
This is the time of year when a gardening window closes. I am referring to getting starts and seeds into the ground. Now is that time. Do not delay.
The deal with starts is they disappear from stores by this time of year. You won’t be able to find any in a week or so. And those that you will find are probably going to be stunted. You can spend only so much time in a cell pack. Speaking of which, what are we to do with all that plastic? I am open to all suggestions.
Seeds need to go into the ground too. Their packets will tell you how many days are needed until harvest. Save some and try planting them in a couple to a few weeks to see if in our longer season you can get a second crop. Annual warning about radishes: Don’t plant the whole packet at once.
And, of course, the dandelions are back. Oh how I used to fight them starting at age 6! I used poisons. I dug ‘em with all sorts of tools. I doused them with hot water. I poured salt on them. I even tried horticultural vinegar. Then there is all manner of experimental equipment and mixtures that people send me to test. You know the drill: the next season they start coming back.
I tried letting the lawn grow long, as that was supposed to smother dandelions. Nope. Then I tried cutting the lawn short to prevent flowers from going to seed. They developed plants that hug the ground like limbo dancers, and no matter how low you set the mower blades, you can’t cut ‘em. And don’t let me get started about the way they blow in from the Kenai or have taken over our highway landscapes.
There is no fooling around with these plants. They came over from Europe and they went wild. Literally. They are tenacious, getting stuck in automobile tires and on sap-covered cars that transport them to faraway lands.
If they came in different colors, we would love having them — remember arctic poppies in lawns? The person who can develop these is going to be very rich. Move over, Elon Musk.
Anyhow, in our yard The Dandelion Truce is in effect. It isn’t really a truce since they won, more like a treaty that notes dandelions can now have the lawn. It is their territory. They can spread in the vegetable gardens, hanging baskets and planters. Oh yeah, I am allowed to hit flowers with a golf club and my lovely spouse can pick off the heads of as many as she cares to. Hers is guerrilla warfare.
Now, I am not naive enough to think there are not a lot of you still fighting the war. Please do not use chemicals that are going to kill wildlife or us along with the dandelions. No lecture needed, but if ever there was a good reason to take shoes off at the door, walking on a poisoned lawn is as good as it gets.
I apologize for disputes between neighbors. In the name of peace, I suggest the dandelion-allowing neighbor mow the dandelions before they set seed. Lay down a nice pattern.
We have areas of our lawn so thick with dandelions that they are the lawn. The key thing is they hold a mowing pattern perfectly well and they are green. It looks fine. The war is over. I no longer leave out the dandelion fork I have had since I was 6 or the Fiskars weeders. If a certain member of the family wants to pick off the heads, fine. I am done.
Jeff’s Alaska Garden Calendar:
Alaska Botanical Garden: The nursery is open. Members get discounts. Join. Check out the website to learn of all the activities offered as there are too many to list here.
Plant: Get those seeds in the ground — radishes, peas, lettuces, beets, kales, carrots, squash, etc.
Lawns: Start mowing. Consider patterns or mowing in paths, leaving grass long under trees. It doesn’t have to be dull. Your lawn is a canvas. Start painting!