S is for Soil

With just at couple of days left before you can officially begin working in your garden plot, I thought I would talk a little about the soil conditions.  As you know, we have had a particularly wet spring.  Even though we are allowed to work the soil starting May 1st, I wouldn't recommend it until the soil dries out a bit.  Since our plot are raised, it won't take as long as the rest of the ground.  Personally, I won't be working the soil until next week (if there is no rain).

Why should we wait?
The danger of working the soil to early, as far as I understand it, is that you will just create a bunch of dirt clods.  Our soil here at White Course is already prone to clotty soil due to the clay content, so if you worked it to early, you would just be creating more work for yourself down the road when you need to break it all up again.

The other danger is in drowning the seeds.  We grow up learning that seeds need water and sunshine to sprout.  But did you know that they also need air?  If you plant your seeds in water saturated soil, then they won't have the necessary air to germinate before they rot in the ground.  (I know this by experience.  Trust me.)

What do I need to do to my soil?
Because PSU takes care of our plots, we don't need to do much.  They have already tilled the ground and added compost.  All your REALLY need to do is create paths and plant the seeds.  That being said, there are plots that do better than others.  Some of the reasons could be the care that their owners take BEFORE they even plant their seeds.  So here are some ideas to help you get off to a good start.  Let me emphasize the fact that none of these are absolutely necessary, they are just extras to make the growing environment even better.

1.  Remove rocks.  Did you know that Pennsylvania soil spontaneously produces vast amounts of rocks?  No matter how thorough you are at removing them, more appear every year.  I'm only partly joking.  There are a LOT of rocks.  I usually just remove the big ones by hand as I turn the soil and create my seed beds.  But you can create a sieve with some screening (don't get stuff that's too small) and just run the soil through.  It's a lot of work but may be worth it.  Just make sure you don't throw the rocks into the grass where the lawnmower will run them over.  Instead, put them in a nice pile by your garden plot and the grounds people will remove them.

2. Add extra stuff to your soil.  Because the soil seems to have quite a bit of clay in it, I usually add some peat moss to help aerate the soil a bit.  Vermiculate or perlite are two other things that will do that well too.  In fact, Mel Bartholomew from "Square Foot Gardening"  highly recommends using vermiculate because it is a more sustainable resource.  I have never been able to find it before this year, but I'm pretty sure that College Gardens has it. 
You could also add extra compost which you could buy in bags or gather at local parks (the city leaves piles of compost for members of the community to use).  I often add extra potting soil to my plot as I plant throughout the season.  I don't really know if it's necessary, but I think it helps with the quality of the soil.

3. Paths and mounds.  You beginners may notice that a lot of people make some pretty significant mounds of soil in their plots.  You may also notice pretty deep ditches within each plot.  It doesn't harm anything and it makes some convenient paths for you to get around in your plot, but it really isn't necessary because our raised plots already have excellent drainage.  I'm not saying that people need to stop this practice, I'm just telling the beginners that they aren't doing anything wrong if they choose not to adopt this practice.

I usually buy some biodegradable landscaping ground cover for my paths so that I don't have to weed my paths.  The only problem that I have had with this method is that the wind will often blow it off at some point in the season.  You could also lay down a layer of straw to prevent weed growth.  I've even seen some people lay the landscaping cover over the entire plot and just cut out holes where they have plants.   This may decrease the amount of weeding you need to do, but you lose some versatility in planting options.

When can I plant?
After the soil dries out a bit, you can begin planting some cold hardy seeds right now.  These include seeds such as peas, spinach, cabbage, leaf lettuce, carrots, beets, ect.  You shouldn't plant seedlings until the middle of the month.  I would wait to plant the more tropical plants until the end of May.  These include things like tomatoes and peppers. 

Here are some websites with some planting schedules:
Old Farmers Almanac
Square Foot Gardening
The Vegetable Garden

I look forward to meeting everyone in the gardens, but don't start too early, or you may regret it.  I'm still looking for some guest bloggers.  Also, you can look forward to future posts about common weeds and what they look like; gardening terminology; and plant placement.

The Seed Packet is Your Friend

The Seed Packet:  a wealth of knowledge for the beginner gardener AND the expert gardener.  With the seed packet, you can know when to plant, how far apart to plant the seeds, and how deep to plant them!  I found a great post at Veggie Gardener.  Check it out!  They do a great job of guiding you through all the information found on the seed packet. 

Don't Let the Spring Weather Fool You!

My kids were barefoot yesterday; I wore capris; my husband wore shorts.  I can hear the birds singing. The yellow blossoms of forsythia are emerging.  Signs of spring are everywhere!  Don't let it fool you.  We are in Pennsylvania people!  The weather likes to lull you into a false sense of security, then it hits you with a snow storm!  I'm not predicting a snow storm or anything, but I will tell you that we still have some time before the risk of a damaging frost is over.  How do I know?  I "Googled" it of course!  Here's a helpful link that I found.  So, don't plan on planting until the middle of May.  I usually wait until after Memorial Day, which is May 30th.  However, this year I plan on planting some cold loving plants like broccoli, peas, and spinach in the beginning of May.

For you experts out there: even if you know how to prepare for the cold weather, I still wouldn't recommend you start working on your plot until after May 1st.  Penn State rototills the plots and adds compost to them.  If you do any work before May 1st, it will all be plowed under.  I would hate to see that happen!

Starting Your Own Seedlings

A trip to the greenhouse each year is hard to describe.  I have feelings of excitement for approaching spring and summer; I have a quiet thrill running through my body when I am surrounded by so much life; I feel slightly overwhelmed as I look at all the varieties of tomato, peppers, herbs and flowers.  I usually try to go to the greenhouse without my children so I can concentrate enough to get what I need.  Eventually, I am able to figure out what it is that I want and I buy it ----then the shock comes.  As I walk out of the store, I ask myself, "Did I just spend $40 on plants?  I thought a garden was supposed to SAVE money!"  Every year, I go through the same ritual.  I will probably do it this year too!

You don't have to though.  You don't have to make the annual trip to the green house, drop $40, and experience those negative feelings of being overwhelmed and spending too much money.  Instead you can experience the fun part of spring by watching your very own seedlings grow!

Our apartments are so tiny and dark though, right?  It's still possible.  Since I am not an expert on all things gardening, I will not pretend that I have ever even tried to start my own seedlings.  You will just have to trust me and know that it can be done.  First, here is a good overview on what you need to do:  Our Ohio.

There are unique problems to our apartments:  Space and Light.

1.  Space:  it actually doesn't take very much space to do the seedlings.  You can find kits for seedlings that don't even need additional soil.  (I saw one at Target but I can't find it online).  Some of the kits even come with seeds!  All you need to do is find a clear table or dresser top, preferably by a window.

2. Lighting:  As it says in the link I provided, all you really need is two 40 watt bulbs directly over your seedlings.  There are a few people in White Course who actually rigged a suspended fluorescent light over their seedlings and it works very well.  Here is an example:

She has this in her upstairs bedroom.  The light is hanging from a suspension rod!  Ingenious!  Right?  The picture is not the greatest, but you can see that her plants are flourishing.

So . . . now that you know that you CAN do it in our teeny-tiny apartments, get started.  Now is the time.  Have fun!

PS.  Notice that on the sidebar, I have a few links where you can order seeds.  All have been recommended by someone who lives in White Course.