Nearly as exciting as all the seed catalogs that start coming in the dead of winter are the gardening supply catalogs brimming with new products for gardeners. There are many new things on the market, here are just a few that I've found helpful.
This may seem a little strange, but one of the breakthroughs in gardening I appreciate has been the development of great garden boots. A great garden boot should be one that keeps your feet dry, fits like an old glove, keeps you warm even in winter, slips on easily, and doesn't have deep clogs that collect mud and chicken poop. There are two I recommend: Muck and Bogs. They come in shoe, ankle, and boot height and are well worth the $40 or so price.
A product that makes gardening easier by controlling weeds, holding moisture, evening out soil temperatures, and helping with disease resistance is plastic ground covers. We have used these in our vegetable garden as well as under wood chip mulch for paths with great success. There are needle punched polypropylene products that allow water to soak through but block weeds. These are great for vegetables like tomatoes. Some catalogs promote orange or red covers for tomatoes; however, research from the University of Minnesota shows not enough difference in yield or harvest time to make up for the increased cost.
Woven polypropylene floating row covers are very lightweight fabrics that allow you to plant earlier or to protect plants such as strawberries. Row covers put in place at 27 degrees or so can be topped with straw after freeze-up. The plants can be protected early before damage can occur and straw can be removed but row covers remain in place until we have frost-free nights. We have used these on our strawberries for several years and still have the same roll we started with.
A consistent challenge with gardening seems to be the amount and frequency of watering. Part of the problem with overhead watering is wetting down the foliage allowing fungus to grow and cooling the plant, lengthening the time to harvest for some vegetables. The method of choice for best watering practices is drip irrigation. In addition to putting water exactly where it is needed by the plant, it takes far less water than overhead sprinkling. Drip irrigation takes a bit of planning, selection of the proper emitters, and putting in the permanent lines for the system. Orbit has a booklet called �Drip Watering for Dummies. Irrigation kits are available locally.
Have you ever said �that plant/tree/grass looks a little sick?. This product might seem a little over the top and a little like Superman's x-ray vision but these glasses do work! Nastek glasses block the green color of healthy chlorophyll and make off-colors caused by drought, stress, or disease stand out against the dark background. Their company also makes a camera filter to document existing problems or changes in health. I found out how evident this is when the jack pine budworms were active and how different an infected tree looks before it is evident to the naked eye. They are not cheap; clip-on's are $70.
The last product I have space for is biodegradable pots. An alternative to plastic pots, they are attractive, lightweight, and last up to five years. Then they can be broken up for compost. Made from grain hulls and available in green or earth tones, they reduce the disposal of plastics, good for both gardeners and the environment.
Wally Peck
Beltrami County Master Gardener
