| Notes from Blackberry Lane Gardens Every year, about this time, I start looking forward to the next gardening year. I review my notes about what my customers liked and then look at my own flower beds and pots to see which plants performed well, and which ones died with the onset of summer heat. I pour through catalogs of new plant introductions for the next season, and start thinking about what I'll do next year to grow better vegetables and flowers. I love gardening because every year there is a new beginning. Winter gives the gardener a 2nd chance. The slate is washed clean by frigid days and nights. Snow and cold rains wash and replenish the earth, then the warmth of spring awakens new life from the soil. Many things in my life I didn't get right the first, or even the second time I attempted them. Gardening gives us a life-time of "2nd chances". My flower gardens are beautiful this year, and the greenhouses were bursting at the seams with flowers and vegetable plants. My vegetable garden, well, that's another story. My intentions were good, broccoli and cabbage in the ground by mid- March, mulched with a thick layer of straw. Then April brought 18 degree weather and that was the end of the broccoli. By late April, I was very busy in the greenhouse; no time for weeding, planting and hoeing in the vegetable garden. Then our daughter was married at our home in May and our 10th grandchild was born 4 days later. Needless to say, the vegetable garden fell by the wayside, this year. But next year is my 2nd chance. I will use the no-till method of vegetable gardening next year. I have used this method for my flower gardens and have had great success. First a layer of cardboard or several layers of newspaper are placed on the sod. Next, a 1-2 inch layer of well-rotted manure, peat moss or compost is spread on the cardboard. The next layer consists of grass clippings or leaves and kitchen waste, followed by more manure, peat or compost. Continue this pattern until you run out of materials or a bed about 18 inches high is formed. At this point, cover the bed with black plastic to "cook" until spring. According to many, allowing time for decomposition is optional and the garden can be planted as soon as the layers are completed. However, I will allow my garden to "cook" all winter and will plant next spring. There are several advantages to this method of gardening. First, there is no need for heavy equipment to till the garden. Next, there are no rocks to contend with. There is little hoeing and weeding as the cardboard blocks the emergence of weeds from beneath the bed, and the organic rich soil, does not compact with every rain. Chemical fertilizers are not needed as more layers of grass clippings, leaves, and manure are added yearly. Earth worms are attracted to the damp, dark earth beneath the cardboard providing aeration and castings, further enriching the soil. I can think of few disadvantages to this no-till method of gardening except you may have more insect pests wintering over in the layers of yard waste. No-till gardening is not a new concept, but few have embrassed the idea. If any of you have ever had a seed sprout in a compost pile and grow to produce a bountiful harvest, you have witnessed an accidental no-till garden. Don't forget to water daily, during these hot months With the recent deluge, your outdoor potted plants may need a little extra fertilizer, due to leaching of soil nutrients. It's not too late to begin a fall garden for any of you who are unwilling to let go of this year. Beets, carrots, kale and peas can all be planted now to mature in the cooler days of late September and October. You might also try some early maturing cucumber and summer squash as squash bugs never seem to bother these plants in the fall. Happy Growing, Paula Sherwood, Blackberry Lane Gardens |
| The Blackberry Lane Gardens |
| Newsletter June 24,2007 |
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