48April 1, 2015

I was walking along side the driveway the other day and I noticed this brown stuff along the edge of the driveway. Upon closer look, this brown stuff appears to be showing up in the entire front yard. I did an Internet search and found some pictures that match what I was seeing along the front yard and the edge of the driveway. As close as I can figure it is called a lawn. It appears to be a rare phenomenon in this area this year. According to the Internet, the brown will turn green and eventually the air will fill with the sound of something called a lawn mower. I have my doubts that the brown stuff will turn green, but hey this is New England and anything can happen!

It is nice to see the snow slowly receding. Hopefully we will soon be able to put some plants outside. I am hoping that this weekend we will have some pansies to sell to those of you looking for some color for your home. If the weather will warm up consistently, you probably will be able to find some thawed out window boxes in which you can add some spring color. I have had a few customers tell me that they are seeing signs of the spring flowering crocus, tulip and daffodil bulbs poking up some green growth through those areas where the snow has melted. I know that spring is being painfully slow in making an appearance this year. Spring will happen. It always shows up sometime in April. All we can do is wait and it will eventually be planting season again.

Many of you have started your flower and vegetable plants from seed. The question always comes up about the need to fertilize the plants. If your plants were in the garden, you would probably know that that you would need to fertilize the plants. Growing the plants indoors also means that you need to fertilize the plants. The problem is that many people don’t know how often to fertilize the seedlings when they are being grown indoors. I have had, over the years, way too many people tell me that they killed the plants by giving the plants too much fertilizer. The best way to fertilize your seedlings is to use a dilute solution of fertilizer each time you water your plants. If you look at the label on many water-soluble fertilizers, the label will often have a listing for houseplants. The fertilizer is mixed with water and applied to the plants. Generally speaking, you would be using ¼ to ½ teaspoon of fertilizer per gallon of water. This diluted rate is used each time you water your plants. You would not start using this diluted fertilizer until the seeds have sprouted and there are 2 sets of leaves on the plant. You also need to keep in mind that you need to add sufficient amounts of the solution so that water comes out of the bottom of your containers. By doing this, you prevent the buildup of salts in the soil. The salts naturally occur in the water and in the fertilizer. If you allow the salts to build up in the soil, the salts can eventually damage the plants.

Well, that’s all for this week. I’ll talk to you again next week.