On this Video Podcast Stan explains St. Augustine Grass, how to care for it, and make your yard the healthiest greenest yard it can be.
This video is about showing folks what to do when their old plant dies, the best thing to do is to repurpose, recycle, and reuse pots for new gardening projects.
Stan DeFreitas “Mr. Greenthumb” Shares with you some of his gardening secrets like adding Black Kow manure to any gardening project which can be the foundation to your success.
This video has Stan DeFreitas “Mr. Greenthumb” and his son James DeFreitas showcasing unique Plants and Trees. Including bromeliads and hairy balls Enjoy!
East Coast Home Show will most likely be in August 2018. And as always yours truly will be giving talks Saturday and Sunday. Please come out and support local businesses. Bring your soil samples as I will be doing free pH testing. If you would like more information please visit: https://www.tampahomeshow.com/
Talks on Saturday and Sunday are TBD.
diane wrote:
i have your book "complete guide to florida gardening" 3rd edition.
can you tell me what the bright pink/red flower is on the cover?
Dear Diana:
The bright pinkish flower you are referring to is from the azalea. Thank you for having
my book and be sure to watch on CBS, Channel 10 WTSP on Sundays at 8am the
Ask Mr Greenthumb Show.
My best,
Stan
Harmony in nature and in your garden dictates there be bugs, even the ones that chomp unceasingly on your soon to be harvest. No organic gardener expects an insect free garden, and the assortment of insect minimization tools available today is growing. Natural controls, such as the presence or introduction of beneficial insects, often top the list of useful insect minimization tools.
Here’s a list of insects…and the plants that will minimize their damage.
- Ants – mint, pansy, pennyroyal
- Aphids – mint, garlic, chives, coriander, anise
- Bean Leaf Beetle – potato, onion,turnip
- Codling Moth – common oleander
- Colorado Potato Bug – green beans, coriander, nasturtium
- Cucumber Beetle – radish, pansy
- Flea Beetle – garlic, onion, mint
- Imported Cabbage Worm – mint, sage, rosemary, hussop
- Japanese Beetle – garlic, larkspur, tansy, rue, geranium
- Leaf Hopper – geranium, petunia
- Mice – onion
- Root Knot Nematodes – French marigolds
- Slugs – prostrate rosemary, wormwood
- Spider Mites – onion, garlic, cloves, chives
- Squash Bug – radish, marigolds
- Stink Bug – radish
- Thrips – marigolds
- Whitefly – marigolds, nasturtium
Organic gardeners can now choose from a variety of products at local nurseries or gardening centers to help them with pest management issues. Beneficial insect seed products are one category of pest management products on the organic market today.
Seed pack companies have used an organic marketing campaign to promote products grouping seeds from plants and/or herbs attractive to beneficial insects. Use our product, the claims generally go, and the beneficial insects attracted to the flowers will help with pest control in your garden. The claims sound inviting to organic gardeners, who have long promoted the idea of using beneficial insects as one component of their pest management policy.
Recent research suggests that the pest management numbers linked to beneficial insect seed products do not add up. If you are inviting as many pest as beneficial insects near your garden, you are not practicing effective pest management. They conclude by saying more research on the topic is needed.
The research suggests that organic gardeners should stay conservative in their pest management strategies. For example, if using beneficial insect plants has been a relatively successful pest management strategy for you thus far, you can supplement that technique by the direct introduction of beneficial insects into your garden.
As research on beneficial insect seed products continues, natural pest control results using plants will improve.
The term compost literally means putting together.In its simplest form, composting amounts to collecting appropriate yard and food waste to make soil. All soils from clay to sandy see benefits from adding compos,t because its texture improves air, water and nutrient flow through soil to plant roots.
Composting practices range from simple to complex. Open air composting, for example, is as easy as designating a three square foot piece of land in your yard as a composting site. Program practices consist of placing daily vegetable and fruit waste on the pile, mixed with a gathering of appropriate yard waste.
Compost bins come in shapes and sizes suitable to a variety of needs. Compared to open air practices, the use of compost bins provides an element of pile protection against uninvited animal guests. Depending on pile or bin preference and the amount of yard and kitchen waste used, composted soil can be produced anywhere from two weeks to one years’ time.
Here are a few simple steps to follow.
- First, think of compost as the organic meal for soil microorganisms. Assuming that healthy meals produce healthy soils, your basic five star compost menu consists of a fixed ratio of carbon and nitrogen ingredients (30 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen).
- The presence of unusual odors, such as ammonia, indicate an excess nitrogen content. It can be remedied by adding more organic material.
- Composting as meal preparation, follows a logic of layers. Typically, organic products such as coffee grounds, and fruits and vegetables constitute the first layer. Nitrogen products such as grass clipping and other yard wastes constitute the second layer.
- Many compost advocates recommend adding a top manure layer, with the reminder that it attracts flies.
- Avoid adding meats, oils and diseased plants to the pile. Water and aerate it (flip the pile) on a regular basis.
- As always… contact your local extension agent for the latest information about what is working in your part of the country.
It doesn’t really matter what you’re planting… the soil has to be right. In fact… the wrong soil will doom your plants, regardless of what you might try to do to save them. It’s important to remember that soil has 2 primary components… organic and inorganic elements. The living elements in the soil include… viruses, yeast, and bacteria. While some of these can be harmful to the plant… most are not… and under the right conditions, actually help stimulate plant growth by breaking down nutrients so the plant can use them.
Non living elements in the soil are primarily mineral based. Soil types most commonly used and that exist naturally in the environment… include; Clay soil… where the inorganic material is densely packed. Silt… where medium sized inorganic material is less dense… and Sandy soil… where large inorganic material is loosely packed.
Each type can be beneficial based on the transfer rate desired for water and nutrients to get into the plant system. Each soil type has its’ benefits and drawbacks. Check with your local Agricultural Extension agent about what soil type(s) you may have in your yard or garden.
Since most plants thrive best in an environment that balances water and nutrient retention, most, if not all organic gardening specialists recommend mixing humus (decayed organic matter such as tree bark or peat moss) or compost into the soil. Soil mixing creates loam, the goldilocks category of soil, not too dense, not too porous. Having the ability to balance plant water and nutrient requirements, loam’s the organic gardener’s number one choice as a growing medium for plants.
Soil tests also provide gardeners with two additional soil facts or properties, pH level and nutrient content. The pH scale, is a chemical scale that measures the relative acidity or alkalinity of the soil. The scale is set between 0-14 with 0 meaning totally acidic (sour soil) to 14 meaning totally alkaline (sweet soil). A 7 means the soil is neutral. Of course the majority of soil falls somewhere in between. Knowing your soil’s pH level helps during the garden planning period because different types of flowers and vegetables are suited to different types of soil. For example, many garden references place common garden vegetables in the 6-7.5 pH level.
Adequate pH level does not automatically ensure healthy plant growth in your garden. Because plants require proper nutrition to thrive, soil nutrient levels are also important. Although there are 16 nutrients that plants need, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium commonly receive the most attention. A good rule of thumb for remembering the value of each nutrient says that nitrogen helps leaves and stems, phosphorus contributes to root development and potassium encourages more productive plant flowering.
Organic remedies for nutrient deficient soils abound. Soils with a low pH level (acidic between 0-6.9) can be treated with lime. Sulfur can be added to soils that are too alkaline (between 7.1-14). The necessary amount to apply depends on both your soil type and pH level. Organic fertilizers, including compost and manure, can be applied to the soil during the off season to help build back some of the nutrients lost during the growing season.
Gardeners should take note that organic choices such as these are time sensitive. It takes at least three weeks before applied organic material such as compost and manure disperse their nutrients throughout the soil.
