Hi fellow gardeners,
As promised, I went up to the garden in early March and obtained four samples of soil from our plot for testing.
The pH of three of the samples was 6.5 and the other was 7.0. These values are ideal for growing vegetables, and I believe they would apply to everyone’s plot here in Lakeridge.
I then tested the four samples for Nitrogen, Phosphate, and Potassium, the three most important nutrients for plants. The results of all samples were essentially identical; namely, the three elements all tested as “depleted”. These results are probably the same for everyone’s plot unless they fertilized very heavily last year.
This means, to quote an old agricultural joke, “the soil is in need of everything except sand. “ Therefore, it will be essential for me to apply some fertilizer before planting or before I lay down black plastic mulch.
I plan to add 10 lbs. of 5-10-5 fertilizer over our plot or perhaps an equivalent amount of some organic fertilizer. Please see my previous blog (THE PEA PATCH –Winter 2012) for suggestions about preparing your garden plot prior to planting.
Hope to see y’all in the garden.
Paul Ellner
Hi and welcome to SPRING?
Where is winter, or is there going to be one?
I have found this marvelous blog and web about gardening. I met this gentleman and have been reading his site for new ideas and helpful hints. He is the most honest and wonderful writer and so knowledgeable about gardening. I have joined his group and he has sent seeds for our upcoming project.
You ask WHAT PROJECT? During the last summer season and after spending so much time in the garden discussing different ideas with everyone, the committee (of 3) has come up with a plant a row idea. Instead of planting a row in everyone’s garden for the needy we will have one plot set aside for the FOOD PANTRY in Torrington. Tom McNally has graciously volunteered to till the soil and put down black plastic on this garden plot. Then we will ask for volunteers to keep things well weeded and an eye on when things are ready to pick. I will and (whoever else would like to help) pick and deliver the produce once or twice a week after the start of the season.
Please help with this wonderful project to help our community eat healthy.
We also need some more people on our committee. You can contact me at suedos@aol.com or call
(860) 489-5254 or cell (201) 310-3325.
Hopefully we will have a talk on gardening during the Memorial Day weekend.
Please check out this wonderful site which is from an organic farm in Hudson County New York run by two gentleman who not only grown their own seeds, but are willing to help start gardens for the hungry.
Sue Romanoff Warsoff
Sue Warsoff - 2011 Ghosen Fair First Prize Winner For Largest Sunflower
January 31, 2012
The appearance of 55 degree days at the end of January has turned my thoughts again to the garden. After all, there are only 49 days until Spring.
We live in USDA Zone 6, which theoretically provides a growing season of 180 days with the last frost supposedly on April 22nd. But with GW* one never knows what’s coming down. When a traveler to Hartford complained about New England weather to Mark Twain, his rejoinder was, “If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute.”
A few words about preparing the soil before planting: The ideal garden soil is a loamy mixture of sand, clay, and organic material. Sandy soil is good for underground crops like radishes and carrots, but there is too much sand, the soil loses its nutrients. Too much clay and water can’t penetrate.
Soil for most vegetables and plants should have a pH (acidity/alkalinity indicator) of about 6.0 – 7, just slightly on the acid side. Areas with heavy rainfall usually have this pH as do most regions east of the Mississippi River. This year I intend to purchase a soil test kit just to check, and I will report my findings in the next column.
Vegetables, like all other plants, require food and the most important elements are nitrogen (N), phosphate (P), and potassium (K). Most fertilizers contain these elements in various combinations. Nitrogen, essential for the growth of stems and leaves, doesn’t persist in the soil but washes out in weeks or months. Phosphate and potassium, necessary for the development of fruit e.g. tomatoes, remain in the soil longer. A good fertilizer for vegetables is “5-10-5” and is widely available. Organic fertilizers that contain seaweed, ground fish and other organic nutrients, are also satisfactory, but tend to be more expensive than 5-10-5. Our garden plots (12ft. x 28 ft.) are about 336 sq. ft., and 3 – 5 pounds of 5-10-5 can be applied per 100 sq. ft. I would suggest that after the garden has been turned over, raking in 10 pounds of 5-10-5 per garden plot. Horse manure should not be used unless it has been well composted, because it can contain the seeds of weeds.
The subject of weeds brings up my next point, which has to do with mulching. One of the purposes of mulch is to keep down weeds by blocking their access to sunlight. The “mulch” that many of us use is black plastic. The advantage of black plastic is that it’s relatively easy to apply and to remove, it warms the soil and keeps it from drying out. Of course, openings have to be made around every plant to permit water to enter the soil. Disadvantages are cosmetic (you don’t get to see the soil), and also it can be ripped off by a strong wind unless the edges are well anchored with rocks.
Before applying mulch, a decision needs to be made whether to keep the garden flat or to have furrows. This is really a matter of personal preference. I prefer flat. Hills, raised and flattened mounds about 1 – 2 feet wide are good for squash and zucchini. The most important thing is to provide walkways so you can reach each vegetable. Vining crops like cucumbers, pole beans, peas and most tomatoes will require some form of support like fences or towers.
That’s it for this time. I hope to see y’all in the garden this Spring.
*Global Warming
Paul Ellner
We had three weeks to make our sponsorship booth at the Litchfield Jazz Festival happen, and the hardworking Lakeridge team got to work on posters, press releases, material production and booth volunteers Dedication became plain old “perspiration.” Our Lakeridge video was resurrected, the copy machine did overtime, and shopping and footwork was the order of each day..
And on Friday, August 5th, Lakeridge had the best-looking sponsor booth at the Festival. As anyone entered the main gate each day our www.lakeridgect.com sign stood out boldly for all to see.
The music was fabulous. The students of the summer school played beautifully near our booth, which was next to the Infinity Theater (Norfolk) booth. The opeining night gala was not far from us. People wandered over. At night especially, our video on our new big projection screen drew people over to watch. In the end, we built more awareness and interest and added more e-mail addresses. Lakeridge became a part of what was happening at the Litchfield Jazz Festival, which drew crowds of nearly 3,000 people, despite the weather.. Thank you, Marketing people, Brokers, Volunteers, Management, and Board of Directors. We pulled this off because Lakeridge is like no other place. We have special people doing amazing things. We don’t just live here at Lakeridge. We make things happen.
Jeanne Cassidy
Hi Fellow Vegetable Gardeners,
By this time, your tomato seedlings have been planted, so perhaps a few pointers on their continued care:
• Tomatoes need water. Don’t let them dry out.
• Most tomatoes are vines and need support to keep the fruit off the ground. Put stakes on the windward side of each plant and tie loosely using strips of old panty hose or T-shirts and a figure eight knot.
• Pinch off suckers, the small shoots between the main stem and the branches.
• When green tomatoes appear, add a little fertilizer (5-10-5). Too little is better than too much.
• Inspect every few days for caterpillars or beetles and pick them off the plants. If the insect infestation is heavy, you can spray with Sevin.
• If signs of blight appear on the leaves — brown spots with yellow halos — spray with a fungicide approved for vegetables.
Thus far, the spring and summer weather has been awful, but hang in there. Good luck and have a good crop! In the future, more info on tomatoes –selecting varieties, starting from seed, and how to plant.
Paul Ellner
Our first meeting of the year was a huge hit. Over forty of our gardeners attended.
We had five of our gardener’s give us hints and talks about different aspects of gardening.
What should we plant, how should we plant it and what should we use to keep out the weeds?
Our own expert on tomatoes and many other topics was Paul Ellner. Paul’s knowledge and years of growing tomatoes was amazing, and we thank you for all of those great tips and the explanations of kinds of tomatoes, how to plant them, feed them and how they grow. I’d also like to thank the other gardeners who spoke Ron Berger, Wayne Merkelson, Diane Counihan, Linda Lowry and Gloria Kessler. All hints and information was well received and many notes were taken.
Our new scarecrow, in the back of the garden, needs a name. Please let me know what we should call it. Also, on August 20th at 5:30 PM we will be holding a Garden Party at the Lakeridge Gardens.
A great project for next year will be taking part in the program for the hungry. It’s called PAR = Plant a Row. Each gardener, if they want to participate, can plant a row of vegetables that we can give to the food banks in the area. We are looking into this for the next year. Keep tuned for further news.
Look in Lakeridge Life, we will be starting a column and I need help, information, tips etc etc. Please e-mail me with ideas, questions and tips for this column.
We would also like to start a Garden Committee, if you would like to volunteer please e-mail me with your name, e-mail and phone numbers where I can reach you.
Sue Romanoff Warsoff, #376
Cell: (201) 310-3325
email: suedos@aol.com
