THE INTERNET CAN BE A GARDENER’S BEST FRIEND
Q: I almost always buy my garden vegetable seeds from the seed packets available in the local grocery or hardware stores, but selection of different varieties is limited. This year, I would like to buy some seed from catalogues. Which seed catalogues would you recommend I send away for, and which seed companies would be best to buy from for our gardening conditions in the Edmonton area?
A: That’s an interesting question. While I still get some printed seed catalogues, most of my seed ordering is done online. I find it easiest to search for what I am looking for online. So what seed companies do I use? A few come to mind. Renee’s Seeds has a fun website to explore, with a wide selection of varieties. T&T Seeds has been in business for 72 years and has a number of heirloom varieties. Some of my other favourites include William Dam Seeds, Stokes Seeds and McKenzie Seeds. The catalogues for these companies are all available online and most have great highresolution photos to help with your selection. One of the best sources of seeds in our area is Apache Seeds. You can find them at 10136–149 Street, so drop in and have a look at their selection.
Q: In the fall I bought a bag of paperwhite bulbs and put them in the fridge for a few weeks, then transferred them to two containers with glass marbles. I put a small amount of water in the base. They rooted well, shooting small white and pale green tips on each bulb top. Some of them grew three inches high, while others stayed under one inch. Why would they vary in height? I had done the same thing in previous years, but must have done something different this year. I also put one bulb in a vase on its own, and the roots grew like crazy but the shoots at the top didn’t grow at all.
A: I’ve been writing this column for more than 30 years and occasionally I get stumped. This is one of those occasions, and I’m not too proud to admit it. I have no idea why the paperwhites would have stopped sprouting. My first thought was there might be too much water, because paperwhites like to have the water just barely touching the bottom of the bulb, but you stated that you had a small amount of water in the base. My only other guess is that the bulbs you bought did not have enough nutrients stored in the bulb to allow them to grow larger than they did. How about exposure? Were they in a sunny spot? I’ll stop guessing now.
Q: I recently read your article on trimming spruce trees. When does the sap stop running, and can you trim the trees in July and August? Also, is there anything you can do for spider mites in the spruce trees? We seem to have a lot of spider mites in Alberta, and I’ve noticed them affecting trees in Edmonton’s River Valley.
A: The sap in a spruce tree starts to run in the spring. The exact date is hard to predict, because it depends on the ambient temperatures in the spring. You should not be pruning in July and August, as the sap is running freely by then. As for the spider mites, call a professional arborist if you notice them on large spruce trees. Trying to treat a spruce tree taller than five feet by yourself is a bad idea. Yes, you can use a pyrethrin-based insecticide such as Doktor Doom Botanics, but for larger trees it is impractical and dangerous to try and spray a larger tree. That is a job best left to the pros.