This month’s sale;
November 11th – 24th “Getting Ready for the Holidays”
- 20% off all Bulbs
- 20% off all pottery
- 20 % off statuary
- 20% off fountains
- 4” Cyclamen $3.49
- 5” Cyclamen $3.99
- 6” Cyclamen $7.99
Bulbs are on Sale!
There is still time to purchase spring flowering bulbs. It is a great time to plant all but tulips, hyacinths and crocuses, as they need to be chilled 6-8 weeks before planting. Place them in paper bags in your refrigerator and do not plant until late December or early January. (Don’t let them freeze and do not store apples or bananas near them.) For a more natural look, bulbs can be planted in a natural drift pattern instead of a row. Just give them a good toss and plant them where they fall! Make sure you plant them at the proper depth and use bone meal or a good bulb fertilizer under each one.
Start forcing paperwhites for holiday bloom. You will need to start them 61/2 weeks ahead for a full Christmas bloom. Choose a watertight planter or a basket lined with thick plastic to fit your style and fill halfway to the top with pebbles. Add 6 to 8 bulbs, (depending on the size of the container) and add more pebbles to hold them upright. Add water, cover with an upside-down cardboard box, and place in a cool spot for 10 days or until sprouts are up 3 or 4 inches. Uncover and place in a sunny window or your patio until blooms open. Be sure to add water as needed and turn daily for even growth.
Vegetable and Herb Gardening
Continue to plant winter vegetables from starts like Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, parsley, cilantro, and Swiss chard. Also, plant garlic now by breaking up the cloves and planting individually with points up, in fertile soil, full sun, 4 inches apart and 2 inches deep. There are a lot of vegetable and herb varieties available in our garden center.
Highlight on one of our local growers – Clearwater Color Nursery.
Clearwater Color Nursery was started by two Cal Poly San Luis Obispo graduates in 1987, and over the past 21 years it has had four different locations in the beautiful Los Osos Valley. Our 22 employee team works together to grow annuals, perennials and vegetables. Over the past several years Clearwater Color has also added California Natives, Sedum & Succulents, and Ornamental Grasses to its product line. The plants are started in greenhouses and finished outside in the windy Los Osos Valley. The results are six packs, four inch pots, four pack vegetables & herbs, and gallons that have been acclimatized and shipped weekly to all five Miners locations.
We are proud to be partnered with Miners ce Hardware in supplying locally grown bedding plants throughout San Luis Obispo County. This partnership is proof that smaller local companies can compete with the big-box stores in supplying quality plant material to the local markets. Our hope is that you will have the pleasant experience of growing some of our product in your home gardens.
November Tips
Save your Pine needles - When you rake up pine needles don’t throw them away. Save them to mulch acid-loving plants such as camellias and azaleas.
Slow down on watering - Water less frequently as the weather cools. If you live inland and experience nights that get below 30 degrees, make sure you do not stop watering completely. As it gets cold and the air is dry, the moisture in your soil will still evaporate into the air and your plants could get stressed. Plants are much more susceptible to frost damage if they are water stressed. Their individual cells loose pressure from water loss and cannot protect themselves from cold as well.
Prune conifers - Prune pine trees and other conifers now through February for shape and size control.
Thin out evergreens - Prune inside dense trees to allow wind to pass through so they don’t blow over in storms or lose valuable branching.
Hold back fertilizer on roses - Don’t feed roses this month; they need a rest instead of flushing out new growth. Prune them back severely in January for a forced dormancy as our weather here is so mild, they cannot do it themselves.
Fertilize bedding - Fertilize cool season bedding flowers with a good organic. I recommend Fox Farm for perennials, but your annuals will do ok with MiracleGro.
Take care of citrus - Don’t let citrus go dry in cool or frosty weather. Keep them irrigated for the reasons stated above. You may need to give them some chelated iron as well if they begin to yellow.
Plant cool-season lawns - Cool season lawns can still be planted from seed. Just make sure you prepare the soil and keep it moist. We have a great native grass blend from Stover. Cover your seed with Topper from Kelloggs.
Dormant spray - Spray peach and nectarine trees for peach leaf curl after their leaves fall. Then spray again in 30 days, and again in 30 days. You can use Liquid Copper or Sulfur Spray. Both are available in all of our stores.
Bare root - All of our bare root roses will be coming in the first week of December. Bare root berries and veggies will be in the first week or so of November and fruit trees will be in the first week of January.
Mulch- Mulch all of your beds with a small bark mulch or Gromulch from Kelloggs to help hold in moisture and keep weeds away. In the long run it will break down and improve the structure of your soil.
Care Sheets
There is an information file in every Miner’s Garden Center with care sheets for different plants like African Violets, Bromeliads, Houseplants…etc. Also lists of deer resistant plants, fire resistant plants, plants for seacoast gardens…etc. All are free, just ask an associate. Happy Gardening! |
