Community Garden: How about this weather?

How about this weather? Isn’t this just the best ever? Have you planted yet?

A little rain and a few thunderstorms and some wind makes everything look really great. Stick a thermometer in the ground and check the soil temperature. Read about your seeds and your plants and see what temperature they like. All of your plants know when it is time to start growing and producing. They know that there might be another freeze and that they may be exposed and therefore they are saving up all of their energy to combat the cold. Wait until you know it isn’t going to freeze or kick up a heavy frost and then plant your garden. Your plants will smile and thank you for waiting and produce faster and better.

Now it is getting kind of late, but have you had your soil tested yet to make sure that what you are adding to your garden and what you are trying to grow are a good match? You may think that the PH of your garden is not important, but I promise you that if you pay attention you can do really well. To adjust PH and the acidity level is hard to do over a large area so you have to think outside the box so to speak. You can control a container’s characteristics a lot easier and faster than you can your whole garden.

Yeah I know, a container is just not always the best solution. Well think about this! Take a two foot diameter plastic tin horn and have it cut in two foot lengths, dig a hole and bury it and fill it with the proper soil with the proper amount of lime and fertilizer and nutrients that are needed for what you are trying to grow. Blueberries will grow extremely well like this and they will get big and produce just like they would do up north. It will look like you planted them straight to your garden soil and your neighbor will wonder how you are doing it. If you have a competition going on and you don’t want to share this secret with him then do it at night. Yeah, you have to use a flashlight! Just get everything prepared during the day and while your neighbor is watching or peeking through the window you fake him out. Stretch your arms like you are tired, put your hands on your hips for a minute, look at the shovel like you need to sharpen it, then put your hands on your hips and bend a little like your back is hurting, and now for the final act just scratch yourself. Lay all of your tools down and wave your hand at your garden like you are done and go inside. Your neighbor will think you are done for the day and pay no more attention. As it gets dark get a flashlight and go back to work. Kids like this nocturnal sneaking so use their help to bring you water. Your neighbor will never catch on.