Hello school gardeners,
I just wanted to plant the seed that the Henderson garden has become over taken with strawberry plants and we will be happy to donate to the schools this spring. Keep that in mind with your garden planning. thanks!
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
What to do now, to prepare your garden
JOE KELLER, Garden of Ideas - SPRING IS ALMOST HERE, WHAT CAN WE DO TO GET READY:
PS: this is for school and home gardeners alike!
Load Tunnels - Get your garden beds ready with a "Load Tunnel". A load tunnel is utilizing electrical conduits, poking about 1' down into the bed, and covering with a 4-6mm of clear plastic, then weighing it down. This process will warm up the soil, insulating it and drying it out. It is very similar to the greenhouse effect. You may even start to plant arugula, spinach and baby kale NOW! Get your beds ready for Spring germination!
Order Seeds Now! - Places like www.seedsavers.org is a great place to start. Purchase now, last year many varieties were sold out by the time we were all ready to plant.
Seedling Timeline - Working backwards
May 15th: plant summer seedlings after last Frost
April 1st: start summer vegetable seedlings indoors
March 17th: sow pea seeds outside. Cold weather hearty seedling varieties include: cabbage, kale and leeks
Products - cow pots www.cowpots.com and organic jiffy pots www.jiffygroup.com/jiffy/catalogue are great products for seedlings
A fun, easy project for kids: Grow micro greens! An example; www.sunset.com/garden/fruits-veggies/easy-grow-micro-greens-00400000016081/
Bed Maintenance - Beds require some tender loving care, but also not too much of it!
Take a soil test, once a year, at the same time. Send in the test to:
UCONN - www.soiltest.uconn.edu
Cornell - http://cnal.cals.cornell.edu
Need to amend you soil? Suburban soil constantly gets worn down and will need nutrients
If soil is wet and cold, do not over work it.
Add organic material on top, not too much. Gently work in. This is not an exact science - can add too much organic matter, be careful.
Products:
Have a bed you need to get rid of growth? Add D-Compose - an organic spray on application to aid in decomposition quickly shop.lancasterag.com/d-Compose-25-gallon-052001212.htm
Need to amend your soil? Use Azomite, www.azomite.com, multiple trace minerals to help replenish your beds
Sources for products:
Mill River Supply, Bedford Hills, NY www.millrivergardensupply.com
Nature Works, Branford, CT www.naturework.com
Tricks of the Trade -
Let some of your plants go to flower and seed, they will attract beneficial insects to your garden. For example, when mustard and arugula go to flower, they attract a wasp that eats the cabbage cutworm.
Pick your tomatoes as soon as they have a tinge of color. At this point they will have gotten any and all nutrients from the plant. Often birds will go after tomatoes in the heat of summer and by removing them and ripening them in a cold, dark space such as a basement will yield the same delicious tomato.
Gardener Resources - some of Joe's favorites:
www.gardenweb.com
www.seedlibrary.org
www.ecoliteracy.org
Need more information? Contact Joe at: gardenofideas@sbcglobal.net, 203-431-9914, or visit their website at: www.gardenofideas.com
PS: this is for school and home gardeners alike!
Load Tunnels - Get your garden beds ready with a "Load Tunnel". A load tunnel is utilizing electrical conduits, poking about 1' down into the bed, and covering with a 4-6mm of clear plastic, then weighing it down. This process will warm up the soil, insulating it and drying it out. It is very similar to the greenhouse effect. You may even start to plant arugula, spinach and baby kale NOW! Get your beds ready for Spring germination!
Order Seeds Now! - Places like www.seedsavers.org is a great place to start. Purchase now, last year many varieties were sold out by the time we were all ready to plant.
Seedling Timeline - Working backwards
May 15th: plant summer seedlings after last Frost
April 1st: start summer vegetable seedlings indoors
March 17th: sow pea seeds outside. Cold weather hearty seedling varieties include: cabbage, kale and leeks
Products - cow pots www.cowpots.com and organic jiffy pots www.jiffygroup.com/jiffy/catalogue are great products for seedlings
A fun, easy project for kids: Grow micro greens! An example; www.sunset.com/garden/fruits-veggies/easy-grow-micro-greens-00400000016081/
Bed Maintenance - Beds require some tender loving care, but also not too much of it!
Take a soil test, once a year, at the same time. Send in the test to:
UCONN - www.soiltest.uconn.edu
Cornell - http://cnal.cals.cornell.edu
Need to amend you soil? Suburban soil constantly gets worn down and will need nutrients
If soil is wet and cold, do not over work it.
Add organic material on top, not too much. Gently work in. This is not an exact science - can add too much organic matter, be careful.
Products:
Have a bed you need to get rid of growth? Add D-Compose - an organic spray on application to aid in decomposition quickly shop.lancasterag.com/d-Compose-25-gallon-052001212.htm
Need to amend your soil? Use Azomite, www.azomite.com, multiple trace minerals to help replenish your beds
Sources for products:
Mill River Supply, Bedford Hills, NY www.millrivergardensupply.com
Nature Works, Branford, CT www.naturework.com
Tricks of the Trade -
Let some of your plants go to flower and seed, they will attract beneficial insects to your garden. For example, when mustard and arugula go to flower, they attract a wasp that eats the cabbage cutworm.
Pick your tomatoes as soon as they have a tinge of color. At this point they will have gotten any and all nutrients from the plant. Often birds will go after tomatoes in the heat of summer and by removing them and ripening them in a cold, dark space such as a basement will yield the same delicious tomato.
Gardener Resources - some of Joe's favorites:
www.gardenweb.com
www.seedlibrary.org
www.ecoliteracy.org
Need more information? Contact Joe at: gardenofideas@sbcglobal.net, 203-431-9914, or visit their website at: www.gardenofideas.com
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