THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 11, 1996 TAG: 9608090088
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G3 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: GARDENING REMINDERS
SOURCE: ROBERT STIFFLER
LENGTH: 138 lines
THE BUTTERFLY SOCIETY of Virginia will hold a Monarch Festival next Sunday at the Virginia Tech Agricultural Research Center at Diamond Springs Road and Northampton Boulevard in Virginia Beach. The Monarch migrates more than 1,500 miles to Mexico each winter. Last December, 7 inches of snow fell in Mexico, killing millions of Monarchs.
At the festival, there'll be three different lectures on Monarchs at 11 a.m. and 1 and 3 p.m. There will be tours of the center's butterfly garden, educational exhibits and a sale of plants that attract butterflies. It's free. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 497-6974. ARBORETUM EFFORTS
The recent open house at the new 48-acre Chesapeake Arboretum was something to be proud of for the Friends of the Chesapeake Arboretum, the Chesapeake Master Gardeners, the Chesapeake city government and that city's Virginia Tech extension office staff.
The weather was perfect, the crowd was large and you heard nothing but praise for this undertaking. The remarkable thing to me is that it's done with volunteers. There is no paid staff. It's wonderful what people can accomplish when they work together.
The open house late last month was held to introduce the community to the arboretum at 624 Oak Grove Road. Work will continue through the summer and fall, with a dedication planned Nov. 2. If you want to get involved with this ongoing effort, call 382-7060. SCATTER LETTUCE SEED
With lettuce planted in the fall, a common mistake is planting the seed too deeply, says Louisiana State University's Tom Koske. Lettuce seed requires light for germination, so scatter the seed on the row and lightly rake into the soil. TRY CHINESE CABBAGE
If you have problems growing lettuce, try Chinese cabbage as a substitute this fall. Seed can be planted now through mid-September either directly in the garden or in containers for transplanting later. Chinese cabbage likes lots of fertilizer such as an 8-24-24 vegetable food applied before planting and a side dressing with ammonium nitrate before plants begin to head. Harvest when heads become firm and store in the refrigerator. Chinese cabbage is widely used in stir-fry cooking. STILL TIME FOR SNAP BEANS
You can also still get a crop of snap beans by planting at once. Make sure to use a variety that is ready to pick in 50 days such as Provider, Topcrop or Bluelake. Don't let beans suffer from drought. TOMATOES IN THE FALL
If you want to try to grow fall tomatoes, some varieties produce better than others. Celebrity is one usually recommended as well as Heatwave, Sunmaster or Solar Set. Cherry tomatoes also produce well for fall. WATCH FOR SPIDER MITES
Spider mites like hot dry weather, and they can be one of the most damaging landscape pests. We've had a wet summer, but many gardeners are reporting ``red spider'' problems. These sucking pests, smaller than the head of a pin, can be found in colonies, with a fine webbing on the undersides of the leaves. They are particularly bad in dark, dry places such as the interior of evergreens. Spider mites will succumb quickly to a forceful spray of water and homemade soap sprays. This good advice from the Green Thumb Extra, $15 per year, P.O. Box 17614, Denver, Colo. 80217-0614. SAVING HEIRLOOMS
``Hybrids are designed to standardize produce, but heirloom crops have an incredible variety of flavors and fragrances,'' said Kevin O. Johnson, who heads SeedTime Update. ``You can still find apple-scented roses and rose-scented apples, apples that seem to carry their own spice with them right into the pie,'' he claims. ``And some pass-along crops - squash, beans and tomatoes in particular - are exotically shaped.''
If you'd like to save heirloom flowers, vegetables and fruits, write to Johnson at P.O. Box 720512, Dallas, Texas 75372. Call (214) 828-4762 or fax (214) 824-7945. MORE SUN FOR CLEMATIS
If your clematis doesn't bloom as much as you think it should, Sue Austin, owner of Compleat Garden Clematis Nursery in Ipswich, Mass., writes in the June/July issue of Fine Gardening magazine that they need four to six hours of sun daily. KEEP TREES HEALTHY
The Dawes Arboretun Newsletter offers some good advice to keep the trees in your yard healthy:
A tree's key feeder roots are mostly found in the upper 12 inches of soil in wooded areas.
Tree roots may extend out three times the width of branches.
Adding layers of soil over tree roots can kill a large tree within three years. Grading soil away from the roots may do the same.
Compacting soil in the root zone of trees by heavy equipment, parking cars or trucks, etc., may also kill the tree over time, as will trenching within the root zone.
Changing grades, even when well away from trees, may alter water levels and reduce life expectancy.
Wounding tree trunks and branches will cause trees to die before their time.
Tree wells around trunks, without properly installed networks of perforated tile to provide oxygen to roots, are worthless. LOW-DOWN ON DRIP IRRIGATION
If you want to get into drip irrigation, a new do-it-yourself manual is available from The Urban Farmer Store. Called the ``Catalog,'' it is a concise introduction to basics of drip irrigation, including layouts for landscapes, orchards, vegetable gardens and more, plus an illustrated dictionary of irrigation components. For a copy, send $1 to The Urban Farmer Store, 2833 Vincente St., San Francisco, Calif. 94116. WHY NO BLOOMS?
One of the most frequent questions readers ask is ``Why didn't my plant (or tree or shrub) flower?'' Here are some common reasons.
The plant is not what you think it is.
The plant is too young to flower. Many trees and shrubs don't bloom until they're at least 7 years old.
Flower buds form but may fail to develop and open because of cold winters, late spring freezes or disease. Late spring freezes this past season caused many plants to not bloom at all or to bloom less than normal.
The plant is located in too much shade.
The plant is too unhealthy to afford the luxury of flowers.
The plant was pruned incorrectly.
The plant is dead.
Keep this list and consider these factors when you have trees or plants that do not bloom as expected. WATER-QUALITY CONFERENCE
If you're interested in water quality, sign up for the The Tidewater Land Managers Conference on Water Quality from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Aug. 22 at the Fort Monroe Officers Club in Hampton. Registration of $10 must be made by Aug. 16, mailed to Virginia Cooperative Extension, Attn: Land Managers Conference, 136 King's Way, Hampton, Va. 23669. Call 727-6447. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
PARK SEED CO.
It's not too late to plant a second crop of snap beans and lettuce. by CNB