‘THE SAGE’-Klein’s Online Newsletter—JUNE 2020
Klein’s Floral & Greenhouses
608/244-5661 or info@kleinsfloral.com
THIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHTS:
Shopping @ Klein’s During COVID-19
Now Hiring Part-time Floral Delivery Driver
Our ‘Mad Gardener’ Is Ready for Your Questions
10 Ways to Keep Your Garden Healthy
Plucked Tomato Suckers Produce a Quick New Crop
Natural Rabbit and Deer Repellents from Epic (Enviro Protections Industries Co.)
Klein’s Favorite Seed, Bulb & Plant Sources
You Asked the Mad Gardener about Impatiens
Plant of the Month: Aronia (Chokeberry)
Klein’s Favorite Spring Pea Recipes
Product Spotlight:
Notes from Rick’s Garden Journal—From May 2020
—A Passage from Les Miserables
—Butterflies Arrive Enforce
—Container Garden Maintenance 101
June in the Garden: A Planner
Gardening Events Around Town
Join Us on Twitter
Follow Us on Facebook
SHOPPING @ KLEIN’S DURING COVID-19
Now that we are back open and up & running, we have a few rules in place to make your shopping enjoyable and safe.
We continue to offer curbside pick up or curbside delivery to your car! Order online at kleinsfloral.com/shop and pay through PayPal or a credit card. We will put your items together and have them ready for pick up. Given the number of orders we receive, it may be a few days before your order is ready.
CURRENT SHOPPING GUIDELINES (Keeping in mind that things are changing daily):
Hours: Monday – Saturday 9:00 am- 6:00, Sunday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Store hours: We have designated Tuesdays 7-9:00 am for those at higher risk for COVID-19
We are limiting the number of people inside the store. We’ve decided to keep our customer limit to about 70, even though current social distancing recommendations say with our square footage we should be able to handle over 150 shoppers safely. We ask that you use a shopping cart while in our store. It helps us keep track of the number of people in at any one time, helps to maintain social distancing and makes it easier to complete the no contact checkout process. No more than two people per shopping cart
We ask that you shop individually at this time, yet understand if that’s not possible. We ask that only 1 or 2 family members be in the store at a time.
We strongly encourage you to wear a mask. Wearing a mask helps to not spread the virus to the people around you. All of our staff members are required to wear masks.
We welcome service animals and request that pets stay at home.
Our entrance and exit are one-way to maintain social distancing.
Shopping carts are sanitized daily, with handles sanitized after each use.
Please take advantage of our curbside pickup and delivery options if you or someone in your household is ill.
We continue to offer custom potting jobs. Please clearly mark each sanitized pot with your name, telephone number and what you would like planted in each. Placing an order before you bring in your containers is recommended. We require a minimum of four days. Email customplanters@kleinsfloral.
We are unable offer our houseplant potting service at this time. You are welcome to use the potting bench as long as you throw the plastic grower pots touched in the garbage.
At this time our restrooms will be closed to the public unless it’s an emergency.
DURING CHECKOUT:
The checkout lines are marked with lines for waiting, spaced six feet apart. We ask that you allow this space between you and the person in front of you. The checkout process is speedy with many registers open.
Plexiglas shields have been installed at the register stations.
No cash transactions are accepted at this time unless you have exact change. Envelopes are available for you to put the exact cash in. We accept major credit cards, gift cards, checks or Apple Pay.
WHAT WE ASK FROM YOU:
WE WANT YOU TO BE SAFE! If you would prefer to order online or over the telephone we continue to offer curbside pick up or delivery to your car Monday – Saturday.
Please follow the 6′ social distancing guidelines. Follow all directional signage.
Try to limit your shopping time to one hour or less. Shop with a list and shop with a purpose. Please don’t pick up items unless you plan on purchasing them.
Please show items with barcodes to the cashier to scan and make the checkout process faster. We will not re-box the plastic trays that hold our cell packs or our 5″ pots. Please know that we will accept these trays and “Klein’s pots” for reuse at a future date.
Out of respect for each other, people who choose not to adhere to the guidelines will be asked to leave.
NOW HIRING PART-TIME FLORAL DELIVERY DRIVER
Klein’s is currently looking for a part-time floral delivery driver. We’re looking for someone with a flexible schedule, who is available 2-3 days a week from about 8:00-2:00. Occasional Saturdays and floral holidays (Valentine’s Day, Mothers’ Day, etc.) are required. No experience is necessary with on the job training. A good driving record is a must, however.
This may be a perfect job if you’re retired and want to remain active or a student who would like some extra cash.
If you enjoy meeting people and putting a smile on their face, this might be the job for you!!
Please stop by the store or contact Rick @ 608-244-5661 for more information.
THE MAD GARDENER
“Madison’s Firsthand Source for Expert Gardening Advice”
Ask any of your gardening questions by e-mailing them to us at madgardener@kleinsfloral.com. Klein’s in-house Mad Gardener will e-mail you with an answer as promptly as we can. We’ve also posted a link on our home page and in our contacts for your convenience. Your question might then appear in the “You Asked” feature of our monthly newsletter. If your question is the one selected for our monthly newsletter, you’ll receive a small gift from us at Klein’s.
Sorry, we can only answer those questions pertaining to gardening in Southern Wisconsin and we reserve the right to leave correspondence unanswered at our discretion. Please allow 2-3 days for a response.
FOR NEIGHBORHOOD EVENTS OR GARDEN TOURS that you would like posted on our web site or in our monthly newsletters, please contact Rick at (608) 244-5661 or rick@kleinsfloral.com. Please include all details, i.e. dates, locations, prices, brief description, etc. Events must be garden related and must take place in the Madison area.
JUNE STORE HOURS:
Through June 21:
Monday thru Friday : 9:00-6:00
Saturday: 9:00-6:00
Sunday: 10:00-5:00
After Father’s Day, June 21:
Monday thru Friday : 9:00-6:00
Saturday: 9:00-5:00
Sunday: 10:00-4:00
Open Saturday, July 4: 10:00-4:00
CALENDAR OF EVENTS:
Throughout June, visit Klein’s and check out our specials on annuals, vegetables, herbs, hanging baskets and containers. Specials and selection change weekly so give us a call for the most up-to-date information at (608) 244-5661 or toll free at 888-244-5661 or on our home page @ www.kleinsfloral.com. We pride ourselves in having the best cared for plants in even the hottest weather and throughout the month we’ll continue to offer a full selection of annuals and perennials.
June 5–Full Moon
June 14–Flag Day
June 21–Father’s Day
June 20–First Day of Summer
‘THE FLOWER SHOPPE’:
We want to thank you for continuing to be beyond supportive during this time. We know that you have many floral shops in the area that you could do business with and we value your patronage more than you know. You are the reason we love what we do, and we appreciate your loyalty.
What has changed during COVID-19:
We continue to take floral orders for delivery or curbside pick-up, and most importantly we continue to provide you with the most creative and beautiful fresh floral bouquets.
Our delivery schedule:
At this time, we continue to do floral deliveries Monday through Saturday, however we are currently doing one delivery run daily. Our new cut-off time for floral orders is 12:00, and deliveries are usually out to their destinations by 12:30. We are currently not doing timed deliveries.
ALL deliveries, regardless of home or office, are NO CONTACT. WE MUST have a phone number for the recipient. We are either placing floral orders on the step or porch and then either ringing the bell and walking away, or calling from our delivery van to let them know we have left something. We cannot deliver without a phone number, so please have that readily available when you place your order. If you’d like us to call first and let them know we will be coming, we are happy to do that for you. Please also note that if you are considering a delivery to a nursing home or assisted living center you might call first and make sure that they are accepting outside deliveries before placing an order. PLEASE NOTE THAT AT THIS TIME NO HOSPITAL IN THE AREA IS ACCEPTING FLORAL DELIVERIES.
Selection:
As each week passes it gets more and more difficult to secure flowers for our use. Even our everyday staples are becoming harder to get. Our wholesalers are facing many challenges. A great deal of product comes from California. Due to their ‘lock down” even if floral product is being harvested, it struggles to get out of the state. A similar situation exists for product coming out of Ecuador and South American—it might be available, but most of it comes into Miami, and again shipping is almost impossible. Yes, we are still getting fresh product, but it’s about a fourth of what is normally available. So, we need a little help from you! We would ask that when you do place an order that you understand that it needs to be designer’s choice and not something specific (wire out orders as well). Our emphasis being, the creation of something beautiful for your recipient, (or for you) with the freshest of product! If you are ordering online and are choosing a FTD arrangement, more often than not we are having to make floral substitutions.
Klein’s design team: Darcy, Sue and Andrea
YOU ASKED. . .
I planted impatiens last year after waiting for a year. Unfortunately the plants started out healthy and then also all died like they did in previous years. Would it be safe to try again this year? Kathryn
Hi Kathryn,
Your soil is probably contains impatiens downy mildew spores. This condition appeared in the Madison area just over a decade ago and is here to stay. Old impatiens varieties (such as Super Elfin, Accent, etc.) can be planted in containers where the soil is replaced every year, but in beds, once the condition appears, the spores remain in the soil for 5-7 years. There are newer cultivars that are somewhat resistant (the Imara Series from Sygenta) but not entirely. There are now also a number of New Guinea impatiens varieties that bloom very well in the shade, such as the Divine Series. New Guinea impatiens are not susceptible to the mildew.
Thanks for your question,
DID YOU KNOW. . .
. . . that you can raise a quick crop of tomato seedlings by rooting the suckers from plants already in your garden?
A version of the following article by Greg Coppa appeared a few years back in an issue of Horticulture magazine.
Putting On a Tomato Variety Show/Rooted Cuttings Will Diversify Crop
Each summer I used to grow a couple of dozen tomato plants. I now rarely have more than eight plants in my garden, but of those there may be seven different varieties.
Sometimes I have participated in tomato plant swaps with co-workers. We would each bring in a six-pack or a dozen plants of a different variety, then we would trade them in late May.
In this way I was able to try yellow, orange and pink tomatoes as well as those shaped like oxhearts, grapes, bananas, small marbles and plums.
Some had high sugar content and others were bred for low acidity. A certain variety was not the best tasting, but it kept in a cool garage until February. An early cultivar matured in only 46 days and the seed package of a big meaty one advertised that it would take 78 days for it to get that way.
Strength in Diversity
One year I even grew and exchanged plants from seeds that had been irradiated during a spell on Skylab in space. The variety was ‘Rutgers’ and the hope among researchers was that there might be some interesting mutations among the specimens. We didn’t discover any, but that was probably welcome news for the spouses of the astronauts.
There are good reasons to grow different tomato cultivars in your garden. One is that different species have different resistance to diseases and environmental factors. If you grow the same kind of tomato plants and they are susceptible to wilt, a particular insect infestation or a dry spell, than you could lose all your plants or at least have very dramatically reduced yields. But with plant diversification that won’t likely happen.
And another advantage of diversification is that the plants won’t all mature fruit at one time, leaving you with a glut followed by a shortage.
If you see an interesting plant in a friend’s garden and think that you have to wait till next year to try it, you may be wrong. Ask your friend for a “sucker” from the plant. For more than a decade I have had very good luck rooting the so-called “suckers,” or side stems, which many tomato plant aficionados pinch off and discard to discourage vegetative growth and encourage fruiting.
Rooting a Sucker
With scissors, I just cut a 6-inch sucker and put it in a dark-colored bottle, like a brown or green beer bottle, so that 2 inches of the plant stem is immersed in water. I put the plant in indirect sunlight and in three or four days I see bumps on the immersed stem from which roots quickly emerge.
They say that suckers are born every minute, but my record is seven days. In seven days a plant developed from a sucker that had enough root structure to set out in soil. With results like this, I typically don’t even bother using a rooting hormone anymore.
But there is something else interesting about these suckers that you should know. I have to do more research, but it does appear that the rooted plants give mature fruit much faster than their seed-grown parents, even taking into consideration that, of course, you don’t have to wait for germination of a seed and that the plant is already 6 inches tall and hardy looking at “birth” in a week or two.
Frankly, it is sometimes difficult for me to tell the difference between the parent and offspring plants even when the two plants have been grown side by side.
Many garden centers have started selling larger, single plants in place of smaller ones in starter packs. If you can’t find several of the variety that you really want, or if a gardening friend has a specimen you would like to try, but does not have an extra plant for you, consider trying to root a sucker.
Remember that the suckers are genetically identical to the mother plant. Also remember that since most tomato plants are hybrids, it is not worth saving seeds from a plant for later in the season or the following year. The fruit that you will get will probably not resemble the fruit from which you harvested the seeds. But then again, you just might develop a very special tomato that nobody else will have.
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT—Each month we spotlight some product that we already carry or one that we’ve taken note of and plan to carry in the near future. Likewise, if you would like to see Klein’s to carry a product that we don’t currently, please let us know. Our goal is to be responsive to the marketplace and to our loyal clientele. If a product fits into our profile, we will make every effort to get it into our store. In addition, we may be able to special order an item for you, whether plant or hard good, given enough time.
Natural Rabbit and Deer Repellents from Epic (Enviro Protections Industries Co.
Makers of America’s Finest™ Natural Granular Repellents
Welcome to EPIC Repellents
The first thing you ought to know about the people of EPIC is that we love animals and respect nature. When we talk about repelling various types of animals, whether wild or domestic, the words “pest” and “nuisance” come up. These beautiful animals only become a nuisance when they destroy the hard work we have put into our gardens, lawns and landscaping.
So we set out to come up with the best ways to protect our flower and vegetable gardens and our yards without causing harm to the vegetation, the animals, or to people and our larger environment. We studied natural substances, animals’ habits and behavior, and the interaction of both in local ecology and climates. Today, we are proud to be able to provide products that we can guarantee will keep animals away, are safe for the environment, and are completely biodegradable and organic.
with us you’ll find granular repellents with unique natural formulas which are proven to be highly effective. Each one is designed to be the best for a single creature. All of them are easy to use and long lasting.
Klein’s is now offering Rabbit and Deer Scram as an introduction to EPIC’s products. In addition to those, EPIC also makes Cat, Dog, Vole and Mole Scram…even Armadillo Scram armadillos are running rampant in your Wisconsin garden!
Rabbit Scram—is a granular, organic, biodegradable, environmentally safe rabbit repellant that is guaranteed to keep rabbits away from your prized gardens, shrubs and vegetables, while not being offensive to humans.
Blended from selected organic components, Rabbit Scram is used as a direct barrier repellent — applied at the base of rabbits favored plants — and is not water-soluble. Rabbit Scram will keep rabbits off your plantings because it convinces rabbits that harm is nearby through their uncanny sense of smell. Rabbit Scram changes rabbit behavior. As they near the applied barrier of Rabbit Scram rabbits actually alert to a sense of danger or even death! Rabbit Scram lasts longer than competing sprays, protects new growth that sprays cannot, and is less expensive to use because it is applied around plants rather than on the leaves of each plant.
Deer Scram works much the same way and is also effective on adult rabbits (less so on their offspring which will try just about anything as they learn what to eat).
Source: https://www.epicrepellents.com
NOTES FROM MY GARDEN JOURNAL–Tips and Observations from My Own Garden by Rick Halbach
ENTRY: MAY 10, 2020 (A Passage from Les Miserables)
Paging through some old notes, I came across this passage from the book Les Miserables (1862) by Victor Hugo about the bishop character. A friend who had read the book years back had said it reminded him of me…
“He seated himself on a wooden bench, with his back against a decrepit vine; he gazed at the stars, past the puny and stunted silhouettes of his fruit-trees. This quarter of an acre, so poorly planted, so encumbered with mean buildings and sheds, was dear to him, and satisfied his wants.
What more was needed by this old man, who divided the leisure of his life, where there was so little leisure, between gardening in the daytime and contemplation at night? Was not this narrow enclosure, with the heavens for a ceiling, sufficient to enable him to adore God in his most divine works, in turn? Does not this comprehend all, in fact? And what is there left to desire beyond it? A little garden in which to walk, and immensity in which to dream. At one’s feet that which can be cultivated and plucked; over head that which one can study and meditate upon: some flowers on earth, and all the stars in the sky.”
* * * * *
ENTRY: MAY 27, 2020 (Butterflies Arrive Enforce)
The summer-like weather of the past few days has brought out a summer-like flood of insects to the garden (including a few mosquitoes). Most notable to me is the simultaneous appearance of nearly every kind of common butterfly in just a few short days. The cabbage butterflies had made their appearance in April with that first burst of warm weather. They were the only butterflies in the garden until just this week. Now the garden is frequently visited by red admirals, painted ladies, mourning clocks, the dark version of the female tiger swallowtail and yesterday I saw my first monarch/viceroy.
I really enjoy inviting butterflies to the garden by incorporating their favorite food sources into the landscape. My hope is that the females find my garden suitable to lay her eggs. As often as possible I try to provide host plants on which the caterpillars can feed before they form their chrysalis and ultimately change into butterflies. Favorite caterpillar and adult host plants for our most common species include:
Black Swallowtail Caterpillars— All parsley family relatives including, Queen Anne’s lace, carrot, dill, fennel and celery
Black Swallowtail Adults–Thistles, milkweed, clover
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Caterpillars–Wild cherry, birch, willow, cottonwood, ash
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Adults–Purple coneflowers, Brazilian vervain
Monarch Caterpillars–All milkweeds
Monarch Adults–Milkweeds, liatris, goldenrods, ironweed, lantana, clover, thistles, purple coneflower, Brazilian vervain
Mourning Cloak Caterpillars–Willows, elm, cottonwood, birch
Mourning Cloak Adults–Tree sap and rotting fruit are their favorites.
Painted Lady Caterpillars–Thistles, hollyhocks, mallows and legumes
Painted Lady Adults–Thistles, asters, liatris, joe-pye weed, clover, milkweeds, clover, privet
Red Admiral Caterpillars–All nettles
Red Admiral Adults–Asters, milkweed, clover, lantana (also tree sap and rotting fruit)
Viceroy Caterpillars–Willows, poplars, cottonwoods
Viceroy Adults–Asters, goldenrod, joe-pye weed, thistles (but also dung, carrion and aphid honeydew
* * * * *
ENTRY: MAY 31, 2020 (Container Garden Maintenance 101)
My many summer containers are now planted and in place. Now begins the daily upkeep!
How to Maintain Your Container Garden
By The National Gardening Association, Paul Simon and Charlie Nardozzi from Urban Gardening For Dummies
Container gardens are perfect for small urban gardens. Maintaining
Containers in the city can heat up fast and furious in full sun. Even plants that are labeled as heat-loving can overheat on a hot summer day. Watering regularly helps keep them cool, but you also should consider the plant placement. Even a plant that needs full sun may benefit from some shade during the hottest part of the day.
If you’re planting container vegetables and annual flowers, situate them where they’ll get morning sun but have some protection from intense afternoon sun or set them in the filtered light of a high tree canopy.
How to fertilize in a container garden:
Most potting soils don’t contain enough nutrients to keep your plants growing to perfection all summer long. However, some potting soils have time-release fertilizers added to them that slowly release their nutrients in response to watering. These are probably the easiest potting soils for the urban gardener to use, as long as you’re okay with using the chemical fertilizer product included in the soil.
These slow-release granules last at least three months, with some hanging on up to nine months. Their effectiveness may be reduced by frequent watering in summer, so monitor your plants for signs of nutrient deficiency, such as yellowing leaves and stunted growth. You can also buy these slow release fertilizers and add them to potting soil yourself at planting time. Apply them again later in the season, according to instructions.
You can also use organic fertilizer products such as compost, fish emulsion, and cottonseed meal in your containers. The key to adding these fertilizers is to stick with it. Since the nutrients are lost through leaching due to frequent watering, and there’s a limited amount of soil mass to hold nutrients, you’ll need to apply these fertilizers as often as every few weeks to keep your plants growing strong.
Water-soluble granular fertilizers yield the quickest results. It’s important to follow the manufacturer’s instructions when applying. Fertilize every 10-14 days.
How to prune your container plants:
The beauty of most annual flowers is that they never stop flowering. However, if individual plants in a container become tired-looking, cut them back. They’ll regrow and begin flowering again.
If the plants are beyond rejuvenation, spruce up the planters with replacement annuals, choosing similar plants and colors to complement the remaining flowers. Or remove the whole planting and start over with a different theme. For an immediate full effect in your container, place plants close together.
Another way to keep annual flowers blooming is to deadhead the flowers after they finish blooming. Simply pinch off the dead flower. It not only cleans up the plant, it encourages it to form more flowers.
Some newer varieties of annual flowers are self-cleaning. This means they drop their dead flowers to the ground when blooming is done.
How to inspect container plants for pests:
Since your pots are elevated and in the city, you’d think you wouldn’t have to contend with pests. Amazingly enough, pests will find your plants, even in urban areas. Certainly, problems with deer or woodchucks may be minimal, but squirrels, raccoons, and mice all may find your plants.
Insect pests with winged adult stages such as cabbageworms, Japanese beetles, and whiteflies all can find your plants. Diseases such as powdery mildew and black spot are ubiquitous in the environment and likely to occur when the weather conditions are right.
Here are some tips to keep the pests away:
•Keep your plants healthy. This almost goes without saying, but a healthy plant is less likely to suffer from insect and disease attacks than a stressed one. Keep your plants well watered and fertilized all summer long.
•Keep watch. Check leaves, stems, and flowers regularly. You’ll be admiring your beautiful plantings daily anyway, so just take an extra minute to look under the leaves and peer closely at the stems. Often you’ll see the first signs of damage or young insects lurking there. Simply squish them to prevent any problems from taking hold.
•Cover them up. Create barriers to keep squirrels away or use floating row covers to prevent insects from laying eggs on your prized plants. If you can prevent problems from occurring, rather than trying to cure them once they happen, you’ll get the best from your container gardens.
•Be realistic. If your plants have been attacked and aren’t recovering or have disease or insect infestations that are spreading to other plants, be realistic. Consider ripping out those damaged plants. The beauty of containers is you can easily start over and over again. Why live through a rotten summer of ugly plants when it’s simpler to just start over?
Source: www.dummies.com
KLEIN’S RECIPES OF THE MONTH—These are a selection of relatively simple recipes chosen by our staff. New recipes appear monthly. Enjoy!!
Shell peas are a seasonal treat and June is the month they are usually at their peak. Shell peas differ from snap and snow peas in that their pod is inedible and they must be shelled before eating. Fresh, shelled peas are added directly to soups and stews or are lightly cooked (just 2-4 minutes when steamed or blanched) and chilled when added to salads. Peas are delicious raw. When cooked and warm, add just a little butter for a real spring treat. Peas pair well with mint for something simple and extra-special. Peas freeze well for longterm storage. Blanch for 2 minutes, chill in ice water and drain before placing them in freezer bags.
CLASSIC SEVEN LAYER SALAD–During the 1970’s no summer get-together was complete without this classic summer salad. This recipe appeared in the St. Albert the Great Community Cookbook in 1992.
shredded lettuce–to be authentic, you gotta use iceberg for this one!!
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
10-12 oz. lightly cooked peas, chilled (fresh or frozen)
2 cups Miracle Whip, diluted with a small amount of milk
2 TBS. sugar
6 oz. sharp cheddar, shredded
8 oz. bacon, fried and crumbled
Fill half of a large bowl with the shredded lettuce. Sprinkle with a layer of the onion, then in order; the celery, green pepper, peas, salad dressing, sugar, cheese and bacon. Cover the bowl tightly and allow to chill 6-8 hours. Do not toss!!
GREEN SALAD WITH MINT AND PEAS–From the pages of Everyday Food, May 2007.
1 TBS. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 TBS. olive oil
coarse salt and pepper to taste
fresh greens
1 cup peas, lightly cooked, chilled and drained
1/2 cup torn mint
Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a bowl, then toss together with the greens, peas and mint. Serves 4.
TRULY AMAZING EGGPLANT SALAD–This recipe has become a new family favorite and is a fantastic way to use up eggplant! Appeared in Everyday Food from May 2012.
3 medium eggplants (about 3 lbs.), cut into 1” cubes
3 TBS. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
10-12 oz. peas, lightly cooked, chilled and drained.
3 TBS. fresh lime juice
2 TBS. vegetable oil
1 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup chopped cashews, roasted
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Preheat oven to 450º. In a large bowl, toss together the eggplant, olive oil, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Spread onto 2 rimmed baking sheets sprayed with non-stick spray. Roast, turning once and rotating pans until tender and golden, about 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool on the sheets.
In a large bowl, whisk together the lime juice, veggie oil, curry powder, coarse salt and pepper. Add the cooled eggplant, peas, cashes and cilantro. Toss and chill. Makes 6 servings.
PARSLEY AND PEA PESTO–An easy and great way to use up a lot of peas!!! Another recipe from Everyday Food. This one appeared in March 2010.
3 cups fresh or frozen peas
1 1/2 cups packed, lightly chopped parsley
3/4 cups chopped walnuts, toasted
1 cup parmesan
5 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. pasta
Lightly cook 1 1/2 cups of the peas, drain and set aside. In a food processor, combine the cooked peas, parley, walnuts, parmesan, garlic and 2 TBS. water. Pulse until the mixture is pasty. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil until blended. Season if desired and blend. Cook the pasta per instructions, adding the uncooked peas during the last 30 seconds of cooking. Reserve 2 cups of the cooking water. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add and stir in pesto to taste (reserving any leftover for other purposes). Add the pasta water as needed to create a sauce. Serve sprinkled with parmesan. Serves 8.
WHITE CORN AND PEA SALAD–From Better Homes & Gardens magazine, May 1999. Ideal for a family picnic!
1 x 16 oz. pkg. frozen shoe peg (white) corn, thawed
16 oz. peas, lightly cooked, chilled and drained (or frozen, thawed)
1 cup chopped jicama
2/3 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup sliced green onion
1/4 cup chopped red pepper
1/2 cup rice vinegar
2 TBS. brown sugar
1 TBS. snipped parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 TBS. snipped mint
In a large bowl, mix together the corn, peas, jicama, celery, onion and peppers. For the dressing, shake together the vinegar, sugar, parsley, salt and pepper. Pour over the salad and toss to coat. Stir in the mint. Cover and chill at least 4 hours. Serves 10-12.
NATURAL NEWS–
10 Ways to Keep Your Garden Healthy
—Learn how to eliminate plant diseases by understanding and managing the conditions that cause them
By A.R. Chase for Fine Gardening Magazine @ www.finegardening.com
One of the most mystifying things that can happen in your garden is when a plant gets a disease. How did it happen? Will it spread? Will all my plants die? How can I get rid of it? The most important thing to understand about disease prevention is something called the disease triangle (drawing, right). Disease can only happen when three things coincide: you have a plant that can get sick (a host), a pathogen (like a fungus, bacterium, or virus) that can attack the plant, and environmental conditions (like humidity or drought) that promote the disease. If any one of these things is not present, the disease will not happen, so prevention involves knocking out at least one side of the triangle. Rather than waiting for a problem to pop up in your garden, consider the best defense against disease to be a good offense. What follows are 10 ways you can eliminate at least one side of the disease triangle and keep your plants healthy.
—Examine plants carefully before buying
The easiest way to limit disease in your garden is to avoid introducing it in the first place. Getting a disease with a new plant is not the kind of bonus that any of us wants. One of the hardest things to learn is what a healthy plant should look like, making it difficult to know if the one you want is sick.
It is a good idea to collect a few books, magazines, and catalogs that show what a healthy specimen looks like. Don’t take home a plant with dead spots, rotted stems, or insects. These problems can easily spread to your healthy plants and are sometimes hard to get rid of once established.
—Use fully composted yard waste
Not all materials in a compost pile decompose at the same rate. Some materials may have degraded sufficiently to be put in the garden, while others have not. Thorough composting generates high temperatures for extended lengths of time, which actually kill any pathogens in the material. Infected plant debris that has not undergone this process will reintroduce potential diseases into your garden. If you are not sure of the conditions of your compost pile, you should avoid using yard waste as mulch under sensitive plants and avoid including possibly infected debris in your pile.
—Keep an eye on your bugs
Insect damage to plants is much more than cosmetic. Viruses and bacteria often can only enter a plant through some sort of opening, and bug damage provides that. Some insects actually act as a transport for viruses, spreading them from one plant to the next. Aphids are one of the most common carriers, and thrips spread impatiens necrotic spot virus, which has become a serious problem for commercial producers over the past 10 years. Aster yellows (photo, right) is a disease carried by leafhoppers and has a huge range of host plants. Insect attacks are another way to put a plant under stress, rendering it less likely to fend off disease.
—Clean up in the fall
It is always best to clean out the garden in the fall, even if you live in a moderate climate. This is not only an effective deterrent to disease but also a good way to control diseases already in your garden.
Diseases can overwinter on dead leaves and debris and attack the new leaves as they emerge in spring. Iris leaf spot, daylily leaf streak, and black spot on roses are examples of diseases that can be dramatically reduced if the dead leaves are cleared away each fall. If you are leaving stems and foliage to create winter interest, be sure to remove them before new growth starts in spring.
—Apply the correct fertilizer
You need to take care when fertilizing plants since too much of any fertilizer can burn roots, reducing their ability to absorb water. This, in turn, makes the plants more susceptible to stress from drought, cold, and heat. Plants starved for nutrients are smaller and can be badly affected by leaf spots, while a stronger plant can fight off diseases. An overabundance of a particular nutrient is another way to put stress on a plant.
Getting a soil test through your local extension agency will provide you with accurate information on nutrient levels in your soil. Without it, any feeding of your plants is likely to be guesswork on your part and may result in too much of one nutrient or not enough of another.
—Plant disease-resistant varieties
Disease-resistant plants are those that might get sick with a particular problem but will fight off the disease instead of succumbing to it. For instance, some tomatoes are coded as “VFN resistant,” which means the tomato variety is resistant to the fungi Verticillium and Fusarium and to nematodes.
If you start looking for these codes on flowers, you’ll probably be disappointed because disease resistance is rarely identified on plant tags. This doesn’t mean that numerous flower varieties are not resistant to disease. Many rose companies offer plants that are resistant to diseases like powdery mildew and black spot.
Nursery employees and fellow gardeners can help you identify the best or most resistant varieties of many plants. Reference books and catalogs may also list plants and varieties resistant to particular diseases.
—Prune damaged limbs at the right time
Trimming trees and shrubs in late winter is better than waiting until spring. Wounded limbs can become infected over the winter, allowing disease to become established when the plant is dormant. Late-winter pruning prevents disease from spreading to new growth. Although late-winter storms can cause new damage, it is still better to trim back a broken limb than ignore it until spring is underway. Always use sharp tools to make clean cuts that heal rapidly, and make sure to cut back to healthy, living tissue.
—Choose and site plants appropriately
Successful gardening is based on using plants appropriate for your zone and site. If you set a shade-loving plant, like an azalea, in full sun, it will grow poorly and be easily attacked by diseases and insects.
Plants have defenses similar to a human’s immune system, which swing into action when plants are under attack from an insect or disease. If plants are under stress, they cannot react with full strength to fight off or recover from diseases. Stressed plants, therefore, are more likely to succumb to these afflictions.
—Water properly
Watering your garden is a good thing, but since many diseases need water just as much as plants do, how you go about it makes a big difference. Many pathogens in the soil and air need water to move, grow, and reproduce. To avoid giving these diseases an environment they love, choose watering methods that limit moisture on a plant’s foliage. Soaker hoses and drip irrigation accomplish this. If you are watering by hand, hold the leaves out of the way as you water the roots.
The most common leaf problems are exacerbated when leaves are wet, so overhead sprinkling is the least desirable option. If you choose this method, however, water at a time when the leaves will dry quickly but the roots still have time to absorb the moisture before it evaporates.
Also remember that more isn’t necessarily better when giving your plants a drink. Waterlogged soil or pots promotes some root-rotting fungi and can also suffocate roots, making them easy targets for the rotting fungi.
—Don’t crowd plants
Take care when spacing transplants, and keep an eye on established plants as they spread. Crowded plants create their own humidity, which allows diseases like powdery mildew (photo, right), rust, and downy mildew to thrive. Improving airflow around your plants reduces this high relative humidity and allows foliage to dry more quickly.
Plants that are placed too closely together tend to grow poorly due to competition for light, water, and nutrients. These weak plants are more susceptible to attack. Diseases also sometimes spread when an infected leaf comes into contact with a healthy one, which is more likely when plants are next to each other.
To lessen the likelihood of disease, trim out crowded, damaged, or old stalks on plants that are prone to powdery mildew, like Phlox paniculata. Dividing or rearranging your plants when they need it will also help.
JUNE’S PLANT OF THE MONTH:
ARONIA (Chokeberry)
Aronia melanocarpa, commonly called black chokeberry, is an open, upright, spreading, somewhat rounded but leggy, suckering, deciduous shrub that typically grows 3-6’ tall. It is native to low woods, swamps, bogs and moist thickets but occasionally to dry upland areas, from Newfoundland to southern Ontario and Minnesota south to Missouri, Tennessee and Georgia. It is noted for its 5-6 flowered clusters of white 5-petaled spring (May) flowers, glossy elliptic to obovate dark green leaves (to 2-3” long) with finely toothed margins, black autumn berries (blueberry size) and purple/red fall color.
The common name of chokeberry is in reference to the tart and bitter taste of the fruits which are technically edible but so astringent as to cause choking in most of those who try. Fruits are used to make tasty jams, jellies and juices.
Aronia is a good source of iron and vitamin C. Its health properties are mainly ascribed to the high levels of anthocyanins, polyhenols and flavenoids that act as antioxidants and venotonics (to strengthen arteries and veins). Aronia is considered as a new super-food with many health properties that exceed those of cranberries.
Easily grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Plants have a wide range of soil tolerance including boggy soils. Best fruit production usually occurs in full sun. Remove root suckers to prevent colonial spread.
Group or mass in shrub borders, small gardens or open woodland areas. Ability to withstand wet conditions makes it suitable for growing on the margins of ponds or streams. Excellent addition to naturalized areas where its suckering, colonial growth habit does not need to be restrained.
Klein’s offers the following aronia varieties and can be found alongside our other potted fruits including; blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, grapes, rhubarb, etc.
Autumn Magic–Autumn Magic bears gorgeous white flower clusters in the spring, dark green foliage all summer, and dark blue-black fruits all winter. Grows to 5-7’ tall. Great source of vitamin C and high in antioxidants. (Two gallon pot)
Iroquois Beauty–Selected at the Morton Arboretum for its compact habit, with 10 year old plants reaching just 3’ in height and 5’ in width. Three-season interest begins with clusters of white flowers in spring, long lasting black berries in summer, followed by wine-red fall color. Great for mass planting, the plant does sucker and will form colonies. Good for wetland reclamation. Good food source for birds. Tough, adaptable variety that will grow under wet or dry conditions, in full sun or part shade. Zone 3. (Two gallon pot)
Viking–One of the best cultivars known for its incredibly large clusters of black fruit. Attractive white flowers in late spring along with glossy dark green leaves that turn to vivid hues of red and orange in the fall offer multi season interest. Easy to grow and maintain. Developed in Eastern Europe for commercial fruit production and can be used to make jams, jellies and many other fruit products. Berries are high in vitamins and antioxidants. 6-8‘ tall and 5-6‘ wide. For full sun. Zone 3. (One Gallon Pot)
Source: www.missouribotanicalgarden.
AROUND TOWN:
For neighborhood events or garden tours that you would like posted in our monthly newsletter, please contact Rick at (608) 244-5661 or rick@kleinsfloral.com. Please include all details, i.e. dates, locations, prices, brief description, etc. Events must be garden related and must take place in the Madison vicinity and we must receive your information by the first of the month in which the event takes place for it to appear in that month’s newsletter.
***Due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, nearly all events in the Madison area have been cancelled or postponed until further notice.***
JUNE IN THE GARDEN-–A checklist of things to do this month.
___By early June, finish planting all annuals and vegetables.
___By early June, move all houseplants out that spend the summer outdoors.
___In early June give all beds a thorough weeding for easier follow-up.
___June is a great month to plant perennials, trees and shrubs.
___Prune evergreens.
___Prune hard any spring flowering shrubs like forsythia, quince, etc.
___Mulch beds to conserve moisture and keep down weeds.
___Begin deadheading spent blooms as needed.
___Remove yellowed foliage of spring tulips, daffodils, etc.
___Begin staking and supporting tall plants as needed.
___Begin your fertilizing regimen. Regular fertilizing makes for healthy plants.
___Order spring bulbs from catalogs while your memory is still fresh.
___Keep and eye on the weather. Water as needed.
___Watch for pests and control as needed or desired.
___Begin seeding cole crops for fall harvest. Also sow pansies and wallflowers.
___Pinch hardy mums until July 4 for bushier less floppy plants.
___Visit Klein’s—Watch for end of season savings on annuals and perennials.
Some of our very favorite seed and plant sources include:
For seeds:
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds @ www.rareseeds.com or 417/924-8887
Burpee @ www.burpee.com or 800/888-1447
Harris Seeds @ www.harrisseeds.com or 800/514-4441
Johnny’s Select Seeds @ www.johnnyseeds.com or 207/861-3901
Jung’s Seeds @ www.jungseed.com or 800/247-5864
Park’s Seeds @ www.parkseed.com or 800/845-3369
Pinetree @ www.superseeds.com or 207/926-3400
Seeds of Change @ www.seedsofchange.com or 888/762-7333
Seed Savers @ www.seedsavers.org or 563/382-5990
Select Seeds @ www.selectseeds.com or 800/684-0395
Territorial Seeds @ www.territorialseed.com or 888/657-3131
Thompson & Morgan @ www.thompson-morgan.com or 800/274-7333
For bulbs:
Brent & Becky’s Bulbs @ www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com or 877/661-2852
Colorblends @ www.colorblends.com or 888/847-8637
John Scheeper’s @ www.johnscheepers.com or 860/567-0838
McClure & Zimmerman @ www.mzbulb.com or 800/883-6998
For plants:
High Country Gardens @ www.highcountrygardens.com or 800/925-9387
Logee’s Greenhouses @ www.logees.com or 888/330-8038
Plant Delights Nursery @ www.plantdelights.com or 912/772-4794
Roots and Rhizomes @ www.rootsrhizomes.com or 800/374-5035
Wayside Gardens @ www.waysidegardens.com or 800/213-0379
White Flower Farm @ www.whiteflowerfarm.com or 800/503-9624
BEHIND THE SCENES AT KLEIN’S—This is a sneak peek of what is going on each month behind the scenes in our greenhouses. Many people are unaware that our facility operates year round or that we have 10 more greenhouses on the property in addition to the 6 open for retail. At any given moment we already have a jump on the upcoming season–be it poinsettias in July, geraniums in December or fall mums in May.
IN A NORMAL JUNE:
—The back greenhouses are nearly empty of product. We’ve had another successful season. This is the time to plan for next spring–while our memories are still fresh: How can we improve in 2021? Which plants did we run out of too early? How was staffing?
—Watering is a nonstop endeavor. On hot, windy days, we no sooner finish the first round, when we have to start all over again. Some plants in our retail areas may need watering 3 or 4 times in a single day! You wouldn’t do this at home, but customers don’t like to see wilted plants. It’s not harmful for us to let them wilt a bit, but it makes for bad presentation.
—We continue to plant some annuals, hanging baskets and containers for summer sales. Our summer “Jumbo Pack” program is under way.
—Fall mums and asters are stepped up into larger tubs and containers for fall sales.
—We begin prepping some of the back greenhouses for the arrival of poinsettia plugs in just a few weeks.
—Our employees breathe a sigh of relief and spend some much needed downtime with family and friends.
PERMANENT FEATURES–
KLEIN’S MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
Have our monthly newsletter e-mailed to you automatically by signing up on the right side of our home page. We’ll offer monthly tips, greenhouse news and tidbits, specials and recipes. . .everything you need to know from your favorite Madison greenhouse. And tell your friends. It’s easy to do.
THE MAD GARDENER–“Madison’s Firsthand Source for Expert Gardening Advice”
Ask us your gardening questions by e-mailing us at madgardener@kleinsfloral.com. Klein’s in-house Mad Gardener will e-mail you with an answer as promptly as we can. The link is posted on our home page and in all newsletters.
We can only answer those questions pertaining to gardening in Southern Wisconsin and we reserve the right to leave correspondence unanswered at our discretion. Please allow 2-3 days for a response.
TO WRITE A REVIEW OF KLEIN’S, PLEASE LINK TO
FACEBOOK
Follow Klein’s on Facebook where we post updates and photos on a regular basis.
TWITTER
Join Klein’s on Twitter where we post company updates and photos on a regular basis.
SENIOR CITIZEN DISCOUNT
We offer a 10% Off Senior Citizen Discount every Tuesday to those 62 and above. This discount is not in addition to other discounts or sales. Please mention that you are a senior before we ring up your purchases. Does not apply to wire out orders or services, i.e. delivery, potting, etc.
RECYCLING POTS & TRAYS
Plastic flower pots and garden edging can now be recycled as part of the City of Madison’s rigid plastic program. Flowerpots and edging must be free of dirt and can be placed in your green recycling bin. For more information call 267-2626 or visit www.cityofmadison.com/streets/
DELIVERY INFO
Klein’s Floral and Greenhouses delivers daily, except Sundays, throughout all of Madison and much of Dane County including: Cottage Grove, DeForest, Fitchburg, Maple Bluff, Marshall, McFarland, Middleton, Monona, Oregon, Shorewood Hills, Sun Prairie, Verona, Waunakee and Windsor. We do not deliver to Cambridge, Columbus, Deerfield or Stoughton.
Current delivery rate on 1-4 items is $7.95 for Madison, Maple Bluff, Monona and Shorewood Hills; $8.95 for Cottage Grove, DeForest, Fitchburg, McFarland, Sun Prairie, Waunakee and Windsor; and $9.95 for Marshall, Middleton, Oregon and Verona. An additional $3.00 will be added for deliveries of 4-10 items and $5.00 added for deliveries of more than 10 items. For deliveries requiring more than one trip, a separate delivery charge will be added for each trip.
A minimum order of $25.00 is required for delivery.
We not only deliver our fabulous fresh flowers, but also houseplants, bedding plants and hardgoods. There may be an extra charge for very large or bulky items.
Delivery to the Madison hospitals is $5.95. Deliveries to the four Madison hospitals are made during the early afternoon. Items are delivered to the hospital’s volunteer rooms and not directly to the patients’ rooms per hospital rules.
There is no delivery charge for funerals in the city of Madison or Monona, although normal rates apply for morning funeral deliveries to Madison’s west side (west of Park St.). Our normal rates also apply for funeral deliveries in the surrounding communities at all times. Although we don’t deliver on Sundays, we will deliver funeral items on Sundays at the regular delivery rate.
Morning delivery is guaranteed to the following Madison zip codes, but only if requested: 53703, 53704, 53714, 53716, 53718 and Cottage Grove, DeForest, Maple Bluff, Marshall, McFarland, Monona, Sun Prairie, Waunakee and Windsor.
We begin our delivery day at 8:00 a.m. and end at approximately 3:00 p.m. We do not usually deliver after 4:00 unless specific exceptions are made with our drivers.
Except for holidays, the following west-side zip codes and communities are delivered only during the afternoon: 53705, 53706, 53711, 53713, 53717, 53719, 53726, Fitchburg, Middleton, Oregon, Shorewood Hills and Verona.
During holidays (Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, etc.) we are able to make morning deliveries to all of the above areas. We are not able to take closely timed deliveries on any holiday due to the sheer volume of such requests.
It’s best to give us a range of time and we’ll try our absolute hardest. Orders for same day delivery must be placed by 12:30 p.m. or by 2:30 p.m. for Madison zip codes 53704 and 53714.
DEPARTMENT HEADS: Please refer all questions, concerns or feedback in the following departments to their appropriate supervisor.
Phone: 608/244-5661 or 888/244-5661
Horticulturalist & General Manager–Jamie VandenWymelenberg jamie@kleinsfloral.com
Accounts, Billing and Purchasing—Kathryn Derauf kathryn@kleinsfloral.com
Delivery Supervisor & Newsletter Coordinator—Rick Halbach rick@kleinsfloral.com
Owner, Floral Designer & Purchasing—Sue Klein sue@kleinsfloral.com
RELATED RESOURCES AND WEB SITES
University of Wisconsin Extension
1 Fen Oak Ct. #138
Madison, WI 53718
608/224-3700
Plant Disease Diagnostics Clinic
Dept. of Plant Pathology
1630 Linden Dr.
Madison, WI 53706
Insect Diagnostic Lab
240 Russell Labs
1630 Linden Dr.
Madison, WI 53706
U.W. Soil and Plant Analysis Lab
8452 Mineral Point Rd.
Verona, WI 53593
608/262-4364
American Horticultural Society
Garden Catalogs (an extensive list with links)
Invasive Species
Community Groundworks
3601 Memorial Dr., Ste. 4
Madison, WI 53704
608/240-0409
Madison Area Master Gardeners (MAMGA)
Wisconsin Master Gardeners Program
Department of Horticulture
1575 Linden Drive
University of Wisconsin – Madison
Madison, WI 53706
608/265-4504
The Wisconsin Gardener
Allen Centennial Gardens
620 Babcock Dr.
Madison, WI 53706
608/262-8406
Olbrich Botanical Gardens
3330 Atwood Ave.
Madison, WI 53704
608/246-4550
Rotary Gardens
1455 Palmer Dr.
Janesville, WI 53545
608/752-3885
University of WI Arboretum
1207 Seminole Hwy.
Madison, WI 53711
608/263-7888
University of Wisconsin-West Madison
Agricultural Research Center
8502 Mineral Point Rd.
Verona, WI 53593
608/262-2257
PLANTS POISONOUS TO CHILDREN:
Children may find the bright colors and different textures of plants irresistible, but some plants can be poisonous if touched or eaten. If you’re in doubt about whether or not a plant is poisonous, don’t keep it in your home. The risk is not worth it. The following list is not comprehensive, so be sure to seek out safety information on the plants in your home to be safe.
•Bird of paradise
•Bull nettle
•Castor bean
•Chinaberry tree
•Crocus
•Daffodil
•Deadly nightshade
•Dieffenbachia (dumb cane)
•Foxglove
•Glory lily
•Hemlock
•Holly berry
•Indian tobacco
•Iris
•Jimsonweed
•Lantana
•Larkspur
•Lily of the valley
•Marijuana
•Mescal bean
•Mexicantes
•Mistletoe
•Morning glory
•Mountain laurel
•Night-blooming jasmine
•Nutmeg
•Oleander
•Philodendron
•Poison ivy
•Poison sumac
•Pokeweed
•Poppy
•Potato
•Privet
•Rhododendron
•Rhubarb
•Water hemlock
•Wisteria
PLANTS POISONOUS TO PETS:
Below is a list of some of the common plants which may produce a toxic reaction in animals. This list is intended only as a guide to plants which are generally identified as having the capability for producing a toxic reaction. Source: The National Humane Society website @ http://www.humanesociety.org/
•Aconite
•Apple
•Arrowgrasses
•Autumn Crocus
•Azaleas
•Baneberry
•Bird-of-Paradise
•Black locust
•Bloodroot
•Box
•Buckeye
•Buttercup
•Caladium
•Carolina jessamine
•Castor bean
•Chinaberry tree
•Chockcherries
•Christmas berry
•Christmas Rose
•Common privet
•Corn cockle
•Cowbane
•Cow cockle
•Cowsliprb
•Daffodil
•Daphne
•Day lily
•Delphinium (Larkspur)
•Dumbcane
•Dutchman’s breeches
•Easter lily
•Elderberry
•Elephant’s ear
•English Ivy
•European Bittersweet
•Field peppergrass
•Foxglove
•Holly
•Horsechestnut
•Horse nettle
•Hyacinth
•Iris
•Jack-in-the-pulpit
•Jerusalem Cherry
•Jimsonweed
•Lantana
•Larkspur
•Laurels
•Lily of the valley
•Lupines
•Mayapple
•Milk vetch
•Mistletoe
•Monkshood
•Morning glory
•Mustards
•Narcissus
•Nicotiana
•Nightshade
•Oaks
•Oleander
•Philodendrons
•Pokeweed
•Poinsettia
•Poison hemlock
•Potato
•Rhododendron
•Rhubarb
•Rosary pea
•Sago palm
•Skunk cabbage
•Smartweeds
•Snow-on-the-mountain
•Sorghum
•Star of Bethlehem
•Wild black cherry
•Wild radish
•Wisteria
•Yellow jessamine
•Yew