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Gardening Challenges: Going Beyond the Ordinary A California gardener who enjoys a good challenge. Also, tips on heirloom tomatoes and cutting roses. From "Dirt On Gardening" episode DDOG-108

Gladiolus grown from seed in Betsy Hite's garden

Tips from the "Challenge Gardener"

Betsy Hite is known as "the challenge gardener" since she's known for taking on difficult-to-raise plants that people have challenged her to grow.

Betsy has grown both lilies and Gladiolus from seed. She's also successfully raised artichokes and raspberries in her home of Wilton, California where neither of those are known to thrive.

Go to next article in DIY's "Gardening Specialties" series.

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Betsy's secrets? Raised beds, high-quality soils, an effective irrigation system and soil amendment that contains horse manure, wood shavings and dirt. She also faithfully fertilizes her plants weekly.

Finally, she has a tip for keeping birds from dining on her prize plantings. Having problems with blue jays eating all your raspberries before you can get them picked? Try Betsy's technique for discouraging hungry birds from invading your garden or orchard.

Scarecrows in the Digital Age

Betsy uses old, damaged or unused CD or DVD discs to help drive away pesky birds. Simply slip a piece of string, fishing line or wire through the center hole, tie off a loop (figure A) and suspend the disc where it can dangle or spin when the wind catches it (figure B). The shiny, reflective surface tends to frighten birds and they stay away.

Computer data discs or homemade music CDs that didn't burn properly (commonly dubbed "coasters" since they won't work for their intended purpose) are a good source for the shiny discs. So are all those unsolicited promotional CDs you get in the mail from internet-service or software companies.

Figure A

Figure B

	Heirloom tomatoes let you take your tomato-cultivating skills to the next level.

Heirloom Tomatoes

If you've gotten your feet wet and your hands dirty with vegetable gardening, but would like to challenge yourself to go a step further, consider growing heirloom tomatoes. Going beyond the standard nursery varieties like 'Better Boy' and 'Early Girl' can enhance your tomato-growing experience, resulting in tomatoes that come in a variety of sizes, shapes, colors and tastes.

By definition, an heirloom tomato is a variety that is more than 50 years old and is naturally pollinated. As the name would imply, they're often varieties in which the seeds have been passed down through generations of farmers or gardeners. In some cases, they're treasured just like family antiques.

Just like ordinary tomatoes, heirloom varieties do best with eight hours of sun per day, consistent watering and organically amended soil.

Some fun heirloom varieties you might want to try include:

• 'Garden Peach', a yellow, "fuzzy" variety;
  
• 'Wonder Light', which is shaped like a lemon; or
  
• 'East of Edgecombe', which is shaped like an orange.

There's even a variety called 'San Francisco Fog' that grows well in the cool, damp, coastal conditions of that city.

Heirloom Posterity Tip: When saving seeds to maintain the line of your heirloom tomatoes, harvest the seeds from tomatoes that have fully ripened.

The Dirt on Cutting Roses

After all your hard work growing roses in your garden, you deserve to enjoy your roses indoors as well. There are a few techniques and tricks to helping ensure that your blooms last and stay beautiful for as long as possible. Here are some tips for success with cutting roses:

The best time to cut roses is in the early morning or late afternoon.

• Cut roses in the early morning or late afternoon. During the heat of midday, roses have the least amount of plant sugars available to feed the blooms.

• Search for blooms that aren't fully opened. If you cut roses that are about a third to half way open, you'll get to enjoy watching them open fully over the next day or two, and be able to enjoy the life of the blooms longer.

• Carry a bucket of water for collecting your roses.

• Cut the stems again to remove the bottom portion, cutting at a slant, while the stems still submerged in the bucket of water. This prevents an air bubble from forming at the end of the stem--which could block the flow of water into the rose cutting later.

• Place your roses in a vase, and place the vase in a cool, dark area for a couple of hours to allow your roses adjust to the indoor environment.

"Home Turf" Regional Tip: Northeast

According to horticulturist and author Lee Riech, Ph.D., the glory of spring in the northeast doesn't need to be limited to the old "standbys" like flowering cherries and crabapple. There are many other trees that provide both beauty and edible fruit. Among those is the pawpaw, which produces bright purple flowers and a delicious tropical fruit. In the fall, the leaves turn a beautiful, clear yellow. Other options include Cornelian cherry, juneberry and medlar.