Harrisonburg Gardening 101: Composting Other Garden Tips

Renee — May 6th, 2011

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This is the 3rd post in our local gardening mini-series. Previous posts can be found at this link. I’ll reiterate that I’m no expert! I just do a lot of reading about gardens online and I started my own small plot here in Harrisonburg for the first time last year.

For this installment in the mini-series, I’ll just cover some tips that I’ve learned and found online. If you have more tips, please share them in the comments!

Composting

Composting is easy, and it helps reduce your contributions to the landfill while it also helps your garden grow! I started composting last year and got a good batch to add to my garden this spring instead of buying fertilizer at the store. Here’s how you do it:

• Create a compost bin. Some people use open piles contained with fencing or wood pallets, and some use raised bins that can be easily spun to mix the compost, or specialized barrels like the ones sold recently by the city and county. Another method (and the one that I use) is to drill holes in an old garbage can like this and roll it around the yard every once in a while to thoroughly mix the contents. The holes are a necessity for proper air flow and drainage.

• Save kitchen scraps like vegetable peels and coffee grounds instead of throwing them in the trash can or garbage disposal. (A list of compostable items can be found at this link.) In the winter when it’s cold outside, I keep fresh fruit and vegetable scraps in a plastic coffee container with holes poked in the lid and layer the vegetable matter with used coffee grounds until I am able to empty the container outside every few days. I have never noticed a smell while the container is closed. There are also special cans you can buy for storing compost materials temporarily in your kitchen, and even indoor composters.
• In your compost bin, layer the kitchen scraps with yard waste like grass clippings and any other compostable materials. I use newspaper-based pelleted litter for my rabbit and empty that into the bin occasionally, too. There is a formula for mixing “green” and “brown” materials, described here, but you don’t have to follow it to the letter to get good compost, just provide your pile with a variety of materials.
• Keep your compost sponge-damp. You don’t want it to be too soggy or it will create swamp-like conditions (and smell), but it does need some moistness for the beneficial organisms to survive and break down your compost. When it’s breaking down, it will have a sweet earthy smell.
• Over time, you will notice your compost breaking down into dark, fertile soil. You can keep two separate piles to ensure the materials have completely broken down in one before it’s time to add it to your garden, or you can just empty the contents of the bin into your garden about a month before you plan to plant anything and start a new batch in your bin.
• Another way to add compost to your soil is to make “compost tea”. This is basically compost soaked in water to create a liquid fertilizer. For “high end” compost tea, you can add fish emulsion or molasses and apply with a sprayer as explained in this video.

Growing Upwards

Both small and large gardens can benefit by growing vegetables up posts and trellises vertically. This can allow you to plant more plants per square foot, but also creates shady spots, so plan carefully so you don’t overshade plants that don’t climb and need full sun. “Indeterminate” tomatoes can grow long vines and can be tied to tall stakes or tied to strings from above to encourage vertical growth, and other plants like climbing beans and peas naturally grow up fences and trellises.

For a natural look, you can create low fences or tall “teepees” out of sticks for your vegetables to climb. Another popular method is the “three sisters” garden, which has corn planted in the center, surrounded by pole beans which vine up the stem of the corn, and squash, which shade the ground to keep the moisture in. Below is a photo of a “three sisters” garden.

The most extreme example of vertical gardening I’ve seen is YouTube user John from “Growing Your Greens” who has converted his suburban California lawn into a raised-bed garden with many vertical gardening features (skip to 2:20 for the garden tour):

Finding Gardening Information Online

The web is a treasure trove of gardening information, (both good and bad – so if you hear something that sounds crazy, try to find verification to make sure it’s not bad advice)! YouTube is a great resource for instructional videos. I enjoy watching videos by Christian from “The Produce Garden” in the winter because he’s in Australia where they are in the opposite seasons and I can get ideas ahead of time to implement in the summer! Patti Moreno, “The Garden Girl“, has a lot of good ideas and how-to videos, too. If you’re planting a certain variety of vegetable and want specific tips, search for it on YouTube and you’ll find plenty of people willing to share their tips with you!

Another thing I enjoy doing is reading gardening blogs. If you find a few with similar planting zones to our area, you will get especially useful information. Bloggers in Florida and California have a much longer growing season, so I enjoy reading Northern US blogs such as Chiot’s Run and Annie’s Kitchen Garden to get more usable advice.

Have a garden question? Just “Google it”! If you find information that’s especially helpful to people in the Harrisonburg area, please share it in the comments!

Photos by Flickr Users knittingbrow, found_drama, inkandpen, and philcalvert under the Creative Commons license (hover over photos for links and attributions).

Tags: gardening, how-to, vegetable gardening

With only six to eight inches of rain a year, even novice area gardeners know that adequate moisture is essential to successfully growing lawns, gardens and landscape plants.

However, not every gardener knows how to correctly water. The tendency is to water a little every day during the summer, such as 15 minutes once a day. That sometimes isn’t enough.

Only 5 percent of the water that plants absorb through their roots is used for growth. The majority (95 percent) is lost through transpiration, which is the loss of water vapor from the pores in leaf surfaces. High temperatures, wind and sun increase the rate of transpiration, increasing a plant’s need for water.

To be able to absorb from the soil, water in the location of the water-absorbing roots. As plants become established, the roots typically move out radially from the root ball. Water that once was applied near the trunk or base should be applied further in the root zone. For established shade trees, the root zone area extends from the drip line (the outermost reach of the branches) and beyond.

If a lawn is watered just 15 minutes every day, depending on the output of the irrigation system, adequate moisture probably is not reaching the roots. The major portion of the root systems landscape trees are found in the top 12 to 18 inches of soil. Shallow, daily watering during a hot summer may keep a lawn alive, but it probably is not providing enough water.

When plants suffer from drought, they wilt or show other signs of stress. Some respond to this stress with yellowing and dropping of leaves. Others develop a disorder called “leaf scorch,” where the edges of the leaves turn brown and crispy, or brown tissue develops between the leaf veins.

Certain plants may show the same symptoms even if there is enough moisture. The problem may be that the root system is inadequate to keep up with the demands put on the plant by transpiration. This can happen when a plant is transplanted in late spring or early summer and the roots have not had time to grow to support the top of the plant. This also happens if the root system is impaired by being planted too deep or by restricted roots. Some plants tend to show leaf scorch because they aren’t well adapted to a hot, dry climate.

If a plant looks stressed, check the soil moisture. Be sure to deep-water once a week. A mature shade tree with a spread of 30 feet should be receiving at least 350 gallons of water once a week during our hot and breezy weather.

— Marianne C. Ophardt is a horticulturist for Washington State University Benton County Extension.

With temperatures of 35C forecast for parts of the UK next week, there’s little respite in sight for wildlife that is wilting in the sun. Here are six tips to help pets and garden fauna to beat the heat.

Birdbaths

A simple yet effective way of providing relief. Val Osborne, head of the RSPB’s wildlife enquiries team, explains:

“The hot weather could be causing natural water sources to dry up, meaning birds and hedgehogs could be left without anything to drink. Turning your outside space into a home for nature by doing simple things like topping up your birdbath, creating a make-shift pond from a washing-up tub or putting down a saucer filled with water could offer a vital lifeline to some of our garden favourites that are already fighting against declines.”

Supplementary food

Drier conditions make worms tunnel further into the soil, becoming scarce for the wildlife that usually feasts on them, such as blackbirds, robins, hedgehogs and frogs. To compensate, additional food should be left out to make sure suitable nutrition is provided throughout the summer to such animals. A novel substitute to earthworms is dog or cat food, which blackbirds readily take and feed to their chicks. The texture of tinned meaty chunks is perfect as it avoids hard lumps that cause birds to choke. Black sunflower seeds, mild grated cheese, and of course, bird seed, are also recommended, but make sure to steer well clear of any salts, which are toxic to birds.

Taking care of gardens and allotments

Regularly watered plants, and habitat-orientated gardens are a lifeline for bees and butterflies. Osborne says:

“If the hot, dry conditions carry on we may see wild plants start to die. If that happens, our gardens and the well-watered plants in them will become even more important to these insects.”

Maintaining allotments is also vital for providing respite from the weather – log or stone piles are inviting for their damp, shaded conditions, whilst a nest box is a no-brainer. Start thinking of next year too – do you have enough space to incorporate a few hedges, a wildflower and herb patch, a pond or bog area, and an overgrown/undisturbed section?

The hedgehog corridor: create a nature highway in your garden. Photograph: RSPB

Nature highways

Your garden is part of a bigger home for wildlife. Linking gardens together enables creatures, such as hedgehogs and toads, to move between your garden and those of your neighbours. Creating such nature highways and corridors – ie shrubby borders; leaving gaps beneath fences – raises the quality of the whole street for wildlife.

Be aware of the time

Head veterinary surgeon at Battersea Dogs Cats Home, Shaun Opperman, says dog owners should avoid walks between 11am and 3pm, as these are the hottest times of the day. “Keep walks short and do indoor activities if your dog wants to play,” he says. Also keep in mind that walking dogs on hot surfaces can be dangerous for their paw pads, and ensure pets have plenty of shade if in the garden or on a picnic.

Summer foods

Dogs like lollies too. Opperman suggests that refreshing treats can be a brilliant way to help dogs cool down in the heat:

“Make ice lollies for dogs by mixing their food with some water and freezing it in a plastic cup. Remove it from the cup before giving it to your dog. Just like us, dogs and cats can get very uncomfortable in hot weather.”