Gardening with Gary

Gardening Advice from an Expert

Garden Plants

Q. When I bring the plants for my summer gardens home, what do I do? Should I wait a few weeks, plant them all at the same time, or what?

A. Once you've prepared your garden beds and purchased the flowers, it is good to lay the flowers out in their respective beds before actually planting them. Set each container on the ground where you wish to plant it. This gives you a chance to space them properly, as recommended on the tags, and to see how to work your groupings.

Then, plant them using this outline:
Dig a hole just a little bigger than the plant's rootball. Have the pots slightly watered. Tap all sides of the container to loosen the rootball. Place one hand over the top of the rootball and turn the container upside down, so the rootball is resting on your hand. Pull the container off with the other hand. Set the rootball down into the hole, maintaining the same soil line. Cover rootball with good fresh soil and press down firmly. Water the plants thoroughly and deeply. Do not fertilize for two weeks.

Laydebayou writes~
I have tried repeatedly to start my garden plants indoors. They seem to grow nicely then all of a sudden the stem by the soil gets thin and the plant wilts and dies. I think I am supposed to use something special to start the plants. I have been using just potting soil and this probably has something to do with it.

A. This appears to be the very common problem with seedlings of all sorts called damping off, a soil-born fungus. There are two main preventions:

Lighten the soil mix with perlite to give aeration or use a milled fine propagation mix, also called a seed mix. If using the former, place moistened in a tray in a preheated 170 degree F oven for 25 minutes to sterilize and kill the fungi. The latter mix has already been sterilized before sale.

A fungicide can be used. Apply Physan 20 at a rate of one teaspoon per gallon water when moistening the mix, after it is cooled and before the seeds are sown. Sow the seeds on top of the mix and gently sift a little mix on top. Cover with plastic wrap or a plastic cover with holes punctured for aeration. Keep out of direct sunlight and heat. Remove top once tiny seedlings appear. To provide more air current, remove weak seedlings, giving space so they are not crowded. Do not keep mix overly wet as this encourages fungal growth, too.