Master Gardener Henry Homeyer Explains Why Gardening Is Important nhmagazine.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nhmagazine.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Don t miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
By now birds are finding their own food and have less need for that sunflower seed we have been providing during the cold days of winter. So what can we do to help our birds as they go into the season of having young? Growing native trees and shrubs on our property can be a huge help to our bird friends.
Let me explain. It is not enough to put out birdhouses, we need to help birds find food for their chicks. The diet of baby birds is about 90 percent composed of caterpillars. Caterpillars â the larvae of Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) â are high in fat and protein that developing birds need to grow and be healthy. One clutch of chickadees can, according to entomologist Doug Tallamy, a PhD researcher from the University of Delaware, consume 6,000 to 9,000 caterpillars in the 16 days from hatching to fledging. And most parent birds continue to feed their chicks even after they have fledged.
Gardening: When is the best time to plant vegetables?
Henry Homeyer
I know some gardeners who plant their potatoes or tomatoes in the garden on the same day every year. Not me. I think planting time is best based not only on the last frost date in your garden, but also the soil temperature and up-to-date weather predictions. And, of course, late frosts do occur unexpectedly and can wipe out your tomato or pepper seedlings. So don’t jump the gun.
The internet has many guides and suggestions for when you should plant, but I think an experienced next-door neighbor probably has a better sense of when to plant. So, for example, one internet source says the last frost for Cornish Flat, New Hampshire, is May 15, while another says June 11 to 20. That’s over a month of difference! But perhaps an old-timer in your town can advise you, depending on your exact location.
Henry Homeyer: It’s time for some winter planning
Tasha loved roosters, including this one named Chicahominy Henry Homeyer photos – For the Monitor
Notecards and a file box for storing plant records
This 10-year gardener s journal is a good way to record garden notes
Wayne Mezitt (left) presents Tasha Tudor a “White Weeper” crab apple.
Published: 3/12/2021 6:48:41 PM
I was recently thumbing through my first book,
Notes from the Garden, looking for an inspiration for yet another winter article. In it I read that I had planted my Merrill magnolia in 2001. I had forgotten that I planted it just 20 years ago this spring – it feels like it has always been there!