GARDEN PREPARATION: MAY 

                                                           THINK INSECTS - You need more than you think

Most of these critters are beneficial. Source: USDA

All too frequently, I fear,  a few new gardeners, who may have never before put a spade into soil, might think all  insects  with the possible exception of pollinating bees, are pests. Another frequent error of beginnig gardeners is  that some of their tilling methods kill both benevolent soil insects and microbes residing in garden soils either by burying them deeply or by compacting the soil so that they can neither dig out of it or make  a home by burrowing into it.  Why does this happen?

Gardens, of course,  are  not natural environments.  Most of our ornamental plants and vegetables are not native, and usually our yards are either devoid of or are not adjacent to  natural areas where  birds and insects can reside.  This means that gardeners are compelled to try to impose their own "balances of nature" in their yards and gardens.   

One  consequence is that lots of money gets spent  on insecticides to protect plants from being devoured by particular (usually also non-native) "bugs" that have specialized to  feast on specific  vegetables.  Unfortunately, these chemicals - even the "organic" ones - usually also kill benevolent  insects along with other useful arthropods in additon to the real vegetable villains. These collateral casualties typically include ants, millipedes, springtails and spiders.  This document  from the  U. S. Dept. of Agriculture  identifies some of the most common and overlooked critters that get murdered.

So, what should a conscientious  backyard gardener do to minimize  environmental damage  as he/she prepares their future weed patch this spring?

Here are a few things to keep in mind to reduce your guilt load and help nature:

• Start doing low tillage - If your garden in already established, stop rotor-tilling or deep spading. Just work the top couple of inches or even better, add compost and/or straw on top.  Eventually,  you will be able to just add a mulch. Your back will grateful.
• Increase the mulched areas around your shrubs using natural products: forego the shredded  and dyed automobile tires.  Shredded tires last a long time, but they also contain various heavy metals.
• Use more native plants for landscaping to attract birds & beneficial insects.
• Feed birds - Although we  prohably don't want to attract more caterpillars into our vegetable patches for the sake of our feathery friends, birds should be in our gardens because are very effective insect controllers. I have feeders set up near my garden, and the birds tend to top off their feeder meals with insects for dessert.  I have not used insecticides for decades.
• Minimize use of commercial insecticides and petroleum based fertilizers.  I am glad to see more organic products gaining shelf space in garden centers.  Using less of these products in our yards is collectively, perhaps, the most important envionmentally friendly thing we can do.  

End of this month's soapbox.... 

Enjoying Early Greens & Saving Space

 Submitted by Nancy Scott, Rensselaer County Master Gardener

Photos by N Scott

It certainly has been cold, windy and rainy these past few weeks.  Veteran gardeners have been waiting for spring to really start. Inside, many people have been coddling tomato, pepper and other warm weather veggies, under lights. But hopefully, some of you have been able to get a few lettuce, spinach and pea seeds in the ground.

For the past 5 years I have been growing veggies in various sized planters.  I looked to the guru of smaller planting spaces, Mel Bartholomew of Square Foot Gardening fame, for guidance.  I’ve embraced most of his ideas, but for me, his tenet of just a few plants in a square wastes a lot of potential for some vegetables. When I plant greens, I’ve found sowing a bunch of seeds and then thinning them is a lot more fun and gratifying.

One example is lettuce seeds. In an area about I foot square, I widely sow at least 20 seeds.   About 2 weeks later, I sow another area and continue as the season progresses.  As the plants begin to come up and start to crowd each other, I start thinning them.  Eventually, you’ll be left with a few plants with the proper spacing. These can then be allowed to grow to maturity. The same can be done with spinach, beets, chard, kale, radishes, arugula, escarole, and probably many more.  Yes, tiny radish seedlings are tasty.

When harvesting, simply snip the plant off, leaving the roots (and dirt). Wash the leaves, drain, refrigerate and add to your salads or stir-fries.   This method does require frequent maintenance, but seeds are much cheaper than transplants and you get to harvest much more! Enjoy.

And Remember...

"Nature does have manure and she does have roots as well as blossoms,

 and you can't hate the manure and blame the roots for not being blossoms." -  Buckminster Fuller