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Tips for Wise Watering in the Vegetable Garden

With all of the very hot, dry weather we’ve had this summer, our garden has looked a bit wilted and droopy on occasion. We’ve watered more frequently because of that. Generally speaking, we try to conserve water and water only when it’s really needed. We live in the land of plenty of water, but that’s no reason to misuse our resources. With a little planning and forethought, vegetable gardeners can be wise in watering their gardens.

In general, a vegetable garden requires about an inch of rain a week to do well. When we take the time to pay attention to the rains, we notice that much of the time, we get about that. If not, it’s time to water.

The best times of the day to water are in the morning or in the late afternoon. Most sources agree that watering too late in the day is not a good idea because that will lead to dampness which can encourage fungus and mold.

It’s also important to give the garden a good soaking when watering. Regular shallow watering will encourage roots to grow shallowly rather than develop deeper, stronger roots.

Remember that the most important thing to get wet when watering is the soil near the roots. Although the leaves may be drooping, plants take up water from their roots. Wet leaves do little to feed a thirsty plant.

Gardening in containers is a good option for many gardeners with limited space. Careful attention must be paid to keeping container gardens adequately watered. They will dry out much more quickly than gardens planted in the soil.

A rain gauge is a handy device for keeping track of how much water your garden is getting. A coffee can or small bucket can also be used to monitor the rainfalls.

We’ve found that mulching our beds helps to retain moisture in the soil as well as offering a few other benefits such as weed suppression and adding more organic content to the soil.

Our rain barrels are greatly appreciated during the dry times. We use them to fill watering cans to water containers and other spots in the garden. If you don’t have a rain barrel, you might consider adding one or two to your dwelling. The Huron River Watershed Council website has a list of sources for purchasing a rain barrel as well as plans for making one yourself. A rain barrel saves money on water costs. In Ann Arbor, rain barrels also earn residential storm water credits on your water bill.

When we need to water the whole garden, we usually use a hose, which provides accuracy for getting the soil and not just the leaves wet. An added bonus to a watering session is the chance enjoy the scent of damp soil while surveying the garden and observing the green growth of our plot of land.

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By 20 Minute Jan – July 30, 2011

Garden Advice– a phone call away

When you have a question about a pest, a weed or a gardening practice, you can turn to gardening books, magazines or the internet for information.

If you want to speak to a human, however, the MSU Extension Office of Washtenaw County has two services managed by local human beings who can help provide garden information with a simple phone call.

One is the Garden Hotline for Washtenaw County. The Garden Hotline is answered Monday through Thursday from 9am until 12pm and 1pm until 4pm. Washtenaw County Master Gardeners staff the Garden Hotline and work with support from the Extension Horticulturist to provide information and suggestions to puzzled gardeners. Advice on general gardening questions and household pest problems can be received by calling 734-997-1819 during the hours listed above.

Another local source for information is Dial-a-Garden of Washtenaw County. In conjunction with the Staff Horticulturist, Master Gardeners select timely issues for which they provide pre-recorded information for the gardener. The topics are updated monthly. Offerings for the month of June cover a range of issues including putting houseplants outdoors for the summer, growing tomatoes, poison ivy control, pruning flowering shrubs, ticks, controlling mosquitoes, and more. Dial-a-Garden can be reached 24/7 at 734-971-1129.

Both of these services are provided through the MSU Extension Office of Washtenaw County. Cooperative extension services came out of the establishment of land-grant universities in 1862, and their mission was to educate citizens in agriculture, home economics, the mechanical arts, and other practical professions. The MSU Extension Office on Zeeb Road is a rich community resource of information on a wide range of information, from financial literacy to 4-H to horticulture and natural resources. Their full range of services can be seen here.

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By 20 Minute Jan – June 28, 2011

Is Crop Rotation Necessary?

Until recently, I thought that crop rotation was a topic of interest only for farmers– people who grew lots and lots of plants. Crop rotation, the practice of growing a series of dissimilar crops in the same area for subsequent seasons, seemed like too complicated a concept for a backyard vegetable gardener like me to worry about. Besides, I liked my habits: tomatoes, peppers and broccoli in the round bed, more tomatoes in the bed by the trellis, the cabbage and kale in the same spots. I liked the familiar shape and layout of the garden from year to year.

This year in the Master Gardener course, I was exposed to another point of view– one that showed the positive sides of crop rotation. As I’ve done more reading on the topic, I’ve come to the conclusion that rotating crops among the beds of a backyard garden is actually an important and interesting practice, and also one that we needed to adopt in our garden.

What are those positive effects of crop rotation?

Disease control. Many diseases and pests tend to effect plants of the same types. Rotating crops reduces the likelihood of diseases which can remain in the soil. For example, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and potatoes are in the Solanaceae family and have similar susceptibility to diseases. If a gardener wants to rotate crops, any of the plants in this family should not be planted where other members were grown in the previous season.

Nutrients. Different plants use different amounts of nutrients from the soil. A crop which requires a high amount of a particular nutrient from the soil, for example spinach’s need for boron, could eventually lower the levels of that nutrient and then not do as well in that area.

The other example most people are somewhat familiar with is how legumes like beans and peas fix nitrogen in the soil. It makes good sense to alternate them with other plants that can take advantage of that nitrogen.

Soil improvement. Rotating crops can also improve soil structure by alternating deep rooted plants with shallow rooted plants.

If you’ve already planted your veggies for the year, suggestions to consider rotating your crops are coming a bit late. If you are like me, however, you might need a little time to think about your practices and your willingness to make changes. If you are considering making changes next year, you can make a map or diagram of what you planted in which spots this year. It’s a good idea to keep those garden plans so you can compare them year to year. I’m interested in observing what differences crop rotation might make in our backyard garden.

Is crop rotation too much bother for your garden? Or is crop rotation part of your gardening practices? If not, is it something you might consider doing in the future?

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By 20 Minute Jan – June 25, 2011

Compost versus mulch: what’s the difference?

A few weeks back, we posted about shredding leaves to use as mulch on our garden beds. A couple of readers stated that they composted their leaves before adding them to their gardens, which provided me the impetus for addressing two topics close to my heart and, more specifically, their differences.

What is the difference between mulch and compost?

Technically speaking, compost is organic matter that has been decomposed. The easiest way to make compost is to pile up garden refuse, kitchen scraps, lawn clippings, and wait a year. We humans have devised some ways of speeding up that process, like paying attention to the “formula” of parts (2 parts ‘brown/dry’ to 1 part ‘green/juicy’ is a general guide), of turning and watering as needed, and of using different style bins or containers.

Compost that has fully decomposed is sometimes referred to as humus. Humus is usually dark brown in color and has a mild, pleasant smell. If your compost smells, it’s not yet finished breaking down.

Finished compost has many uses. Compost can be added or dug into garden beds while the soil is being turned. When planting new plants, you can add compost to the hole. (It’s usually a bad idea, however, to fill up the hole with only compost. That creates such special comfy place that plants don’t want to send their roots out into the regular soil, which inhibits their growth.) Compost can be used to “side-dress” plants already in the ground by spreading the compost next to the plant and working it into the soil with a small garden fork. Compost can also be added to the mixture in which you start new plants or seeds.

We don’t use compost as mulch however. Compost is full of nutrients that we want to get down in the soil to feed the plants through their roots.

In contrast, mulch is the layer of organic materials placed on the top of the soil as a protective cover. Mulch helps to suppress weed germination, retain moisture, insulate the soil, and reduce erosion. Mulch also contributes nutrients the soil by gradually breaking down over time.

During the gardening season, we heavily mulch our garden beds with grass clippings, straw and shredded leaves. From our point of view, leaf mulch is such a fantastic mulch that the 60 minutes once a year that we spend shredding leaves is a worthwhile effort. Our electric shredder is a little bit louder than a lawnmower and makes quick work of this simple task.

On the perennial beds, we like to use purchased cedar chips as mulch. In addition to a pleasant appearance, cedar chips break down slowly, providing coverage for several seasons. Cedar is also reputed to discourage some types of insects.

Compost and mulch are the two organic gardening approaches that have improved our soil tremendously over the years. We’ve seen the soil change from being “fudge” to becoming “cake”, to quote Jim’s metaphors. Using both compost and mulch in the garden are simple changes with huge impacts on growing plants, cutting down on weeds, and improving soil.

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By 20 Minute Jan – June 18, 2011

3 tips for making progress in the garden when there is “a thousand things to do”

One evening last week, between rain storms, Jim and I were motivated to head out of the house and into the garden for what started out as a 20 minute garden work session. Jim referred to this time of year in the garden as “the time of a thousand things to do.” Where do we even start? We could weed just about anywhere, transplant or divide what’s gotten too large, put seeds in the ground, get seedlings out of the cold frame and into the soil… The list goes on. How does a gardener make progress when, no matter what task she takes on, there’s still 999 more waiting?

It’s times like these that a person needs a strategy. Here are 3 tips for getting started when a start just doesn’t seem like enough.

1. Keep records.
A formal record like a gardening journal (or a blog!) can help a gardener stay organized and encouraged as well as providing reference information that will assist with planning in subsequent gardening seasons. Keeping track of the weather trends — is it always this rainy or does it just seem like it? — can also provide insight into why some plants thrive and others mope. Even jotting a few notes on the calendar about what was planted when can give a gardener a sense of time and progress. Taking digital photos of your garden as various stages is visual way of tracking progress; the date-stamp on the photo provides a handy reference point. Not much happens fast in a garden so one has to keep the long-term perspective in mind.

2. Have “Victory Conditions”.
We’ve used this phrase in our conversations for so long that I had to ask Jim if he remembered its origin– which he did. We adopted the concept of Victory conditions when our son was a teenager who played a lot of video games. Victory conditions are what counts as a “win” in a particular setting, be it staying alive, finding the prize, or winning a fight. The best video games, we were told, were the on-going ones with lots of levels, prizes, and bosses to defeat; a player couldn’t finish those in one sitting, so he would have to establish his own personal “victory conditions” of what would constitute an achievement for that session. Victory conditions are the goals that you aim for when the big goal (a lovely garden) cannot be achieved in just today.

When we go out in the garden, and especially during the time of a thousand things to do, we establish the day’s Victory Conditions. Although we do sometimes spend a few minutes here and there, but more often, we decide to focus on a manageable task that we finish or at least complete a step of. Recent tasks have included weeding and replanting in a section of a bed, preparing the soil and planting 8 cucumber plants, or thoroughly weeding along the stone edging of a raised bed. Setting victory conditions usually guarantees we will not get overwhelmed or discouraged, and when we are putting away the tools, we can see that we’ve accomplished some tangible task.

3. Keep doing something.
Last summer, Jim took a Motorcycle Maintanence course at WCC and gained a great deal of mechanical knowledge. He also picked up a little piece of philosophy that we’ve both found really helpful. One of his instructors advised: “Just keeping doing something and you’ll be the most productive worker in the shop.” Making the most of the time available to work is a good practice for a couple of reasons. There is always something to do in the garden, but there are also competing distractions. Although we all like to think we can multi-task, most things can be most effectively completed if we are only doing that one thing. So whatever amount of time you are able to carve out — and 20 minutes generally works for us–, give your time over fully to garden work.

The early months can seem especially busy for gardeners, even though our gardens keep us occupied all summer long. In our 20 minute garden, we’ve found that that keeping records, setting victory conditions, and a commitment to “keep doing something” help us stay inspired for the long haul and the rewards that come a little later in the season.

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By 20 Minute Jan – June 7, 2011