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Recipe for Roses
by Carol Seminara, HCMG |
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The HCMGs were well
represented at this
year's Lavender Festival
held at Becker Vineyards
near Fredericksburg.
HCMG VP Harold Pieratt
spoke on "Garden Roses
for the Texas Hill
Country" and Beverly
Weidenfeller presented a
lecture on "Vermiculture." |
Roses
Along with basic
information on rose
cultivation, Harold
explained a bit about
the history of
old-growth roses and
their resurgence in
popularity due, in part,
to the efforts of the
so-called rose rustlers,
rose enthusiasts who
seek out and propagate
antique rose varieties
which would otherwise be
lost. Rose rustlers are
credited with locating
many heritage Texas
roses such as "Pam's
Pink" and the "Katy
Road" rose. |
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Harold recommends these
old garden roses for
their hardiness even in
poor soil and climate
conditions and because
of their inherent
disease resistance. Of
course, Harold believes
in mulching as one of
the primary keys to
garden success with his
roses. An organic
gardener, he generously
shared a few of his
"recipes" with the group
and granted me
permission to publish
them here. |
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Following are two of
Harold's formulas, one
is a foliar feeder for
roses and the other is
his recommended flower
bed mixture. Thanks,
Harold, for sharing! |
Rose Recipe
(enough for a 2-gallon
sprayer)
Combine:
2 oz. apple
cider vinegar; 1 oz.
liquid seaweed;
1 oz. garden
molasses; 1 capful of
Ironite Liquid PlantFood
1 capful of
Superthrive; 1 tsp.
Miller's Ferri-Plus; 1
tsp. Epsom salts
Add enough lukewarm
water to fill 2-gallon
sprayer. Mix well. Use
to foliar feed roses
once a week
during their growing
season. |
Yum-Yum Mixture for
Flower Beds
In a wheelbarrow, mix:
1/2 bag of
double-shredded cedar
mulch
1 20-qt. bag of
Dillo Dirt or other
biosolids compost (NPK
8-2-4)
1 qt. garden
molasses (NPK 1-0-3 plus
trace minerals)
1 qt. green
sand, or equivalent (NPK
0-1-5 plus trace
minerals)
3 or 4 oz.
humic acid (concentrated
compost), optional
(Microbes love this
stuff and it's also
a great chelating
agent)
Mix well and apply
approximately two inches
of depth to rose beds
two or three times a
year. Employ a no-till
method to increase
physical condition of
soil. Yum-Yum will
decompose to
approximately one-third
its bulk in 4 to 6
months. |
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