Photo of the week: Boss

Newsletter reader Karen writes: Feeding black oil sunflower seeds (BOSS) to your horse not only provides your horse an excellent source of fat, it also makes for a beautiful manure pile. There's lots of articles about feeding horses black oil sunflower seeds as a source of fat, it's worked great for mine.  They love them and it doesn't make them hot.  I feed about a cup to each horse at each feeding. ..... Karen

If you have a photo of your garden, or that you want to share with our community send it to newsletter@ocfarmsupply.com

Drying Herbs Q & A :

The newsletter gives us a chance to answer questions that might be interesting to our readers. If you have something you would like to know, just reply to this email. A customer recently asked how to go about drying herbs from the herb garden, and this is a simple plan to follow: Dry herbs such as basil, parsley, and sage to store through winter by cutting 6 -to 12-inch long stems, remove any dead or diseased leaves, and hang stems upside down in paper bags in a shaded, airy, cool location. About starting perennial snapdragons: Start seeds of fragrant annuals such as snapdragon, stock, and sweet alyssum to transplant into the garden this fall. Keep seedlings well watered ; once plants have 4 to 6 true leaves, transplant them into containers and garden beds. Question: How do I know when to harvest my onions, and do I need to do anything special before storing them for later use? Answer: To harvest onions for storage, watch for when the tops begin to turn yellow and fall over. The bulbs should be in the two- to four-inch range. At that point you may wish to bend the foliage flat to the ground to speed up the maturing process. After about three weeks, or when the tops are totally dried up, dig them up. (Do not harvest when the soil is very wet.) Harvest on a dry, sunny day and lay the onions out to dry for an hour or so in the sun. Brush off any excess soil, then cure them by placing them in a single layer in the shade for about ten days. If conditions are inappropriate for outdoor drying, you may have to spread them out on the floor indoors under a fan. Finally, clip off the tops about an inch from the bulb and store in a cool dry place. Storage onion varieties will keep from 4-12 months when properly dried and stored.

FEATURED PLANT - Fancy Leafed Caladium

The Fancy Leafed Caladium has the most spectacular foliage of any plant. The patterned shades of red, pink and white brighten up almost any spot in your garden. This beautiful plant is a true tropical, native to the open forests of Central and South America where it is usually found growing along the stream banks. It is a great plant for container culture as well as in your flower beds. Provide good moisture and bright light. Many of the new hybrids such as Florida Sweetheart and Red Frills will tolerate full sun as long as the heat is not trapped and reflected. The key to growing great caladiums is to not plant too early. Wait until the soil temperature is about 70 deg F and the air temperature is in the 80's. The plants will sprout quickly and reward you with summer long color. In the fall as the weather starts to cool, let the plants go dormant by withholding the water. As the leaves yellow, dig them up and let them dry for a day or two. Store the tubers in a mesh stocking or paper bag with good ventilation and do not allow them to get colder than about 65 deg F. In the late spring, replant and enjoy the great display of color once again.