End-of-Season Gardening Tips

The garden has been put to bed for the winter.

End-of-season gardening, a sad time for gardeners. The plants have been pulled. Perhaps some carrots and beets are still in the ground able to stay safe until the big freeze occurs. Be sure to pull them when the weatherman calls for freezing temperatures so the vegetables do not freeze, then rot in the ground. Allow them to dry after pulling in order to store them for the winter stews and soups.

Because we leave for Florida in the fall, my DH cleans out everything. He roto-tilled the garden in order to break up the soil and planted winter rye. The rye comes up, then in the spring, he turns it under to give more nutrients to the soil.

In the photo you can see the strawberry bed which will winter over. These are June bearing strawberries. The snow cover will keep them warm in the winter. I know that sounds impossible, but snow is a good insulator for the plants.

For more end-of-season garden tips, read another article previously posted here.

Now is the time to finish up your garden journal. Make notes while you have next year's plan swirling in your head. Before you know it, you'll be planting seed and digging in your garden next spring.

Potato Plants are Taking Off in the Garden

I was amazed when my DH showed me the difference between the potato plants he still had in a pack and the potatoes in the garden. Just look at this!




Compare the size of the potato plants in the garden and those in the pack!

Both of these plants were started from seed on April 24. The seedlings were planted in the garden  on May 22. Just look at what that great soil and space did to grow these potato plants to this size. This is an excellent lesson on the importance of your plants having room to grow, isn't it?

This also demonstrates how garden soil really makes a top performing plant. This is one of my pet peeves..gardeners who plant beautiful plants taking care to water and weed, but do not worry about what kind of soil is available for the roots. Adding amendments to your soil with manure and compost can make such a difference in your gardening success.

Our potato patch this year has four varieties....good ole Red Pontiac, Austrian fingerlings (a new one for us), Yukon Gold, and German Butter. I love the golden potatoes because when you prepare it for dinner,  it looks like you have a LOT of butter on the potato when you really don't. Mmm..so good.

Can't wait to dig those taters!

 

Getting the Garden Ready for Summer....Florida Style

This photo features our new raised bed garden. You can see where my hubby and our neighbor filled up the new raised area with horse manure and topsoil. (We are still eating the lettuce you see in front, so that will get covered when we pull it up before we head North.) They screwed down a dark mesh weed barrier fabric over the top of the soil hoping to keep weeds away while we are gone for the summer as well as to "cook" the soil, sterilizing it.

As you may gather, the soil in our backyard is sandy. Our hope is that with this raised bed of good, rich, sterilized soil, we will be able to grow fantastic vegetables next winter. (This was the coldest winter FL has experienced in 15 years. Not a good growing year.)

We will be heading North next week hauling all the little plants my DH has started for our northern garden. If you remember those tiny sprouts pictures in previous blogs, they are ready to transplant now. And again we start the next season of vegetable gardening...my husband's desire to garden 12 months out of the year. And so it goes.

New Year's Resolutions for Gardeners

New Year's Resolutions are not for everyone. I certainly can't be the example of one who keeps resolutions. But it is always good to examine where you have been and where you want to go, so that is the purpose of a resolution. Gardeners seem to be always assessing their gardens' performance, keeping journals, playing with garden layouts, rotating crops, reading seed catalogs for new plants. This year try making a resolution that will improve your garden.

Resolve to:

1. Take a soil sample to your county extension office so you will know what nutrients your soil needs to make a healthy growing medium for your crops.

2. Evaluate how you water your plants. Do you need to add a spigot to easily attach a hose? Would a soaker hose be a good addition? How about adding a water barrel to catch rain water? How about buying a new hose???

3. Plan a location for composting.

4. Find new recipes for using your harvested veggies.

5. Read a book on gardening this winter.

6. Plan a seating area so after all your hard work, you can sit quietly, rest, and enjoy the sights, fragrances, and sounds of your glorious garden.

Wishing you all a good-growing, Happy New Year 2010!!

Cooperative Extension Offices

You have a valuable partner in your gardening adventures. Your county agent through the Cooperative Extension Offices has a wealth of information about vegetable gardening. You can take a soil sample in for analyzing. The tests will determine what you need to add to your garden soil to produce a rich growing environment for your plants. The agents access the state's information about diseases, fungi, pests that could affect the local gardens.

Plan to use the resources of your local extension office to plan and grow your garden this year. To locate the office in your area, click here.

Horse Manure, Yes!

Mission accomplished: The horse manure is in the garden.
My DH worked it into the ground today.

Beautiful horse country near Masaryktown, FL. This is beautiful, rustic country.

Not your Disney view of Florida.

My DH and friend who has a garden too pitching the poo into the back of our truck. Big Blue.

I wonder if this pretty white horse made a contribution to our collection?

Picturesque tranquility.

Florida Garden

We are here in FL arriving in the midst of 93 temperatures...very unusual for Oct. Of course, this did not deter my DH from attacking our small plot we call a garden. The weeds were waist high and the ground is so dry, it was torture trying to dig it all out. He is afraid all the weed seeds will take hold and we will face a war on weeds all season.

He thought he was going to be able to pick up some horse manure for the garden, but sadly the lady on Kitten Trail never emailed us back to give us her address or phone number. He really wants to amend the soil.

He brought his lettuce plants, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage plants that he grew while at home in MI. Alas, we were on the road too long and the plants are not in great shape for planting, but he is setting them out this afternoon. It finally cooled down today and is pleasant.

He is also planting the onion sets and radishes today. Again we are going through that honeymoon phase of hope that all gardeners have when first beginning the garden. We always envision fabulous crops, perfect weather, and no pests. We'll see how it goes this winter. I hope you will click in once in awhile to find out the news.

Don't Forget the Soil

Soil is an important component in growing plants that flourish into food producing assets. We all grew up knowing that plants need sun, water, and food. But, I bet your first grade teacher didn't mention that soil, the growing medium, is important so the plant's roots can dig down to establish a path for food.



Take Soil Samples



Autumn is the time to till up the soil, especially clay, so the winter freezes and thaws can help break it up allowing better seed germination in the spring. If you didn't take soil samples to your extension service in the fall, do it now. With a trowel, dig about six inches deep into the soil. You can either place each sample from the different areas of your garden in a separate bag or combine the soils for one test. The University Extension Service will send you a report that includes a list of nutrients to add next spring before you begin planting. The test will also determine the pH factor of the soil and recommend steps for making it more alkaline or acidic.



Amending the Soil


Adding manure or compost makes a richer medium for growing plants. Composting is a collection of decayed kitchen scraps and leaves. When added to the soil this organic matter puts nutrients into the soil. Spring is a great time to rototill this natural additive into the ground without having to maneuver around growing plants.


Another healthy addition to your garden is earthworms. They help aereate the ground and the castings are rich in nutrients for fertilizing the plants. (One morning a few weeks ago, my husband told me at breakfast he had just ordered 2000 worms for worm farming this year. I about fell off my chair at this news as he had not mentioned a word of it to me. Needless to say, we now have 2000 of the dear creatures living in a Rubbermaid tub feasting on shredded newspaper, kitchen scraps and coffee grounds. Currently they are residing in our guest bedroom---but don't tell the guests..LOL. When it warms up in Michigan, the worms will be relegated to the out of doors. Yes, you can be sure you will be hearing more about this new experiment.



Gardeners and Hope


Something new and different is always expected every year with my gardener husband. I have noticed that every gardener is filled with hope and anticipation with what the garden will bring each year. No matter how great or how terrible was last year's harvest, every spring he vows that this will be the best season ever. And this spring, like every other spring, I always think so too.



I am so glad that you are coming along with us on our gardening journey this year. Best wishes to you all for a productive and satisfying gardening season.