FoxFarm Blog

Water Brings Life to the Garden

It’s finally starting to look like spring outside your window. Woody shrubs are beginning to leaf out, bulbs are coming out of the ground, and spring wildflowers are getting ready to bloom. With longer days and more sunlight, it’s a good time to think about water.

Drip irrigation is one of the best ways to make sure that water goes directly to the plants that need it. You won’t accidentally water the weeds, and by avoiding overhead spraying, you can reduce the risk of plant disease. Even in a drought tolerant garden, a little drip irrigation can help plants make it through the dry season.

Mulch can help hold moisture in the soil and add beneficial microorganisms that will allow plants to better withstand periods of prolonged drought. Our Happy Frog Soil Conditioner is designed to do both those things. Add a 2 or 3 inch layer to your garden and watch your plants thrive.

Foliar feeding is the best way to hydrate plants and feed them at the same time. This time of year, we are using our liquid Grow Big to get plants off to a good start. Apply directly to leaves, and your plants will absorb all the nutrition they need and stay hydrated at the same time.

It's a Bug's Life

Fall is a great time to watch bugs in the garden. The crickets are chirping, the caterpillars are crawling, and the spiders have spun glorious webs.  We like to think of gardens as habitats for people and wildlife, so here are a few tips for the birds and the bees in your backyard:

Don’t tidy up too much.  Let flowers go to seed ---the seeds can provide a food source for migrating birds during the winter.

Resist the temptation to remove spider webs.  Spiders do a world of good in the garden, catching flies and devouring other garden pests.  Many species lay eggs in the fall, so try to leave their webs intact during this important part of their life cycle. 

Avoid toxic pesticides. Our Don’t Bug Me is an environmentally friendly spray that is effective on soft bodied insects, but make sure you only target pests that you can see, and give their natural predators a chance to munch on them first.

Use a high-quality mulch like our Happy Frog Soil Conditioner to help earthworms and other beneficial underground creatures flourish.

Organic Lawns

Here at FoxFarm, we’re hearing from more and more gardeners who want to make the switch to an all-organic lawn.  The benefits are obvious: a safer lawn for your kids and pets, less runoff into rivers and oceans, and a significant cost savings over time.  What’s not to like?

Start with Peace of Mind Premium Lawn Fertilizer.  It’s packed with nutrients and beneficial microbes that keep your lawn thick, luscious, green and healthy.   Apply 4 pounds per 150 square feet, using a garden spreader, and rake gently into soil and water immediately.  Feed one more time this fall, and then give it a rest through winter.

Set the blades on your mower higher, and leave the grass clippings on your lawn to decompose.  If you aren’t getting enough natural rainfall, water deeply once or twice a week.

Fall is a good time to aerate your lawn to prevent thatch build-up. You can use a spading fork for this, or buy a pair of those groovy spiked sandals (available at garden centers) and just walk across the lawn.  Rake in a layer of Happy Frog Soil Conditioner after you de-thatch to improve the health of the soil and encourage a strong, deep root system.

What's At Stake?

This time of year, the garden gets overgrown in a hurry.  Even gardeners who like a free-flowing, natural look should consider the benefits of staking those tall perennials that start to flop over.

• Keeping plants off the ground helps prevent the spread of soil-borne disease.
• Well-staked, upright plants make it easier to water at ground level without getting the plants wet.  This means that more water gets down to the roots, and you avoid the risk of powdery mildew or sun scorch on leaves, both of which can be caused by getting the plants too wet.
• It makes it easier to mulch, which helps hold water in and protect root systems (naturally, we like Happy Frog Soil Conditioner, with its beneficial microbes, earthworm castings, and bat guano, for a mid-summer mulch)
• It can make an untidy, seedy garden look fabulous in a hurry.

Don't feel the need to go out and buy fancy stakes, however.  Here are a few ideas for easy, affordable garden stakes:

• Take a ball of twine and a pair of scissors into the garden.  Ornamental grasses and floppy perennials like yarrow or catmint can easily be redirected into an upright shape by just  gathering the stems together and tying a piece of twine around them.  While you're at it, cut out any dried or tired stems--this will reinvigorate the plant.
• Use branches that were too big to go in your compost pile.  Strip off the leaves, trim to the right size, and place two or three around a drooping or overgrown shrub.  Most people will hardly notice the branches, and it will keep the plant upright but still natural.
• Recycle old, broken tomato cages to stake annuals like cosmos, delphinium, zinnia, or sunflower.  Alternatively, wrap a little chicken wire or metal fencing around the plant, forming a loose cage.  These kinds of materials can be used over and over in the garden.

Our Friends the Pollinators

Pollinators and other beneficial bugs are gardener's best friend. The last thing you want to do is eliminate all the bugs from your garden. Broad-spectrum insecticides don't just kill the pests -- they also kill the natural predators that eat those pests. We understand that a targeted spraying might be necessary from time to time, which is why we offer the environmentally friendly Don't Bug Me product for a safe way to kill soft bodied insects. Used it once you have identified the pest, and only when you are sure you are spraying the pests directly.

Most importantly, remember that the best thing that you can do for your garden is to encourage a healthy bug population. Choose plants that produce tiny clusters of flowers, because these flowers tend to attract beneficial insects like ladybugs. For example, plant alyssum, yarrow, Queen Anne's lace, catmint, and feverfew in the garden. All of these plants reseed or re-grow every year, so once you plant them, you can enjoy them season after season. After they've stopped blooming, cut them back to encourage more growth. Most of all, pay attention to what plants attract honeybees, ladybugs, lacewings, and other bugs, and let them flourish.

Parsley, Sage, FoxFarm, and Thyme

You're grilling dinner outside, you're making fresh salads from the garden, and before long, you'll be canning your own tomatoes.  So what's missing? If you've never grown your own herbs, you're in for a treat.   Herbs are surprisingly easy to grow as long as you can answer this question: are you growing an annual or a perennial?

Annual herbs include basil, cilantro, parsley, and dill.  They thrive on warm weather and plenty of sun.  If you're lucky, some of them may set seed and grow naturally in your garden, but for the most part, you'll need to start with fresh plants every year.  The easiest way to grow annual herbs is to plant them together in a container in a location where they will get plenty of sun.  Annual herbs do best in a high quality potting soil like Ocean Forest, and they will benefit from regular feedings with a liquid fertilizer like Grow Big, which will encourage a leafy green growth but will not force them to bloom.  Pinch off buds as soon as they begin to form in order to encourage more leaves.  If temperatures get above 90°, move the pot to a shadier location.

Perennial herbs include rosemary, sage, thyme, and lavender.  These herbs thrive in warm, dry, sunny Mediterranean climates and they do best in poor soil with no fertilizer at all.  That's right, you heard us, we're telling you not to fertilize.  Perennial herbs grown in poor soil have to struggle to survive, and that just concentrates the flavor in their leaves.  Just make sure that they are planted in well drained soil and give them plenty of water during their first year while they are getting established.  It's okay to let perennial herbs bloom, but at the end of the growing season, sheer those blooms back to encourage new growth for next year.

Amazing Annuals

It's hard to resist those blooming annuals that fill the garden centers this time of year. We are especially tempted by anything tall. The idea that a plant can start out as a tiny seedling in June and grow to over 6 feet tall by August is almost too amazing to be true. But if there's one thing in your garden that requires a little extra pampering, it's your annuals. They're only going to be around for a few months, so you might as well get the most out of them.

Annuals need rich soil, regular fertilizer, and consistent watering to do their best. Work in our Happy Frog soil conditioner, which has beneficial microbes added, and get everything off to a good start with our organic Jump Start fertilizer. Once plants get ready to bloom, regular feedings of Big Bloom will keep them going. Some of our favorite annuals:

Cosmos -- There are two tricks to getting these daisy shaped annuals to grow tall and bloom for several months. First, they've got to have some heat. Give them a warm, sunny spot, preferably against a wall or a fence where they can enjoy a little radiant heat. Second, be sure to pinch off the top bloom. This will encourage the plant to branch out and grow taller.

Sunflowers -- Sunflowers also require plenty of heat, and they need protection from snails. To keep them blooming over a long season, plant a few more seedlings every few weeks. Sunflowers can be prone to powdery mildew, so try to avoid overhead watering.

Zinnia --- If you choose the right varieties, zinnias can grow into hefty plants that will attract butterflies all summer long. Skip the dwarf varieties and look for plants with the word "giant" in the variety name. Zinnias also suffer from powdery mildew, so try to keep the plants from getting wet, and be sure to cut the flowers as they bloom to encourage more growth.

Green Gifts for Mother’s Day and Beyond

2007 is shaping up to be the year of going green. With Mother’s Day coming up tomorrow, many of us have been thinking about how to go green with our own gift giving. What can we buy for Mom that is eco-friendly, biodegradable, reusable, organic, seasonal, personal, and maybe even a little bit handmade? A container garden, of course.

It starts with the right container. Maybe Mom is a recycled wine barrel kind of gal. Or maybe her tastes run toward glazed Italian pottery. Or it could be that a terra-cotta pot painted by the grandchildren would become her most prized possession. Just make sure the container has holes for drainage in the bottom, and if it’s going on her patio, think about adding a set of “feet” to keep the pot elevated and prevent staining.

Fill the container with Ocean Forest or Happy Frog potting soil, and pick up a pouch of Happy Frog all-purpose organic fertilizer. Mix according to package directions, reseal the pouch, and save the rest for Mom so that she can continue to feed her plants every month or two.

Now comes the fun part. Choose plants that she will love. Maybe she’s a foodie who will flip out over an assortment of purple and green basils. If she’s a flower lover, go for snapdragons, bachelor buttons, and dwarf sweet peas. Or fill her home with the fragrance of assorted lavenders and scented geraniums, which she can transplant to the garden later in the year.

And don’t limit green gifts to Mother’s Day—Father’s Day, graduations, weddings, anniversaries, and birthdays are all a good time to share a little horticultural love.

Happy Earth Day!

Earth Day was first celebrated on April 22, 1970, and it’s been celebrated on that day every since.  Here at FoxFarm, we work every day to create Earth-friendly products to support the environment and your own ecosystem.  Here are some tips for going green this year:

Grow an organic lawn.  Our Happy Frog Premium Lawn Organic Fertilizer, plus a twice-a-year topdressing of Happy Frog Soil Conditioner, is all you need to keep your lawn lush and chem.-free.

Try water-wise lawn alternatives, like native grasses or Mediterranean plants like lavender, salvia, and ornamental grass.

Ditch the herbicides.  Use mulch and closely-spaced plantings to smother weeds, pour boiling hot water on weeds that spring up between cracks in the pavement, and spray a mixture of ammonia and water selectively on weeds in the garden. Use a hoe and a little manual labor to take care of the rest.

Think about habitats.  When you think of your garden as an ecosystem, you’ll see the importance of going organic. Whether it’s the earthworms that dwell in the soil, the honeybees that pollinate your flowers, the frogs signing in the pond, or the birds building a nest in the trees, it’s easy to see how swearing off chemicals in the garden will benefit everybody.

It's Container Season!

This time of year, the garden centers are overflowing with blooming annuals and perennials.  They’re impossible to resist, even if you don’t have the space.  That’s when it’s time to get some containers going.  Just remember:

Pots Aren’t Just for Patios.  Remember that a big stone pot or a half-oak barrel can make a statement in the garden, too.  Just drop it into an empty spot in the flower bed and fill it with plants.  It adds height and structure to the garden.

Hanging Baskets Need Extra Love. Those overflowing hanging baskets make your porch look fabulous, but just know that they may need water every day, along with a weekly feeding, to look their best.  We recommend a foliar feeding of Big Bloom to keep them going.

Don’t Forget Your Fruits and Veggies. Containers are ideal for dwarf lemon trees, cherry tomatoes, or annual herbs.  Just remember that it takes a strong root system to create fantastic fruit, so buy a larger container than you think you’ll need and feed regularly with Peace of Mind Tomato & Vegetable

It’s All About the Soil. Container plants can’t access all those essential minerals in the soil, so it’s important that you start with the best potting soil you can buy and feed regularly.  Our Ocean Forest is packed with crab meal, bat guano, and worm castings.  We truly believe that it’s the finest potting soil you can buy, and garden centers agree with us—many of our retailers use it for their own display gardens.