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♣Over The Garden Gate
March is finally here and it will soon be time to start planting! For me and my gardener friends, it is a welcome sight to see the bud swell on bushes and trees, and are eager for that first morning when you walk out the front door and it actually FEELS like spring! I think with the snow and cold we have endured this winter, those warm spring days are going to feel even better than they usually do. The seeds have arrived in their packages that promise so much bounty, and the smell of fertilizer and potting soil bring an earthy scent to the greenhouse air. St. Paddy's Day still mark the start of digging in the garden for us tradition-bound gardeners who think that the world might come to an end if we didn't get our potatoes and peas planted on the 17th - God willing and the ground unfrozen. By now, the seed catalogs are dog-eared and worn from hours of armchair gardening. So come see us today at Stutzmans, we have all your seeding and starter supplies!
I don't think there has ever been a jaded gardener. Every spring new plants, new possibilities and new promises await, and the race is on for the first ripe tomato! Happy gardening, and may all of your winter gardening dreams come true!
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♣The Aspiring Decorator
March is a month of considerable frustration - it is so near spring and yet across a great deal of the country the weather is still so violent and changeable that outdoor activity in our yards seems light years away." - Thalassa Cruso (the Julia Child of horticulture)
Lately I've been staring out my back window and actually looking forward to yard work. I'm not sure if that's just cabin fever talking or I'm beginning to think like a gardener. Crazy thoughts I know, because there's a reason it's called yard WORK! Even a gardening greenhorn like me has learned that there is always something to be done in the garden. So I've begun making a list. No, it's not a Martha Stewart kind of list of must-do spring chores such as alphabetizing the contents of the garden shed, or sprucing up birdhouse interiors with new wall coverings, or rearranging the compost pile into yard art. No, I'm not that organized - or neurotic. But I have started a simple list of flowers to transplant and a few ideas to improve an existing water feature. Yes, I'm ready to work outside! Along with the anticipation of working in the garden, March brings several other special events that have become favorite family rituals: the celebration of a dear daughter's birth, the NCAA basketball tournament complete with a friends and family bracket pool and spirited support for our favorite Big 12 teams, and the annual cooking and consuming of corned beef and cabbage in honor of my Irish heritage. (My husband will be celebrating his Italian heritage that same evening by eating frozen pizza and wearing nose plugs in protest of the aroma of my Irish ancestors' cuisine.)
As you can see March is non-stop fun and excitement at our house - and I hope you're enjoying your friends and family too!
So while you prepare for Spring and make your own list of March happenings, please consider including a visit with us at Stutzmans during one of these events:
♣The Wichita Home & Garden Show - March 3-7
♣Saturday Seminars at the Salina Central Mall - March 6, 13, 20 & 27th
♣The Hays Garden Show - March 13-14
♣The Pleasantview Spring Celebration - March 27th
We are looking forward to Spring and seeing you at Stutzmans in Salina, Hays, Great Bend, Wichita, Hutchinson, Pratt & Pleasantview!
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♣Monthly To Do List
Vegetables:
- Beginning March 10 - plant broccoli, lettuce & peas
- Beginning March 15 - plant cabbage, garlic, potatoes, radishes & turnips
- Beginning March 20 - plant beets, cauliflower & endive
- Beginning March 25 - plant chives, onions & spinach
- Sidedress onions 2-3 weeks after emergence
- Sidedress Irish potatoes when 6-8 inches tall
- Sidedress cole crops (cabbage, broccoli, etc.) 2-3 weeks after planting. 2-3 weeks later add another application if wet conditions prevail or if in sandy soil.
- The middle of March begin planting roots of asparagus, horseradish & rhubarb.
- Early in march turn under cover crops & winter mulches
- Check established asparagus beds to make sure the mulch is loose & thick enough to protect the earliest shoots from frost
- Plant new asparagus beds March 15 to April 15
Fruit & Nuts:
- Finish pruning & applying dormant oils by early March
- Prune peaches & nectarines at budswell
- Remove & destroy tent caterpillar eggs, which look like old chewing gum
- During March do largest feeding of fruit trees, vines & bushes. Spread well-composted manure or compost & rock fertilizers under the plants out to the drip line
- Remove mulch from strawberry patch an inch or so per week to harden off the plants
- Plant new fruit trees as weather permits (mid-march to early April)
- In mid-March begin planting strawberries
Ornamentals:
- Late in March begin removing mulch from perennial beds
- When bulbs bloom, fertilize lightly, being careful not to get it on the leaves. Avoid high nitrogen fertilizers. Bonemeal can also be applied at this time.
- Work in fertilizers (such as rock powders, rotted manure or compost) into perennial beds
- Remove winter mulch from rose beds & bulbs
- Prune coralberry, euonymus, japonica, hemlock, trumpet vine, red bud & ash trees before growth starts
- The second half of March is the best time to fertilize trees, shrubs & vines
- March and April are the second choice (September is first) for seeding a new lawn. If doing it in the spring, sow as early as possible
- Avoid fertilizing the lawn in early spring
- Water the lawn only if the weather is dry
- Spray broadleaf weeds
- Aerate clay and compacted soils
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♣Landscaping Tips & Ideas
You've watched the DIY programs on television, and you've looked at that broad expanse of your backyard that consists of a quarter acre of fescue, one lone peony bush and a propane barbecue grill all winter and have decided that 2010 is going to be the year of the backyard improvement project...but where do you start? The following is a road map to help you arrive at your own personal oasis.
Dream Big & Dream Together: Get your family into the process - talk about what each family member would like to see and what activities they would like to be able to do in the area. Do you want to entertain, do you want a private retreat where you can recharge and relax? Do you have hobbies or activities that you would like to include in the landscape? One of my favorite questions to ask is where is your favorite vacation spot? Whether someone prefers the tropics or the mountains can give some design inspiration. Where do you spend the majority of time in your home? Make sure that the areas that you see looking out from your windows create a pleasing scene. How much time do you have per week to devote to maintaining your landscape? Don't let a lack of time deter you from what you want. We can help you achieve the landscape of your dreams and with the right steps, can make it almost maintenance free if you follow the six steps listed below:
- Get a soil test
- Amend the soil
- Put the right plant in the right place
- Let a soaker hose be your hired hand in the garden
- Five good reasons to mulch:
- It holds the moisture in
- It provides insulation to the root systems
- It reduces the amount of weeds
- As it breaks down, it adds organic material to your soil
- It hides the soaker hose & gives your landscape a finished appearance
- Wipe out weeding
Click Here for more detailed instructions
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♣Kids Corner
St. Paddy's Day Cookie Pops
If you are looking for a fun and easy recipe to do with the kids, try these deliciously simple St. Patrick's Day Cookie Pops. The kids will smile and giggle while making these treats, and will have something fun to give to family, friends & classmates!
Ingredients:
20 vanilla wafer cookies
1/2 c peanut butter
1 12oz bag white chocolate chips
Green and yellow gumdrops
Green Dots candies
Green and yellow Nerd candies
Cake decorating writer gel in green, yellow, red, orange & black
1 tube of green cake decorator frosting with tip
Green and yellow decorator sugar
Green food coloring
Ice Cream or lollipop sticks
Wax paper or paper plates
Spread peanut butter onto the flat side of the cookies. Place an ice cream stick into the peanut butter on half of the cookies. Top with another cookie so the stick is sandwiched between the two cookies.
Melt chocolate chips in the microwave, one minute, then in 20 second increments, stirring until smooth. Before melting, seperate the white chips into two bowls. After melting, add a few drops of green food coloring to one of the bowls of white chips to make green chocolate.
Dip cookie pops in the melted chips, covering completely. Sprinkle with green and yellow sugar and lay or stand on wax paper or paper plates. Place in refrigerator to chill.
Fun Variations:
Leprechaun
After coating with white chocolate, dip top of pop into green sugar. Slice two yellow gumdrops to make beard. Allow to dry on wax paper. Use black and red decorator gel for eyes and mouth, and for trim on hat.
Rainbow with Pot of Gold
After coating with white chocolate, cut a green Dot candy in half lengthwise, adhere to chocolate. Before chocolate has a chance to dry, place 3-5 yellow candy nerds "in" pot. Create a rainbow with various colored decorator gel.
Shamrock
After coating with white chocolate, sprinkle with yellow decorator sugar, then draw on a shamrock using green cake decorator icing.
Four Leaf Clover
After coating with green chocolate, use green sliced gumdrops to create clover leaves. Slice a small strip out of remaining gumdrop for stem. Use a green candy Nerd for the center of the clover.
Note:
Another variation is to use vanilla or chocolate frosting instead of peanut butter for the filling.
These can also be made without sticks. Use on stick to be able to dip the cookies in chocolate in and roll in sprinkles, then remove the stick and put on wax paper or paper plates, then chill.
This recipe was adapted from Penny Warner's Cookie Pops available in the Kid's Party Cookbook.
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♣Calendar of Events
♣March 6th - 10:30 a.m. - Hort. 101 - Maintaining Your Gardens - Only at Stutzmans in Salina's Central Mall
♣March 13th - 10:30 a.m. - Landscaping 101 - Only at Stutzmans in Salina's Central Mall
♣March 20th - 10:30 a.m. - Making a Wreath or Swag for Your Home - Only at Stutzmans in Salina's Central Mall
♣March 27th - 10:30 a.m. - Bring Spring to Your Home - Only at Stutzmans in Salina's Central Mall
♣March 27th - Pleasantview Spring Celebration - Only at Stutzmans Pleasantview Location 6709 W. Hwy 61
Click Here for Complete Calendar of Events and Details
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♣Tune In
♣Saturday mornings join Jason French with Stutzmans Home & Garden Show from 7:30 - 8:00 a.m. on Hutchinson's Talk of the Town KWBW 1450AM, In Hays KAYS 1400AM & in Great Bend KVGB 1590AM!
♣Saturday mornings at 8:05 a.m. tune into KSAL 1150AM to find the answers to the questions you might have about your plants or those honey-do's around the house with Stutzmans own Educational Horticulturist Jane Hart!
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♣Recipes
Happy St. Paddy's Day - Bring out the Irish with some tasty dishes!
♣Easy Irish Soda Bread
This is much better if baked in the morning and eaten in the evening. It seems to get better after resting.
Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 Tbsp white sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c margarine, softened
1 c buttermilk
1 egg
1/4 c butter, melted
1/4 cup buttermilk
Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly grease a large baking sheet.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and margarine. Stir in 1 c buttermilk and egg. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Form dough into a round and place on prepared baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine melted butter with 1/4 c buttermilk; brush loaf with this mixture. Use a sharp knife to cut an "X" into the top of the loaf.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf of the loaf comes out clean, about 30-50 minutes. You may continue to brush the loaf with the butter mixture while it bakes.
♣Colcannon
This is a great side-dish on a cold, blustery spring day! Have some bangers (we call them sausage) for a complete meal!
Ingredients
3-4 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
3 Tbsp milk or unsweetened/plain soy milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 c chopped cabbage or kale
2 Tbsp butter or margarine
1/4 c chopped onions or green onions
Cook potatoes in a pot of boiling water until tender. Drain, reserving water. Place hot potatoes in a large bowl. Add chopped cabbage to the reserved potato water. Cook 6-8 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, fry the onions in the butter or margarine. When they are cool enough to handle, mash potatoes with a hand masher or fork. Add the fried onions and cabbage. Add milk, salt and pepper and beat until fluffy.
Variations:
Indulgent peasants: fry in a touch of oil or margarine to make colcannon patties.
Rich peasants: add cheese and a touch of butter to the top.
Modern peasants: colcannon can be made with leftover meat. Add some chopped ham when mixing the ingredients together.
Nutritious peasants: substitute kale for the cabbage.
Corned Beef & Cabbage
Just reading this makes my mouth water! Try this on a busy day so you can come home to the smell of a home-cooked meal. Yumm!
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 10 hours
Ingredients:
6 carrots-cut into chunks
2 onions-chopped
2-3 lb. corned beef brisket with seasoning packet
12 oz. can beer (non alcoholic is fine)
2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
1/4 c brown sugar
1 c water
8 wedges cabbage
In 4-6 quart crockpot, combine carrots and onions. Rinse corned beef under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Place in crockpot and sprinkle with contents of seasoning mix. Pour beer over brisket and spread mustard on brisket. In small bowl mix brown sugar with water and pour over brisket. Cover crockpot and cook on low setting for 11-12 hours.
Remove corned beef from crockpot and cover with foil to keep warm. Add cabbage wedges to vegetables and liquid in crockpot. Cover crockpot and cook on high for additional 30-40 minutes or until cabbage is crisp tender.
To serve, cut corned beef across grain into thin slices. Remove vegetables from slow cooker with slotted spoon and serve with corned beef. Serve cooking juices over the food, if desired. Offer additional mustard on the side. 8 servings
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