July 29, 2013 GARDEN TALK by Karen Williams The end of July is almost here and it’s time to start thinking about planting a fall vegetable garden. Most spring and summer gardens have been producing for a while, and some plants have finished producing while others have not. For those employing organic gardening practices, well, we’ve seen a few insects in our gardens this year too. It’s time to clean out any dead or dying or infested plants and treat the soil and remaining plants with either Neem oil spray or Diatomaceous Earth. The soil also needs to be tilled where new seeds or transplants will planted, and amended with compost or any other good organic nitrogen source. Planting seeds and getting them to come up during our 100 degree days can be a little tricky, as soil can form a hard crust that is difficult for the tender seedlings to break through. There are a couple of suggestions for success: 1. Make a furrow and fill it with water before planting your seeds, then cover them to the desired depth with loose, dry dirt and gently tamp them in. The moist soil will give them plenty of moisture to sprout, and the dry soil will be easier for the seedling to push through. The soil should remain moist, but avoid overhead watering…..use a drip system instead, as overhead watering may cause a crust to form. 2. Cover your moistened planted rows with a board to keep the soil from drying out. Check it each day to see if the seeds are sprouting. When they begin to emerge, remove the board, and water as usual. If you just plant a garden in the late spring or summer, you are missing out on some delicious cool weather crops. In our area, all the greens do better in the fall, along with beets, beans, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, peas, turnips, squash, tomatoes and pumpkins. Check out the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension website for fall gardening planting dates for our area at: aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/fallgarden/falldirect.html Or email us at comanchecommunitygarden@yahoo and request a fall planting dates chart. If you are laying out an area and not planting again until Spring, a cover crop needs to be planted, like Rye grass. This is called green mulching and the rye grass will be tilled in the spring to enhance the soil. If you are not using a cover plant, mulch the area heavily with leaves or fine wood chips to prevent weeds from growing in the bare soil. Last Friday, the Comanche FFA along with their sponsor Mr. Simmons and the Comanche Community Garden, hosted a group of FFA students from Connecticut at the garden. They are an amazing group of young people, eager to learn about farming, gardening, ranching and life - Texas style. After welcoming them, we gave them a tour of the garden. The Comanche FFA students told about learning to install the drip irrigation systems and doing their own planting beds. They explained that the vegetables in their beds were designated for the Salvation Army Food Pantry. The students looked at the different kinds of vegetables and fruits being grown in the garden. Jerry Sears also gave a talk demonstrating how the drip systems were put together and installing timers for consistant watering. Jonathan Lawrence explained the three composting systems we are using in the garden, talked about amending the soil and growing nutrient-dense produce with a demonstration in Brix testing. Joe Robison gave a tour of our in-ground food pantry garden and talked about planting tomatoes and peppers, and gardening in general. There may have been some sampling going on too. Questions and information was shared by all to make for a great time at the garden. Come to the garden to see what’s going on…..I guarantee, you’ll be amazed. We will be building 10 more raised planting beds this fall. If you like fun, relaxation, fresh vegetables and fellowship, Come Grow with Us at the Comanche Community Garden. Also, check us out on Facebook at facebook/comanchecommunitygarden. We regularly post gardening updates, how-to information and photos from the garden.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Jul 2013 23:05:06 +0000
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