trying growing lacy phacelia near your vegetable garden to increase your yields.
Lacy phacelia also does well in containers. These containers can then be moved to different areas of the garden that need pollination. The benefits of Lacy phacelia as a cover crop are becoming more popular. It is widely used in Europe as it aggressively outcompetes weeds and absorbs excess nitrates and calcium from the soil. But it’s most important contribution is its pollinator-attracting power.
Lacy phacelia readily self sows so removing flower heads before they set seed helps limit any unwanted volunteers. Though when you see these beautiful flowers and how many pollinators they attract to the garden you might want to let a few of these wildflowers go to seed.
Tips for Planting and Growing Milkweed Successfully
by Sam Doll
Milkweeds are hardy, perennial wildflowers found throughout North America. Some species can grow up to six feet tall and they produce beautiful, fragrant flower clusters. Since they’re common ingredients in traditional medicine, their genus name, Asclepias, comes from the Greek god of medicine.
Milkweed has gotten a bad rap over the years. Allergies and perceptions of the wildflower as a weed have caused it to be wiped out throughout large portions of North America.
This is bad news for the Monarch Butterfly. Monarch mothers will only lay their eggs on milkweed plants (genus Asclepias) and, once hatched, their caterpillars exclusively live on and eat the leaves of those same plants. They cannot survive without them. The prevalence of pesticides has not helped and the loss of milkweed, wildflowers, and other floral resources has devastated the monarch butterfly population. However, by restoring Milkweed to urban and wild landscapes, we can begin the process of saving the Monarch Butterfly! And our Ultimate Milkweed Growing Guide is here to help.
Don’t have your seeds yet? Check out our Complete Milkweed Buying Guide for all you need to know about our Milkweed Products!
Milkweed Growing Guide Table of Contents
Prep
Planting
Transplanting
Why all these steps?
Milkweed seed has a high percentage of dormancy, which means many of the seeds won’t germinate without a little special treatment or might need to age for a season. Since we want to make sure you have complete success with our seeds, here are some tips!
Prep:
Milkweed seeds need to be exposed to cold temperatures that normally occur in winter to help break their natural dormancy and begin to soften their hard outer casing. If you are planning to start your Milkweeds indoors, you will need to do this cold stratification yourself.
You can do this by putting your Milkweed seed in a damp paper towel, folding it to fit into a sealed plastic bag, then placing the bag into the refrigerator. Keep it there for 4-6 weeks before planting.
Planting:
Plant your seeds in small 2-4″ peat pots (recommended) or tall plastic pots. Make sure to use ‘seed-starting’ soil or medium. Moisten the soil, place 1-2 seeds into each pot and cover with no more than 1/6″ damp soil or medium.
Place the pots where they can drain. Water gently or fill a tray with 1/2” of water to be absorbed from the bottom of the peat pots. Dump the excess water after absorption. Water when the top of the soil is dry and be mindful to not overwater.
Milkweed seeds germinate in warm conditions, so place your tray of pots in a warm spot like a sunny window, greenhouse, or under a grow light. Germination usually occurs after 10-15 days for cold-stratified seeds. To encourage sturdy stems, place your grow light bulb close to the soil. Sometimes a small fan blowing gently towards the new seedlings will encourage sturdier stems.
Other planting methods: Plant non-stratified seed into peat pots filled with seed-starting soil or medium. Moisten, and place in a greenhouse or under a grow light. Germination in this scenario might take several months.
If planting outside, seed in late fall. Let the Milkweed seed remain over the winter. This will accomplish the cold-stratification, needed. Germination should occur when the soil warms and the days are longer.
Oh, and while you’re at it, check out our Monarch Rescue Wildflower Mix. It has Butterfly Milkweed and a mix of other wildflower seeds to provide a nectar-rich place for Monarch Butterflies to fuel up and raise their young! Find it here!
Transplanting:
When the danger of frost is past and your plants reach 2-3″ tall, you can transplant outdoors. Choose a location in full sun if possible.
Milkweed produces a long taproot, so take care to not disturb the roots. Plant peat pots so that the top edge of the small pot is underground to avoid drying out. If your Milkweed seedlings were planted in plastic pots, be extremely careful with the roots. Continue to water after planting until plants become established. Once they are established, you can taper off your watering unless the season is extremely dry. The newly planted Milkweed seedlings may lose all their leaves due to transplant shock but should grow them back again.
Congratulations!
You’re now a proud Milkweed parent! Now just sit back and watch the Monarch Butterflies arrive!
P.S. – Save our Milkweed Growing Guide for next year by bookmarking this page on your browser.
*Note that all Milkweed contains cardiac glycosides, chemicals that are toxic when eaten. These chemicals, in turn, make the Monarch Butterflies toxic to any would-be predators. Avoid letting livestock and small children eat milkweed and wash any skin that comes in contact with the sap to avoid irritation.
We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.
Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.
Essential Website Cookies
These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.
Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.
We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.
We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.
Google Analytics Cookies
These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.
If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:
Other external services
We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.
Google Webfont Settings:
Google Map Settings:
Google reCaptcha Settings:
Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:
Other cookies
The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:
Privacy Policy
You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.
