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10/10/09 Update

posted Oct 10, 2009 3:47 PM by Rob Perhamus
Hello Gardeners - - -  

Have you seen all the wonderful additions to our garden? There are more festive decorations such as Indian Corn and pine cones. Valerie's plot has the cutest hummingbird feeders, plus pine cones, wrought iron fence, lantern, etc. Erika and Marie have darling polka dot boots filled with dirt and plants. Janice keeps adding the cutest additions to her plot. Debrah has plants and rocks in the middle of her plot. The more I look the more I see. Take some time early in the morning or evening with a cup of tea to wander around. You will find the neatest stuff.

Janice planted red beets in the small wooden drawer for everyone to share. The long white plastic planters between the shed and herb planters have good soil for planting. There is nothing planted in these planters. If you plant something, please label it so it will get watered.

And now for a discussion of our water issue - - - 

1.  Is it the Spanish lady? We don't know. Three people who spoke with her and her bilingual son are convinced that she is not watering our garden. Ken and Joan of PCC asked the side yard neighbors to keep a watchful eye.

2.  Is it an unknown person? No reason to think someone would water if they don't garden with us. But just in case, I added a combo lock to the side fence and let Chuck know. Ken and Joan of PCC and I have the combination. Also, the extra hoses will be placed in the shed.

3.  I watered my plot Thursday morning. Paula told me the area was saturated Friday so I didn't water. This morning it was still wet. But most of my seeds are germinating so they haven't drowned. I inspected everyone's plot this morning. There was a circular wet area outside the front fence by Gail's plot. A couple of plots with soaker hoses and timers have wet spots on the bottom layer of several concrete blocks. That suggests too much water or inadequate drainage. I do know that the native soil is a gloppy mess when watered. The beds we developed are tried and true for nutrients and drainage. I dug down about 6 inches in my plot and found the bed to be evenly moist. This is different from my garden at home which is identical in construction. In my home garden, the bed is much drier 24 hours after watering unless there was a steady rain.  THEORY: drainage under our plots is slow and daily watering may result in water that has not drained to percolate up and keep the beds moist throughout. SOLUTION: Check your beds for moisture before watering by sticking your fingers 4 to 6 inches into the soil. Water only if the soil is drying out. Perhaps our water demon is the native soil ! 

Concern about germination of your seeds - - -  Several gardeners are concerned about the apparent lack of germination of their seeds. Here are some suggestions:

1.  Check to see that the veggies you planted are for the cool season. Warm season veggies may not germinate.

2.  Check the days/weeks to germination. We are so anxious to see the fruits of our labor, we may not realize that some seeds take 21 days and others only 5 to 7 days. Be patient and check your seed packets.

3.  It is possible that seeds were planted too deep. Be patient. They may take a little longer to pop up. If they are not popping through the soil a week after the normal germination time, just re-seed. (So glad to have all those packets of free seeds :-) Remember most seeds need to be 1/2 into the soil. Some only 1/8 inch. Others 1 inch. The soil on top of the seeds should be loosely sprinkled. Some gardeners use vermiculite (which is light and airy) on top of their seeds. Others use seed cover compost (also light and airy). This makes it easy for the tender seedlings to pop through the soil. Otherwise you may have to wait until they get a little older and tougher to pop through.

4.  Almost everyone added the organic choice amendment or Bumper Crop amendment to their soil. Hopefully this was mixed into the top 5-6 inches of the dark compost soil. If not, the amendment may be too heavy when watered for the seedlings to germinate. 

5.  If you are using soaker hoses and not sure where you planted your seeds, it is possible the hose is laying on top of the seeds and they can't pop up. If you planted before laying the hose, you might want to wait until the seeds germinate before placing the hose on the soil.

Finally - - - While I have gardened on and off for many years, I am by no means an expert. I make mistakes and I continuously learn. Gardening is a lot of trial and error (or "Trowel and Error" which is the name of a gardening book one of our gardeners gave me:-). I welcome suggestions from all of you. This is a Community Garden and we all need to learn from each other.

Mary