Fw: ArcaMax Gardening Daily Tips for Thursday May 29, 2008

May 29, 2008

I am posting these, when my garden ezines have anything helpful on gardens. Blessings, Joy

ArcaMax Gardening Daily Tips for Thursday May 29, 2008

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Gardening Daily TipsFor JoyceThursday May 29, 2008

Quince, Flowering (Chaenomeles speciosa)

Q & A: Planting Corn

Q & A: Misshapen Cucumbers

Tip: Water Gardens Plants

Weekly Menu Planner for Families

Reader Photos

Quince, Flowering (Chaenomeles speciosa) Today's Featured PlantQuince, Flowering (Chaenomeles speciosa) Read the full profile of this plant at ArcaMax.com. Interested in reading about other plants? Search through hundreds of plant profiles and helpful articles by keyword.

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Q & A: Planting Corn

Question: What is the best way to plant corn? Answer: Corn requires full sun and a rich loam soil with a pH of 5.5 to 6.8. It's hard to say exactly what you should do to prepare your soil, since I don't know its present state, but generally it's a good idea to add organic matter -- compost, well-rotted manure, etc. Generally, backyard-grown sweet corn seed is planted about 4 inches apart in the row, with rows from 24 to 36 inches apart. Plant 4 to 6 rows in a block rather than a couple of long rows for good pollination and kernel formation. Since corn is wind pollinated, the block planting ensures that the pollen will drift down on to receptive silks instead of out of the garden. Some gardeners thin corn seedlings to about 8 inches apart, but I've always had good luck keeping them at the original 4 to 6 inch spacing. Corn is a heavy feeder. Even if you have rich soil, and have worked in compost or manure, you still may want to fertilize during the growing season. Some growers spread superphosphate before tilling. Plant to fertilize when the plants are about 6 inches tall with a fertilizer containing nitrogen, and then feed again every week or two until you see the silks forming. You can use an organic fertilizer like fish emulsion, or a balanced commercial fertilizer. Water the soil well before applying any dry or granulated fertilizer, and then water it in.

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Q & A: Misshapen Cucumbers

Question: Our cucumbers are small and misshapen -- some are curled into a "C" -- and the flavor is bitter. Why is this happening, and is there anything we can do to improve the crop? Answer: The curling could be due to poor pollination or physical damage to the young cucumber. Cucumber fruits are composed of three interior segments or locules. For the cucumber to grow straight, all the seeds in each locule need to be properly pollinated. If one of the locules doesn't develop normally (because of improper pollination or physical damage to the fruit while it's still young) and the other two continue growing, then the cucumber will be curled. Growing cucumbers on the ground can also cause curling. Young cucumbers are growing so fast that if a stem or stick gets in the way, the fruit is forced to grow around it. Trellis your cucumber plants to avoid this problem. Bitterness is often related to water stress. Cucumbers grow quickly once pollinated. If there is any water stress during this period of rapid growth, they will tend to taste bitter. To avoid stress, water the plants deeply once or twice a week, letting the water soak at least six inches deep into the soil, and mulch with hay or straw to conserve moisture.

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Tip: Water Gardens Plants

Three plant types for water gardens are edge plants growing in shallow water, floating plants with roots in the pond bottom and leaves and flowers on the surface, and oxygenator plants that produce oxygen to inhibit algae growth.

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Weekly Menu Planner for Families

Don't stress about dinner this week -- plan ahead with the Seven-Day Menu Planner. Every week, subscribers receive a full week's worth of meal ideas, including meatless dishes, fancy dinners for weekend entertaining, and something special for the kids. For more free recipes like these every day of the week, including gourmet dishes from Wolfgang Puck and fun and creative Recipes by Zola, sign up for the free Recipes bundle. Subscribe to the Recipes bundle instantly. Find out more before subscribing. -- From the ArcaMax editors

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To see more of our subscriber photos visit our full Photo Gallery. Enter your Gardening Daily Tips pictures so you can show them off to other readers right here in this ezine and on the ArcaMax.com Web site. Click here to submit your photo. Sincerely, ArcaMax Editors

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Fw: ArcaMax Gardening Daily Tips for Thursday May 29, 2008

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