Gifts for Gardeners 2007

This is the month of shopping for people who love plants. Fortunately, there are so many choices that no two gifts have to be alike: a pot of bulbs, a new tool, planters, live plants, grow lights, heaters and heat mats, shelving for indoors and out.

The amount spent can be from zero with a gift certificate for hours of digging and weeding to a fountain outside on the deck.

Gifts for gardeners includes items for every pocketbook and gifts from the humble to the sublime.
Washable garden gloves $5 — Ora Mae Piester, 918-683-4433, sells them for Muskogee Garden Club.

Or, become charter members of the new Oklahoma Botanical Garden, north of Tulsa. Send $35 for an individual or $50 for a family to Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden, 5323 W. 31st Street North, Tulsa 74127 and 728-2707.

On the higher end, a broad fork to loosen soil without using a rototiller, $160, or Johnny’s Selected Seeds, www.johnnyseeds.com and (877) 564-6697.

Seed collections: children’s garden, hummingbird and butterfly, old-fashioned fragrance, rainbow kitchen, herbs, unusual annuals, etc. Each collection of five varieties is in a decorative envelope, under $15, www.reneesgarden.com and (888) 880-7228.

Annie’s Annuals — gift certificates on sale — 15 percent off by Dec. 18 — www.anniesannuals.com and (888) 266-4370.

Gift certificates from Old House Gardens are sent on a photographed note — $40.
Owner Scott Kunst said, “Gift certificates give the gift of anticipation so gardeners can look ahead to spring in their imagination.”
Hard-to-find books such as the $10 “Spring Blooming Bulbs” or — T-shirts three for $25 and plastic bulb-planting baskets three for $13, www.oldhousegardens.com and (734) 995-1486.

Other books to please gardeners:
• “Best Garden Plants for Oklahoma” by Steve Owens, 2007, Lone Pine Publishing, $13 online, photographed beautifully with plant culture and best varieties listed.
• “Birds of Oklahoma Field Guide” by Stan Tekiela, published by Adventure Publications, $11 online.
Birds are classified by color first then shape or activity.

• “Butterflies of Oklahoma, Kansas and North Texas,” 2004, University of Oklahoma Press. Whether you are buying for a young gardener or a butterfly enthusiast, this is the reference they will want. Almost 300 pages of color photos and butterfly descriptions, habitat and food sources, $20 online.
• “Compact Guide to Oklahoma Birds,” 2007, Lone Pine Publishing. Chapters are by bird category such as water-foul, Grouse-like birds, doves and cuckoos, etc., www.lonepinepublishing.com, (800) 518-3541 — $14.
• “Birds of Oklahoma,” a CD-ROM of Oklahoma birds photographed by Bill Horn, $30, Bill Horn, 15217 S.E. 71, Choctaw 73020 or http://www.birdsofoklahoma.net/BirdCDform.htm
• “Oklahoma Gardeners Guide (Revised),” $13 online and “Oklahoma Perfect Lawn,” Cool Springs Press, $1 online, by Steve Dobbs.

Avant Gardener on sale — $18 for one-year, $50 for three years if ordered by Dec. 31. Monthly newsletters, eight pages, no photos, no advertising. Summarizes what’s new for plant lovers who want to stay up-to-date. Avant Gardener, Box 489, New York, N.Y. 10028.
Circle hoe for close weeding and cultivating. Imagine a sharpened circle attached to a hand-held or rake-length wood handle that was rated best value by the Wall Street Journal’s test of ergonomic tools. Three-handle lengths range in price from $10 to $30 and all are on sale on the company’s Web site, www.circlehoe.com and (800) 735-4815.

Fiskars and other companies make dozens of ergonomic tools: Rakes and pruners that are easy on the hands, shoulders and back, gardener’s knee pads, etc. Shop at www.arthritissupplies.com/ or www.fiskars.com and (800) 500-4849.

Gardeners Supply Co. has a link called “Gifts by Price” at www.gardeners.com or (888) 833-1412.

Root-Cut Weeder is seven inches long with a hooked-blade at one end and a fork at the other end, on sale, $7, great saws, trowels and other items of interest to gardeners, www.hidatool.com and (800) 443-5512.

Ups-A-Daisy Plant Inserts — Tall planters are an advantage for gardeners who want easier access without bending and kneeling. The circular discs come in three sizes and drop down into the planter to form a shelf for a planted pot. Sale — buy three get one free, www.ups-a-daisy.com and (815) 477-1388.

Wireless outdoor speakers from www.sharperimage.com could be a welcome summertime treat, as would a portable CD player for the days of endless weeding.

A gift card from Lowe’s has dozens of applications.

The 2008 seeds for a kitchen garden . . . lettuce, spinach, radishes, onions, etc. are available at Stringer Nursery in Tulsa and Conrad Farms in Bixby.

Make a soil-sifter for cleaning soil to sprinkle on the top of seeds. Use one-fourth and one-half inch hardware cloth nailed to wood frames that fit over a dishpan or larger plastic container.

For friends who propagate: a sack of vermiculite, rooting hormone, new spray bottles, insecticide for inside use, such as Safer Soap, or measuring spoons, small cups, and larger cups for measuring out chemicals. Make a gift basket out of several small items.

Sue Gray at Oklahoma State University Extension suggested, “A tree, a pallet of mulch delivered to their doorstep, a truckload of compost delivered and spread on the garden, a massage for after spreading the mulch and or compost. And, how about a collection of OSU Fact Sheets — print them off of the Web site and categorize them into a notebook for a gardener . . . it’s low cost and really thoughtful.”

Go directly to the fact sheets http://pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/View/Collection-389.
Plant lovers appreciate any gardening gift. With so many choices, you can’t go wrong.

Eggplant and Flowers in August

EGGPLANT

Horticulture Magazine has an email newsletter that has an article on eggplant this week. It's probably too late to decide to plant it but I can tell you that we started Renee's Asian Trio from seed and it is doing pretty well other than relentless insect damage. What a beautiful plant with the purplish stems, lavender flowers and tipped new leaves. There are a couple of small eggplants forming.

In the Horticulture Magazine article, author Tovah Martin suggests planting eggplant to be part of an upcoming trend in gardening: Purple.

Martin has color coordinated the vegetable garden with 'Royalty Purple Pod' bush beans, 'Rouge d'Hiver' romaine and Black Beauty eggplant.

Not quite satisfied with the colors on the grill, 'Applegreen', 'Red Ruffled', 'Listada de Gandia', and 'Casper' were added.

Renee's has eggplant seeds packed with 3-kinds of Italian or 3-kinds of Asian in the same envelope. The seeds are color coated with the legend on the package. This is an easier and less expensive way to get several kinds unless you were planning to plant a field of it.

DISGUISING EYESORES

This is the shed in our back yard that is on the verge of falling down. We just keep planting things in front of it and on the sides. Birds have raised many babies in those houses nailed on it, too.

This photo was taken yesterday, proving the point that when you have something in the yard that is not up to your otherwise high visual standards, you can always mask them with plants.

Wall-O-Water, Geography and Lettuce

The Wall-O-Waters have been in place for almost two weeks waiting for the weather to improve enough to actually put tomatoes in them. In the meantime, the water in the sides has been warming and will warm the soil.
By the way, on one of my Internet browsing trips, I read the results of some research department that said Wall-O-Water works well for tomatoes but not so well for other vegetables you might think to start early in them. The researchers tried cucumbers and nixed the results.
Behind the Wall-O-Waters -125 heads of garlic that are forming - planted last October using methods of the Tulsa Tomato Man who has been relentlessly generous with garlic-growing advice over the past two years.

On another note, The Association of American Geographers is meeting in San Francisco for an annual convention. "Geography, the science of place, is an integrating discipline and is a pivotal study element in all the natural sciences."
The 80-session titles include some tantalizing topics including: Every Day is Earth Day at USGS, Effects of Sea Level Rise on Population, Global Land Change Detection Using Remote Sensing and Biogeography: Vegetation Mapping. Wish I could rent a movie of it.

Back to garden talk - Renee's Seeds just released a good article on planting and growing lettuce, called "It's Lettuce Time". Here are some highlights -
There are 3-types of head lettuce: Romaine, Batavian and Butterhead. Romaine we know from Caesar salads and lettuce wraps. Batavians are not available in the grocery, you have to grow them at home. They resist bolting in the heat though so may be worth a try. The Butterhead widely distributed in plastic boxes at the supermarket is only one of the many choices available.
Check out the seed types available and the planting tips, too, at Renee's Articles (click for the link).

Tomatoes From Seed

If you have any interest in growing tomatoes other than the half-dozen available at garden centers, starting seeds is a good way to get variety. Seeds are available for Heirlooms, old fashioned and new hybrids. There are so many seeds in an envelope, sharing with another gardening friend is a way to double the types you grow.

In response to a question about when to start tomato seeds, Renee Shepherd of Renee's Seeds said, "Generally speaking, the goal is to start your tomato seeds six or eight weeks before the last frost date or another guideline would be that they are ready to plant out when temperatures are regularly in the 50s both day and night. I prefer this second criteria, as it gives leeway for local conditions."

For me, pictures speak louder than words. Follow this link to Renee's Garden Seeds instructions on growing tomatoes from seeds - with photos of every step for us visual learners. The photos go from first seed planting, to dividing seedlings, planting in the ground and pruning. Check it out.