Garden Gate – October 2019

8 GARDEN GATE | OCTOBER 2019 | ISSUE 149

A sturdy, long, serrated

bread knife is a good tool

for dividing plants in the

fall instead of the standard

soil knife or shovel. It’s

easier to be precise and

control the size of the new

plants when you slice the

roots like a loaf of bread!

Cameron Hutchings, VA

great ideas from

smart gardeners

A pumpkin for pests

Donna Hartman, IA

Here’s a festive solution to your slug

problem: Get a pumpkin! Donna

cuts the top off of a pumpkin and

cleans out the seeds and pulp. She

places it in her hosta bed and lets it

collect slugs. She then kills them with

soapy water and tosses them in with

her yard waste. You can return the

pumpkin to the bed and continue to

dispose of the slugs as needed. The

best part is that it looks more like a

decoration than it does a pest trap!

Fill it with firewood

Dan and Carol Thompson, NM

Of the many advantages of growing

plants in raised beds, Dan and Carol

find that theirs keep them off their

knees and make gardening more

enjoyable. But their raised beds,

which are all at least 24 inches tall

and 30 inches wide and anywhere

from 14 to 36 feet long, require a lot

of soil. So Dan and Carol first place

split firewood at the bottom of their

beds. They caution against using

juniper or cedar because oils in the

wood can be toxic to plants. They

layer the firewood in the bottom

until it reaches about 14 inches

from the top. Amended soil then

tops off the last foot or so of space.

Water it in well before planting—the

wood holds moisture and keeps the

watering needs down, and it adds

many beneficial nutrients to the soil,

which makes growing happy and

productive plants a breeze.

Keep your saved seeds dry

Evelyn White, VA

It can be disappointing to harvest

the seeds from your favorite plants

in fall and store them all winter

only to find in spring that they have

been ruined by moisture and mold.

Evelyn stores her seeds in old spice

shakers and prescription bottles.

Frustrated by losing her seeds to

these ailments, she decided to add a

small piece of chalk to each bottle.

The chalk absorbs moisture and

keeps the seeds dry and viable for

planting in spring.

Slugs crawl up the sides and

gather in the pumpkin. This

makes it easy to collect and

dispose of them.

ILLUSTRATION: Carlie Hamilton

GG14908_09_Tips.indd 8GG14908_09_Tips.indd 8 6/26/2019 8:43:49 AM6/26/2019 8:43:49 AM

8 GARDEN GATE | OCTOBER 2019 | ISSUE 149

A sturdy,long,serrated

breadknifeisa goodtool

fordividingplantsinthe

fallinsteadofthestandard

soilknifeorshovel.It’s

easiertobepreciseand

controlthesizeofthenew

plantswhenyouslicethe

rootslikea loafofbread!

CameronHutchings,VA

great ideas from

smart gardeners

A pumpkin for pests

Donna Hartman, IA

Here’s a festive solution to your slug

problem: Get a pumpkin! Donna

cuts the top off of a pumpkin and

cleans out the seeds and pulp. She

places it in her hosta bed and lets it

collect slugs. She then kills them with

soapy water and tosses them in with

her yard waste. You can return the

pumpkin to the bed and continue to

dispose of the slugs as needed. The

best part is that it looks more like a

decoration than it does a pest trap!

Fill it with firewood

Dan and Carol Thompson, NM

Of the many advantages of growing

plants in raised beds, Dan and Carol

find that theirs keep them off their

knees and make gardening more

enjoyable. But their raised beds,

which are all at least 24 inches tall

and 30 inches wide and anywhere

from 14 to 36 feet long, require a lot

of soil. So Dan and Carol first place

split firewood at the bottom of their

beds. They caution against using

juniper or cedar because oils in the

wood can be toxic to plants. They

layer the firewood in the bottom

until it reaches about 14 inches

from the top. Amended soil then

tops off the last foot or so of space.

Water it in well before planting—the

wood holds moisture and keeps the

watering needs down, and it adds

many beneficial nutrients to the soil,

which makes growing happy and

productive plants a breeze.

Keep your saved seeds dry

Evelyn White, VA

It can be disappointing to harvest

the seeds from your favorite plants

in fall and store them all winter

only to find in spring that they have

been ruined by moisture and mold.

Evelyn stores her seeds in old spice

shakers and prescription bottles.

Frustrated by losing her seeds to

these ailments, she decided to add a

small piece of chalk to each bottle.

The chalk absorbs moisture and

keeps the seeds dry and viable for

planting in spring.

Slugs crawl up the sides and

gather in the pumpkin. This

makes it easy to collect and

dispose of them.

ILLUSTRATION: Carlie Hamilton