Many countries of the world now have their own Mother's Day at different times of the year, but Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Japan, and Turkey join the US in celebrating Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May. By any name, and at any date, Mother's Day is a special day to honor a special person.

Having trouble thinking of a gift? Why not do something a little different for Mother's Day this year? Sun River has gift baskets in a variety of shapes and sizes to fit any Mom's personality. Or stop by and have one of our talented staff create a custom basket especially for Mom.

Does she love flowers? Instead of giving Mom a bouquet of roses, plant her a rose garden! Why give flowers that will all-too-soon fade away, when you can give years of pleasure from living roses instead?

Or, why not give Mom a lovely Encore® azalea or Endless Summer® hydrangea this year? She will be reminded of your thoughtfulness throughout the seasons as she watches your shrub mature. We also have a large selection of indoor and outdoor planters and hanging baskets in a wide variety of shapes, styles and materials. We can fill one up with seasonal color, or you can choose the plantings from those in our greenhouse--it's brimming with fragrant annuals and perennials that will make Mom smile.

Moms who garden will love gardening gloves and tools. How about a set of gardening clogs, or an indoor gardening or seed starting set? Moms who love to cook will "ooh!" and "ahh!" over container gardens and baskets filled with vegetables and herbs. Imagine her delight as she harvests fresh tomatoes, lettuce and chives for a summertime salad. Although nothing compares to the taste of Mom's cooking, adding herbs fresh from her own private garden will definitely make her feel like a gourmet cook.

Stop by anytime, not just for Mother's Day. At Sun River we’re happy to help make every special occasion perfect. Whether you need help selecting a gift, designing a centerpiece for your next dinner party, or looking for the perfect accent for your home or garden, just stroll through our store and you are sure to find lovely and unique gifts and home decor. Our goal is to provide you with quality treasures that you'll be pleased to present to others--or perhaps just to treat yourself!

If you're still feeling anxious, why not give Mom a convenient gift card? It's easy to purchase one online or in person at one of our stores. Practical Moms can use the gift card to purchase gardening supplies, but maybe you can convince Mom--"just this once"--to splurge on a garden bench, fountain or other garden statuary.

If you need help getting your gift to Mom, that isn't a problem, either. We can deliver anywhere in Utah county, with delivery rates depending on what city we are delivering to. We offer deliver to your location 5 days a week--Monday through Friday---and will schedule either morning or afternoon drop-offs. (Delivery outside of Utah County is available with additional fees.)

Mother's Day will be here before you know it. Come in and one of our knowledgeable pros can help you find the perfect gift that says "Mom, thanks so much!"

The term "soil" is commonly used by all of us. However, we think that the average interpretation and understanding of the word "soil " are highly variable. "How about a primer on soils?" customers have asked. We agree.

"Soil: the top layer of the earth's surface, suitable for the growth of plant life." Well, that doesn't really help much, no thanks to the dictionary.

So, what is soil? It is former rocks, seashells, critters, plants, water and air.

In a more classic sense, soil is made up of minerals, air, water and organic materials. The percent of each of the components present in our soil is demonstrated in this pie chart.

The Organics: A Small but Mighty Contribution

There is a soil food web: a large community of plants and organisms, each of which contributes to making our soil healthy. Plants photosynthesize, fix carbon dioxide and release oxygen, that stuff we need to breath with. Plants decompose and add organic matter to the soil.

Decomposers (bacteria and fungi) help to break down the organic material and make it available to plants and animals. Bacterial and fungal feeders (nematodes and tiny arthropods, etc.) control many diseases and pests in the soil. Shredders, such as the earthworm, shred the plant litter. Earthworms enhance the soil structure (with earthworm castings and by aerating the soil) as they produce fecal pellets (aka: poop) and burrow in the soil. There are even above ground level predators such as mice, shrews, birds and others, feeding upon some of these subterranean creatures.

So as you may not have imagined, the soil is a living place for many--and a highly complex community at that. In addition, it is an important ecosystem that we humans, gardeners and non-gardeners, need to understand, protect and keep healthy. You cannot keep all of these creatures alive and well by over-spraying with herbicides and pesticides. There must be a balance, of course.

The Minerals

The mineral composition of your soil will vary depending upon your location. This portion comes from the rocks and shells deposited long, long ago. There can even be variation on your own little plot of land, sometimes within just a few feet. The native mineral composition may be mixed or covered over by topsoil from another location that was brought in during the building of the house. How can you know if you have different types of soil on your property?

There are several simple tests that you can do at home. One is collecting small scoops of soil from different areas of your yard, especially if you suspect that you have a variation. Note the color of the soil while wet. Let it dry out. Note the color. If the soil color when wet and the color when dry is different in each location, then you may have different soil composition. Will that matter to how your plants grow? Probably not. But if one area in your garden is a problem, perhaps that is a good area to sample and send off to the county soil testing lab.

Do you have sand, silt or clay soil? And how much organic material is in your soil? You can answer that with another simple test. This one is fun to do with your children.

Get a clear, straight-sided jar with lid. Fill it about 3/4 full of soil from one location in your yard. Add water to within 1 inch of the top of the jar. Add about 4 teaspoons of Calgon (or a like product). Tighten the lid. Mix by shaking for about a minute, rotating the jar 180 degrees to fully mix (make sure the lid is on tight). Set the bottle down and follow the time line below:

1. After 1 minute, mark the sediment level of what has reached the bottom.
2. This is the sand layer, made up of the heaviest mineral particles.
3. After 30 minutes, mark the next sediment level. This is the silt layer.
4. Just wait till the next day to mark the 3^rd layer. This is the clay layer, made up of the lightest mineral particles. (the lightest clays can take up to 48 hours to settle.)

At the end of this test, you will see layers of soil in your jar. They may not be equal. You might not see any sand, just all silt and/or clay or vice versa. Another layer that may appear on top, if you are lucky(!), is the organic layer.

You may already have a sense of what your soil type is by the ease or difficulty in digging in the garden. Clay soil, especially un-amended clay soil, is hard to dig in. Sandy soil, of course, is not hard to dig, but the hole that you are digging keeps refilling as the sand pours back with each shovel removal.

The Water

You can purchase water measurement probes to measure the water content of your soil. What they really measure is the electrical conductivity of the soil, which in turn is translated to a moisture factor. Or you can simply look at your soil. If you have sandy soil and it rapidly sifts through your fingers, it is probably a bit dry. If you have clay soil and you can see cracks like the San Andreas Fault, it is probably too dry. Conversely, you never want your soil, sandy or clay, to be super-saturated with water, which would be demonstrated by a site that has standing water all of the time.

The Air

The amount of air space in your soil is controlled by everything described above. It is dependent upon the type of mineral composition, the amount of organic material, and the amount of water. Too much water, too few minerals (as in lots of clay particles) with no organic material would not allow any room for air. What is a quick solution for this? Amend your soil.

In the end, one of the best ways to contribute to the continuing health of your soil is to use organic mulch. As the organic mulch material decomposes, it provides a "home" and food source for microorganisms, fungi, bacteria, earthworms, and so on. Encouraging this healthy ecosystem to thrive will build healthy soil in your garden. In return, that healthy soil will grow healthy plants for you.

Our garden center is in USDA hardiness Zone 5, but even though our daytime temperatures are finally rising, our evenings are still cool. This means that if you plant with starter plants, rather than seeds, you can still enjoy certain varieties of vegetables that next year you might want to get an earlier start on. Those would include asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, chives, onions, parsley, parsnip, and peas. Just remember that when you are buying transplants, adjust for the age of the plant (about 1-2 months).

Once our soil temperatures have reached 35 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, you can seed lettuce directly into the garden. As a matter of fact, its optimal growth temperatures are 73 degrees during the day and 44 degrees at night. It’s a fast grower, and when you plant a mixture of red leaf, green leaf, butterhead and romaine, you’re creating a salad that everyone in the family will enjoy.

Watermelon is summer to us, but as it is a warm weather crop, seed when the daytime temps have hit a consistent 70 to 80 degrees and nighttime temperatures are about 70 degrees F. They like moisture and 8 hours of sun a day, so plant your seeds or starters in small hills in your garden, about 2 to 3 to a hill, with hills 5 feet apart. Once the vines begin to grow, add some liquid fertilizer that is nitrogen-intensive until the flowers begin to form.

Cucumbers, a delicious addition to any salad, or simply sliced with some home-grown tomatoes, and drizzled with a high-quality olive oil, have become a common element of the home garden. They take about 50 to 70 days from seed planting to harvest, with the optimal seeding time April through August; the seeds should be sowed one inch in depth. They like well-amended soil, and slow and deep watering. And as soon as the fruit reaches a usable size, pick it and enjoy in your next salad.

Sweet corn should be planted from April to August, with May and June being the optimal time. They also like 8 hours a day of sun, with well-amended soil, so let them be good neighbors to your cucumbers. Sow the seeds one inch into the soil, planting them about a foot apart for each row, and in groups of four rows with approximately 32 inches between rows. This will stimulate pollination.

Who doesn’t love peppers? Whether you prefer the sweet, mild taste of green, red, and yellow bell peppers, or the spiciness of jalapeños, April, May and June are the months you should be seeding for a summer harvest. We advise that if this is your first time growing peppers, you start out with bells. The habanero peppers are extremely hot, with cayenne peppers falling in second place for heat. If you want to be adventurous, make your first hot pepper the jalapeños, as they have quite a bit of bite, without the heat of the habanero.

When growing bell peppers, as they have a very long seed germination, use starters so that you’re enjoying them at your dinner table by late June. Hot weather, full sun, and well-draining, moist soil will guarantee you success. Remember that green bell peppers have twice the vitamin C by weight of citrus, and red bell peppers have three times that of the greens!

The mid-season, heat-loving plants such as summer squash, and cucumbers take 60 to 90 days to produce once planted, making them wonderful “extender” vegetables for a late summer, early fall harvest. They germinate best in warm soil of temps between 65 and 85 degrees, and should be direct-seeded or transplanted in wide rows 6 to 8 inches apart.

To ensure that you always have fresh vegetables on hand, consider storing and freezing part of your harvest. Onions, garlic, potatoes, squash and pumpkins need to be cured first. Simply brush off any dirt, spread the produce out on newspapers in a breezy, warm, dry place, and allow to cure for three or four days. They will then be ready for storing in a cool, dry place for up to several months.

Freeze extra tomatoes by dipping them in boiling water for one minute, peeling them, and then freezing them whole in plastic containers. For most other small fruit, freeze them on a baking sheet, and then store in a plastic bag in the freezer until you’re ready to enjoy them.

We’ve given you a good starter list for late spring, mid-summer produce to grow. Now stop reading, run to our garden center, pick up what you’ll need, and join the growing ranks of home-growers!

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Answer:

Double digging is an old garden technique of amending the soil in a flower or vegetable garden that is still as effective today as it was back in medieval Europe.

But be forewarned, double digging is a lot of work. In fact, just thinking about it makes us break out in a sweat. The term comes from "double the depth" of a normal spade or shovel blade--hence double-digging. You will also be adding one third of the depth of your spade or shovel in soil amendment to the entire garden you are digging in.

To get started, dig out the topsoil to the depth of your spade or shovel in a trench one spade wide along one end of your bed and set aside in a wheelbarrow or on a tarp.

Turn, break and aerate the next spade depth and width. Work in one third by volume of soil amendment. Blend together with turned-over soil and fill in the first trench.

Now repeat the process with another trench. Blend that soil with more soil amendment, and transfer to the previous trench. At the end of the bed, place the topsoil from the wheelbarrow or tarp over the last section, add amendment, and mix it in.

Make sure to remove any rocks or old pieces of roots as you fill in each trench.

Now--if you haven't collapsed yet--go ahead and plant your flowers. Better yet, plant a new crop of veggies. You'll need the vitamins to help you recover from the exhaustion! More seriously--if you have poor soil, double-digging is one of the most effective ways to improve the soil to a good depth, one that will allow your plant roots plenty of room to grow. Rototilling and such can help too but it doesn't improve much but the top layer of soil. Double-digging may be labor-intensive, but it works.