“In Lee’s Garden Now” has a New Home!

You can now find “In Lee’s Garden Now” right here on my website:

https://leereich.com/blog

You’ll find that all of the posts are still here, and new material will be coming online each week as always. If you subscribe by email, you should continue to receive notices of new blog posts. (If you don’t subscribe yet, now would be a great time! Just enter your email address in the sidebar form.)

While you’re here on my website, be sure to check out all of the other ways that you can find information about gardening and tips for your own garden, farm or “farmden”.

Please be sure to bookmark my blog’s new location!
( https://leereich.com/blog )

31 replies
    • Lee Reich
      Lee Reich says:

      Setting the mower high reduces crabgrass. Crabgrass is a warm season annual and its seed germination is reduced in higher mown grass. Applying corn gluten in spring may also help because it inhibits seed germination. I’s also a nitrogen fertilizer, about 7%.

      Reply
  1. Edith Turrill
    Edith Turrill says:

    I found your blog today and I’m glad that it still exist, because you shared really interesting post here! I’ll take a look on your new blog also.

    Reply
    • Lee Reich
      Lee Reich says:

      Most pruning is done in winter, after the coldest part is past. For an espalier (is that what you meant by “wall growth”), some pruning in summer can also be done. Late summer and fall are not good times to prune because plants might then be more susceptible to winter injury and infections.

      Reply
  2. James
    James says:

    Can cottonseed meal be used to fertilize blueberries I notice you use soybean meal in yours and when you apply it before you add your mulch does it need more fertilize come spring?

    Reply
      • James
        James says:

        Hi Lee I have a kumquat tree with some yellow leaves between veins. I notice in your book you said this can happen in the winter indicating an iron deficiency. Should I wait till warmer weather to see if it clears or should I apply some elemental sulfur now or an iron fertilizer.

        Reply
          • James
            James says:

            Hi Lee I’m pruning out some old canes on my rabbit eye blueberry bushes this month. There starting to get too tall to reach the fruit without bending the branches down to pick the berries. Is now also the time to cut some off of their height to make picking easier? Thanks James.

          • Lee Reich
            Lee Reich says:

            It’s probably okay although if you have the time,, you can’t go wrong waiting until late February, after the coldest part of winter is over. Then again, you’re growing rabbiteyes so probably aren’t gardening where winters are too cold anyway. Do wait for the palnts to be completely dormant and leafless though.

  3. James
    James says:

    Hi Lee I have a Santa Rosa and a methley plum tree that I’m going to be pruning in mid February these tress are two years old. I have some pretty lengthy top growth, some online sources said cutting off this top growth causes excessive blooms and suckers to sprout. I would like your input on this. Also do you fertilize all your fruit trees the same and what do you use. I also mulch my fruit trees and my muscadines with well rotted wood chips. I’m located in zone 8 in southern Mississippi. Thanks James.

    Reply
    • Lee Reich
      Lee Reich says:

      As far as fertilization, I only use mulch, mostly wood chips, except on young trees, for which I use compost. If your trees are growing vigorously, you probably don’t need any additional fertilizer.

      As far as pruning, yes, pruning back those vigorous stems will elicit vigorous regrowth (but not blooms). So decide if you how big you want your trees. Once as big as you want, then cut some or all of those vigorous stems back. If tree is still filling alloted space, go lighter with pruning.

      Reply
      • James
        James says:

        Hi Lee my planting time for a spring garden is early April and in some of my beds I have cover crops growing. At what time would you think I need to do bed prepping so they will be ready for spring? Also when you do yours and apply compost when do you apply your nitrogen source. Soy bean meal I think you use. Thanks James

        Reply
        • Lee Reich
          Lee Reich says:

          If you are tilling in the cover crop, do it a couple weeks before planting. I use oats or barley, which winterkill, so all I need to do is rake off the dead tops, leaving the dead roots in the ground, and plant. I can apply compost anytime but prefer doing it in fall just so there’s less to do in spring. I no longer use soybean meal. An inch depth of compost laid on top of the ground supplies all the fertility and goodness the soil and plants need for a whole season of intensive vegetable growing.

          Reply
          • James
            James says:

            Hi Lee you said you prefer to put your compost down in the fall to save work in the spring on your garden beds. The question that I have with your compost laying on you beds that long you would think the rains would make the potency of the compost leach out. Also is there a way if I need to send you a picture that I could. Thanks James.

          • Lee Reich
            Lee Reich says:

            Most of the nutrients in the compost are not soluble, especially in winter, so leaching should not be a problem. You could send a picture to “garden@” followed by my website address (minus the “www.”

          • James
            James says:

            Hi Lee I have access to horse manure from my neighbor,if this is well composted will herbicides that was in the hay that the horses ate still show it’s negative effects if used in the garden? I don’t want to take a chance I you think it might.

          • Lee Reich
            Lee Reich says:

            There is one class of herbicides. They are aminopyralid, clopyralid, and picloram, a class of herbicides known as pyridine carboxylic acids. You can do a test yourself, as follows:
            Here is how the Green Bean Test it is done. First obtain a small bucket of the compost or mulch you are considering. Then follow the steps below for Compost testing.

            Obtain 4 clean flower pots, and some green bean seeds.
            Obtain some commercial potting mix that contains fertilizer but is compost-free.
            Plant 4 green bean seeds into potting mix in each of 2 pots. Label these as No Compost
            Mix up a blend of 2 scoops of compost for each 1 scoop of potting mix.
            Plant 4 green bean seeds into this blend in each of 2 pots. Label these as With Compost
            Use saucers under each pot to allow water to be absorbed back in. Avoid overwatering.
            Follow normal seed starting steps. Keep the pots warm. Use grow lights if necessary.
            Grow until three sets of leaves appear. This normally takes 14 to 21 days.
            Compare the plants. If they all look the same, the compost is clean and safe.

          • james
            james says:

            Hi Lee I just purchased a peach tree in a 2 or 3 gallon pot. It is a little over 6 ft. Tall and that’s where the nursery has the top prune out with some of the scaffold branches coming out with some others coming out all the way down to about 30 inches. All the information I’ve read recommends taking the central leader out much lower. I just put it in the ground today , so do I prune anything thing now or wait till the upcoming dormant season and see what it looks like.

          • James
            James says:

            Hi Lee will spraying wetable sulfur on fruit trees work as well as kaolin clay? I’ve read where you use surround as a spray. I did know how hard it would be for me to find surround unless any brand of kaolin clay would work. Your thoughts on this please. Thanks James.

          • Lee Reich
            Lee Reich says:

            Sulfur and kaolin have different uses. Sulfur is a fungicide, kaolin is an insecticide. The product called “Surround” is specially formulated kind of kaolin as an insecticide.

          • James
            James says:

            Hi Lee do you see any problem using pyrethrum sprays to control insects in the garden. I garden organically as I can and use neem oil, BT, and spinosad. In the past few years I haven’t had to spray that much thankfully but sometimes the squash bugs can get a little to much and the leaf footed bug that sucks the juice out of tomatoes I’m having more this year than last year. Some pyrethrum sprays say you can use up to the day of harvest and approved for organic gardening. What’s your thoughts on this? Thanks James.

          • Lee Reich
            Lee Reich says:

            Oh, I forgot, I do use Bt on brassicas. I don’t like pyrethrum because it’s neither super effective nor selective. I’m not sure what your leaf footed bug on tomatoes is. There are man ways to circumvent many problems. For instance, I do 3 plantings of cucumbers through the growing season. I’ve occasionally used insect row cover barrier for eggplant. Etc.

          • James
            James says:

            Hi Lee do you have problems with squash bugs and squash vine borers in your area? If you do what’s your method of dealing with them. Would spraying surround help I never tried it because I can’t get it in my area. I could order it ,the shipping is pricey. Thank James.

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