Garden Tools: tips, resources and reviews for gardeners

A common question we get at the Elisabeth C. Miller Library is How do I kill weeds without hand digging but without using toxic chemicals? Further discussion with the gardener reveals he wants to buy a product that he can spray on the weeds, once. Organic gardeners have it easier now compared to a decade ago, with a number of less-toxic weed killers on the market, but the fact is not one of these products is a magic bullet.

• Corn Gluten Meal (Concern's Weed Prevention Plus and Whitney Farm's Weed Whompin Mulch) is a natural product that prevents seeds from rooting once sprouted. The downside is that it doesn't work during rainy weather. Another consideration is that recent studies show it acts as fertilizer because it is rich in nitrogen, so in garden beds it may actually increase weeds. Its best use would be for weeds in lawns, according to an article in Organic Gardening, Aug/Oct 2008.
• Potassium salts of fatty acids (Safer Superfast Weed & Grass Killer) kills the tops of all plants, but not the roots. It works best on annual weeds like chick-weed and bitter cress, but would have to be repeated a few times to kill perennial weeds with root reserves, such as dandelion.
• Pelargonic acid herbicide (Scythe) is another type of fatty acid, similar to soap, that kills weeds by drying out the leaves. As mentioned above this product works best on annual or biennial weeds and must be reapplied a few times to kill perennials.
• Vinegar from the kitchen doesn't kill weeds, only disfigures them. Commercial products (Burnout, Bradfield's Horticultural 20% Vinegar) work if used in hot weather, but are quite caustic and great caution must be used not to inhale the fumes or spray the skin. Natural, yes, but toxic.

The Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides publishes excellent articles on non-toxic pest control. Two good articles on weed management are available free online: Managing Weeds in Shrub and Flower Beds and Landscape Weed Control

First of all, certain trees are known to "bleed" when pruned while the sap is rising in late winter and early spring. Maples, dogwoods, birch, elm, walnut and honey locust are the most common.
Bleeding usually won't hurt the tree, but the pruning cuts are slower to heal which may leave susceptible trees vulnerable to infection. These trees should be pruned right after leaves fall off in autumn.

Cherry trees are at risk from the destructive cherry bark tortrix. The tortrix is attracted to fresh pruning cuts, so cherry trees should not be pruned between May and August when the tortrix is active.

Spring flowering shrubs should be pruned immediately after flowering so that the new growth has time to form next year's flower buds. Summer flowering shrubs may be pruned in winter because flowers are formed on this season's growth.

Pruning resources online:

• A short essay on pruning at the wrong time from Michigan State University Extension
• A good basic guide to pruning with illustrations from the US Forest Service
• A Google search of "pruning" limited to .edu sites (Cooperative Extensions links)

Ready to trade in that thirsty boring lawn for a wildflower meadow? Do a bit of research first with British gardener Christopher Lloyd's new book called Meadows (Timber Press, $29.95). Lloyd dispels the myth of a maintenance-free meadow without dampening the reader's enthusiasm for creating a flowery, drought-tolerant lawn alternative. Additional wildflower information is available online:

• an article on what is considered a native plant and why it matters;
• a how-to article from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center;
• pointers for buying native plants in Washington.

Amaryllis bulbs are too beautiful (and expensive) to simply throw away after blooming. Starr Ockenga's book, Amaryllis (Clarkson Potter/Publishers, 2002) describes how to care for the bulbs so they will produce new flowers year after year. In a nutshell,

• fertilize the bulbs bi-weekly with a balanced houseplant food after the flowers fade;
• move outside to an eastern exposure after spring night time temperatures reach 60 degrees;
• stop feeding and slowly cease watering towards the end of summer to induce dormancy;
• cut off all foliage, green or yellow, and store in a cool place for three months;
• start watering again to stimulate the new flower to bloom.

  Ockenga also describes growing Amaryllis in water, and suggests keeping the water level at the base of the bulb, and changing the water periodically or adding charcoal to prevent algae growth. If you plan to save your bulb, you may need to pot it in a container with soil. You may store the bulbs bare-root, rather than in soil, but when you do this, you should sprinkle them with water once a month to keep them alive. She says it is easier on the plants to store them in pots (in soil). If you have space, you can refrigerate your bulbs (not in pots)and store them at 45-50 degrees in aerated bins for at least 6 weeks. Don't store them near fruit, as ripening fruit releases ethylene gas which will cause your bulb to rot or produce misshapen blooms.

  Here are links to additional information:
  U.S. National Arboretum
  University of Illinois Horticulture Facts
  University of Missouri Horticulture

• The New Kitchen Garden by Anna Pavord (Dorling Kindersley, $29.95) has lots of photos and diagrams with well organized, concise text.
• Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini: The Essential Reference by Elizabeth Schneider (William Morrow, $60.00) has "500 recipes and 275 photographs" focusing on the history of vegetables and how to use them in the kitchen. It has no growing information, however.
• The Complete Book of Edible Landscaping by Rosalind Creasy (Sierra Club Books, $25.00) introduces the idea of planting fruits and vegetables all around the garden.
• Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally by Robert Kourik (Metamorphic Press, available used online and at the Miller Library) is a classic resource thick with practical details on everything from energy-conserving landscaping and soil preparation to drip irrigation for fruit trees.
• How to Grow More Vegetables: And Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains and Other Crops Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine by John Jeavons (Ten Speed Press, $17.95) is an old classic which has just been revised and reissued.
• The Cook and the Gardener: a Year of Recipes and Writings from the French Country-side by Amanda Hesser (W.W. Norton, $32.50) is a delightful book divided into seasons with diary-like entries about living, gardening and cooking on a French farm.

• What'sCookingInAmerica.Net
• Iowa State University IPM
• Colorado State University