May - Ontario Horticultural Association

Kemptville Horticultural Society Newsletter
MAY 2016
(see also www.gardenontario.org/site.php/kemptville)
Meeting Minutes for April 20, 2016
1.
CALL TO ORDER: All were welcomed. This
month we had at least 3 guests and 3 new members.
2.
HOSPITALITY: Thanks to Joyce Wood, Yvonne
Wilkins and Diane Tappin. (Reminder for members to
bring their own mugs to decrease use of disposables.)
3.
ACCEPTANCE OF MARCH MINUTES:
Acceptance was moved by Barb Frew and seconded by
Catherine Johnson.
4.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Acceptance was moved by
Jennifer Colledge and seconded by Gillian Pancirov.
Additional issue: The estate of Jim and Molly Wrong
donated $2500 to the society. This donation will be
entered into next month’s treasurer’s report.
5.
INFORMATION SHARING:
d) Montreal Botanical Gardens bus tour (~12 hour trip):
Catherine Johnson obtained a quote of $45 per person
if 56 people are sharing, including transportation,
admission to gardens (and insectarium) and a 1-hour
guided tour by a member of Friends of the Garden. A
30-minute time slot can be reserved for our group to
have lunch. This will likely be mid-week in July with
tickets available at the May meeting. MOTION: KHS
to subsidize each member by $10 (max $560).
Moved by Linda Desroches, seconded by Doreen
Hill. All in favour.
e)
Plant Sale Ferguson Forest Centre May 14: Drop off at
FFC Friday morning or Thursday at Diane T’s home at
#1 Dr. Gordon Cres. Sale 8:30 Saturday until early pm.
f)
Hey Day Giant Garage Sale: This annual event in early
June at the curling rink benefits our hospital – Arline
needs volunteers for Th/Fri/Sat.
a) Follow-up from the Executive meeting:
 Re: purchase of a metal stand with our logo to
advertise events like the plant sale. MOTION:
Approve $200-$225 to purchase a metal stand
for KHS. Moved by Linda Desroches, seconded
by Jean Sears. All were in favour.
 Re: purchase of a pop-up gazebo for events like
the plant sale. MOTION: Approve up to $300 to
purchase an easy assembly gazebo for KHS.
Moved by Carmen Pincott, seconded by
Catherine Johnson. All were in favour.
g) 1000 Islands/Rideau Canal Garden Tour: In its second
year with 14 gardens open, including several in our
immediate community. Map and information at:
leedsgrenville.com/en/visit/thingstodo/Garden-Trail.asp
h) May meeting flower show: Highlighting floral design –
yes – you can do it!
6.
b) Follow-up Sustainability Fair April 17: Goal was to
increase the KHS profile – Jennifer Colledge and
Diane Tappin represented us. Interest expressed by 9
children for the Junior Gardeners Program.
c)
District 1 AGM in Van Kleek Hill: 8 KHS members
attended.
 OHA is supporting a Hwy of Heroes project to
plant ~120,000 trees along the 416 freeway from
Trenton to Toronto. OHA is matching donations.
MOTION: KHS to donate $250. Moved by
Jean Sears, seconded by Jen Colledge. All were
in favour.
 A memorial book will be developed at the OHA
convention this year (in Kitchener, July 29-31) –
donate? Members preferred a memorial initiative
at the 2017 AGM that KHS will host.
REPORT FROM CHAIRPERSONS:

2017 Garden Tour: Planned for June 24 with tea
at the Burritt’s Rapids. RWR will be on the tour.
The team is touring potential gardens in late June.
7.
REMINDER: Brewed Awakenings on Hwy 43 on
May 6 – informal gathering of members the first
Friday of the month at 10:30.
8.
MOTION TO CLOSE THE MEETING: Moved by
Jean Sears and seconded by Lise Snedden.
GARDENING 101: Diane Partlo demonstrated assembling of
an ikebana arrangement.
MAIN PRESENTATION: Judy Wall from Perth SPOKE
about rock and alpine gardens. www.rockwallgardens.com
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Treasurer’s Report
Kemptville Horticultural Society
Financial Statement for April 2016
As at 30th April 2016
Revenue
Licences, memberships & dues
Membership
Hospitality
Donations (tax receipt)
135.00
15.00
2,500.00
Total
Revenue
2,650.00
Expenses
Licences, memberships & dues
Speaker fees
AGM / OHA
Conv
Year book
Hospitality
Travel / Vehicle
Advertising
Occupancy costs (hall rental)
Donation (Highway of Heroes)
Bank Charges
75.00
160.00
188.23
3.90
80.50
455.48
80.00
250.00
4.89
Total
Expenses
1,298.00
Net Income
1,352.00
Bank Balance
Petty Cash
Balance
HST credit due
Total
6,084.05
106.04
128.95
6,319.04
Investment
FLGIC 094 / Mat Feb 27 2017 0.6% / 1 yr (OB)
BBGIC 116 / Mat Nov 30 2017 1.4% / 2 yr
Total
2,696.34
3,000.00
12,015.38
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Wonderful Books/Websites/Gardens/Events
Richmond Nursery
April Newsletter
Hello Kemptville Horticultural Society!
Sunny days and cool nights. That makes perfect weather for spring. Things are starting to come together
and flowers are starting to bloom.
To Do List
Now that we're a little further ahead in the spring, the to-do list is getting bigger.
First, we should rake up our garden. Pull out left over debris, remove the tops of the died-back perennials,
and give things a little rake to stir up the soil. In your lawn, top up with a little grass seed and get ready for
fertilizer now that it's getting drier. If you have dogs or mossy spots in your lawn, that's a good sign you'll
need to add some lime to counter the acidity that's building up. Just be sure to keep the mower or heavy
things off your lawn for now to avoid compaction.
Perennials, roses, and evergreens that have been winter-protected can be uncovered. Topping up the
vegetable and flower gardens a little manure and working it in will help build the soil. Gypsum works great
in heavy clay gardens and in vegetable patches to add extra calcium and break up the larger clods of clay
for better soil structure.
Watch the weather carefully for your opportunity for dormant spraying. You need 24 hours above freezing
and preferably without rain. Dormant spraying is the best single treatment for your fruit trees and roses to
help prevent diseases and insects.
Warm days and cold nights. It's like winter just doesn't want to let go this year.
Early Spring Planting
Early spring gives us a great opportunity to start planting in the garden. With the ground being just solid
enough to dig, trees are arriving from the field and ready to plant. Large plants like trees and evergreens
are perfect for early spring planting since they act to anchor your garden and produce a good starting point
for the year. Other shrubs, although somewhat stick-like this early, are also good to plant. Once you have
the "bones" of your garden, you can tack on the flowers.
Early season perennials are starting to bloom. Just be sure to give them a light cover if the night-time
temperature gets a bit too chilly. We also grew some early-season dwarf lilies which are great to have in
your home early and then plant out into your garden a little later for year-after-year of enjoyment.
Pansies, of course, are perfect to add colour early in the spring since they can take some frost. They love
cool weather and show it off with a myriad of colour when nothing else does. There's an early crop of
lettuce, baby bok-choi, herbs, and even tomatoes available for those who want a jump on the season. Just
be sure to cover-up anything tender when the temperatures dip down. Greens always taste better in cool
weather since they develop bitterness when it's too hot. Enjoy them now while you can.
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Richmond Nursery Cont’d
A Sense of Scale
We're doing lots of clean-up and changes at our new greenhouse location. The much-loved strawberry
shack is now gone to make room for more parking (it should be smoothed out for the weekend). The
outdoor annual, perennial, and shrub areas are taking shape as well with the first plants finding their
homes today.
One thing we never really anticipated was the vast sense of scale. In our old location, we had small
sections for each type of plant. That means you had to walk rather far between the annuals, perennials,
then into trees, and shrubs, though each actual section wasn't all that large. Now, everything is together in
one large block. But because the new nursery is part of our 60-acre field-growing area with our
strawberries, pumpkins, and what not, everything looks so small. In fact, our front park and picnic area
consumes an area larger than the size of our previous greenhouse. Just our water pond is larger than our
entire shrub area used to be. Our soils and mulches, which used to be somewhat tight in the parking lot
now look like a drop in the bucket. As we put out our plants, we look at them and think "Is that it?" We
don't have any less plants, it's just the area is so much larger and open than before, they look smaller. An
interesting conundrum.
As time goes on, I know everything will evolve. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day.
Clematis Land
Over the past few years, there's been a decline in good clematis supply. Luckily, we found a solution.
Although I'm not a fan of bringing in plants from a warmer part of the country, we did find an excellent
supply of clematis from BC. This year, the plants are spectacular and already in bloom because of their
warm spring. If you want amazing clematis, now is the time for the best selection. Just make sure to
protect them from cold nights as these plants are used to warmer temperatures. Next year, we're taking it
a step further by getting young starter plants from the same grower, but growing them here in our own
greenhouses for a season to pre-condition them to our climate. That will make our clematis even stronger
and more hardy than ever, but still with the vast selection you expect from us.
Tip! Clematis love to have cool roots. Mulching the area around the base of clematis with a lighter
coloured mulch or, even better, planting light annuals like alyssum around the base helps shade the roots
and make your clematis even happier.
Our Site Evolves
There has been many changes at the new location over the past couple weeks. The old strawberry shack
has been removed to make way for more parking. The shrub area is prepared and filling up quickly. The
first few batches of trees are here and ready to go. Tables for the perennials and annuals are almost
finished as well. As the weather cooperates, more and more plants will move from the greenhouse to
outside so all the plants are best acclimatized to this area for your garden.
Follow us on Facebook
www.richmondnursery.com
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Wonderful Books/Websites/Gardens/Events
Mark Cullen
May 2016 Newsletter
May: Planting Month. Are you up for it?
Got your soil prepped for planting yet?
Remember that you would not build a house in Canada without a foundation: neither should you
build a garden without prepping the soil.
For years I have known the value of earthworm castings: they are naturally rich in organic
microbes, beneficial bacteria and mycorrhiza. Basically, all of the good stuff that gives soil
life. When you add earthworm castings to your soil, regardless of what you are planting, at the rate
of 10 parts soil to 1 part castings, you are fortifying the planting soil with the very best ingredients
that money can buy. Remember that you would not build a house in Canada without a foundation:
neither should you build a garden without prepping the soil.
This spring, you will find my name on a large (20L) of earthworm castings for about $16. It was offered for
sale in limited quantities for more than $30 just a year or two ago. Amazing! With 1,100 Home
Hardware stores across Canada there is no reason for any Canadian gardener to go
without. Seriously.
(item#5025-710 5L, 5025-712 20L)
6 Things that you should consider doing now in the garden (my May To-Do list):
1. Veggies. It might surprise you that this is an excellent time of year to start a vegetable garden. Don't
wait until the May 24 weekend to get started. By then you will have missed the best time to sow many of
your favourite crops including: peas, carrots, onions, lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and garlic
(though fall is better for garlic).
This is a great time of year to prep the soil of your garden by spreading 3 to 4 cm of Bio Max composted
manure (or reliably high-quality compost). You can turn this under the soil or plant right in it.
2. Start from seed indoors. Sow tomatoes, cucumbers, leeks, zinnias, asters and the like now. With 5 to 6
weeks until our last frost date, your timing will be perfect. Come late May/early June, you will be ready to
plant in warm soil and your transplants will take off. You will save a small fortune too, as you won't buy
transplants at your garden retailer.
Use a quality seed starting mix (I use 10 parts Pro Mix with one part worm castings - see my note
above. Magic!) All seedlings need plenty of light to grow properly: sunlight or fluorescent lights work
best.
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Mark Cullen Con’d
3. Lawn. My recipe for the best lawn on the block:
a. Rake with a fan rake to remove winter debris.
b. Fertilize with Golfgreen Iron Plus. It is the best product of its kind on the market. Chelated iron for a
fast green-up. Slow release nitrogen for a long lasting green.
c. Where weeds occur or thin spots exist, spread lawn soil 4 cm thick and rake smooth. Broadcast quality
Golfgreen grass seed at the rate of one kg per 100 sq. meters. Rake this smooth (again), step on it with flat
soled shoes and water until germination. Keep reasonably well watered until new roots are established
(about 4 to 6 weeks). Look for the new Pro-Mix Ultimate Condition grass seed, using mycoactive
technology. It germinates in temperatures as low as 4 degrees C.
d. When you are ready to cut your lawn, set your mower at 6 to 8 cm high. Any lower allows weeds to
establish and weakens your lawn. Use a mulching mower.
4. Start from seed indoors. Sow tomatoes, cucumbers, leeks, zinnias, asters and the like now. With 5 to 6
weeks until our last frost date, your timing will be perfect. Come late May/early June, you will be ready to
plant in warm soil and your transplants will take off. You will save a small fortune too, as you won't buy
transplants at your garden retailer.
5. Dig and divide. This is a great time of year to dig up perennials and divide them into sections
to replant around your yard or give away to friends and neighbours. Hosta, monarda, daylilies: you
name it.
6. Soil prep. Note that 'quality' soil is the key. Don't use 'black earth' (basically peat-muck) or
cheap manures which are often not manure at all. Producers have been known to cut corners in
production to keep costs low. The results are never good. Quality soil and compost is alive with
nutrients, is safe (teeming with beneficial bacteria) and is high octane fuel for everything that
grows. Look for composted manure that is certified by the Compost Quality Alliance. I spread 4
cm of well-composted manure over my entire garden each spring. Yes, I use over 40 yards of the
stuff.
And finally, after you have returned your garden furniture to its summertime place, be sure to sit on
it. Enjoy the bird song (put out feeders and nesting boxes), the wind and the sunshine. It may not
have been the longest, coldest winter on record but you have none the less earned a break from the
indoors.
My book: much of my travel hinges on the launch of my new book The New Canadian Garden.
Stay in touch.... Facebook/twitter/weekly newspaper column/Canada AM, CTV/weekly blog... all of the hot
links are on my homepage. www.markcullen.com 10,000 gardening questions answered.
Yours, as ever,
Mark
Merchant of Beauty
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Wonderful Books/Websites/Gardens/Events
Gemmel’s Garden Centre
The trees and shrubs have arrived!
A sure sign of spring here at the garden center. Our trees and shrubs are 100% Canadian Grown.
They come from 2 areas; the Niagara region in Southern Ontario and from outside of Montreal. Nothing
we sell is from the U.S. or BC. Why am I telling you this ? Well 'Canadian Grown' can mean from out
west where the climate is less harsh and plants are not subjected to cold winters. This is often the
reason when you buy cheap emerald cedars they don't survive (well that and the kids probably forgot
to water them several times before you bought them)
When considering buying 'local' really look into what local means. Most people think the box stores are
cheaper than an independent garden center but if you really do your price comparisons you just may
find that's not true. Come and see.
Did you know that most of our most popular 2 gallon shrubs start at $16.99?
Did you know that our qualified staff can help you make the right choice of plant for the right place?
Did you know that if you bring in a picture we can design a quick fabulous all season planting right on
the spot with you?
Did you know we guarantee our trees and shrubs for one full year?
Did you know we strive to have all the latest and greatest introductions as well as the tried and true
favourites every season?
Come drop in this spring and wander the nursery area!
Cheers,
Kelly
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Gemmel’s Garden Centre Cont’d
GRUB DAMAGE THIS SPRING?
WANT A GORGEOUS LAWN?
Nematodes arrive this week.
Call to order yours today
Our nematodes are from an Ontario company and are 100% Canadian Strain.
They are live host raised so they are fresh.
Many companies like Green Earth are promoting non refrigerated nematodes this season but it's hard
to believe that a live organism that for years we have told have to be kept cool to stay dormant will
survive in stores on the shelves at room temperature.
One package covers 3,000 sq feet. We provide instructions and a handout to ensure the best success
also you can check out the youtube video below for further instruction on proper application.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YvuQUm-xWE
All nematodes are sold by preorder only. Call or email to reserve yours.
613-283-6371
[email protected]
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Wonderful Books/Websites/Gardens/Events
Hosta Treatment
A couple of people asked me about the treatment of Hostas in the Spring.
One part Ammonia to 10 parts water. Sprinkle it on and around hostas when they start to appear in the ground like
fingers. (If your watering can holds 20 cups of water, just add 2 cups of Ammonia – it makes for quick measuring).
It kills any bugs that have overwintered and the plants love it.
Submitted by Doreen Daly
GOWGHS WATER GARDE4N TOUR 2016
On behalf of the Greater Ottawa Water Garden Horticultural Society (GOWGHS), we would really appreciate it if you
could send out a notice to all the Horticultural Societies in District 1 regarding the 8 th annual Water Garden Tour
(WGT), hosted by GOWGHS, which will take place on Saturday, June 25. This year’s Water Garden Tour features 10
beautiful water gardens of various designs and sizes. One site will also be showcased at night.
Date: Saturday, June 25, 2016
Times: Day: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Evening: 9:00 pm to 11:00 pm
Cost: $20.00 per person; children 12 and under are free
Tickets/Tour booklets for this self-guided tour are available after May 1st at www.ottawawatergardens.com or at
Ritchie Feed and Seed stores (1390 Windmill Lane, 2079 Carp Road, Stittsville, and 5091 Ottawa Street, Richmond),
Big Al’s stores (145 Roland Michener Drive, Kanata, and 1900 Innes Road), Artistic Landscape Design (2079 Bank
Place), Peter Knippel Garden Centre (4590 Bank Street), Budd Gardens (2832 Innes Road, Blackburn Hamlet), KB
Backyard Depot (1770 Manotick Station Road, Greely) and Rideau Woodland Ramble (7210 Burritt’s Rapids Road,
Kemptville). (Cash only).
Proceeds from ticket sales will be directed towards an Ottawa community project involving a water feature at the
Ruddy-Shenkman Hospice in Kanata. Proceeds from previous years contributed to the design and construction of the
water feature in the Healing Garden at the Queensway Carleton Hospital (being completed this year) and a pondless
waterfall outside the Peter D. Clark Long Term Care Home in Nepean.
Again, I hope you can issue a notice to all the Societies about our WGT. I’ve attached our poster.
Thanks,
Jeannie Currie
Greater Ottawa Water Garden Horticultural Society
613-739-1518
[email protected]
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