Despite the frigid weather, smart gardeners relish the chance to curl up with piles of seed catalogs or search their favorite online vendors, looking for new plants to grow this summer. Now is the time to order flower, herb or vegetable seeds.
In late May, Penn State master gardeners plant annuals in demonstration gardens in North Park and South Park as a way for local gardeners to observe their performance in our region. The plants are donated by local garden centers and are often new and award-winning cultivars of tried and true plants.
After planting, master gardeners mulch and fertilize the gardens, and volunteers maintain them while also monitoring performance. In recent years, drip irrigation has been installed to conserve water, lighten the workload for volunteers and allow the plants to flourish through the dog days of summer. However, the summer of 2013 saw heavy rains and thunderstorms that delayed maintenance, made deer repellent ineffective, and washed away mulch and compost. Fortunately, the use of raised beds kept the plants from drowning.
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