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I always find it a bit more difficult to come up with a gardening article pertaining to this time of year. I was recently given several old gardening books including some older Organic Gardening, that I always enjoy reading. I came across and article on gardening tips and thought to share some of them along with others that I have picked up from experienced gardeners etc over the years.
If you are starting your own seeds, most require planting about 6-8 weeks before the last frost. Bottom heat aids in germination and some gardeners place the seed trays on a fridge or deep freeze or some other warm spot. Cuticle scissors are a perfect tool for thinning seedlings. Instead of uprooting unwanted seedlings snip them off at soil level. This avoids disturbing delicate roots. Or pinch off with your fingernails. An old fork works well for removing them individually from the tray at transplant time.
Do you have a bank or other area covered with weeds you'd like to deal with without using chemicals…sow buckwheat thickly anytime from spring to summer. It grows to create a dense "smother crop" that chokes out even the most aggressive weeds, including quack grass. And as a bonus it has fragrant blooms that will draw bees and other beneficial insects to your garden. At the end of the season, you can turn it under to enrich the soil if you wish.
If you have trouble seeing tiny seedlings when sowing them in rows here is a great tip. Line your rows with toilet tissue; you will be able to see your seeds and the tissue with quickly decompose after being covered with moist soil. Use and old paintbrush to cover your seeds with the soil, you have more control than when using a garden trowel, or your hands.
An idea I found interesting; instead of digging trenches for planting potatoes, simply press seed potatoes into the soil and cover them with a 6-inch blanket of dried grass cuttings. [make sure it isn't from grass that has gone to seed.] Apparently this method produced at least 40 percent more tubers and it makes it easy to harvest some early potatoes by reaching beneath the grass clippings to sneak out a few baby potatoes.
Scatter your radish seeds over a wide area instead of planting in rows. You will harvest about three times more per sq. ft. As you thin the largest radishes, the smaller ones around them will mature, giving you a long-season staggered yield without multiple plantings. I have had success with this method using more than radishes in the same seed mix. You can use different varieties of lettuce and other salad greens, and broadcast them all in the same area. If your garden bed is ready for planting, you can even broadcast these seeds on top of the snow and have a very early crop!
I hope you enjoyed these ideas.
Lindi Karmason for Lake Country Gardens 2006/02
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