Why does Laura from Garden Answer use Bio-tone Starter
Plus? Because it’s the ultimate starter fertilizer. Bio-tone Starter Plus
is super charged with microbes and mycorrhizae to help new plants establish
quickly, grow more robust root systems and experience less transplant
shock. Let’s break it down.
Mycorrhizae
Unlike maintenance fertilizers that are generally spread on
the surface of the ground and lightly worked into the soil, Bio-tone Starter
Plus is added to the planting hole, where it is in direct contact with the
roots. Fun fact: Mycorrhizae literally means “fungus roots.” These specialized
fungi act like extensions of the roots themselves, creating hundreds or
thousands more entry points for the roots to take up water and nutrients.
Microbes
Microbes are bacteria that breakdown nutrients to make them
available for plants to take up. Bio-tone contains 50 percent more microbes
than maintenance fertilizers like Holly-tone, for example. These microbes and
mycorrhizae help restore balance to your soil and are a cornerstone of the
“Regenerative Gardening” trend.
No Sludges or Fillers
At Espoma, we’re proud to offer products that are organic
and do not contain any sludges or fillers. Sand and lime are often used as
filler ingredients that don’t add any nutrient for plants. Sludge, or Bio-solids
comes from waste treatment plants — it’s never allowed in organic gardening.
All ingredient in Bio-tone Starter Plus and all Espoma Organic ‘Tone’ plant
foods are helping to feed the plant.
Espoma Products
Here are some blog posts we hope you’ll find interesting.
https://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/IMG_6794-2.jpg13472400espomahttps://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/espoma-logo340w-1.pngespoma2019-07-11 16:45:282019-07-11 16:30:53Get Plants off to a Good Start with Bio-tone Starter Plus
English cottage gardens date back centuries. They were used to grow vegetables, herbs for healing, fruit trees, perhaps a beehive, and common flowers. The informal style went through a renaissance in the late 1800’s when they became somewhat more nostalgic than practical.
The informal aesthetic of dense planting and natural materials is still en vogue today. In this video, Laura outlines 10 design principles to help you design a cottage garden. Before you start, make sure you have plenty of Espoma’s organic Bio-tone Starter Plus plant food to make sure your plants get the best possible start.
No Straight Lines
Cottage gardens are always informal and a touch whimsical. Avoid straight lines. Gently curving edging looks more natural and playful. If your site restricts you to a straight edge, let the plants spill over it to create an unrestrained look.
Large Groups of the Same Plant
White cottage gardens are more relaxed in their design, it is still best to use large sweeps of the same plant. Think of planting in groups of three, five or seven. That is far more restful to the eye than a jumble of onsies and twosies.
Spacing Doesn’t Matter
This is one time you do not have to follow the advice on the plant tag. Cottage gardens are always densely planted and generally grow more densely packed with time. Annuals and biennials are often used in cottage gardens and will self-sow in the border. Biennials are plants that take two years to grow and flower from seed like the foxgloves shown. Another advantage to planting things close together is that there is less room for weeds to grow.
Color Harmony
It’s very important to pick a collection of plants that have harmonious colors. Without that the border would look chaotic. Garden Answer uses a collection of soft pinks and peaches with touches of blue and lavender. It needn’t always be soft colors, but they do need to be unified in some way.
Use Varied Heights and Textures
In any planting, it’s a good idea to think about texture, height and foliage color as major design elements. Nothing blooms all the time. Varied foliage forms and colors will create interest even when the flowers aren’t in bloom. Laura uses Heuchera specifically for the silvery foliage color.
Anchor Plants/Structural Elements
This is sometimes referred to as the “bones” of a garden. It’s a structural element that all of the other plants get woven around. In this case, it’s a beautiful shrub rose named Rose ‘The Lady Gardener’, a fragrant beauty with full, apricot blossoms. The rose is repeated three times. Repetition is soothing to the eye. It’s possible to use evergreens for a slightly more formal feel, or whatever peaks your interest.
Fragrance
The first thing everyone does when they pick a flower is to hold it up to their nose. Cottage gardens are known for their fragrance. Try to select varieties that smell good at the garden center. Roses, lavender, sweet peas, and sweet alyssum are all good choices.
Not Perfectly Maintained
Along with relaxed design principles, comes relaxed maintenance. Planting tightly will discourage weeds. Annuals like poppies will self-seed and move around the border, just like the biennial foxgloves. Weeding everything that comes up might mean that you weed out these plants and inhibit their spontaneous movements.
The Look Will Change Over Time
This style of gardening is the exact opposite of a formal border filled with geometric shaped boxwood. By its very nature this is meant to be more random. People often sow cosmos, violas and other plants that have a tendency to move around. Let them surprise you. If you really don’t like where one popped up, it’s easy enough to remove.
Be Patient
Being patient is really what gardening is all about. A garden is never really finished. Enjoy the journey!
Garden Answers Plant List
Nepeta ‘Cat’s Pajamas’ – catmint
Achillea – pink yarrow
Allium ‘Serendipity’ – ornamental onion
Rose ‘The Lady Gardener’
Heuchera Dolce ‘Spearmint’ – Coral Bells
Clematis ‘Brother Stephan’
Digitalis Foxy Hybrids – foxglove
Lobularia ‘Blushing Princess’ – sweet alyssum
Here are more videos from Garden Answer we hope you will enjoy.
Mom is the best! For years, she’s showered you with love in
so many ways, big and small.
Now, it’s your turn to remind her how much you truly appreciate her. Creating a beautiful container is something she’ll enjoy for months or even years to come. Watch as Laura from Garden Answer visits her family’s garden center to pick out a selection of plants, potting soil and fertilizer to make the cutest planter for her own mom.
Tips for Making a Flowery Container for Mom
First, start by selecting a container that’s her style.
You’ll find lots of fun, colorful and patterned containers at your local garden
center. Check to make sure your container has drainage holes in the bottom and
will fit the plants you select at their mature size.
Next, choose plants that spill, thrill and fill! You want one
plant that cascades, one that mounds and one that stands taller than the rest.
Look for 3-5 varieties of flowering plants, grasses or greenery. Does Mom have
a favorite flower or color? Try your best to incorporate those features into
your creative design.
The options are endless. Have fun as you mix colors and
textures for a winning combination. Check plant tags to make sure your plants
like the same growing conditions, sun exposure and amount of water before
checking out.
While you’re still shopping, grab a bag of the best organic
potting soil mix and Espoma’s
liquid Bloom! fertilizer. These Espoma products will help the plants adjust
to their new home and grow healthy roots for bigger plants.
Remove plants from their original containers and arrange
them in the new planter. Play around a bit and move the plants around to see
where each plant looks best. Remember to consider their mature size and give
them ample room.
Once the plants look perfect to you, fill in any gaps in the
container with more organic potting soil.
Water well.
Wait till you see you mom’s face when you arrive on Mother’s Day with a beautiful, homemade container garden!
Laura walks us through fertilizing trees, shrubs, perennials in early spring. Wait until you see some growth on your plant to fertilize.
1. Gardening always starts with the soil. Organic fertilizer “feeds the soil that feeds the plants”. The process by which organic fertilizers deliver their nutrients enhances the fertility and structure of the soil.
Organics are digested by soil microorganisms, which then release the nutrients in a form available to plants. This process produces humus, a spongy material that improves soil structure. When you improve soil structure, the soil is better able to hold the proper balance of water, air and nutrients until they are required by plants.
Plants respond by developing larger root systems. Larger roots support more vigorous top growth and make plants less susceptible to drought. And by stimulating a healthy population of beneficial microorganisms in the soil, plants become more resistant to insects and diseases.
2. Organic fertilizers will provideslow, steady feeding, as the plants require it. The release process is slow and largely dependent upon three factors: the microbial population in the soil, moisture, and soil temperature.
A healthy population of microbes in the soil is necessary for the digestion process. Moisture is required to sustain microbial life as well as to keep nutrients flowing into the plants root zone. And soil temperature is critical because as it rises, plants require nutrients more rapidly.
Fortunately, microbial activity mimics these requirements and increases as soil temperature rises, so that organics feed the needed nutrients as the plants require them.
Miniature gardens are adapted from Japanese bonsai gardens, taking the idea of shaping and caring for a miniature tree for relaxation and creating a new way of gardening. Because they are miniature, the idea is to welcome fairies and small creatures to enjoy them, just as you enjoy your garden.
Your new mini garden will do better in an area protected from the elements. When thinking about where to create or place your Mini Formal Garden, think about the environmental factors like wind and rain that can ruin the garden. When Laura is done, she will place it on her covered porch where it will be protected!
Before we begin, there are a few things to note:
There is no drainage in this miniature garden, so water lightly and only when the plants need it. Laura suggests using a syringe to get the right amount of water exactly where it’s needed.
This is a seasonal project, so before winter comes find a new home for the plants, either in a greenhouse or indoors, in order to preserve them.
Line a container, box or old suitcase with heavy plastic in order to preserve it and keep the soil in one place.
Fill with Espoma’s Organic Potting Mix and trim the excess plastic from the container to make it look clean and precise.
Add plants. Remember to work from back to front adding height and texture to the miniature landscape. Use plants that will stay small, so they don’t outgrow your garden.
Create a pathway. Cut photo paper to make a guide where you want the road to go. Mix water with shapecrete and pour between the photo paper. Let dry 30 minutes before removing the paper. It’ll continue to cure for 24 hours.
Now is the time to set the formal scene and add in your elements. The little succulent hedge and gates are out favorite!
Enjoy your new Mini Formal garden!
Use Espoma’s organic potting mix in your formal garden.
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Great for or Seed Starting or blending a custom potting mix
Helps loosen heavy soils and prevents compaction
White granular particles contain about 6% water
Neutral pH
Holds nutrients and 3-4 times it’s weight in water
Clean, odorless, sterile and non-toxic
Will not rot or mold
Lightweight substitute for sand
Can float to the top of potted plants due to its light weight
Vermiculite
Great for or Seed Starting or blending a custom potting mix
Helps loosen heavy soils and prevents compaction
Retains moisture and plant nutrients
Mixes well with soil
Clean, sterile, odorless, non-toxic
https://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/IMG_3082.jpeg33686000espomahttps://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/espoma-logo340w-1.pngespoma2019-03-29 14:39:432024-08-12 20:37:58Perlite vs. Vermiculite
Separating large aloe plants into several smaller ones is a wonderful way to propagate new plants to share with friends and family or to use in other projects. It’s also a great way to save money. The large Gold Tooth Aloe Laura from Garden Answer divides in this video cost $22 and produced over 20 new plants.
Aloes are desert plants that are hardy in zones 9-11, or to about 20 degrees Fahrenheit. In cooler regions they may be grown in containers and brought indoors for the winter. Aloe is a clump-forming plant meaning they naturally produce many baby plants called offsets. Mature plants flower in late spring and early summer with bright orange-red blossoms that attract pollinators.
Six Steps to Separating the Offsets
Gently slide the plant out of its container
Wear gloves when handling succulents with sharp foliage
Carefully tease the soil away from the roots
Select an offset and follow its stem down to the spot that it’s attached to the main plant
Break it off with gentle pressure, take your time to remove all of the others
Remove dead, damaged or dried up leaves
Replanting the Mother Plant
It is always best to use fresh soil when repotting since the nutrients in the nursery potting soil are likely used up. All succulents and cacti need a free-draining, organic, potting soil like Espoma’s Cactus Mix. Roots will rot in wet soil. The main plant will still have plenty of roots and can be repotted. Wait to water it for about a week to allow the leaf scars to callous over. This helps to prevent disease and infections.
Photo courtesy of Garden Answer
Replanting the Offsets
The offsets all have open wounds where they were broken off from the main plant. The wounds need several days to dry and callus over. One method involves letting them dry on a table in bright, but indirect sunlight for 5-7 days before planting. They may also be planted right away but not watered in for a week.
Care and Feeding
Aloe prefers full sun to light shade. These plants are drought-resistant but container plants benefit from some extra water during the hottest days of summer. Feed regularly with an organic fertilizer like Espoma’s Cactus! Always follow the package directions.
Check out these blogs for more information about growing succulents and the secrets to their care.
Dressing up window boxes can add so much beauty and curb appeal to your home. They instantly greet you the moment you walk up to your home, brightening every day.
If you don’t have window boxes, just put a good sized container next to your front door and make the same combination in a smaller form.
If you have old soil in your window boxes, it’s best to remove it and start with fresh Organic Potting Soil from Espoma. In this case, Laura is only replacing half the soil because it was only used briefly in her window boxes last fall. Pour the new soil in until your planters are half full.
For these early spring window boxes and containers, you can take liberties with spacing and sun and shade preferences. The plants won’t actually grow much in cool climates, except for the daffodils. As you will see this combination contains both sun and shade-loving plants.
This gorgeous combination begins with Lenten rose, Helleborus ‘Ivory Prince’. Their burgundy pink buds open to ivory with a pink blush on the back of the petals. These are the tallest plants in the combination and are planted in the back. Next, plant Martin’s spurge, Euphorbia ‘Tiny Tim’. The emerging foliage is deep red and picks up the reddish tones in the Lenten roses. A miniature Narcissus called ‘Tete-a-Tete’ is placed in between the spurge and will add a bright pop of yellow when they flower. Two varieties of pinkish apricot primrose are planted next and are interspersed with deep blue perennial violets.
This design is awfully clever for a couple of reasons.
First of all, it shows that it’s possible to create a sophisticated early spring display that can withstand very low temperatures. Secondly, it’s extremely economical. All of the plants in her palette, with the exception of the primrose, are perennial and will be planted out in her landscape in late spring. Having your plants do double duty is brilliant and saves money.
Since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, get creative and try out different combinations or add branches for another design element. Have fun.
https://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/IMG_3107.jpeg31435587espomahttps://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/espoma-logo340w-1.pngespoma2019-03-14 15:34:142019-05-07 09:56:09Plant your Window Boxes Like Garden Answer
Terrariums are back in style and they’re a fun, easy way to grow and showoff your plants. Terrariums are made of glass and are generally enclose or have a few holes in the cover to provide fresh air. The glass cover traps humidity and recycles it as water, keeping waterings to a minimum. Air holes allow air to circulate and keep the condensation down so that you can see the plants. If your container’s lid doesn’t have air holes, just take the top off from time to time. This is a great way to grow ferns indoors because they need humidity to thrive.
You may not be familiar with hydrostone, a product used for the base layer. It’s a soilless growing media that feels like pumice. It helps deliver the perfect balance of air and water to your plants. It’s a 100 percent recycled product, made in the United States.
Begin by adding a one inch layer of hydrostone in your glass container. Top that with a solid layer of sphagnum moss. This helps hold the soil in place and keeps the stone layer looking clean. Next, add an inch or so of Espoma’s Potting Mix.
Choose your plants. Laura uses maidenhair ferns because they require a high level of humidity, which work perfectly for this type of container. Birds nest ferns and staghorn ferns also work well and look terrific with the curly foliage of the maidenhair ferns. Fern displays are all about texture. Gently remove the plants from their pots and shake off as much soil as you can before nestling them into the new container. Top with a bit more potting soil if necessary.
Decorate the top layer with more moss, rocks, miniature fairy garden figures or natural products like pinecones. Whatever you think will look beautiful is the best choice. Leave one little spot of the top soil open. This way you can look at it to gauge how wet or dry the soil is. Mist soil lightly.
At first, it’s a good idea to check your container once a week for watering needs. In general, they’ll only need water about once a month but each terrarium is slightly different. Don’t kill it with kindness, in other words, don’t over water it. Set your new creation in bright light but not direct sun light as the glass can act as a magnifying glass creating too much heat. Fertilize every other month with Espoma’s Indoor! Liquid fertilizer. Now, sit back and enjoy your very chic looking new art project.
https://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/IMG_2894.jpeg31905684espomahttps://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/espoma-logo340w-1.pngespoma2019-03-01 11:15:262019-05-07 09:57:01Everything Old Can Be New Again with Terrariums
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