Gardening TheReview Wednesday, March 25,1992 — C4 Lang proposes some simple solutions for tough problems There was a call this morning from a gardener who is faced with the prospect of either composting some lovely plants, or offering them (for free) to anyone who will pick them up. - He has Shasta daisies which grow about three feet tall, and rusty-pink Michaelmas daisies which grow to about four feet, or a bit more ... lovely toward the back of a bed with shorter things in front. Michaelmas daisies are a joy in the fall when other flowers are looking less and less happy, and Shasta daisies put on quite a show with their snowy white blossoms, especially against a fence, or a cluster of evergreens. This gentle- mans’s telephone number is 656- 4354, so if you will call him you could arrange a time, etc.to pick things up. Another caller wondered about her fuchsias which are just full of new growth. The hard part is that these plants were left out all winter (what winter?) while she and her spouse were away. Because it was such a warm season, her plants never died back at all, and the couple arrived home to these huge plants just bursting with life. The question was, “Should I cut them back now, or leave them to continue to grow?” Personally I am all in favor of “letting Nature take its course.” Although I know that fuchsias make bloom on ~ This year’s new growth,” why not let the flowers appear out at the tips of branches that are somewhat longer than usual? Using the same standard, I have a hard time pruning roses when they have made many inches of beautiful bronzy-red new growth. One is told (by whom, pray tell?) to cut off all this lovely stuff, and have the shmubs start all over again to make leaves, and even- tually, one hopes, flowers. Some- how this sort of behavior goes against my natural inclination which is, “If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it!” (This is probably “The Lazy Gardener’s philoso- phy!”) Question: We want to plant an evergreen tree in an area that is yery wet in winter. Do you have a suggestion? Hmmmmm ... As they say, “That's a GOOD question!” (meaning THEY don’t have a neat, easy answer!). And I must admit it. may be an easy question, but is certainly not an EASY answer. Not too many shrubs and trees like to spend half their lives in a bog! Not too many trees know how to swim, f’ Heaven’s sake! But some trees seems to survive a lot of water, namely, willows, and some of the cedar relatives such as Thuyas appear to be quite forgiv- ing of a superabundance of liquid, but maybe there is a different approach to this. What.if you put half of a great big whiskey barrel in the desired spot, knocking (or sawing out) the bottom first, and then filling the barrel with decent soil, and plant- ing almost any tree in that? In time the roots would have to reach down into that wet soil, of course, but not until the whole tree was quite well established in its huge pot. In this case since an evergreen tree is desireable, it seems that a Portuguese Laurel would fill the bill. It is a handsome shrub before it becomes a handsome tree. It is winter hardy, has beautiful dark green leaves edged in red, and is a fairy rapid grower. Now is the time to plant tomato seed, or, at least, to pre-sprout it, and you could pre-sprout your pepper seeds and eggplant as well. All this is to be done indoors, of course. In spite of all this delicious sunshine it is still NOT warm enough to plant these things out- doors. Mind you, very soon I wouldn °t be surprised to find all sorts of self-sown seeds sprouting all over the garden. In a pot of geranium cuttings in the greenhouse I found four cute little seedlings cuddled close together (for protection one guesses). A searching look told me that these had to be tomato seedlings, and, in fact, closer examination revealed that these seeds were still attached to the remains of a cherry tomato, which had dropped during late fall into a container of sand. It’s a long story! The sand was down below the tomato plant, in a garbage can. So I’m not the world’s VERY best house-keeper, and never noticed the fallen fruit! Now all is revealed! I have since transplanted these tomato seedlings into individual pots, and rather hope that the resulting tomato plants will be Sweet 1,000,000. The parent plant certainly was, but who knows what intricate plots and plans took place in that darkened greenhouse dur- ing those hot summer nights! Right next door to the Sweet 1,000,000 was a Fantastic, and next to that a San Marzano, so ... who knows? Do you think I could sell a spicy novel titled, “The Secret Life of a Cherry Tomato” ? Naaaa ... I don’t think so either! Oh well, I never expected to be a millionaire! 30 TO 5 ae ALL GOLD and SILVER JEWELLERY, WATCHES AND CLOCKS! Not including estate jewellery or special orders. Facely jewellers 2403 BEACON AVENUE SIDNEY - 655-1515 Our friend S.T. appeared at the door a short while ago bearing the gift of some of his wonderful Kelsae onions, still as solid as set-cement, and as sweet as an onion can get. Something to remember for next year. It’s getting a little late to plant winter storage onion seed now. You will just have to put in onion sets, but these almost guarantee SUCCESS, SO Not to worry! A question from G.P. about what to do with an accumulation of pine needles he has raked up. We agree they would be very slow to decom- pose in his compost heaps, and are an acid addition at best, so have decided to use them as a mulch under his rhododendrons, azaleas and/or camellias, which love an acid soil. These needles will last for two years as a mulch, being very slow to decompose. If you haven’t been able to dig in your fall rye, do this as soon as possible, sprinkling some 34-0-0 (nitrogen) on top before digging, to speed decomposition. You should wait two weeks before planting any beds whose winter green manure crop has jusi been dug under. We are in the same boat. It's Simpler! It’s Fairer! It’s More Generous! It’s More Responsive! It’s Easier! It's Up to You! I'd like more information Our beds, even the raised ones, are still very wet indeed, and, as I told you, I’ve been planting every- thing I can think of in small pots in the greenhouse to have them already up and growing when the beds are ready for planting. Those crazy little potatoes I planted with the sprouts on them only took two days before they had green leaves showing above the soil, and the broad beans, planted also in four inch pots, in less than a week are two inches tall. I'm afraid we will have to whip- per-snip the rye to break it up a bit, before digging it under. It is really getting tall, darn it. However, the chopping up will aid in breaking it down. A cute tale from Joyce Robert- son. She was hard at work cutting down last year’s pampass grass ... a nasty job, requiring heavy gloves, and lots of patience. Suddenly she felt something moving up her leg under her slacks. : Continued on Page C14 WE OFFER: EDUCARE ... EDUCARE An extended hours pre-school for ages 3 to 5 years. EDUCATIONAL BASICS in a caring environment. OPENING IN SIDNEY SEPT. ’92 ¢ Full or half-day programs ° 5 days a week — 7:45 - 5:15 ¢ A Director with 17 years experience in Early Childhood Education; B.E.D.; E.C.E.; Certified E.C. Educator. Designed to prepare YOUR CHILD for entry into the private or public school system. CALL 652-0894 RATATAT iWaetces Lhe Proposed @iilcicsie Child Matter It’s New! monthly payment. increase of 40%. Benefit > The proposed Child Benefit will, if passed by Parliament, go out to over 3 million Canadian families starting in January 1993. > The proposed Child Benefit will replace today’s patchwork of measures — Family Allowances, Child Tax Credit and Dependent Child Credit — with one > The proposed Child Benefit will go to those families with children who need it — those with low and modest incomes. What's more, it is based on family income, which is a fairer way of determining the amount of assistance that children actually need. The proposed Child Benefit will include an earned- income supplement to increase support for low- income working families. > The proposed Child Benefit will increase federal support for children by $2.1 billion over 5 years. For example, a family with one child, earning $20,000, can receive as much as $1,733 per year — an What's more, it would be tax-free — you wouldn't be taxed on the proposed Child Benefit! > Once fully in place, the proposed monthly Child Benefit will respond to changing family circumstances, such as the birth of a child. > The proposed Child Benefit will automatically be sent to you each month. If you file a tax return, there’s no need to apply unless you have a change in family circumstances. At tax time, as well, you would find your tax return easier to prepare. > Watch for information with your March Family Allowances payment or fill out the coupon below and we'll send you more information. ee Children Matter about the proposed Child Benefit and other programs for children. City Canada Name P.O. Box 8176 Street Ottawa, Ontario KiG 3H7 Gin English in French Province ivi Postal Code Government of Canada i T x Health and Welfare Canada Santé et Bien-étre social Canada Gouvernement du Canada | ¥