The November 21, 2011, issue of The New Yorker had a wonderful article called Annals of Agriculture, Crunch, Building a Better Apple, about the development of a new apple called SweeTango.  The article went into great detail about the history of apples, how patents and trademarks work on a new apple variety, and the apple breeding program at the University of Minnesota where my husband, Jerry, and I went to college and he received his degree in horticulture.  In fact, when Jerry was in school there, he had the best job he could imagine, although it paid only $1.75 an hour.  The apple breeding program had him on a panel with 5 others, tasting pies made out of potential new apples to see which was the best.  Out of this research, eventually, came some excellent apples for northern climates, Honeygold and Red Baron, which were released in 1969 and State Fair and Sweet Sixteen, which were released in 1978.  State Fair and Sweet Sixteen are two of our best selling apple trees here at the nursery.  Interestingly, we still sell a fair number of Wealthy apples, introduced in Minnesota by Peter Gideon in 1861, which became the inspiration for the University of Minnesota’s apple breeding program.

In 1991 Minnesota introduced Honeycrisp, which Jerry thinks will soon become our best selling apple tree because of its exceptional crispness, juiciness and its sweet, well balanced flavor.  And it stores for a long time—even longer than Haralson, one of the best hardy keepers for northern climates.  Honeycrisp will keep up to 7 months in cold storage.  In an ideal growing climate, Honeycrisp apples grow large.  When visiting family back in Minnesota last fall, I saw huge Honeycrisp apples in the stores which were as big as 5” or more across.   Those growing in our orchard here are small—about 2 ½” in diameter.  They are a yellow apple striped with red.

Apples have an interesting history: Many say that Adam and Eve ate an apple from the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden.  But nowhere in the Bible does it say that fruit was an apple.  The first apple trees were probably found growing wild in what is today Kazakhstan, then domesticated around four thousand years ago.  Apple trees spread throughout Europe and then colonists brought seed to the New World.  We have all heard of Johnny Appleseed, who established orchards in the upper Midwest in the early 1800’s.  Back then, apples were used primarily for hard cider. But they became more popular as a fresh fruit, especially when refrigeration came into use to help them keep longer.  According to the New Yorker article, as time went on, “the number of available apple varieties shrank….By the nineteen-sixties, most supermarkets carried three types of apple: McIntosh, Red Delicious, and Golden Delicious…they (the apples) had to be durable, long-lasting, and attractive—generally at the expense of texture and taste.”   Many of us consumers have never liked Red Delicious—they are flavorless with a mealy texture.  Finally, by the 1970’s, “super apples” hit the market—Gala, Granny Smith, Fugi, and Braeburn were all developed, most from New Zealand.  They had a long shelf life but also better texture and flavor.

Many of you may have heard that apples “are not true to seed”.  What that means is, if you plant an apple seed, the tree that grows will not produce that same type of apple.  As the New Yorker article describes, breeders “take pollen from one variety and swab it onto the stamen of another, then bag the flower to keep the pollen from other trees out.”  The seeds from that apple will then be grown on and grafted to see if that tree’s apples have good enough flavor, texture, storage life, and appearance to merit further production.

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away”.  Apples are an almost perfect food, especially when eaten with the skin on.    I make delicious applesauce out of our orchard apples leaving the skin on but coring them, cooking them with a small amount of sugar, and putting them through the blender.  (The skins make the sauce darker in color.)  Apples are high in fiber but low in calories and contain high amounts of Vitamin C, B vitamins, and some minerals.  They are high in beta-carotene and antioxidants.  Apples are a convenient, healthy snack to toss in a lunchbox or purse.

In 1914, Jerry’s grandfather started the tradition of giving an apple tree to the parents of a new baby.  We continue this tradition at Cashman Nursery and Landscaping today.  This spring, Jerry and I will be planting two Honeycrisp apples for our two new granddaughters, Courtney and Miah.

Ever wonder where the vegetables we eat and grow in our gardens came from?   The plants had to originate somewhere.  Thousands of years ago when people simply gathered wild fruits and vegetables for food, these plants were found naturally growing in the wild.  Then, some 11,000 years ago, people began to domesticate these wild fruits and vegetables and eventually improve upon them.

CORN  Corn is thought to have originated somewhere in Mexico, though the wild form is extinct.  As far as we know, the native people then domesticated corn, which became the most important cultivated plant in ancient America, used by the native North Americans and Incas in the Andes of South America.  Columbus brought corn from North America to Europe. 

The botanical name for corn, which you will recognize if you read seed catalogs, is Zea mays.   In North America, another word for corn is “maize”.  (The word “corn” has different meanings in different countries—in England the word means wheat, in Ireland and Scotland, barley or oats.)  There are many subspecies of corn, the most familiar of which are dent (the mostly commonly cultivated, also called ‘field corn’), flint corn (Indian corn with colored kernels), popcorn, and sweet corn.  Corn has a huge diversity of uses besides human food including livestock feed, ethanol, and in making whiskey, cosmetics, and bioplastics.

All the corn grown commercially in the United States is hybridized.  But open-pollinated (i.e. not a hybrid) varieties of sweet corn seed such as Fisher’s Earliest, developed by Ken Fisher of Belgrade, for vegetable gardens are available from some garden seed companies. 

POTATOES  Potatoes were first cultivated in the mountainous regions of Peru and Bolivia 3000 to 7000 years ago, where they are thought to have originated.  The Incas learned to dehydrate and mash potatoes into a substance that would store for years called chunu, therefore, potatoes became a staple crop there. 

The British naturalist, Darwin, during his scientific expedition to Patagonia in the 1830’s, wrote about the potato: “It is remarkable that the same plant should be found on the sterile mountains of central Chile, where a drop of rain does not fall for more than six months, and within the damp forests of the southern islands.” In other words, the potato was adaptable and easy to grow. Potatoes are also highly nutritious, containing vitamin C and B vitamins, potassium, besides carbohydrates and fiber.

In 1570, the Spanish brought the potato from Peru to Spain.   Europeans were leery of its ugly appearance and bland taste so, at first, the potato was used for livestock feed, but eventually, because of food shortages, it gained popularity as a palatable vegetable.   When the European diet expanded to include potatoes, farmers were able to produce more nutritious food on smaller plots of land, which helped European birth rates and population to increase.  Even though they originated in the Western Hemisphere, potatoes were not grown and eaten by the North American colonists until 1620 when they were sent over from England.  Thomas Jefferson made them popular by serving them to his guests at the White House. 

Montana has a history of raising potatoes commercially.  Gallatin, Beaverhead, and Madison Counties are important producers of high quality certified seed potatoes for several reasons:  Our cool climate has fewer insects which carry diseases.  Our short season produces a small potato, best sold for seed.  Our hard winters kill off viruses in the soil.   And, we are isolated from other potato growing areas which helps keep diseases out.   Montana State University has been a big factor in establishing and carrying out the detailed inspection process needed to certify seed potatoes.  Farm families such as the Schutters and Weidenaars in the close-by communities of Churchill-Amsterdam-Manhattan have grown certified seed potatoes, mostly Russett Burbank, for as many as four generations.

TOMATOES Tomatoes are native to South America, in fact, several species are still found growing wild in the Andes.  Brought to Mexico, tomatoes were domesticated and cultivated there by 500 BC.  It is thought that the first cultivated tomato was small and yellow.  Columbus and/or Cortez brought tomatoes to Europe and the Spanish explorers took them throughout the world.    The tomato became popular in Spain by the early 17^th century, where it thrived in the Mediterranean climate and became a staple food.    When first introduced in England at the end of the 16^th Century, it was thought to be poisonous.  (The tomato belongs to the nightshade family—some plants in this family are poisonous.)  Finally, by the mid-18^th century, the tomato had gained acceptance and was widely eaten in England and the North American colonies.

Studies have shown that Italians live longer on their diet which includes plenty of tomatoes, olive oil, and red wine.  The nutritious tomato is low in calories but high in vitamins A and C, potassium, and the valuable antioxidant lycopene.  Older tomato cultivars (heirlooms) are not always smooth-skinned but may have bumps or ribs and are not always red, but sometimes yellow, orange, pink, purple, or black.  These old cultivars have the delicious tomato flavor you cannot find in commercially bred varieties purchased in the grocery store.  Stupice, a favorite of ours from Czechoslovakia, or Belii Naliv, a John Austin pick from Russia are two good heirloom tomatoes to try in your garden.

The Western Hemisphere is not only the origin of corn, potatoes, and tomatoes, but also squash and pumpkins.  Carrots, probably purple at first, were from Afghanistan.   Beans are thought to have been found in both the Western Hemisphere and the Mid-East. Onions have been cultivated in Asia for thousands of years.   Wild onions were used by the Native Americans.   Broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage didn’t occur in nature at all, but were bred from kale.  

So, when you plant your vegetable garden next spring, think about where those seeds came from and the history that has gone into getting them to you. 

Even though winter has set in and your gardens are under snow, you don’t have to be without fresh herbs.  You can plant an herb garden on your kitchen windowsill.   Here are some hints on how best to grow herbs indoors:

Most herbs are not hard to grow indoors, but they do need plenty of light.  Many of the herbs we use are plants native to the Mediterranean area where the climate is sunny and dry.  An east window is ideal for growing herbs, but a south or west window will also work.  A north exposure may not give the plants enough light, especially for sun lovers like basil, sage, and thyme.   6 to 8 hours of sunlight each day is recommended for most herbs.  (If you don’t have a bright window in which to grow your herbs, you can use grow lights.)  Ideal temperatures during the day for most herbs range from 65 to 70 degrees.  At night the room should be cooler by 10 or more degrees, to mimic outdoor temperatures.  Basil prefers warmer temperatures.

Before winter sets in, you can pot up your herbs that are growing outdoors.  Take as little garden dirt as possible when transplanting, to keep away insects and diseases living in the soil.  Rather than digging up the whole plant, you can take cuttings from your outdoor herbs and root them inside in sand or a rooting mix.  When rooted, plant them in a light potting mix containing vermiculite or perlite.  Herbs need good drainage, so place gravel in the bottom of your pots and choose pots with drainage holes.  Terra cotta clay pots planted with herbs give you a natural, Mediterranean look, but tend to dry out quicker than glazed pottery or plastics.  You can plant each of your herbs in a separate pot, or group various herbs together in a larger pot as long as they all have similar water and light requirements.  If you have an Earth Box sitting idle from last summer, plant it with herbs for the winter and put it in front of a sunny window.

Water herbs as you would any houseplant.  Some, like rosemary and sage, do not like to be too wet.  Let the soil dry out between waterings—stick your finger an inch into the soil and if dry, it is time to water.  Place your herb pot in a saucer filled with small pebbles and ½ inch of water to keep humidity up.  Fertilize indoor herbs sparingly with a water soluble fertilizer suitable for houseplants.

Pests such as fungus gnats, whiteflies, or aphids may show up on your herb plants—For a safe remedy, use insecticidal soap.  It does not have a strong odor.  If your herbs have mealybugs or scale, the easiest thing to do might be to discard the whole plant.

Of course, you will want to choose the herbs that you cook with most often to grow indoors.    With fresh herbs so close at hand, it might be fun to experiment with new uses for them in your cooking.  Here are some of the more popular herbs to grow indoors:

Because of its many culinary uses in pesto and Italian dishes, basil is a favorite.   Basil is best eaten fresh–dried, it loses some of its flavor.  Compact globe-type basils are a good choice to grow in a small pot.  Rosemary can be hard to grow inside if you transplant it from your garden; it seems to have trouble adjusting to the light difference.  Buy a new rosemary plant and you won’t have that problem; then plant it outside next spring.   Rosemary grows best in dry, cool conditions.  Try it with roasted pork, lamb or game.

Although a slow grower, vitamin-rich parsely is a great herb to grow indoors.   Plenty of sun will help parsely grow faster.  Use it in salads, salad dressings, omelettes, casseroles, even spaghetti sauce. The compact thyme plant is another herb to grow inside.  Try flavorful lemon thyme if you can find it.  Sage grows well inside, too.  Chives, which has a mild onion flavor for salads and salad dressings, is one of the easiest herbs to grow inside, but is also easy to grow outside, so I dig under the snow for chives when I need some in the winter.

Pot up herbs in pretty containers for the gourmet cook on your Christmas list.   Or plant a windowsill garden with useful and beautiful herb plants and use them all winter to make your meals more flavorful.  Enjoy your kitchen filled with the fragrance of herbs!

Christmas Trees

• Scotch Pine – Perfect conical shape, medium to long needled, will hold heavy ornaments, good sturdy branching, dyed.
• White Pine – Soft, long needled, dyed, weak branching so no heavy ornaments, pretty, hold up well unless in the sun.
• Balsam Fir – The most fragrant, traditional shape.
• Frasier Fir – Perfect layered shape for holding ornaments, short needled, fragrant, holds needles well.
• Grand Fir – Bright green, tiered flat needles.
• Douglas Fir – Open branches, don’t look as sheared as others, very natural, we cut these fresh weekly!
• Norway Pine – Long needles, holds needles well.
• Alpine Fir – From high elevations in the surrounding forests, very tiered branching, holds needles very well, most are narrow.
• Lodgepole Pine – More open like other native trees- sometimes they will have cones still on them, Western look We cut these fresh weekly.
• Colorado Spruce – Very full but have sharp needles. Layered.

Garland

• Doug Fir – For outdoors because it can stand up to the cold.
• White Pine – Can be used inside or outside.
• Cedar – Inside only because it can’t handle the cold

TIP: Spraying with Wilt-Stop will preserve the garland a little longer, and makes the garland glossy!

Wreaths and Swags

We will customize your wreath… Available decorations include dried flowers, pheasant feathers, pine cones, berries (rose hips), and bows. We also make a variety of bows that customers can purchase individually.

WE SELL BUNDLES OF BOUGHS, SHORT OR LONG NEEDLED, INEXPENSIVELY!

Live Christmas Trees

• We sell Colorado Spruce and Dwarf Alberta Spruce in pots for live Christmas trees.
• Trees can only be inside for about a week. If they are inside any longer than that the trees will break dormancy. They have not had a long enough dormant period yet so they may not survive.
• Ideally there should be a hole dug for the tree before the ground freezes so the tree can be planted right away. If there isn’t a hole it can be heeled in with wood chips or some kind of mulch. Or stored in an unheated or slightly heated building and watered a few times.

Other Christmas Tree Tips

• Trim ½” to 1” off the butt of the tree (a fresh cut) before you put the tree in the stand so that the tree can absorb the maximum amount of water.
• Keep the tree watered, it will soak up the most water in the first few days and taper off from there.
• Use of a preservative like Tree Life can prolong the length of time a tree holds up well.

Gifts for gardeners at Cashman Nursery include: Gift Certificates, Felco pruners, gardening tools, books, and attractive containers.

The weather every year is unique, but 2011 had some real extremes.  We had a snowy winter.  According to Greg Ainsworth, columnist for the Chronicle, “from November through June, was the 3^rd wettest period in 113 years.”  At the MSU Weather Station, April, May and June was the coolest three month period in 36 years.   We use our apricot tree’s blossom time to determine how early or late spring arrives; the earliest it has bloomed is April 19, the latest, May 11; this year it didn’t bloom until May 18!  In July and August, we enjoyed beautiful weather, which made up for the cool, wet spring.  Summer temperature highs were mostly in the 80’s, we had no days over 100 degrees, little rain, and nights were cool which made for good sleeping.  Summer continued through September, when temperatures were above average, and frosts, when occurring at all, were light.

How did this year’s weather affect gardening and growing things? During the Gallatin Gardeners Club’s October meeting, members reported on what worked for them and what didn’t this year, particularly in their vegetable gardens.  Many planted their gardens later than usual because of the wet, cool, weather.  Some that planted early regretted it because seeds didn’t germinate and they had to replant.  Tomatoes planted too early, before the ground was warm enough, did not do well.

Although gardens were late getting started, by early October gardeners reported huge crops and an overall successful year.  Large harvests of tomatoes of all kinds– early, late, cherry, large, and Roma types–were reported.  The warm September certainly was a big factor in ripening tomatoes.  Some grew their tomatoes in pots, some in the ground, others in greenhouses, but all reported success.  Some gardeners had so many tomatoes they were giving them away!

Sweet corn, which doesn’t always get ripe in our short-season climate, was a big success with the gardeners this year.  Some had corn stalks as tall as 8 feet! My husband Jerry and I grew 5 varieties of sweet corn and were eating corn from August 18 through early October.  Our favorite variety was “Incredible”, an 85-day corn that was the last to ripen, but had big, sweet ears.   An early fall frost and Incredible would not have ripened.  Other vegetable variety recommendations from garden club members include: Heirloom “Cinderella Rouge Vif D’Etampes”, a pumpkin that truly is shaped like Cinderella’s carriage.  We enjoyed long, slim, productive and tender “Slenderette” beans from our garden.  Don Mathre’s “Jade” beans were big and productive.   “Yukon Gold” potatoes continue to be a favorite and “Sungold” cherry tomatoes continue to win taste tests.  “Parks Whopper” has been a large and reliable tomato for us.  “Goliath” tomatoes grew as large as 1#, yet ripen early enough for our climate.  John Austin liked early “Coreless Amsterdam” baby carrots.

Although small fruits ripened later than usual, they were good and plentiful.  Our raised bed produced lots of strawberries, both Junebearing and Everbearing; their foliage was so thick it was hard to find the berries.  Raspberry crops were great–Garden Club members Bonnie and Charlie Hash, picked 5 ½ gallons in one day from their row of raspberries of mixed varieties.    Currants and gooseberries reportedly produced well as did our 28 year-old Meteor cherry which produced buckets of pie cherries again this year.

Although fruit trees bloomed later than usual, it has been another great year for apples and plums.  We have had wonderful crops of early ripening Goodland, State Fair, Hazen, and Chestnut Crabs.  A new, not well-known variety in our orchard called “Zestar” is crisp, has excellent flavor, and stores well.   The later-ripening apples, like Haralred, Sweet Sixteen, Honeycrisp, and Red Baron are later than ever this year.

Many of the gardening problems are the same from year to year– heavy clay soils, insects, voles, deer.  This year, of course, the late spring was challenging to gardeners.  Spring’s cool, wet weather brought on the slugs.  Then, aphids arrived with a vengeance on trees, shrubs, and even plants they usually don’t bother.  Grasshoppers were not much of a problem this year, but spider mites hit later in the summer.     Hail cut a swath through the valley on Father’s Day, not nearly as widespread as last year’s devastating hail storms.

Deer continue to challenge us gardeners.  Fencing vegetable gardens seems to be the best solution.  We have discovered voles love raised bed gardens because the soil is loose and easy to burrow through.  Fine hardware wire can be stapled under your raised bed to keep them out.  I have been using vole repellants to keep them away—repellants are not poisonous and are safe to use around edibles and pets.

In 2011 we continued to see trees dying or severely damaged from the extreme temperature variations in the fall of 2009.  The City of Bozeman’s tree replacement program, which gives vouchers to replace boulevard trees in the city limits, has been a great help to replant our city forest.

Another long, beautiful fall gave us gardeners plenty of time to harvest late crops, plant bulbs, and winterize.  If you haven’t already done so, wrap your fruit and other smooth-barked trees to protect from sunscald, rodents, and deer and give your trees and other plants a deep watering before the ground freezes.

People driving by in August ask us about the showy shrub planted on the northeast corner of our house full of huge, round, white flowers.  It is an Annabelle Hydrangea.  There are many species of hydrangea, all native to China, Japan, and Korea.  This late-summer blooming shrub does best planted in partial shade.  Ours is on the shady side of our house under a mature flowering crab apple.  An east exposure with some morning sun would be a good location for a hydrangea.  They prefer acid soil, so, to keep their leaves from yellowing, amend your soil with peat moss and a soil acidifier and use a fertilizer for acid-loving plants such as Miracid.

Smooth Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas of the species arborescens, common name Smooth Hydrangea, grow to 3 to 4 feet in height and a spread of 4 to 5 feet.   Annabelle hydrangea’s (Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’) deep green foliage contrasts with its pure white blossoms.  From when the buds appear, until well into fall when the huge blossoms, some as big as 9” across, turn a light, sage-green color, this shrub is spectacular.   Until recently, hydrangea from the species arborescens had only white flowers.  A new selection called ‘Incrediball’ is supposed to have more and bigger blossoms, but the flowers are white like Annabelle.  This year ‘Bella Anna’ Hydrangea was introduced with purple-pink flowers!  We planted a Bella Anna this summer to see how it does; it is listed as USDA Hardiness Zone 3, so it should be as hardy and easy to grow as Annabelle.  These two new varieties of Hydrangea arborescens are bred to have stronger stems that don’t droop when the flowers get wet and heavy.

Mop Head Hydrangeas

Macrophylla, another species of Hydrangea, are listed as hardiness zone 4, but don’t always thrive here.  Also called ‘Mop Head’ macrophyllas are 3 to 4 feet in height and 4 to 5 feet in width, similar in size to Hydrangea arborescens.  The new, much-touted ‘Endless Summer’ Hydrangea is supposed to bloom all summer with pink or blue blooms.  We have a few customers growing them successfully here.  ‘Blushing Bride’ (white flowers) and ‘Twist and Shout’ (pink or blue flowers with red fall leaf color) are two new macrophylla introductions.

PeeGee and Oak Leaf Hydrangeas

Hydrangea paniculata (Zone 4 hardiness) is an upright plant, growing to 8 feet in the right climate.  Its white flowers are smaller and more conical, turning pink-bronze late in the summer.  Unlike other hydrangeas, most of the paniculatas bloom on last year’s wood like lilacs do, so cutting them back will hinder next year’s flowers.  Again, many new H. paniculatas have been bred for flower color, size, and abundance.  Hydrangea quercifolia (Oakleaf Hydrangea) is Hardiness Zone 5, so probably not a good choice for our climate.

Climbing Hydrangea Hydrangea anomala, subspecies petiolaris, is a Zone 5 climbing vine. Although beautiful, it is doubtful climbing hydrangeas will survive here because they don’t like our dry heat and our winter temperature extremes could cause them to freeze back.  The colorful hydrangeas sold as gifts by florists around Easter won’t overwinter when planted outside here.

Hydrangea flowers are great for drying, but if picked too early in the summer, the flowers will shrivel up.  Wait to pick the blossoms until fall approaches and they have turned from white to pale green.  Most hydrangeas’ leaves are not colorful in the fall—they turn brown and wilt after a couple of frosts.  Probably because it is planted so close to our front door, deer don’t bother our hydrangea until they get really hungry in the early winter, when they ‘prune it back’ for us.  You should protect your hydrangeas if you have deer around.

It’s not too late to plant a hydrangea this fall–or wait until spring.   Find a shady east or north exposure in your yard, and enjoy this beautiful shrub.

The Emerson Cultural Center’s 2011 Garden and Home Tour was the best ever, with over 450 people buying tickets and touring the gardens.  We met a gardening couple who had driven all the way from Fort Benton to see the beautiful gardens and get ideas for their own!  Most often, the Emerson’s garden tour has been held around July 10, but this year the tour was held in mid-August.  Seeing the gardens this late gave a whole different perspective.  Spring-flowering perennials were done blooming, but summer-flowering perennials were at their peak, annual flowers were spectacular, and vegetable gardens were ripe for harvesting.

The two gardens just past Four Corners were in beautiful settings on the Gallatin River.  I asked one of the gardeners why he thought his plants did so well.  Sometimes river sites can be lower than surrounding ground, and, therefore, catch frost, but he attributed his success in growing to “good riverbed soil and wind protection”.   A focal point of this beautiful garden with numerous perennial beds, each different, was an attractive greenhouse with a root cellar under it to store vegetables.   Their large vegetable garden was fenced to keep deer out.   All the vegetables were grown in raised beds high enough so they don’t have to bend over to pick them!

A trellis in this garden was covered with an old-fashioned sweet pea variety called “Cupani”.  Cupani sweet peas were named after the monk who discovered this flower growing wild in the mountains of Sicily, and, in 1699, sent its seeds to a botanist in England.   Cupani’s small blossoms are a combination of dark pink and purple.

Just down the road, another garden had a gorgeous planting along the driveway containing a mixture of ornamental grasses, perennial and annual flowers, shrubs, even a tree or two, along with interesting metal garden art.  When asked the secret of her thriving plants and flowers, this gardener said that seven years ago, when her garden was still in the planning stage, she planted two green manure crops;  in May she planted a mix of cool-season vetches, oats, and legumes and tilled them into the soil in early July.  Then, she planted a warm-season green manure mix of buckwheat and other legumes and tilled that in at the end of the summer.

Just like her neighbor, annual sweet peas were a thriving feature of her garden.  Planted inside the vegetable garden fence to protect them from deer, her sweet pea flowers were huge with long, thick stems; they certainly could have been winners at the Sweet Pea Festival flower contest!  Again, she had planted a green manure crop in this spot and tilled it in before she planted her sweet pea seeds.

Two of the gardens on this year’s tour were in the older part of Bozeman, close to the University.  One of the yards had a number of shrubs with edible berries—currants, gooseberries, and elderberries.  Elderberries, which grow easily here on a tall shrub, are rich in vitamins and antioxidants.  The smallest garden on the tour was on a small lot on South 7^th Avenue, accented by its cute yellow house with an artist’s studio in the back.  It was apparent that this gardener is an artist.  A smooth steel border was used to create slightly raised flower and vegetable beds around the house for a clean, unfussy look.

One perennial that caught my eye in a couple of the tour gardens was ‘Red Shades’ Helenium (Sneezeweed).  Named for Helen of Troy, this perennial is tall and blooms profusely in a gorgeous fall shade of red-orange.  Helenium can tolerate heat and full sun.  Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium), not really a weed but an interesting perennial flower and medicinal herb, was planted in some of the perennial gardens.  Joe Pye Weed stands up taller (up to 6’) than other perennials with rose colored blooms that appear in late summer.  Heliopsis (False Sunflower) is another tall perennial that is blooming now with bright yellow flowers that last a long time when cut.

An unusual perennial standout in one of the gardens was Sea Holly.  This large perennial plant has spiky silver-blue blooms that are good for drying.  Scabiosa (Pincushion Flower) was also in full bloom for the garden tour.  One of the gardeners had a type of Scabiosa with large, deep blue flowers called ‘Fama Deep Blue’, beautiful in a cut bouquet.

Try planting these late-summer blooming perennials for color in your garden.  And if your vegetable or flower gardens seem to be losing vigor, try a green manure crop.  Plant it now, till it in before the ground freezes, and watch your plants thrive in your newly refreshed soil!

Besides expressing your individuality, there is good reason to plant different kinds of shade trees in your yard, on your block, and in your city.  Even on your boulevard, it might be a good idea to plant trees different from the varieties your neighbors have planted.   If one variety is overplanted, an insect or disease could attack it and that tree population would be wiped out.  Dutch elm disease was one of those diseases, killing most of the elms commonly planted as boulevard trees in the Midwest.  In Bozeman a few years ago, the majority of fall gold black ash trees were killed by an aphid-like insect called cottony psyllid.

Here are five good trees that, although you’ve probably heard of all of them, are less commonly planted in Bozeman’s boulevards and yards.   All five will grow well here and are susceptible to few insects and diseases:

Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa) Majestic oaks are the granddaddy of trees.  Bur oak, an oak native to North Dakota and eastern Montana, tolerates drought and poor soil conditions and is the best oak for our area.  Oak’s slow growth, hard wood, and long life, makes it a tree that is planted, not only for now, but for the next generations.

Bur oaks can get a small gall on their branches caused by a wasp.    At first glance, these galls can be mistaken for acorns.  They are noticeable only in the winter when the tree does not have leaves and may weaken the branch but do not kill the oak.

Tatarian Maple (Acer tataricum) This hardy maple is more tolerant of alkaline soils than most maples, with an upright growth habit that makes it an attractive, though small, boulevard tree.  A selection of tatarian maple called ‘Hot Wings’ produces bright red samaras in mid-summer (Samaras are the two-sided seed pods that look a bit like small butterfly wings.)  In the fall, tatarian maple’s leaves turn bright yellow and red.

Japanese Tree Lilac (Syringa reticulata) Japanese tree lilac, a small tree growing to 20 to 25 feet, is covered with large, creamy white, wonderfully fragrant flowers in early July after other lilacs have finished blooming.   A couple of improved selections of Japanese tree lilac are now on the market—‘Ivory Silk’ is faster growing with a more upright shape.  ‘Snowdance’ has more blooms and is sterile, so produces no seedheads.

Ohio Buckeye (Aesculus glabra) In the spring, Ohio buckeye, a tree that grows to 25 to 35 feet, has large, yellow-green flowers; then spiny chestnuts appear in the summer, and its leaves turn yellow to orange to red in the fall.  Even though it is native to far-away Ohio and surrounding states, Ohio buckeye grows well here, tolerating our alkaline soils and temperature extremes.  The name ‘Buckeye’ comes from the nut’s resemblance to a buck deer’s eye.

American Elm (Ulmus American) The stately elm will grow to a large (over 60 feet tall) tree useful for a shade tree or a boulevard planting.  Many new selections, resistant to Dutch elm disease, are being released; ‘Princeton’ and ‘Discovery’ are two that show promise.  Elms are fast-growing and tolerant of drought and poor, alkaline soils.  At this time of the year, elms can be plagued by aphids.

Since the severe and sudden freeze in October of 2009, the Gallatin Valley has lost many trees—green ash, quaking aspen, maples, flowering crabapples, and others.  To help keep our city beautiful, the City of Bozeman has issued vouchers to assist homeowners in replacing their boulevard trees.  And they have  issued a new “Tree Guide” with recommendations for trees that include the commonly planted green ash, maples, lindens, and honeylocust plus other, less-commonly used trees such as birch, hackberry, and laurel leaf willow.

Try planting one of our five shade tree favorites or another ‘different’ tree and celebrate “Tree Diversity”.

Zucchini Bucks

How they work: From July 21 through August 12, Cashman Nursery will give you one Zucchini Buck for every $10 you spend at our nursery. Then, on August 13, during our Zucchini Festival, you can redeem them here for plants or any items in the store.

FREE SEMINARS:

10:00 Extending the Season with Perennials that have Fall Color and Interest Lucia Christie from Skagit Gardens will show how you can refresh your pots and perennial gardens with plants and grasses that have color and interest in the fall. Come and learn.
11:00 IIdeas for Cooking with Zucchini and other Summer Squash by Scott Peterson, owner and chef at Storm Castle Cafe. Come, learn. and sample!

CONTESTS:

Start growing a BIG one because great prizes will be given for the biggest zucchini. Plan to bring in a dish made from zucchini for the recipe contest.

CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES:

10:00-12:30 ART – PRIZES – BOHOHO THE CLOWN.

Also, a children’s contest for the best decorated zucchini.

Past Zucchini Festival Photos

Click any photo to see an enlarged version

Growing your own vegetables is fun and rewarding, but there are a number of things that can go wrong with your vegetable plants.   Some of these can be prevented from the beginning if you make sure you have a sunny garden spot with good soil and drainage, rotate your crops, and keep the weeds under control.    Even with all this TLC, insects and diseases, deer and rodents, and hail and frost can still cause you problems in your vegetable garden.  But, there are a number of safe, non-chemical ways to protect your plants from all these critters and acts of nature.

FENCES To keep deer and rabbits away, repellants work well, but need to be reapplied often.  May 30, the day after we planted most of our garden, my husband Jerry noticed some of our broccoli and Brussels sprouts plants were pulled out of the ground and eaten.  Before the day was over, we had a 5 foot fence made of woven hardware wire around the whole garden, including our raspberries, to keep the deer out.  To keep rabbits out, gardeners are using finer fencing.

WALL-O-WATERS Right after we plant them, we protect our young tomato plants with Wall-O-Waters.  These water-filled plastic contraptions warm up the ground inside them and provide a “greenhouse effect”, warming the plants during our cool spring days and nights, besides protecting from frost.  Hot Kaps work the same way for small cucumber, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower plants.

PLASTIC & NET COVERS People gardening in raised beds often install hoops of PVC pipe above them, covered with clear poly that can be rolled on or off.  When frost or hail is a possibility, they can easily cover and protect their plants.  We have a raised bed planted in strawberries that the robins seem to love to eat as much as we do.  We have covered the whole bed with a fine mesh to keep the birds out.

ROW COVERS Row covers over plants susceptible to cabbage looper (the disgusting light green caterpillar that gets on broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts) prevents the moth from laying the eggs that hatch into the caterpillar.  This lightweight fabric is thin enough to let sunlight pass through it so can be left on the plants.

COMPANION PLANTS/DIATOMACEOUS EARTH Marigold, garlic, and onion plants seem to repel aphids and other insects when planted close to other susceptible plants.  Diatomaceous earth, an abrasive powder made from ground, fossilized sea algae, kills slugs and other crawling insects, like ants, cutworms and flea beetles.  This organic product is easy to use–just sprinkle it on the ground.

PROPER WATERING Nutrient deficiencies can cause the leaves of your vegetable plants to turn yellow and shrivel or curl.  Tomato plants are especially susceptible.  Planting tomatoes too early in the spring before the ground warms prevents soil nutrients from being available to the plant.  Warming the soil before you plant with red or black plastic, and planting your tomatoes in Wall-o-Waters can prevent this.  Our customers often bring in tomatoes that have a black, indented, leathery lesion on the blossom end of their tomato for us to diagnose.  This disease, called blossom end rot, is caused by temperature extremes, and fluctuations in watering which makes the calcium in the soil unavailable to the plant.  Another cause is cultivating too close to the plant which disturbs the tiny roots that take up nutrients.   To prevent blossom end rot, keep the soil under tomato plants evenly moist by careful watering and mulching.  A red plastic mulch under your tomatoes is thought to make the plants grow faster, increase yield and will help hold water in the soil.

PROPER FERTILIZATION Fertilizer is important for a vegetable garden, but too much can be as bad as too little.  Have your soil tested to find out for sure what it needs.  Too much Nitrogen on tomato plants causes them to grow lots of leaves, but not so many tomatoes, but sweet corn needs more Nitrogen.  Peas are Nitrogen fixers so don’t need any.  Twice each summer we side-dress each row in our garden with a well-balanced (5-10-10), slow release (so it won’t burn the plants) fertilizer which has trace minerals (calcium, iron, manganese, and zinc).  We use a fertilizer higher in Nitrogen for our sweet corn.

DESTROY INFECTED PLANTS Tomato plants are susceptible to many diseases and nutrient deficiencies, often with similar symptoms, which makes them difficult to diagnose.  The Schutter diagnostic lab at Montana State will diagnose plant problems for you free of charge—just bring a sample to them.  (For details, check out their web site, msuextension.org, and click on “diagnostics”.)  If your tomato plants or other plants in your garden are diagnosed with a virus, destroy the infected plants before the disease spreads.  Certain diseases, common to both tomatoes and potatoes, can be spread from one to the other.

Use these hints to help you have a successful vegetable garden this year.