Greens (lettuce, spinach, arugula, chard, mustard leaves, etc.) are one of the easiest things to grow in a small space.  They provide both a supply of nutritious food as well as vibrant décor for windows or outdoor spaces.  Given that greens are shallow-rooted and fast-growing, they are ideal for containers of all sizes. 

If you cut your greens with scissors straight across, leaving the base of the plant intact, they will continue to grow.  Most greens grow best in slightly cooler conditions.  Chard will do well in the heat of the summer.  Enjoy!

Penn State horticulture professor Dr. David Sanford will concentrate on rugged plants that are reliable performers, have few pest problems and are available at local garden centers.  We will meet in the auditorium for the morning session to see Dr. Sanford’s pictures of the plants and discuss their habits and culture.  Plan to spend approximately half of the class time outdoors looking at perennials in the demonstration beds surrounding the Berks County Agricultural Center.  Come prepared for the weather!

Cost is $45 which includes lunch and handouts.        

Registration deadline is June 20, 2013.

Hope you can join us!

Follow this link to find the registration information:

http://extension.psu.edu/northampton/events/perennial-identification-for-the-home-gardener 

As is true with most containers, the deeper and wider a window box is, the better.   Bigger containers help cut down on watering and give you more choices for what you can grow.  Of course, you want to be sure that boxes are tightly secured. 

Some plants are happier in window boxes than others.  Some flowers you might try: nasturtiums and violets.  Or herbs: basil, chives, and parsley.  Chiles, chard, radishes, and greens also work great in window boxes. 

Sorry to interupt Kate's series on container gardening, but we’ve been getting questions about the impending "plague" of periodical cicadas.  Some of us may be able to witness a pretty big hatch later this month.  Please refer to Greg Hoover’s fact sheet on the cicadas. 

http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/periodical-cicada

http://news.psu.edu/story/276506/2013/05/08/mysterious-insect-emerge-parts-pennsylvania

Containers are often a great choice for small spaces like balconies.  When choosing containers, select
large ones since smaller ones will tend to dry out very quickly on a hot day.  It often helpful to choose something light weight made of plastic or galvanized metal that you can move as needed.

Consider using self-watering containers.  This takes away worry about watering when you
go on vacation or if you get busy for a few days.  Self-watering planters are available in many gardening
stores or you can make your own (see http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/self-watering-container-ze0z11zhir.aspx#axzz2SuD6DAzR).  Mulch on the surface of containers also helps
keep pots moist.

Last summer for the first time I noticed leafminer tunnels in the leaves of some of my daylily cultivars.    I was familiar with the unsightly mines left by insects in the leaves of columbine and other plants, and I just assumed that one of these insects had added daylilies to their cuisine.  I was very mistaken, as I discovered when I read an article by Gaye Williams, an entomologist with the Maryland Department of Agriculture!

Daylily leafminer is an agromyzid fly called Ophiomyia kwansonis Sasakawa whose sole host plants are species of  Hemerocallis, i.e. daylilies. There are no other leafminer insects which attack daylilies. Once known only in Japan and Taiwan, a possible photo of the first documented adult fly in this country was taken in Maine in 2006. Since that time, these flies have been discovered in 20 states including Pennsylvania. Because of international commerce in the daylily trade, European nations are also concerned about the influx of this fly. In fact, it has recently been found on imported plants in several public and private gardens in Slovenia!

The small black adult flies with reddish-brown eyes and clear triangular wings appear around May and are often seen resting on daylily foliage or flowers.  Females lay eggs on the leaf, often near the tip.  The small pale yellow larvae feed between the upper and lower leaf surfaces and wander up and down the leaf, feeding as they go.  This results in distinctive whitish meandering trails or "mines" which get wider as the larvae grow.  Several larvae can be feeding on the same leaf thus severely disfiguring the foliage.  They often pupate inside their tunnel near the base of the leaf, and the pupae look like tan rice grains.  They are very difficult to see when they are in this part of the plant, which means that inspections alone can’t always determine whether a plant has been infected.  Pupae may also overwinter in crowns or dead leaves of the plant. Studies in Maryland suggest that these flies breed continuously throughout the growing season so that at least two generations can occur in one year.

Ms. Williams reports that there is no chemical control specifically tested for these invaders.  The larvae wouldn’t be affected by contact insecticides since they are protected inside the leaf, and these insecticides would only kill beneficial predators and tiny parasitic wasps which attack the larvae.  Systemic pesticides bring concerns of possible impacts on pollinators and nectar feeders, and their effectiveness against daylily leafminer has not been determined. Good sanitation practices such as removing and destroying infected leaves may help. However, the very abundant roadside daylilies serve as a reservoir for this pest, so removing leaves of plants in your yard won’t necessarily decrease the population! It’s also wise to carefully examine any new purchases before planting them

The only good news is that the leafminers don’t appear to harm or kill their daylily hosts, and they don’t affect other plants.  However, the foliar damage is disfiguring, which is still a definite concern to daylily display gardens and breeders along with home gardeners. Their rapid increase in the US just goes to show how vulnerable our environment is to invasive species. Hopefully, natural controls such as beneficial predators and parasites may ultimately help to control the population increase of this pest.

Years ago when I purchased my home, I discovered to my delight Jack-in-the-pulpits growing in the basement window well on a shady side of the house.  For more than 20 years they grew and reproduced there until I decided to cover the well.  At that point, I carefully transplanted several corms to a shady spot in the garden where they thrived for several years.

Jack-in-the-pulpit, Arisaema truphyllum, is a very interesting plant!  It is a member of the Arum family, which also includes skunk cabbage, calla lily, philodendron, dieffenbachia, caladium, and peace lily.  These plants form unique floral structures consisting of a fleshy stem called a spadix surrounded by a tubular leaf-like structure called a spathe.  The actual flowers are tiny and nondescript and surround the lower portion of the spadix.  In jack-in-the pulpit, the spathe (the "pulpit") is green with brown or purple stripes and it is tubular and hooded thus totally enclosing the spadix ("Jack").   This reminded the people who first named this plant of a minister in an old fashioned pulpit.  In jack-in-the-pulpit, the flowers are unisexual.  Most plants have either male or female flowers though some have both.   If both are present, they mature at different rates to prevent self-pollination.  Generally, younger, smaller plants have male flowers and older larger plants have female flowers.  This can change from year to year which means that the plant shows a sequential hermaphroditism!!  As the corm of the plant ages and accumulates nutrients, the flowers it produces change from male to female.  Decreases in nutrients or environmental stress change cause it to revert to forming male flowers again!  This makes sense because it takes more energy and resources to produce seeds than pollen.

The spadix also produces a moldy smell to attract small flies and gnats who are trapped by the flower.  As they fall to the bottom of the slippery spathe, they pick up pollen, and there is an exit hole through which they can escape.  In females, however, there is no exit hole, and they are trapped thus releasing the pollen they picked up onto the female flowers.  What a fascinating trick!  Once male flowers release their pollen, the whole floral structure dries up.  The fertilized female flowers are retained and develop into seeds and fruit.  By fall, the fruits have formed as a cluster of bright red berries attractive to birds and insects who then spread the seeds. They can also spread asexually by producing corm offsets.

Jack-in-the-pulpits are long-lived perennials which overwinter underground as corms.  In the spring, each corm sends up a pointy shoot which divides into the floral stem and 1 or 2 stems with compound leaves which are divided into 3 leaflets arranged in a T-shape.  This is responsible for the species name triphyllum.  The plants, which grow from 1 to 3 feet tall, are native to moist deciduous woodlands in eastern North America and prefer neutral to acidic fertile, well-drained moist soil in shade or part shade.

If you decide to add Arisaema to your shade garden, please purchase plants from reputable sellers.  Don’t collect them from the wild!  Also keep in mind that these plants protect themselves by containing poisonous microscopic calcium oxalate crystals.  If ingested, they cause an intense burning sensation in the mouth and digestive tract along with swelling of the mouth and tongue and nausea or vomiting, so make sure you keep them away from children and pets.  Although this supposedly makes them deer resistant, some studies have found that deer browse on them anyway.  Interestingly, they were sometimes called Indian turnips since Native Americans once used them as both medicine and food.   Cooking and drying can destroy the crystals, but it is not recommended that you try this.  Remember, jack-in-the-pulpits were also sometimes called dragon’s root, brown dragon, devil’s ear, or pepper turnip because of these noxious tasting qualities!  Enjoy this fascinating plant either in the wild or in your garden!

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2C1E3D8A19FAF459 

At last, spring is here, and the daffodils are glorious!  I always love to see the yellows and whites of Narcissus with "minor" companion bulbs such as the blue scillas, chionodoxas and grape hyacinths at their feet!  Grape hyacinths are a particularly interesting flowering perennial.  The most common species found in gardens is Muscari armeniacum, but there are at least 40 different species in this group which originates from Asia Minor and around the Mediterranean.  Only 4 or 5 of these species are commonly available to gardeners.  Formerly considered to be members of the lily family, botanists now place these plants in either the asparagus or hyacinth families. The name Muscari derives from their delicate musk-like fragrance.

Grape hyacinths have grass-like leaves and  in April to May, each bulb produces 1 to 3 flower stalks with 20-40 small individual urn-shaped flowers attached around each stalk. Each individual flower consists of fused tepals (sepals and petals), and, if you look inside, you will see 6 tiny stamens surrounding the female stigma and ovary.  The bottom flowers open first, and those higher up on the stem are less well developed and smaller.  The foliage ultimately dies back after the plants flower in the spring, but, unlike many bulbs, the grass-like leaves reappear in late summer or early fall and persist throughout the winter.  In particularly harsh winters, they may become quite ratty-looking but they generally recuperate in the spring.

Grape hyacinths are very easy to grow in zones 3 to 9.  Plant the bulbs about 3 inches deep in sun or part shade in well-drained soil in the fall.  However, make sure you plant them where you won’t mind them spreading because they readily naturalize and reproduce by bulb offsets as well as self-seeding.  For this reason, some gardeners love the clumps and drifts that they form which are especially pretty in woodland settings and rock gardens, whereas others view them as first order pests which can invade lawns and borders where they aren’t wanted!   In fact, some agricultural extensions are researching the best way to get rid of them since they can become invasive weeds in no till fields.  They are especially a problem in some soybean fields where they interfere with harvest when their waxy leaves become caught in the cutter bar!  Control can be attained by digging them up and mowing lawns as close to the ground as possible without hurting the turf.  Generally it takes several years of doing this before they are under control.  Thicker stands can be treated with glyphosate at 1.5 times the normal rate.  Fall is the best time to do this.  This is just one more example of an introduced plant which is beneficial in one situation, but definitely a problem in another.

If you do have room for them to spread, there are different species and cultivars which can certainly add interest to the spring garden. Grape hyacinths also lend themselves to indoor forcing and containers. M. armeniacum comes in several cultivars in shades of blue and white, some of which are sterile and thus bloom longer.  M. aucheri has both white and two-toned blue cultivars. M. botryoides has flowers more loosely spaced on the spikes.  M. azureum has open bell-shaped florets.   M. comosum ‘Plumosum’ has feathery purple flowers, and M. latifolium has light blue flowers on top and dark violet flowers on the bottom of the spike.  Some hybrid forms are also available such as ‘Valerie Finnis’ which is very pale lavender, ‘Pink Sunrise’ whose color you can guess and ‘Peppermint" which has various shades of white to royal purple on the same stalk.  There is also a yellow form, M. macrocarpum ‘Golden Fragrance’, which is somewhat less hardy than the others.  What a wide variety of choices to mix with your other spring bulbs!  So you decide—are they friend or foe?

Whatever your opinion of them is, if you have never seen the field of grape hyacinths at Lockridge Park in Alburtis, now is the time.

Around here, It’s better to plant grass seed in early fall. Spring-sown lawns may take a bit more work in the long run because more weed seeds are likely to germinate in spring than in fall, therefore more weed control might be necessary. Your chances of failure may be a little higher because of the possibility of drought damage to young, barely-established susceptible grass. Summer heat and humidity also makes it more likely that your new lawn will succumb to disease.  And the later you plant in the spring, the better your chances of failure.

Still, sometimes there are good reasons to renovate or even to establish turfgrass in spring. Maybe you simply couldn’t do it last fall for one reason or another. Maybe you didn’t even live there yet! So now you want to get something established on those bare patches of ground.

Don’t waste time. Get that soil sample collected and in the mail. Earlier in spring is better. Chances are, if you follow instructions and have a bit of luck, you will succeed.  If it doesn’t work out, a lot of the preliminary work is already done and all you’ve lost is some time and grass seed. Try again in the fall.

Here are some fact sheets, in case you hadn’t finished that homework yet:

Establishment: http://plantscience.psu.edu/research/centers/turf/extension/factsheets/lawn-establishment

Renovation: http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/uc206.pdf

AAhh…the long awaited signs of spring: the first bumblebees, those cute purple-flowered weeds popping up, the relentless push of your daffodils, and EEK! 
Those brown bare spots in the lawn….

You can re-seed bare spots in early spring and it’s a great idea to do so before the weeds (like crabgrass) move in to take over.  Choose a seed blend or mixture that’s right for the site:  perennial ryegrass is fast to germinate and mature, and really does a great patch job in full sun.  Tall fescue is resilient in areas that bake in summer sun.  For shady places, look for fine fescues.  Keep in mind that the seed you plant may not be a perfect match to the rest of your lawn, but will blend over time (and is better than weeds). 

Remove old dead vegetation and loosen the soil to create a seed bed in the bare spots.  Sprinkle seeds so that there is one seed every ¼ inch or so. Cover the seed with light topdressing (1/4 inch) of compost or soil.  Stamp it in (but go easy!)  And if we have a dry spring, water those areas until the seeds germinate. 

You can prepare the spots and plant the seed anytime in spring when the soil is dry enough so that it crumbles freely in your hand.  You don’t want to rake or dig into the soilif it is still muddy.  Grass seeds need warm soil temperatures to germinate.  Theideal germination temperature varies according to the species, but is generally when the temperature near the soil surface is in the 60-85 degree range.

If de-icers or dogs created the bare spots, your new seedlings could be damaged by excess salts remaining in the soil.  It’s best to simply wait for a few good spring rains to leach the salts
away before planting your new seed.  And if your dog is the main culprit, there’s no miracle cure for the dead spots that will continue to pop up.  You can help by watering the dog spots.  Sprinkling
lime or gypsum on the surface of the soil doesn’t help to get rid of excess salts.

Remember, spring is not the best time to plant a whole new lawn - that is better done in fall if at all possible. But seeding to thicken up thin areas or repairing bare spots can be done in early spring.  As always, if you need more information about planting seeds, please contact our office.

If you are fertilizing your lawn, or hire a company to fertilize for you - insist on a soil test.  Now more
than ever, it’s important to test soil every three years or so, and follow the recommendations so you don’t over-apply nutrients.  Because of concerns about nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment causing pollution in the bays, many nearby states have resorted to legislation to restrict home lawn fertilizer use.  There are no laws yet in Pennsylvania, but there are good management guidelines for lawn fertilizer use.  It all starts with a soil test.  The soil test will pinpoint which nutrients are deficient and the quantity needed. 
Apply fertilizer at the right time, at the right rate, and sweep granules off paved surfaces back into the lawn. 
A dense, healthy lawn is a great way to slow water run-off and improve water infiltration in suburban landscapes. Fertilizer can help your lawn if applied correctly.

Gardeners often want to know how many soil test kits they need. In general, you need separate soil test results for areas with different types of soils or for areas that are intended for different uses. For different soil types you simply need separate kits and analyses. For different crops with different needs you need individual recommendations. There is a way to do this mentioned on the price list for Penn State’s soil testing. http://www.aasl.psu.edu/ssft.htm

I thought the following sites might also help answer some of your questions about soils and testing soils:

Don’t guess. . .Soil Test: http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/xj0013.pdf

Soil Management in Home Gardens and Landscapes: http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/uj234.pdf

How to Have your Soil Tested (how to take a sample): http://njaes.rutgers.edu/soiltestinglab/howto.asp

Frequently Asked Questions about Soil Testing and Fertilizer (from North Carolina): http://www.ncagr.gov/agronomi/stfaqs.htm#q14

As you stroll through your yard this time of year, you may discover flowering plants other than the crocuses and snowdrops and early daffodils which are beginning to bloom.  One such plant is a small winter annual weed called hairy bittercress or Cardamine hirsuta.  This edible member of the mustard family can be identified by its basal rosette of small rounded leaves which send up 3 to 9 inch long shoots ending in tiny 4-petaled white flowers. It likes the cool and moist conditions that abound this time of year and takes up residence in any disturbed areas of your yard.

 Hairy bittercress, native to Europe and Asia, is an introduced pest which has undergone a population explosion in the past decade, possibly due to mild winters.  Once it appears in your yard, it tends to increase yearly.  This is because it is a very prolific plant which produces long seed pods called siliques which literally explode to project up to 5000 seeds outward as far as 10 feet away.  If you wait until it’s fruiting to pull it, just a touch will produce this rather startling result!  It also has a very short life cycle of 6 weeks from seed to fruiting, and seeds can germinate as soon as they are produced.  Thus it can undergo several generations before the hot weather of summer slows it down.

Although it won’t outcompete your lawn or garden plants, bittercress is a nuisance, and it can also provide a refuge for aphids.  In order to control it, you need to decrease its seed production.  Now is the time to hand weed or hoe before fruit forms.  Pre-emergent broadleaf herbicides and overseeding can be used in the fall in turf.  In the spring, spot sprays of glyphosate in the garden or broad-leaf weed killer in the lawn can also help control it since it is sensitive to herbicides.  Encouraging thick turf growth will also inhibit this weed from germinating in the lawn as will mulch in the garden.  Bittercress is a serious problem in greenhouses and container grown plants, so make sure you don’t introduce it to your gardens when bringing in new plants!

Hairy bittercress isn’t the only opportunist out there at this time of year.  Look for other winter weeds such as blue flowering creeping speedwell, white flowering common chickweed as well as others such as lavender flowered henbit and purple deadnettle.  Happy weeding!

For more pictures go to:

http://www.aragriculture.org/horticulture/ornamentals/weed_id/bittercress_hairy.htm

Spring is definitely here—the bulbs are coming up, the first robins have arrived, and, on warmer days, I’ve seen insects flying about the garden.  This reminds me to keep a lookout for the ants that periodically appear as if by magic in my kitchen in the spring and the earwigs that hide under the pots of coral bells on the porch.  I generally use few if any pesticides in the garden and around the house, but I’m always ready to try something against those two critters that is safe for me, my pets, and the environment.  Diatomaceous earth (DE) is one such possibility that I’ve researched.

DE comes from fossilized mineral deposits of the silica-containing cell walls or “shells” of once living aquatic algae called diatoms. This mineral, diatomite, is mined in open pits out west, and then chunks of the mineral are pulverized into a flour-like powder. For this reason, it’s often called “Fossil Shell Flour”.

DE comes in several grades.  Food grade contains 100% DE and can be used as a pesticide.  Modified forms of DE can contain some added insecticides like pyrethrins or pyrethroids to make it more effective.  You must read the label to be sure what you are getting.  There is also a pool filter grade DE which is used in pool filtration systems.  DO NOT the pool filter grade DE as a pesticide. It is totally useless for that purpose because it was subjected to very high temperatures which changed its crystalline structure and made it non-absorptive.

DE can kill insects and some other invertebrates because it dehydrates them when they come into contact with it.  The diatom fragments in the DE have sharp microscopic glass-like edges that abrade the outer water-protecting cuticle of the pest causing it to lose too much water.  DE is also very absorptive and further dries out insects by absorbing protective fats and oils from their cuticle.  Thus the insects shrivel up!

DE can make a very effective insect control measure under dry conditions.  However, as soon as it takes up moisture, it loses the ability to dehydrate the pests. A major benefit is that it is not toxic to birds, mammals, or aquatic life.  Food grade DE is safe enough that some people eat it, claiming that it has health benefits, and it is even a component of some toothpastes and polishes!   Another benefit is that insects can’t become genetically resistant to it.  DE leaves no chemical residue in the environment and is effective for a long time as long as it remains dry.   This makes it very useful in stored grains and in dry areas in the house. The powder can be applied to cracks and crevasses to deter cockroaches, silverfish, ants, millipedes, bed bugs, carpet beetles, house centipedes, and fleas.

Because our gardens become wet with rain, watering and dew, DE is less useful in these areas.  It can be applied as a powder to control pests such as slugs or flea beetles but it must be reapplied every time it gets moist.  It is more useful in geographic areas that receive less rain.  Please remember that it can kill beneficial insects such as honeybees, so you might not want to dust it on flowering crops or garden ornamentals!

DE is applied as a dust, so safety gear that should be in use during application include gloves, goggles, and  a respiratory mask, since it can irritate eyes or lungs. A pesticide duster is also necessary to spread it.

As a matter of interest, diatoms are still a major component of the floating phytoplankton in lakes and oceans today where they carry out about 40% of all the photosynthesis on earth.   Who would have thought that little creatures like these that lived millions of years ago could be helping us to control pests in the home and garden today?

Yes, folk wisdom says that you plant your peas on St. Patrick’s Day, and that root crops go in early, but slow down a second.

There seldom is a good reason to do things in the garden “extra early”. Most seeds should be planted, whether inside to lenghthen the season, or direct-seeded outside in the garden, when the instructions on the back of the seed packet or in the seed catalog say to do so. The plants you've grown should be planted in your garden when day and/or night temperatures have increased to recommended levels. Plants that can’t take a frost shouldn't go out until frost is unlikely. Recommendations for when to start seeds take all this into account.

While experimenting and “taking chances” is O.K. and sometimes necessary for a grower’s personal goals (trying to have the first vine-ripened tomato in the neighborhood, say) and many early-planted things may survive, sometimes garden crops are set back by being exposed to conditions that are too harsh. You might not even know that it has happened because the difference may be subtle, but the plant may not be performing as well as it should for the remainder of the season.

Seedling plants started inside don't benefit from being allowed to get overly mature before being planted out in the garden. And besides that, who really wants to be taking care of all those baby plants for an extra couple weeks when they really should be outside in the garden, but conditions aren’t right yet?

So I guess what I’m saying is, go ahead and experiment, and go ahead and push the envelope if you want to, but understand what you’re doing and what the risks are.

Master Gardener Barb sends these thoughts about one of our toughest weeds, Chenopodium album:

Every summer in my perennial beds, I wage battle against the annual weed known as common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album) , also called fat hen, white goosefoot, bacon-weed, or pigweed. The name lambsquarters derives from “Lammas quarter” which refers to a harvest festival held on August 1 in England in the 9^th century.  Lambsquarters can be identified easily by its grayish-white mealy coating especially on the lower surface of younger leaves. Mature leaves are somewhat triangular in shape and irregularly toothed with long leaf stalks.  The lower leaves may be shaped like a goose foot which is where it gets its scientific name, Chenopodium. Mature highly branched erect plants are covered with clustered spikes of small green nondescript flowers which self pollinate. Because it produces lots of airborne pollen, this weed contributes to hay fever.

Common lambsquarters is certainly a worthy opponent!  Just when I think I’ve plucked the last seedling from the garden, a full grown plant suddenly appears among the blooming perennials.   It is a rapid grower in the warm days of summer and can attain a height of 3 to 6 feet.  Although it prefers well-drained fertile soil, it adapts to almost any pH and soil type and will flower in any daylength.  Each plant can produce as many as 100,000 seeds, and these seeds can live 30 to 40 years in the soil!  It is also one of the last weeds to be killed by frost.  Because of its adaptability and high seed production, it has enormous success worldwide growing in almost all areas except deserts, and it is considered to be one of the five most widely distributed plants in the world!  This success makes it a problem weed in agriculture where it is known to reduce crop yields.  It is also susceptible to certain viruses which may then spread to crop plants.

Despite its status as an undesirable weed, lambsquarters has beneficial attributes.  It belongs to the same family as spinach and beets and quinoa and is grown as a crop plant in parts of Asia and Africa.  Its seeds have been discovered among the artifacts of 16^th century Native Americans, and it was eaten by Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age people as well as early Europeans and Romans.   The seeds can be ground into a dark flour which can then be used to make breads and cakes.   Its highly nutritious young leaves and stems, rich in vitamins A,  B and C , and some minerals such as calcium, are edible and taste  like spinach or chard, so it can be substituted for those in any recipe.  Native Americans used it as a medicinal herb as well.  In addition, the young plants accumulate minerals and so can be plowed under as a green fertilizer. Lambsquarters also provides a source of food for some butterfly larvae as well as for other insects, rodents, birds, and deer.

Luckily, lambsquarters is easily hand-pulled in the home garden though you want to do this before it sets seeds!  Young plants can be removed by tilling or mowing.  Certain post emergent herbicides work as well, although herbicide-resistant populations of lambsquarters have been reported.  However, if you can’t beat it with these measures, at least you can eat it! (As for any supposedly edible plant, don’t eat unless you’re absolutely certain of its identity, and sample a small piece first to make sure you are not allergic to it!)

Step 1: Select a container

• Select a pot with good drainage
• Larger containers and plastic containers won't dry as quickly as other types and will need to be watered ledd frequently

Step 2: Select a growing medium

• Potting mix, not potting soil, is lighter and better for containers
• Potting soil can be used in the bottom half of very large conatienrs like whiskey barrels

Step 3: Filling containers

• Don't overfill; leave 1/2 inch of space at the top of small containers and 2 inches for larger containers
• Ivery large containers,the bottom drainage layer can be covered with a layer of empty plastic water bottles or non-degradable packing peanuts before adding potting mix

Step 4: Fertilizer

• Slow realease, water soluble fertilizer is good for container plants

Stpe 5: Experiment 

• Find out what type of plants work well together and which don't
• Try bush or dwarf varieties
• Put an edible that likes more heat than we usually get next to a south facing wall
• Mix edible flowers in with vegetables and herbs

Step 6: Planting

• Put several plants in a container - make sure they all like the same conditions
• Plant a tall vegetable, like a tomato, with smaller bushier herbs like thyme and oregano
• Don't put very small seedlings in with larger plants - they may not get enought light 

Step 7: Watering

• Add water absorbing crystals to the potting mix to reduce watering needs
• Check container plants frequently, especially if it's hot or windy

Step 8: Light

• Make sure that fruiting plants (eggplants, tomatoes) get at least 6 hours of sunlight
• Leafy vegetables like lettuce and kale need at least 4-5 hours of sunlight

My favorite part of Sandy's presentation was the rain gutter garden. It gets your plants against a warm wall and out of the reach of many critters.

If you're interested in learning more about container gardening, Penn State Cooperative Extensions has a variety of handouts available online. Visit extension.psu.edu and enter the term "conatiner gardening" in the search box. 

To satisfy your gardening urges, consider signing up for our evening Spring Garden Series!  Penn State Master Gardeners will teach four topics this year.  Lasagna Gardening, Organic Gardening, Salsa Gardening and Culinary Herbs.

Dates are March 19 and April 2 in the Lehigh County Extension office, and March 20 and April 3 in the Bethlehem Township Community Center in Northampton County.  Follow this link to see the brochure, see which classes are offered on the different nights, and find directions and the registration form:

http://extension.psu.edu/northampton/programs/master-gardener/master-gardener-spring-garden-series-2013

Here are descriptions of the classes:  Hope you can join us!

Lasagna Gardening

It’s not what you are planting, but a method of gardening that requires no digging or tilling! This technique is environmentally friendly, as it uses compostable materials. Topics covered are site selection, planting, maintenance, and advantages of lasagna gardening. This class is suitable for the novice or veteran gardener.

Organic Gardening

The class explains what organic gardening is and what benefits organic gardening can offer you. The emphasis will be the holistic nature of organic gardening, which involves the importance of soil, and the long-term nature of organic practices.  Soil composition and soil management techniques will be included.  This class is appropriate to individuals new to organic gardening as well as current organic gardeners due to its up-to-date content.

Salsa Gardening

Salsa is perhaps the most popular condiment and it cannot get any better than when made fresh using your own home-grown ingredients. This class will show how easy it is to grow your own tomatoes and peppers to make delicious fresh homemade salsa. Topics to be covered will include deciding whether to grow from seeds or to buy transplants, recommended varieties and sources,

planting and care, other salsa ingredients that can be grown, and recipes for both fresh and canned salsa.

Culinary Herbs

Learn the basics of planting, growing, and harvesting herbs.  We will discuss herbs in general with a special focus on herbs used to make salsa. We will present different ways to preserve herbs so you can enjoy them year round.

Here are some ideas from the University of Vermont Extension (http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/wintrfun.htmhttp://www.uvm.edu/pss/ppp/articles/wintrfun.htm):

• Watch seeds sprout. Line a glass jar with a damp paper towel and insert several zucchini seeds between the glass and the towel. Place a lid on the jar, leave it on the kitchen counter, and check the paper everyday to make sure it's still moist. Seeds should sprout in a few days. Or try
  bush beans instead of zucchini.
• Terrariums. Carefully place some soil and a few mosses and plants (with roots) inside a clean mayonnaise jar. Keep your indoor garden moist with a plant mister, and cover the opening with clear plastic wrap.
• Worm farm. Line a large cardboard box with a garbage bag. Fill it with soil, organic matter, and
  a few worms. Keep it shady and moist, but not too wet. Add kitchen scraps (vegetables only!) Worms will help teach your kids about the interdependence of plants and organisms as they turn vegetable kitchen scraps into valuable compost.

For other ideas, see:

http://web.extension.illinois.edu/state/newsdetail.cfm?NewsID=8546

http://lancaster.unl.edu/hort/youth/

Penn State offers a free publication on the best vegetable varieties for Pennsylvania gardeners.  Here's the link: http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/uj250.pdf 

They’ve figured out for you the varieties that are resistant to diseases, and which diseases. No seed varieties come with guarantees. Certainly different varieties of vegetables grow best under different conditions. But this guidance from Penn State Extension can take a lot of the guesswork out of the way.

Happy garden planning!

It’s best to rotate your crops by moving different plant families around your garden.  For instance: tomatoes, eggplant and potatoes all belong to the Nightshade family and therefore can harbor the same kinds of diseases and insects.  So, you wouldn’t want to place your tomatoes in the part of your garden where you had your eggplant last year.   

Think about dividing your garden into three sections: one for tomatoes (and things related to
tomatoes), one for beans and their kin, and one for cucumbers and squashes and such. Shift each section each year.

For more on this topic, see University of Wisconsin Extension web site: http://hort.uwex.edu/sites/default/files/Using%20Crop%20Rotation%20in%20the%20Home%20Vegetable%20Garden.pdf

While weeds and pests in the garden can be frustrating and time consuming, invasive
species can wreak havoc on natural ecosystems. 

Invasive plants are non-native and once introduced into a new environment,
outcompete native species for habitat and nutrients. These plants are noted for
their ability to grow and spread aggressively. Invasives are typically
generalists that can grow in many different conditions and are colonizers of
disturbed ground.

Some invasive plants have been introduced by people putting them in their
gardens and/or landscaping as ornamental plants.  A very practical reason to avoid using
invasive plants is that they escape, spread and require regular weeding to
manage even when grown in a cultivated yard.   For a list of invasive plants in
Pennsylvania, see http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/ucmprd1/groups/public/documents/document/dcnr_010314.pdf

If you’re interested in hearing more about invasive
plan management in the Lehigh Valley, Nurture Nature Center (http://nurturenaturecenter.org/)
will host a special panel discussion on Invasive Plants on January 31^st
from 7:00 to 9:00 PM.  Penn State Extension is co-sponsoring this event. 
For more information, please contact Kate Brandes at 610-253-4432.