STATE OF THE GARDEN
April, 2012
Welcome
to all the newcomers to our garden this year. I've
talked with most of you, and hope to meet the rest of you soon. Our garden
is a very special place. I hope you will come to love it like all of us
"old timers" do. If you have questions, ask others who are working in
the garden, or contact me. My email and phone number are posted on the shed
bulletin board. If you are a beginning gardener, you might be interested in
participating in Lea's classes on Thursday evenings. If you are an
experienced gardener, speak up. We all learn from each other.
Plant
Sale Thanks to everyone who helped with the plant sale,
both working there and donating plants. We made over $120.
Don't forget the 2nd plant
sale on May 12. The emphasis will be on heat-loving plant starts, but the there
will be much more.
If you have extras of
anything, consider bringing them on May 12 for the sale.
Opening
work day was a success and
probably the most unstressful one yet. We got the new water line installed
(thank you Mike Hesch for heading that up); the entire outer perimeter of the
fence weeded (wonder how long it will stay that way?); a new bulletin board
hung on the inside of the shed door; the compost bins organized for the season;
and the corner posts of the plots pounded snuggly for the season. Thanks to all
for your help.
Compost
bins: This year the North bin is available for compost
while the South bin is cooking. There are scraps of sheet metal on the
top of the south bin to help heat it up. When throwing plants into the compost,
remove as much soil from the root ball as you can. And use the small, tender
weeds as mulch for your own garden.
Water
system: The water set up is greatly
improved this year, with a spigot at each compost bin area.
The main shut off valve is
the yellow handle at the hydrant out by the street.
The first spigot is at the
north bin. It has 4 outlets. Numbering them 1 thru 4, going left to right:
• #1 is the inlet from the hydrant.
• #2 is the off/on valve for the north spigot
• #3 is empty
• #4 is the outlet to the south spigot
• #2 is the only one you need to use. The others stay
as they are set.
The south spigot is
straightforward and obvious.
Our water is metered and
we pay for it at the end of the season. Use as much water as you need, but
don't waste. Watering at ground level is more efficient than spraying.
Hoses: There
should be enough footage to reach all corners of the garden. I'll double check.
When you drag the hose to your plot, keep in on the path and avoid crossing
another plot. The corner posts will help with this. Store the hoses
by splaying them neatly along the paths. This is a lot less tedious than
winding them in a circle.
Straw We have 28 bales of straw reserved for us. I'm
not sure when it will arrive or what it will cost. Last year it was $3/bale.
1/2 bale is about enough to cover a large plot and 1/4 bale for a small
plot.
Recurring
Reminders--When you leave the
garden, always remember to
• turn off the water at both spigots
• lock the shed
• shut the gate
• log any hours you do
Another
Reminder: If you are setting up trellises, be sure that the
shade that they create does not interfere with a neighbor’s plot. And 4’ should
be the maximum height.
Bindweed This seems to be all over the place this year. It's as
noxious as thistle, but more pleasant to pull up, if just as futile. Make a
point of keeping this pulled out, especially along the fence. It looks like
morning glory vine, but morning glory needs more heat and isn't out yet.
Voles
are back. (For the uninitiated, they
look like mice with short tails and nibble at root crops.) Wayne battled them
valiantly last year and kept the population down. But I think totally
eliminating them is next to impossible. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.
I'm considering a bull snake or a black snake. How would people feel about
this?
Gardening
at the Speed of Contemplation-One of
the quirky garden blogs that I read had this thoughtful post. Here is the link:
Now--Go
out and garden!!
Jan
