Changing the way I Veggie Garden

Traditionally I have been an in row gardener like most folks but have decided to try a different way of conducting veggie business.  Recently I spent a great deal of time in my garden.  In late November I caught a few days when the soil in the garden was quite workable and decided to create permanent garden beds.  To do this I tilled as deep as I could then tilled in the opposite direction as deep as I could get the tiller down.  I know that the tiller does nothing for the soil structure except destroy it but my decision to create permanent beds should offset that activity in a few growing seasons.  After the soil was worked adequately the kids and I began to lay out the garden.  First, we squared up the garden to within an inch and began to lay out the beds and paths.  I took into consideration equipment size, optimal bed widths and aesthetics when creating the final design.

We ended up with a a four foot wide main path and two or three foot wide paths along the beds.  By shoveling the soil out of the path area down to the un-tilled soil and placing it into what would become the beds we created raised beds that became about 40 inches wide and to a depth of about 10 inches.  This will or should create a much deeper rooting zone than what we previously had.  Next spring I'll sod the paths from sod on the farm to make harvest and planting less limited by weather conditions.

The final practice this winter was to top dress with some of our compost on some beds and leaves on others to increase the organic matter in the beds.  I will let you know which one performs best in the spring.

The advantages to the permanent bed garden:

• Easier planning in the off season
• Once established easier spring preparation 
• Start gardening earlier
• Better Drainage
• Deeper Rooting (maybe now I can grow Carrots)
• Allows for more diverse planting 

Advantages of Fall Vegetable Gardening

I just recently presented a class on fall vegetable gardening at the Bloomfield, KY Library to a an enthusiastic audience.  During that talk I outlined several advantages to the fall garden versus the spring garden or as an extension to the spring garden.  First I will point out the reasons it isn't as popular as the spring garden and then I will list the many advantages to the fall garden. 

Everyone loves a spring garden for many reasons not the least of which is that we have been cooped up in the house all winter looking through seed catalogs and just getting the itch to be outside.  We have a uncontrollable instinct to refill the pantries and strong desire for the flavors that come with a garden.  For me its the smell of freshly tilled soil that just makes me happy.  We begin the garden with vim and vigor and end sometimes in a flurry of I just cant keep up.  This year is one of those years that epitomizes why fall gardening is just not as popular.  In a year like this the garden can easily be run over with weeds, taken by some evil fungi, or wiped out by a marauding herd of potato beetles.  Those scenarios in themselves are reason enough to give up. But lets not quit hastily, here are some of the advantages of the fall vegetable garden:

•  Provides valuable produce production extension
• Excellent quality produce due to cool temperatures
• Sweeter
• Increased tenderness
• Less off flavors
• Vegetables hold longer in a fall garden
• Fewer pests to control
• Helps keep weed seed numbers down for next seasons garden
• Adds additional organic matter to the garden
• Less disease pressure

For more information of vegetable gardening in general stop by the office at 317 south third street, Bardstown KY 40004 or take a look at Vegetable Gardening in KY

Are your Tomatoes Fired Up?

A very common problem I have encountered in gardens this spring is known as Early Blight.  We have had a especially good year for the development of this fungal disease.  Cooler temperatures, heavy and often rains have caused this to progress somewhat faster than in other years.  What to do?

Control begins with clean transplants, which means no spotting on the leaves, and good green color to the plant.  Since this is a soil born disease there should be a mulch placed on the soil to keep soil from bouncing on to the leaves during heavy rains.  Any thing will do such as newspaper, leaves, grass clippings, etc. An early spray program of chlorothalonil or mancozeb (these are active ingredients) will insure that you keep the plant clean longer through the season.  If you are not partial to chemical treatments then particular attention will need to be paid to the cultural practices that will reduce the risk.  Water under the foliage with drip irrigation or soaker hoses, but never over the top with a sprinkler.  Also if you reuse trellises, cages, stakes etc. you will need to sanitize these during the winter.  The tiny spores can overwinter on these structures and cause re-infestation the following year. 

In central Kentucky you still have time to replant tomatoes to get a crop but the above practices need to be used.