NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State
University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
February 26, 1998
Ron Smith, Extension Horticulturist
North Dakota State University
Q. Can you send me a source for Evening Scent (Abend Duft)? (Bowdle, S.D.)
A. We are all in luck! I searched through all the seed catalogs I have and found "Night Scented Stock" (Abend Duft). It is in Thompson & Morgan, Inc., P.O. Box 1308, Jackson, NJ 08527-0308. Phone: 800-274-7333. Item No. 1910, 2,000 seeds/pkg, $2.69 plus shipping.
Hope this helps you and others who are interested.
Q. I read that somebody wanted to know how to get a Christmas cactus to bloom.
I have an Easter cactus. It is just like a Christmas cactus only it has orange-colored flowers. Mine didn't do much and the last four years I put it out on the deck in a shady place in the spring and in the fall I take it back in the house. It really grew and it blooms four times a year. Last fall when I brought it in the house it had 90 flowers and it isn't a very big plant. It is now blooming again and it has about 45 blossoms. When it blooms again I will take a picture and send you one.
I also started another plant a couple years ago and that has some blossoms. I let these plants get dry before I water them. I keep them in an east or west window.
I have a geranium plant that I keep every year and put in the basement when I bring it in the house in the fall. In the spring I set it outside again on the deck. It had 85 flowers. I have quite a few plants. I water them with Miracle-Gro once a month. If it blooms like that again I will take a picture and send you one.
I enjoy reading your column. (Alice, N.D.)
A. Thank you for the very nice, newsy and informative letter. I will certainly look forward to getting those photos.
Q. Someone from South Dakota wrote you about softening up their impossible soil and you told them the only practical solution was to add more organic matter and to stay away from sand, as it would turn to concrete. Well, my experience was just the opposite. I, too, had very hard soil and was told the same thing, when I ran across a chap who said that if I added enough sand, it would correct the problem. Well, it took 6 cubic yards of sand over my 450-square-foot garden to do it, but it worked! My soil is now nice and workable. (Fargo, N.D.)
A. Glad to hear it worked. It should have—6 cubic yards spread over 450 square feet covers the area about 4.3 inches deep. Work that into the soil root zone, and you have significantly changed the textural makeup of that soil, and elevated the garden as well.
Thanks for making contact and sharing the good information.
Q. My compost heap takes two years to produce anything that looks like humus. Why? (Minot, N.D.)
A. To produce more rapidly, the microorganisms that accomplish decomposition require improved working conditions. Reducing the size of the materials you add to the compost pile by chopping or grinding will help. Also, you have to be patient. Our "normal" winters (whatever they may be!) slow things down a bit for 4 to 5 months. People living in the banana belt of the country will have the advantage of 12 months of microorganism activity.
Q. I love fresh apricots. Is it possible to grow them in my part of the country? (Dickinson, N.D.)
A. Apricots can be grown throughout North Dakota, depending on the cultivar or variety you select. The Manchurian apricot is the hardiest, but has the largest seed and very little fruit to enjoy. I suggest going for the Sungold or Moongold cultivars; both are freestone, with the stones being much smaller than the Manchurian. If they bear two to three years out of five, consider yourself lucky, as a late spring frost usually wipes out the opening blossoms.
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Source: Ron Smith (701) 231-8161
Editor: Barry Brissman (701) 231-7866