Marianne Binetti will appear at 10 a.m. Saturday at Molbak’s in Woodinville. The program will be “How to Eat Your Front Yard” with book signing of “Edible Gardening for Washington and Oregon” to follow. Free event.
The fourth week of May is a fun time to add color and edibles to the landscape but don’t let that stop you from feeding all your plants that are going through a growth spurt. Hungry plants include roses, your lawn, huge bloomers like delphiniums, dahlias and daylilies and every annual and pot-bound plant in the garden.
Annuals or bedding plants like petunias, marigolds and impatiens need fertilizer because they live life in the fast lane and party hearty all summer making nonstop color. Potted plants including those in hanging baskets and window boxes need fertilizer because they have roots limited by the size of the pot and most potting soils do not contain fertilizer.
There are plants I don’t waste time or money feeding. Rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias and most evergreen and flowering shrubs and trees do just fine in average soil. Unless they have yellowing foliage or other signs of starvation, there is no need to fertilize established trees and shrubs. Use an organic mulch around trees and shrubs and they will feed themselves.
Q. I bought a potting soil called Miracle Grow Potting Mix that already has fertilizer mixed in. Does this mean I don’t have to fertilize at all this summer? I am growing mostly flowers but a few vegetables. This potting soil was more expensive than any soil mix I have ever purchased but I was thinking I would save money by not having to fertilize.
T.S.
Renton
A. Many gardeners report they do not have to add fertilizer with potting mixes that have fertilizer mixed in but if you water a lot or use small pots your plants still might respond to some liquid plant food. Especially in early summer when the weather is still cool, the slow-release fertilizers that are used in potting soils do not release the nutrients to the plants until the soil itself heats up a bit. Fertilizers that you mix with water are called “water-soluble” and these have the advantage of getting the food to the plants much quicker – some are even absorbed by the foliage of the plants. Slow-release plant foods can be from an organic source like alfalfa or fish meal or packed in tiny pellets like Osmocote that also contains micronutrients. For maximum growth I use both slow-release and water soluble plant foods for potted plants. The No. 1 rule is to read and follow label directions: too much fertilizer, organic or not, can burn your plants. This shows up as brown or black tips on the leaves.
Q. How often do I need to water and fertilize my new vegetable garden? I have pretty good soil.
B.G.
Olympia
A. Yikes! No easy answer here. Water when the top 2 to 3 inches of soil is dry – usually not until July or August as our early summer weather is often cool. Your goal is to delay watering as long as possible to train the veggie roots to go down deep into the soil and search out their own water and nutrients. As for fertilizer, most veggies respond well to a side dressing of fertilizer around the Fourth of July. To side dress means to work the fertilizer along the sides of a row of vegetables about 6 inches from the stems of the plants. You can also layer compost in this area making sure you don’t pile compost up around the stems of plants. Water-soluble fertilizers including fish fertilizers can be sprayed onto foliage or roots. Experienced gardeners learn how a well-fed plant looks. Then add fertilizers if foliage begins to turn pale or plants do not show robust growth. Starting with great soil and adding organic matter to your soil every spring and fall is one way to keep improving your soil so you’ll need to add less fertilizer to your vegetables as years go by.
Q. Please settle a bet. Which vegetable has more nutrients, a cucumber or a zucchini? My girlfriend and I are both growing our first gardens to feed our preschoolers and our kids don’t like to eat spinach, Swiss Chard or broccoli. Of course they love strawberries and we have found that the Quinalt ever-bearing strawberries are great for snacking all summer long. We bought your new book “Edible Gardening” and share it between our two families. Love all the photographs.
A.B.
A. Zucchinis win over cucumbers in the battle of the vitamins but both are high in potassium and fiber and low in calories. Slice these and other fresh vegetables like French fries and let the kids dip them into ketchup. Congratulations on your first garden! This is a good week to plant carrots, beans, lettuce and herbs into the garden. For more kid-friendly summer snacking don’t forget to add some blueberries.
Incredible Edibles: Add a parsley or cilantro plant to your flower-filled container gardens. The colors of your blooming plants will stand out against the dark green parsley foliage that you can harvest all summer. Parsley contains vitamin C and other nutrients as well as chlorophyll for sweetening the breath. This makes parsley the perfect snack after a summer barbecue of onion burgers.
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Marianne Binetti has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and is the author of “Easy Answers for Great Gardens” and several other books. For book requests or answers to gardening questions, write to her at: P.O. Box 872, Enumclaw, 98022. Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope for a personal reply.
For more gardening information, she can be reached at her Web site, www.binettigarden.com.
Copyright for this column owned by Marianne Binetti.
