Make Compost – Plant Garlic
Good news, you do not have to rake leaves! Leave the leaves. It’s better for your garden soil, plants, shrubs, lawns, and trees if you do not remove the leaves. Leaves are filled with nutrients and beneficial microbes to replenish and fertilize the soil. Why would anybody want to get rid of something so beneficial? My recommendation is simple… shred them in place with your mower or just leave the leaves. It might take a couple extra passes to chop…
October Garden Tips
The dry, warm weather of September has helped gardens continue to grow and produce nicely as long as you were able to supply needed water. Weeds, of course, are happily growing and making seeds for next year so they need to be removed and used to make fertilizer. Speaking of next year, there is a new online program to help you plan for a more sustainable landscape called Plan It Wild that I’d like to introduce below. Also, let’s remember…
September Garden Tips
Gardens are now heading into the season finale with harvests of almost everything. Dry weather has been hard on many veggies and flowers but extra mulching and watering can keep plants healthy. This is a good time of year to apply foliar compost tea and your own homemade biofertilizers (see July article). It’s also a good time to get a soil test so you know what is needed for next year. Tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, and cabbage will do well if…
July Gardening
This is the time of peak flowers and rapidly growing fresh veggies, weeds and pesty bugs. It’s the best of gardening and time to enjoy all your work coming into fruition. There is also work to do. Mulching and fertilizing, regular weeding, watching for pests (bugs & critters) but also early harvests have begun, and succession plantings can start. In this article I’ll cover some ideas about converting weeds to fertilizer, mulching, planting, and hilling potatoes. Weeds are simply taking…
June Gardening
After the cool, wet days of May we can now get seriously planting and cultivating our gardens. While there are many plants that can be seeded outdoors now but don’t be tempted to start working your soil if it is still too wet. If you insist on tilling your garden it is very important to wait until the soil has drained and dried enough to be crumbly, not sticky. I do not till my garden soil at all because tilling…
May Gardening – When to Plant?
Finally it’s the time of year when we can plant some things in the ground. Some seeds can go in now, most other seeds & plants need to wait for warmer days. How do we know what to plant when? In April and early May most soil is still too wet to dig unless you have raised beds. Let’s look at several ways to determine when it’s OK to plant seeds or put out transplants. Also, a few words about…
April Gardening
April showers bring May flowers (and muddy roads). Snow drops, crocuses, and winter aconite have been showing since the mid-March snow melt and daffodils are soon to blossom. We survived the late March ice storm and can begin early spring preparations. This means gardeners have lots to do to get the season started. Even the bees are beginning to forage for pollen and nectar. Along with early pruning and seed starting there is the necessary clean-up and garden preparations. In…
February Gardening
February is too early to start most seeds indoors but not too early to get ready for planting in March-April. It’s also a great time to make a few New Year Gardening Resolutions for yourself. Our growing season is too short for many plants like tomatoes, peppers, and many flowers to sow their seeds outdoors in the spring so we can get a jump start by starting them indoors and effectively extend the season. If we provide the right conditions…
January Gardening
Despite the winter season there’s plenty to keep a gardener occupied. If you haven’t ordered your garden seeds yet, start by listing seeds you have leftover from last year. Look at the short list of local seed companies that I list below (or any others that you like). Browse online catalogs from the comfort of home. Don’t delay, the best varieties sell out early. In this article I suggest a few winter tips and easy-to-do ideas that will make the…