It’s pretty simple—eventually, everything will turn into compost. To speed the process you need 4 ingredients: carbon (leaves and woody pruning from the landscape), nitrogen (grass clippings, kitchen fruit and vegetable scraps), water and oxygen. Start by mixing the carbon and nitrogen products in equal amounts. After placing your materials in the tumbler, add a shovelful of soil, which contains beneficial micro-organisms. Turn the barrel every other day to mix the materials and add fresh material as you collect it so it will develop into compost as early as 4–6 weeks. I’m a beginner.

The problem with planting in containers is that the roots of your perennials can freeze solid during the winter months unless you protect them by burying the pot in the ground or wrapping bubble wrap or a garden insulation blanket around the outside of the pot to keep the roots from freezing. If you can’t do this, you might want to just plant annuals with the expectation that you’ll have to replant every spring

Place indoor plants in potting soil, not garden soil, which can be heavy and cause poor drainage in a small container. Check the package before buying soil to ensure that the product can be used in containers. If it says it’s safe for houseplants, go ahead and use it indoors. Potting soils from Watters, available in-store, are great for container plants.

Houseplants should be transplanted when they’re pot bound. How long that will take depends on the plant and the size of its pot. Wait until the roots begin to escape through the drainage holes, then place in a pot 1 size larger. You’ll find planters here at Watters Garden Center in a variety of colors, styles and sizes. My kalanchoe plant was flowering when I bought it but now, 2 years later, the flowers won’t come back.

Set it in a very sunny window and water it moderately. To force it to bloom indoors during winter, you need to manipulate the amount of light it receives. In the fall, place it where it will receive total darkness for about 15 hours every night. (Cover it with a box, put it in a closet or leave it in a room without artificial light so it experiences the decreasing daylight hours.) Do this every night for 6–8 weeks. This will encourage it to set buds and bloom. When growth slows after blooming, cut back on water. When growth resumes in spring, increase watering again and fertilize lightly with a water-soluble fertilizer from Watters All Purpose Plant Food available in-store. In summer, place your kalanchoe plant outdoors as soon as temperatures rise above the high 50s.

Here are some fairly tolerant plants to try in your part sun/part shade garden: shorter varieties of daylily (hemerocallis), perennial geranium, purple coneflower, heuchera (coral bells), variegated liriope, bleeding heart, various types of sedum and the annual, fibrous rooted bedding begonias.

A: Yes we do sell blueberry bushes that will grow well in Chino Valley . The best way to grow blueberries is in a pot with potting soil. If you are going to grow them in the ground you will need to add soil sulfur to correct the ph level. Be sure to use my Watters All Purpose Plant Food 4 times a year on your Blueberry Bush to help maintain the ph level in the soil. Stop into the garden center and we would be happy to help you get everything you need to be sure your blueberry bush is a huge success.

A: What you need to do is switch to my fruit tree spray. It is neem oil with promethium which should have a better knock down on your insects. Come on in and have any of my garden experts explain to you how to use it. Thank you for your question.

A: No worries, now is a great time to prune all sages before march. Be sure to fertilize your sages and all you plants and trees with my Watters All Purpose Plant Food in March. If you do your plants will thank you with amazing blooms and color in the spring!

A: It sounds like you have fungus gnats. What you need to do is use two products to get rid of them. Stop in to the garden center and pick up some of my systemic granular to kill the insects in the soil. And then you will need to use a yellow sticky trap to control the adult stage fungus gnats. Both products are sold as a kit in garden center.

A: The Ph level in Yavapai County runs from 8 to 9 which is high. Coffee grounds will help but not enough. If you use my Watters All Purpose Plant Food that will adjust the Ph and then add an application of soil sulfur in March to keep the Ph corrected. Thank you for your question.

A: The best time to transplant your Blue Spruce is now during the winter months while it is dormant. Just be sure to do it when the soil isn t frozen. Planting in the winter will allow your tree plenty of time to root out before spring. Stop into the garden center and let us help you get some root stimulator, all purpose plant food and mulch that you will need when you transplant to give your tree the best chance possible.

A: It depends on if you are going to grow your veggies by seeds or plants. If planting seeds a lot of them need to be started right now. Just go by the dates on the seed packets and be aware that the last frost date for our area is Mother s Day. Also, we will be getting the first veggies of the season at the garden center in February. Stop in and let us show you what grows well here and help you get started. Also, be sure to pick up a garden calendar handout at the garden center. This has a lot of information that will help you get your garden growing. Thank you for your questions.

A: I recommend that you give them a slow deep watering twice a month throughout the winter. Also, if you enjoy roses, be sure to join us at the garden center for our free gardening class on roses on February 13th. The class starts at 9:30 am. Hope to see you there! Q: I have had an amaryllis for several years, it goes thru it”s die back cycle, but now is green, green, green…but…it has never bloomed. It is in bright indirect light indoors and is kept moist as you suggested in a previous tip article you wrote. Any more tips??? Thanks, Mary