Late Fall Tilling

Tilling your soil in the late fall can be very beneficial, but there can also be some drawbacks.

Benefits:

1. It can help control insects, such as corn borer, corn earworm, cucumber beetle, squash bug, slug eggs, and vine borer because it exposes overwintering insects to winter conditions.

2. It can also make spring soil preparation easier because by adding organic matter now, your soil will be in better condition in a few months and will be easier to dig and plant.

3. Tilling in the fall allows a large amount of organic matter such as guano, compost, bark, and manures to be turned into the soil. This organic matter will start decomposing because the microbes are active currently and ready to start breaking everything down.

Drawbacks:

While all of the above are very good benefits, tilling in the fall should be done with some thought.

1. Soil erosion can be a problem if your area gets huge rain or winds during the fall and winter months. If that is the case, think about the tradeoffs of losing good topsoil to waiting and doing your tilling in the spring.

2. Be careful not to ruin your soil structure. Never work wet soil, especially clay. You may ruin the soil structure for years to come. Here's how to best determine How To Care For Your Soil Structure with this step-by-step article: Care For Your Soil Structure

For more Gardening Tips and Gardening Advice visit our main gardening website at Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine

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How To Start Cool Fall Crops During Warm Summer Days

The best time to start fall crops is in late summer for a late fall harvest. The problem however, is that the soil and the daytime temperatures can sometimes still be so warm that it can be hard to get cool-weather crops to germinate and grow.

Here is a way to get around that problem!

1. Dig a shallow trench that is about 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm) deep.

2. Line the trench with come good garden soil or compost.

3. Put your seeds in the trench, and then cover them shallowly with more compost or garden soil. Don’t worry that the seeds aren’t planted as deep as may be mentioned on the seed packet. Just cover them shallowly.

4. Water the trench and seeds in carefully, but thoroughly.

5. Cover the trench with boards or very thick cardboard. The trick here is to keep the heat out and keep the seeds in the trench cool and in the dark. So the thicker the material you use the cover the trench, the better.

6. Check under the boards regularly, and as soon as you see small pale seedlings growing, remove the boards.

7. Grow your seedlings as usual now that they are started.

This trick works great with several fall crops like broccoli, cabbage, carrots, lettuce, and cauliflower.

For more Gardening Tips and Gardening Advice visit our main gardening website at Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine

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Pepper Plants Have No Fruit

One of the most common complaints heard about pepper plants is that the plant itself is beautiful, but there is no fruit!

The reason is over-fertilization.

Pepper plants don't need a lot of food to grow and do well. They only need about one teaspoon (5 ml) of 5-10-10 at planting time, and another teaspoon at the flowering stage.

If you have fed your peppers more than that, you risk the plant putting all its energy into growing leaves, and not producing any fruit.

How to Fix:

Spray the plant with Epsom salts at the rate of 1 teaspoon (5 ml) dissolved in an old window-spray bottle of warm water. That's about 4 cups (1 liter) of water.

By doing this, you will give your pepper plants a boost of magnesium that is required by these plants at flowering time in order to produce fruit.

Spray them again 10 days later and in a few weeks you will have peppers that you can eat!

For more Gardening Tips and Gardening Advice visit our main gardening website at Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine

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Grow Melons In A Water Well

To grow the best, juiciest melons, one of the most important things you need to do is to make sure that they get enough water.

By growing them in a "water well" you will ensure that they will.

Here's what you do:

1. Make sure each "well" is 5 feet (1.5 m) apart.

2. Dig a hole that is at least 4 inches (10 cm) deep and 18 inches (45 cm) wide.

3. Fill each hole with compost or good rich, loamy soil.

4. Water the compost in thoroughly and let it sit for a day or two.

5. In each composted hole, plant 6 to 8 seeds.

6. When the seedlings begin to emerge, apply a surface mulch of compost and then thin the seedlings to 3 plants per hole.

The compost-rich hole that you have created is retaining moisture much better than regular garden soil and is providing the melon roots the moisture they require to produce juicy, delicious melons.

During hot, dry days, make sure you water the melons deeply when the compost begins to dry out, which could be every day, or every few days depending upon your area.

Either way, make sure the that the soil moisture remains high, which the composted "water well" will greatly help you do.

Other Articles of Interest:

Grow The Juiciest Melons Ever

The Wonders of Mulch
A Complete How To Use Mulch Guide

Mulching - How Much And How Deep?

For more Gardening Tips and Gardening Advice visit our main gardening website at Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine

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Fast Growing Vegetables and Gardening Tips For Kids

Getting kids interested in gardening is very easy because there are so many things they can do, and they are natural gardeners because they're curious and they love to play in the dirt.

Here are few crops to try out.
They are good because they give kids fast results!

Sunflowers
A must for a child's garden because they germinate and grow so fast. They will sprout in about 1 week, become a small seedling in 2 weeks, and should be around 2-3 feet (1 m) tall in a month.

Lettuce
Another fast crop that gives kids fast results, and it's also a good way to interest kids in salads.

Radishes
Germinate in 3-10 days, and have a very short growing season of 20-30 days.

Snow peas
They take about 10 days to germinate and mature in about 60 days. They are also fun for kids to eat right off the vine.

Cherry tomatoes
These may be the most fun crop for kids, aside from strawberries.

Nasturtiums
These flowers are easy to grow and they bloom about 50 days after the seeds are planted, with orange, yellow and red flowers. The flowers are also edible, and can be used to add color to a fresh garden salad.

Bush beans
Fast, easy, high yield and, because they do not grow tall, they are easy for kids to harvest. Bush beans germinate in 4-8 days, and mature in 40-65 days.

Pumpkins
If you have the room! Seeds will sprout in about 1 week; after a few days, vine leaves begin to form and creep along the ground. Pumpkins take 80 - 120 days to harvest

A Few Tips for gardening with children

1. Give them their own garden beds or area to work in.

2. Give them serious children-sized tools. Cheap plastic child's gardening tools are worse than no tools at all; they break easily and frustrate the user.

3. Engage them through the entire process, from seed to table. Children learn better when they understand the context of their activity. They will learn that gardening can be fun, but far more than idle play; they are contributing to the family well-being.

4. Start from seeds. While it's a convenient shortcut to buy starters, children will learn more by seeing the growing process as it begins with seeds. The care given to sprouting seeds and nurturing the young seedling are a valuable part of the gardening experience.

5. When all else fails, make a scarecrow. The best time to engage children in gardening is when they're in the mood for this activity. If their attention wanes, or the garden tasks become boring, let them build a scarecrow. This activity is still a contribution to the gardening effort and adds another layer of interest to the garden scene. It also reminds the child of the importance of the crop.

6. Show off their work. When giving 'garden tours' to friends, be sure to point out the children's beds. Take a photo of their harvest and send it to the grandparents. The attention given to their work is the best motivator for children to stay involved with a project.

For more Gardening Tips Advice For Gardeners visit our main gardening website at Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine

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Best Time To Transplant Plants

Typically, gardeners tend to transplant plants, whether they are vegetable, strawberry, tree, shrub, or perennial plants, when they have the time to do it, regardless of the time of day, or the weather.

This is normal, but if you think about it, planning when you transplant your plants is one of the best things you can do because you will ensure your plants getting off to a strong and healthy start.

I mean, why bother with all the time and effort only to have seedling transplants that are going to flag, sag, wilt, and maybe die on you? So let's avoid all this shall we?

The Best Time To Transplant Plants

The best time of day to plant is in the late afternoon when the sun is not so hot, and the wind has calmed down. By taking advantage of this time of day, the new plants have overnight to acclimate.

Strong sun and wind are very hard on new transplants and unless you water carefully, and in some cases provide some shelter from the wind and sun, they can severely wilt. This places your plants under stress at the very beginning of their growing cycle and is not a good idea because sometimes they never bounce back and don't thrive as well as they could have.

Mulching does help since it lowers the rate at which water evaporates from the soil and controls the soil temperature, so that is always a benefit if you must plant in the middle of the day.

The Best Weather To Transplant Plants

Transplants become less stressed when they are set out on a cloudy, calm day. There is some humidity in the air at that time, and no wind will mean less of a chance of the new seedlings getting dried out.

For more Gardening Tips and Gardening Advice visit our main gardening website at Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine - http://www.weekendgardener.net/

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2007 New Introduction: Carrot F1 'Ya Ya'

I wanted to start looking at some New Introductions for 2007, and the new Carrot F1 'Ya Ya' - Daucus carota - caught my eye.

If you live in a warmer climate, you can be growing carrots now, but many will have to wait till early spring.

Here is some information about the new F1 Carrot 'Ya Ya'

Hardiness: Cool-season vegetable good in USDA Zones 3 and warmer

Light: Full Sun

Soil: Deep, light, well drained soil without stones or other obstructions

Water: Regular watering. Don't overwater as continually wet soil can cause root rot

Habit: 7-inch (17.8 cm) long 1.25-inch (3.2 cm) wide cylindrical, blunt-tipped shape

Comments: A very sweet Nantes bunching carrot, with a bright orange color. Sets a new standard for quality and flavor. Harvest 60 days from sowing seed

Please visit www.weekendgardener.net for more 2007 New Plant Introductions!

Batwing Mix Pumpkins

I was reading about these really cool looking pumpkins called 'Batwing'. Apparently it is a mixture of orange and black.

They look really cute. Has anyone grown these??

They are advertised as, "A novelty mix - a semi bush plant that is vigorous and produces strong handles."

I would love more information, so please leave me a comment if you have either grown, or heard more about these pumpkins.

Thanks!

The Best Way to Ripen Green Tomatoes

Summer is over and fall is definitely upon us. I don't know about you, but I still have a ton of tomatoes on my vines.

Tomatoes ripen from the bottom up and the inside out, so don't put tomatoes on a windowsill to ripen because they will only turn red, but not ripe. They will stay green inside.

So try this ripening trick, it works every time:

1. Place your unripened tomatoes on a tray, and then put them in a dark, warm spot.

2. Cover them with a single sheet of newspaper.

3. These are the conditions tomatoes need to continue the ripening process, which is internal. The light, which was needed for "growth" isn't needed anymore.

4. Eat when ready.

Try this, it works so great!

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Video: Grow Your Own Lettuce and Be Safe

Can be watched on either a dial-up or high speed connection.

Watch this step-by-step video on how to grow your own lettuce in a container! Now you can eat leafy greens with confidence.

Grow Your Own Lettuce Video Link:

Grow Lettuce Video

Text Link: www.weekendgardener.net/video-tips/videotiplettuce.htm

Grow Your Own Spinach Indoors or Out!

The Spinach scare was a few weeks ago, but I kept thinking, if you really love Spinach, grow it yourself!

For areas that don't get hard winters:
Now is the perfect time to grow it because it likes cool weather and it won't bolt the way it does in the spring.

For areas that DO get hard winters:
Grow it indoors! It can be done very successfully and here is how:

Sowing:
Because you will be growing this indoors, I would pick a couple of varieties of Spinach that are more resistant to diseases.

For crinkle-leaf (savoyed) Spinach choose:
‘Indian Summer’
‘Melody’
‘Grandstand’

For Smooth-leaf Spinach choose:
‘Hector’
‘Nordic IV’
‘Olympia’
‘Space’

Spinach has a deep taproot so pick a container that can allow that root to grow and is around 10 to 12 inches deep.

Mix some soil. A good mix for indoor vegetables would be 1 part potting soil, 1 part vermiculite, 1 part peat, and 1 part perlite.

Plant Spinach seeds 1/2" deep. Spinach seeds germinate best in soils around 65°F-70°F. Germination takes 7-14 days.

Lighting:
Spinach will need 6-8 hours of bright light. A bright room or an enclosed, sunny porch where temperatures will not dip down to freezing would be a good place to place your pots.

Just make sure the area you put your containers stays cool! Spinach will bolt if it gets too hot, so the area should be around 65°F-70°F. If needed, get a few grow lights to help supplement your plants. They are super easy and fast to set up.

Thinning:
Once germinated, thin Spinach to one seedling every 3" or so.

Watering:
Spinach needs to be evenly moist throughout its growing season so monitor it fairly closely.

Fertilizing:
After your seeds have germinated and you have thinned your plants, Feed every two weeks and use a balanced organic fertilizer for best results like a 15-15-15.

Harvest:
Spinach is ready to harvest when the leaves are big enough to pick.

Harvest spinach by either cutting the leaves away from the plant or by pulling the entire plant out.

Spinach leaves benefit from cooling immediately after harvest. Wash the Spinach leaves in cold water.

Storage:
Spinach leaves can be stored 10-14 days, but Spinach is sensitive to ethylene gases so do not store it with fruits and vegetables that produce ethylene gas.

Spinach also freezes well, so you can always consider that option.

The neat thing about growing Spinach indoors is that you can grow more than 1 crop if you want.

So if you really miss Spinach, give this a try!

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