Pamper The Plants Before Hitting Road

Before heading out for vacation, here are a few tips for keeping the posies alive while you’re gone:

* Move containers and hanging baskets to a shady area where they can be watered by the sprinkler system or by your friendly neighbor.

* Mulch flowers and water-loving plants such as roses. A blanket of mulch 2 to 3 inches deep will help to conserve the moisture that is in the ground. Make sure the soil is wet before applying the mulch.

* Create a wicking system for houseplants by using a shoelace. Push one end of the lace into the soil of each plant and drop the other end out through a drain hole in the bottom of the pot. Allow the long lace to sink deep into a buck of water near or below the plant. The water will wick up the lace into the plant, providing water as needed.

* Gather houseplants together and drape a dry-cleaning bag over the top of them. The moisture that condenses on the underside of the bag will drop back onto the plants.

* If you have a caretaker for your plants, make sure you leave explicit instructions for watering. Many a plant has taken a permanent vacation to the compost pile due to over-watering.

What’s growing

Now that the long, hot summer days have finally arrived, we may start to see a few cultural problems developing in our plants.

One in particular is bitter cucumber. The name speaks volumes. One bite will pucker you from your head to your toes.

Cucumbers have shallow roots which work overtime supplying needed nutrients and water to the leaves, stems and fruit. Because the roots are so shallow, they are easily damaged by tilling, foot traffic and heat. If you till between the rows, you may be severing vital roots. If you trample around the plants, you may be damaging or smothering the roots. As for the heat, it bakes and dries them. Even bending or stepping on stems may hinder the flow of moisture to the fruit.

To prevent bitter cucumber, mulch the soil to keep the plants evenly moist and don’t hinder the flow of water by damaging the leaves, stems or roots.

Honoring hard work

The Scotts company is seeking nominations for national community gardening awards. The company has introduced Give Back, To Grow Awards, saluting gardeners who have made a significant contribution in their communities through gardening activities.

The winners receive $5,000 cash and $1,000 worth of products. The Scotts company honorable mention winners receive $1,500 cash and $500 in products.

Individuals may be nominated in any of the following categories:

Classroom Gardener: Salutes elementary through high school teachers who have integrated a school gardening program into the curriculum.

Good Neighbor Gardener: Salutes gardeners who donate produce from their gardens to feed the hungry in their own communities.

Outstanding Young Gardener: Salutes those 18 years and younger who greatly contribute to gardening programs.

Urban Greenup Gardener: Salutes volunteers who have helped beautify a neighborhood within their city limits.

Nomination forms may be requested online at www.scottscompany.com, by e-mailing nominations@shandwick.com or by calling (800) 551-5971. Entry deadline is Aug. 7.

Mark your calendar

* The annual Settlers Days celebration runs all weekend in Deer Park. This is the oldest continuing celebration of its kind in Washington. It began 78 years ago as a picnic put on by the local farmers.

The full lineup of events includes a garden tour of nine outstanding Deer Park gardens. The self-guided tour runs from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday; tour tickets are $3 and are available at the Settlers Days information booth in Deer Park.

* The Master Gardeners in Pend Oreille County are holding their annual garden tour on Saturday. This guided, day-long tour is free and will include five gardens.

Tour participants from the south part of the county should meet at the Newport Extension Office, 418 S. Scott St., in Newport, Wash., at 8:30 a.m. for a map and carpooling arrangements. Participants from the north county should meet at the Tiger Store on the corner of Highway 20 and Highway 31 at 9 a.m.

The first stop, at 9:30 a.m., is at Morelli’s Straight Arrow Ranch, 1111 Reynolds Creed Road, where huge vegetable gardens, greenhouse production, composting and animal rearing will be featured.

Bring a sack lunch and the mid-day stop will be at the Serendipity Golf Course on the Pend Oreille River, where volunteers from the Cutter Theatre will serve lemonade and dessert.

For information, call the Pend Oreille Extension office at (509) 227-2401. A second tour featuring south Pend Oreille County gardens will be held Aug. 5.

* The Friends of Manito and the WSU Master Gardeners will offer a free tour of the Manito Park Rose Hill, Sunday at 1 p.m. Meet on Rose Hill just before 1. to join the guided tour.