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From: SifGreyWillow (Original Message) Sent: 9/30/2007 11:52 PM
GARDEN TREASURES

Wishbone Flower (Torenia fournieri) is a dainty and delightfullittle flower that can take heat, humidity and shade. There arenot many annuals that can accomplish that! You can usuallyfind torenia available as a bedding plant, but you can also startfrom seed inside. You'll need to do this in the winter, 10-12weeks before the last frost. If you are in a mild climate you can grow torenia year round as long as it doesn't get below about 28-30 degrees.

One torenia can cover a 12" square area if planted in the garden,but you can plant them closer in containers. They make great plants for windowboxes, pots and hanging baskets as long as you don't allow them to dry out between waterings. Moisture and shade in very hot climates are a must for torenia. Given this they will bloom constantly from early summer until frost if deadheaded.

When you water torenia, the soil should be moist to the touch, but not soaked. Fertilize every 2 weeks or so, especially in containers.When the plants are small pinch shoots off gently to encourage
them to bush out. Plant them in groups for a charming display.

Torenias are described many ways, but I personally think they are a little like small, short snapdragons in lovely contrasting colors.They only grow to about 12 inches tall, and some new varieties are
trailing as well. If you live in a climate with frost, be sure to dig up at least one of the torenia plants 6-8 weeks beforehand and bring it indoors. They can also be grown indoors as a houseplant!
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What is edible in your garden that you pass up each year? Probably quite a few things! The young leaves of carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, rutabaga and radish are all edible and can be added to salads or cooked as greens.Peas are another overlooked edible plant. The vine tips and the blooms are edible and can be added to salads. (Don't
confuse garden peas with ornamental sweet peas which are poisonous!) There are even more: cucumber, apple, scarlet runner bean and squash blossoms-which are well known for stuffing and eating. It makes you take a second look at your garden once you realize so much more of it is edible.

The catch? You need to make sure you are gardening without chemicals, and that anything you eat is free of animal waste or anything else that may contaminate it. Plus, the vegetable and fruits I listed here are on the safe list, but sometimes you may see a mention of a plant, flower or herb that you just aren't sure about. Better to be safe than sorry, so don't eat anything you are in doubt about.

Vegetable Blossom Soup

Ingredients:
60-70 squash, bean or cucumber blossoms, washed
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup chopped sweet onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
6 cups. chicken or vegetable stock
Garnish: Chives, Chervil or other herbs
Remove any stamens from the blossoms. Set aside. Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until the onions are softened. Reduce the heat to low, add the salt, pepper and squash blossoms and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Add the stock, increase the heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve hot, garnished with herbs.
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MORE KITTIES IN THE GARDEN TIPS
I've ran across more tips for keeping our furry cat friends out of the garden. Plastic or cardboard as a mulch will help some, plus you
can lay twigs around the areas where they are digging. If they do leave waste pick it up and discard into the garbage as soon as possible. They also don't like wet soil, so water during dry spells.
Though there really isn't any evidence of this working every time, many gardeners will plant alliums, chamomile, marigolds or rue
in the beds where cat are digging. Now , if only I could find some tips for keeping stray kitties from spraying my porch!
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A reminder this week: Don't forget to deadhead!
I just went through my petunias, sweet williams, fringed bleeding heart snapdragons and columbines. Remove the old blossoms and seed
heads. It makes a HUGE difference on whether they keep blooming!

SPIDER MITES:
Treating tomato plants for mites:
You can use soap sprays but they must be sprayed on ALL parts of the
tomato plants--especially the underside of the leaves and then again 2-3 days later. They also are very low on the tomato near the ground--
may be attached to stem with a webbing of sorts. Watch for this and spray there too.
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More tips on keeping cats, dogs and especially puppies out of the garden.
The only time I had problems in one of the beds I put in someshort pieces of chicken wire and screen where my cat was using it as a litter box and he stopped. I've also read that you canput anything that is scratchy or pokey-broken sticks, plastic spikes etc. in the bothered beds and it will help. If you have any thorny stems of raspberry or other berry bushes thesewill work great too!

Another important, but certainly not easy, solution when they are your own pets and not strays is discipline. From the start you need to use a firm voice, shaking pennies in a can, using squirt guns or some other noisy alternative for you to show them they cannot go in the garden area. You can't let up at any point. Everyone in your household should help with this and be on the lookout for the times they do venture into the garden. Also, have some type of visible barriers where you have flower, herb or vegetable beds. Use landscape timbers, brick, fence etc. as long as it can be seen so it gives your pet something they can eventually understand as the "stayout" area. For easily damaged plants you may have to get creative until your pet learns and use fencing to keep them away.

Raccoons are another problem for many people, both in the county and the city. First rule of thumb is to not ever leave food or garbage out in the open. They are scavengers and will be looking for food! That is especially important in the city. Motion
sensor lights are something that may work, or may not---but it's worth a try if you are having problems. Also put in reflectors that will reflect the light when it comes on to give them a little added scare. Some people have had success using timed sprinklers that go off in the evening. For several pests you can try soaking rags in ammonia and placing in the areas they are bothering. You'll have to resoak, plus watch that the kids don'tget into these.