Dropseed Design

Good Morning Gardeners! A friendly reminder that the Aurora Gardener's Sale is next Saturday morning, May 20th at the Aurora Transportation Center (Train Station/Two Bro's.) You'll find heirloom tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, melons, herbs; alpine strawberries, native plants, and lots more from Dropseed Design.

And if you're about to start planting, or ready to buy plants, check the weather. We're protecting all of our annuals for at least another week until low temps. rise about 50F.

Check out the website http://www.foxvalleygardenclub.com/GardenerSale.html and hope to see you there!

Fox Valley Garden Club--Gardener’s Sale Our annual Gardeners’ Sale is scheduled on the Saturday after Mother’s Day. Stroll through our farmer’s market style sale that features over 40 vendors selling plants and gardening-related items. Proceeds from the sale fund our community projects.

Happy Earth Day!

Cascade hops are harvested. I have just over 1 lb. of dry hops available. Message me if you're interested.

Weekend harvest and backyard ecology:

This is the time of the year when tomatoes become breakfast. Luckily, we had plenty of ground cherries instead.

"Butterfly Milkweed," Asclepias tuberosa, is a great addition to any garden style and full of surprises.

Your "Knock Out" roses don't punch this hard...

Fox Valley Gardeners' Plant Sale
Aurora Transportation Center
Saturday, May 14, 8:00 am- 12:00 pm

Stop by tomorrow and grab some plants, good food, and a preview of the 2016 Aurora Farmer's Market.

I'll have heirloom organic tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, herbs, cucumbers, bush beans, and natives.

Wait for it...Planting Tomatoes, Peppers, and Eggplant in Spring.

Every spring, in late April, we get a few sunny, 75F days. People rush to mow their lawns, trim their bushes, and plant their gardens. But unless it's 2012, we'll continue to see most of our highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s until early-mid May. And that's the problem for planting tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.

Resist the urge of spring fever to "get ahead" on the weekends and plant your vegetable garden. If it's kale or cabbage, or seeding carrots, spinach, or lettuce, you're right on time. But if you're planting tomatoes, peppers, or eggplants, which originated in the subtropics, it's too soon.

These plants aren't happy below 55F; they slow down physiologically. Tomatoes will experience blossom drop, peppers will begin to droop, and eggplants will take several weeks to recover, if at all.

Yesterday, I went to Home Depot for an automotive part, and was browsing the garden center...dozens of people loading their carts with all of the above. The big box stores rush these plants to the shelves in the hope that you'll get spring fever and take the bait. It's unfortunate. Planting in late April guarantees that you'll have lower yields. It's one step forward, two steps back.

So, when your neighbor is busy planting the garden on that first sunny day, and you feel the itch...put your feet up, relax, and enjoy the day. You've got plenty of time.

The tomato line-up for this season. . . old favorites, like Green Grape, and new favorites like Dr. Carolyn.