Plant Sale Success!

Marc Cappelletti

All smiles throughout the day. 

The morning sunshine shone warm and bright among the flowering trees, plants and display tables Sunday morning at the Fairmount Park Horticulture Center, as Penn State University Extension Master Gardeners set up for their annual plant sale. 

This annual sale raises funds for future outreach all while providing the public with expertly grown and cared for plants at very affordable prices.  

Learning about the power of seeds at the Science Fair tables.

Science Festival displays enhanced the event further, and were particularly intriguing to families and children curious about the soil beneath their feet and how science plays a part in their everyday lives. 

Container Gardening Presentation

Everything from succulents to herbs to tomatoes, peppers, edible greens, perennials, native plants and more were on sale. 

And as a bonus, the Master Gardeners were on hand to answer all gardening questions.

Almost time for tomatoes! 

Presentations ran throughout the morning as well, giving visitors a chance to learn about vermiculture (composting with worms), container gardening and the use of indoor plants to clean the air. 

A satisfied customer. 

City living--you have to get those plants home any way possible! 

A delicious salad dressing recipe to spice up our fresh greens. 

Teaching about herb pairings and salad greens. 

Visitors could also learn easy salad dressing recipes and herb pairings, possibly to use in time with their newly purchased plants!

The perfect "classroom" setting.

Everyone who came also enjoyed the chance to appreciate nature, our ultimate goal on this Earth Day.

Penn State Master Gardeners send a warm thanks to everyone that was able to attend.  Enjoy your plants!  

As always, we would love to hear from you.  How did you spend your Earth Day?

Window Box Idea: Succulents!

By Stephanie Rukowicz

Unlike some other Master Gardeners, I have not yet developed a knack for ornamental containers. Philadelphia's hot summers, long dry periods, and our home's south facing location add up to annual die-off of most of my window box plantings. The shallow, narrow boxes just don't retain enough water to cope with the elements. Short of an auto-drip watering system, I was running out of ideas until I stumbled past this window box on one of my walks. 

Succulents! The perfect plant to withstand the urban summer elements. Now I just need to decide which varieties to try, as there are so many to choose from. 

This article from Penn State Extension is helpful in narrowing down the options. An excerpt:

"Besides their eye-catching appeal, succulents are relatively pest and maintenance free. They are easy to grow if their cultural needs are met. Their large, fleshy leaves store moisture, making them relatively drought tolerant. The larger the leaves on the plants the longer they can go without water. The most critical aspect of success with succulents is to plant them in a container mix that drains freely...Variegated and light green leaves can scorch in full sun. Darker green and burgundy leaves can generally tolerate more sun."

Passyunk Gardens

A view of Passyunk Gardens from across Wharton ST.
Still productive in late October. 

By Stephanie Rukowicz

In addition to the productive edible food demonstration garden at the Horticulture Center, a second MG edible demonstration garden was added to the project list in Spring 2015: Passyunk Gardens. Located in South Philly at the corner of Wharton ST and East Passyunk AVE, this demonstration vegetable garden is maintained by volunteers.

Established in 2011, the garden is all container. It began with high-raised beds that have no contact with the ground and, over time, additional tub containers have been added to maximize the use of space. Increasingly, perennial plants have also been added around the containers to develop a permaculture.  It is an interesting experiment in what's possible with these true urban conditions.

Passyunk Gardens is a community garden yet different from a typical community garden. All beds and containers are tended and harvested collectively. This togetherness allows for more community interaction, rather than the traditional community garden where individual plots are assigned and the majority of time spent at the garden is by individuals working in and harvesting from individual plots. Produce is shared with neighbors, gardeners and partner organization United Communities. In 2016, the garden donated over 200 lbs of produce to United Communities' food pantry.

A view inside the garden in July 2016.
Photo from garden's Facebook page

One of two murals that brighten the garden space.

PHS City Harvest program provides plants and gardening supplies which are supplemented by neighborhood donations and the support of Passyunk Square Civic Association. Plants are selected with community member interests in mind and experiments are encouraged. The garden has an established bed of hops (which are turned into beer for the annual neighborhood holiday party), grape vines, berries, horseradish, sunchokes (aka jerusalem artichokes), and a variety of perennial pollinator plants.

Trials have included store bought garlic vs. seed garlic, growing tomatoes in woolly pockets and hay bales, experimenting with sorgham from the Experimental Farm Network, a three sisters garden in 2015 and a four sisters garden in 2016 (sunflowers, corn, pole beans, squash), and testing different methods of planting potatoes and sweet potatoes in containers.

There is an extensive herb garden that features flavors from the diverse cooking traditions of its neighbors including lemongrass, papalo, and basil. The garden has also coordinated with neighborhood chefs from East Passyunk Avenue to feature plants of special interest to seasonal menus. Garden leaders are always ready to make bed or container space for new and interesting growing projects.

Make Music Philly Event at Passyunk Gardens in June 2016.
Photo from garden's Facebook page

Workshops and demonstrations are held at the garden during the growing season. Topics have included: seed starting, companion planting, seed saving, organic pest control, wintering the garden, cooking with an herb garden, and sauerkraut making and canning. The garden also hosts nearby schools and youth organizations for tours and hands-on workshops. Art and music events, potlucks, barbecues all play a role in the success of community involvement in this demonstration garden.

During the growing season, workdays are scheduled the first Saturday of the month. All Master Gardeners and trainees are welcome to join.

The garden hosts open hours throughout the growing season on Sundays from 4:00-6:00pm and all who pass by are encouraged to stop in and enjoy the space: an oasis in South Philly.

Fall bulb planting in containers

Michele K. Koskinen

Planting bulbs in containers is the only way many gardeners, with little to no ground, have to enjoy the burst of early to late spring that occurs with fall planted bulbs. Paired with your favorite container and flowers it gives the entrance to your home a colorful and cheerful welcome. Living in the city and walking down the street seeing a container of spring bulbs gives the hard edges of the sidewalk a softer feel and beautifies the neighborhood. If you have an apartment with a balcony or a home with a small patio, bulbs with containers are your ticket to a fanciful introduction to spring.









Planting bulbs in containers require the proper protection so they do not have a freeze thaw effect during the coldest months. There are many ways to insulate pots and everyone has their favorite. Here are a few I have read about or used. I am sure there are other ideas and everyone has their own solutions according to the space they have. Share your favorites by using the comment box to share with our readers.

1. The cheapest way to do this is to use burlap, leaves and newspaper around the pot. I wrap the pot in burlap and start putting leaves and newspaper around the sides. This becomes an insulating layer for the container. I have had the most success waiting until the temperatures fall in November.
2. Use shredded leaves or a thin layer of mulch on the top. A heavy layer of leaves will get soggy and possibly rot the top bulbs so shred them first.
3. Put them in a garage or area where they will not warm up during the day and freeze at night.
4. Bury them in tightly packed straw as the insulator.
5. Use bubble wrap inside the container before filling along the sides of the wall. I am going to try this one and see how it works.

Why is that wire around the container? I have a major squirrel problem as many gardeners do. So, the majority of my bulbs are varieties of daffodils and narcissus. The only deterent for tulips and crocus is wire around the pot. It's not the most attractive solution but it works! You can also put wire on top of the pot and let the bulbs grow through the wire.  I have tried everything, stones, hot pepper, and to some success coyote urine. I love tulips but find they are dug up and never survive even as they are bloomng. My solution is to plant the tulips in a smaller pot and then put it into another pot with insulation and I put wire everywhere. I then pull the small pot out, and enjoy them in my home when they start blooming.

.
This planter had succession plantings of crocus, and early and late daffodils. To have a container with several blooming times you must plan how it looks ahead of time by height, color, amount of foliage and time of bloom. The tallest and deepest bulbs should go in first and then another layer of soil at the proper depth for the next bulb.  This keeps your container blooming for weeks not just days.

You can plant any bulb in a container and have great results if you follow several rules.

1. Since most bulbs need to be planted at a certain depth make sure the container is deep enough for the bulb to be planted at twice it's diameter. The packaging that comes with your bulbs will have the exact depth needed for the bulb.

2. Provide good potting mix and drainage for the bulbs so they do not stay wet and rot from the soggy soil.

3. Plant and water them to get the roots started in preparation for the winter.  Watering if the season has been dry should be once a month. Remember ice kills the bulbs and plants so make sure you have good drainage.

4. Insulate the container to prevent freezing and thawing or store in a garage or other area for protection.

5. Fertilize at planting time with a slow release fertilizer. Do not fertilize again.

6. If planting bulbs with successive bloom times, follow the instructions below.


Layered planting has a few rules:

1. Choose a pot deep enough for all the  layers, 10 to 14 inches high and wide are usually sufficient.
2. Make sure there are sufficient drainage holes in the bottom and layer the bottom with pea gravel or other stones.
3. Choosing the correct plants is important for your container. Choose bulbs that do not have alot of foliage so they do not shadow or keep light from their companion plants. The bulbs should also be a strong species to withstand any wind or poor weather.
4. Fill the pot with potting soil until you reach the depth for the tallest bulb. Place the bulbs point up and facing out. Continue to layer until your final layer is placed as deep as in a garden and covered with soil.
5. Water with slow released ferilizer and cover with a thin layer of mulch.
6. After blooming continue to water and fetilize very lightly until the foliage dies off completely. Move the pot to a place to rest until next fall.









Other links for information:
http://www.garden.org/howtos/index.php?q=show&id=1324