Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

In the garden

- JANET CARSON

QWe recently moved to Jacksonvil­le in Pulaski County and would like to plant a garden. However, the soil is very rocky. I have seen various layouts for gardens using bales of straw. The articles specifical­ly say you should use straw, not hay. Do you have any suggestion as to where to get bales of wheat straw? Also, do you have suggestion­s on how to best start a bale garden?

AGrowing vegetables in bales of wheat straw is gaining in popularity and does work, but I think the annual maintenanc­e could be reduced by just building some raised beds and adding good soil. I have many raised-bed gardens, and I garden pretty much yearround in them. Wheat straw bales should be available from most farm supply stores. Before planting in them, you saturate the bales for a few days. Some people just plant in the bale, while others add a bit of bagged garden soil into the center. Bale gardens need regular water and fertilizat­ion to keep the plants growing. Bales will dry out faster than garden soil, so pay attention. One benefit is you start over every year, so diseases don’t have a chance to build up in the soil; but the downside is you do have to bring in new bales every year. Whether you grow in bales or build raised beds,

make sure the location has at least six hours of sunlight per day and a readily available water source.

QI live in Maumelle and just put in a raised garden plot that measures 4 feet wide by 30 feet long. I would like some informatio­n on when and what to plant that would maximize this space. I would like tomatoes, peppers and lettuce, etc.

ARaised beds are the way to garden when you have rocky soil. Raised beds allow you to bring in great soil to give your plants a good start. We have several seasons for vegetable gardening in Arkansas. Right now we are a bit early to plant, but in a few weeks you can begin to plant English peas and greens. By mid- to late February, transplant­s for broccoli, cabbage and cauliflowe­r will be arriving at garden centers. We plant cool-season vegetables from February through mid-April, and then the warm-season vegetables, including tomatoes and peppers, along with squash, corn and green beans from mid-April through June. We can then plant a fall garden. The website of the University of Arkansas’ Division of Agricultur­e’s Cooperativ­e Extension Service has a great calendar of planting dates. At uaex.edu, search for “vegetable planting calendar.”

QI have some loropetalu­m bushes in my flower bed that grew like weeds. I could not keep up. I would like to replace them with a short, small shrub that won’t require monthly trimming, maybe even a ground cover.

AThere are many varieties of loropetalu­m. Some can become small trees, while others are much shorter. “Purple Pixie” is very small and slow growing, while “Ruby” gets 3 to 5 feet tall. I would assume you are looking for an evergreen for the sun, since you have loropetalu­m, so some dwarf options would be one of the low-growing hollies — dwarf yaupon or a “Soft Touch” compacta holly, a dwarf abelia or rockspray cotoneaste­r. You could also grow rosemary, either an upright or a prostrate variety. Rosemaries are evergreen and can be used in the kitchen as well as the flower bed.

QDo you have informatio­n to show me how to trim a crape myrtle tree? Thanks for any help. The yard men will probably start as soon as the weather cooperates, and I want to have them pruned correctly.

AI like to leave three to five main trunks on standard crape myrtles and allow them to become graceful, mature trees. Topping them or cutting them back to those ugly knobs is not the correct way. There is a video on our website that describes the different types of pruning cuts. At uaex.edu, search for “crape myrtle pruning.”

 ?? Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/
RON WOLFE ??
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/ RON WOLFE
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