If you belong to the DIYG’s “Do it Yourself Gardeners,” temptations at nurseries and garden centers are endless. I find the tool isle especially intriguing. Glittering steel rakes and battery-powered diggers and weeders, Ah, the joy of it all.
However, my tool belt includes a good quality hand pruner, pocket-size fold-up saw, a strong weed prong, rubber hose washers, and a flathead and Phillips screwdriver (for hose and irrigation line repair). It also includes a small jar of *Vick’s Vapor Rub to repel biting insects, a roll of florist wire tucked in a side pocket to tie up saggy plants, and a thin plastic bag to collect unpleasantries I come upon.
So my advice to you DIYGs is to enjoy the potential of the fancy tools but leave your wallet in the car!
However, there are tools designed for adaptive gardening that encourage gardeners who navigate with the assistance of wheelchairs or walkers. Check out the Master Gardener’s Adaptive Gardening information or give the Extension a call at the number below.
An ingenious tool I came upon recently was a flask-like water container. I think I will include one as traditional water bottles do not fit in my tool belt.
With my new Mother’s Day daisy-flowered rubber boots, I am outfitted and ready to work in the garden.
Is it time to plant strawberries? Oh, yes.
All you strawberry jam lovers, plants are now available at most nurseries and garden centers. I suggest purchasing only certified or disease-free strawberry crowns as undetectable pathogens on your neighbor’s or friend’s generous contributions may infect your other plants.
It is important to purchase plants grown in our region for best performance. There are three types of strawberry plants to choose from: June-bearing, the earliest ripening and most productive; ever-bearing, fruit in spring and late summer; and day-neutral plants that produce berries from spring to fall.
Strawberry plants will usually provide you with a bounty for four or five years. You can renew strawberry beds by separating and planting the runners. However, for the best production, it is best to purchase new plants after four or five years.
One year I filled my hanging baskets with strawberry plants. The blossoms were lovely and it was fun to indulge in the juicy berries all summer.
I love the shape of strawberry leaves and have some ornamental strawberries that bloom all summer in my rock gardens. The berries are small, just right for the squirrels and the flowers are bright pink. Other ornamental strawberries make excellent ground covers. Their pure white flowers are a pleasing sight under a tree where the grass won’t grow anyway.
And the wild ones. I sent my children out with buckets to collect the little red jewels when I first discovered them. The fruit is the size of the end of your pinkie, so twenty or thirty of them hardly covered the bottom of the bucket. We didn’t make jam that day, but we had a wonderful adventure in the woods.
*The menthol method might not work for everyone.
Other Questions: Best varieties of strawberries, Ideas for Adaptive Gardening
Master Gardeners are available at the Cheney Library on the 1st and 3rd Friday of the month from April to October.
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