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Olive Garden, Red Lobster to Cut Hours Instead of Giving Health Insurance

Darden Restaurants, Inc., which owns omnipresent suburban chains Red Lobster and Olive Garden, is gearing up to deal with new federal health care requirements. According to the AP, the restaurant group — which employs 180,000 people at over 2,000 restaurants — is running an experiment in four markets that increases the number of part time employees. (Darden isn’t giving out specific numbers at this time.) This is an effort to curb full time employees, as the federal government — because of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare) — will begin fining employers for not providing basic health coverage to full time employees starting January 1, 2014. It also means servers at Red Lobster now manage four tables at a time instead of three, in case you’re wondering why your endless popcorn shrimp refills were taking so long.

· Health Changes Spur Test of More Part-Time Workers [AP]
· All Red Lobster Coverage on Eater [-E-]
· All Olive Garden Coverage on Eater [-E-]

NORTH COAST GARDENING: Tips for enriching your soil – Times

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The fall of autumn leaves is nature’s signal to gardeners that it is time to feed the soil. In the wild, fallen leaves replenish the soil by decomposing into spongy humus. Minute soil organisms consume decaying leaves, while little insects feeding amongst the leaves become food for foraging winter birds. Fallen leaves provide shelter for frogs, salamanders and centipedes, to name but a few.

While raking the fallen leaves in your garden, treat them as a rich treasure. And consider these tips on using leaves and other goodies to feed the soil:

TEST PH — Fall is the best time to monitor your garden soil’s pH. Local soils, especially those in redwood forest lands, tend to be on the acid side. Raising the pH a bit, especially for vegetable gardens, is best done now by tilling dolomite lime. Adding lime to the soil now is an effective way to raise the pH toward the neutral zone, where most plants thrive. Liming also adds calcium and magnesium, vital elements that acid soil often lacks.

Acid-loving plants like blueberries, rhododendrons, camellia, ferns and potatoes cannot tolerate lime. In fact, it is best to add a mulch of peat moss to keep the pH on the acid side.

Before adding anything to the soil, check the pH with a test kit. They are widely available and inexpensive.

ADD MANURE — The abundance of horses and cows on the North Coast makes obtaining fresh manure not so difficult if you have a strong back and access to a pickup truck. Now is the

time to add fresh manures in your garden. Digging it in will assure complete decomposition by next spring.

TRY SHEET COMPOSTING — Sheet composting is the layering of organic materials to make raised beds. This is the best no-till method for making productive planting beds.

Begin by raking leaves to make a thick base. Next, add a 6- to 8-inch layer of rice straw. Add layers of fresh manures, compost, used potting soil and natural fertilizers like alfalfa meal, blood meal, fish bone meal, kelp meal and worm castings. The more goodies you add, the better the bed will be. Make the bed 12 inches high. Next, allow winter rains to thoroughly saturate the bed. Then cover with cardboard and mulch, or black plastic. Plant the following spring.

PLANT COVER CROPS — Sow cover crops in the fall just after a bit of rain moistens the soil. Planting alfalfa, clover, fava beans, buckwheat, oats, vetch or winter wheat at this time protects exposed soil and adds nutrients and organic matter. It is the cheapest and easiest way to feed your soil.

ADD NATURAL FERTILIZERS — If you want an organically fed garden, natural fertilizers bought in bulk are the way to go. Tilling them in now allows decomposition to proceed from winter into spring. They are best for perennials, roses and vegetable beds. Because they are bulky materials, natural fertilizers also add humus to the soil during the decomposition process.

Blood meal is dried, powdered blood from cattle slaughterhouses. Blood meal contains approximately 13 percent nitrogen and some iron. Use this sparingly, since too much can burn plants. It’s a good material to use in the compost pile if you need to heat it up.

Bone meal is powdery meal made of bones from the slaughterhouse that are cooked and pulverized. Liberal use of bone meal will add a bit of phosphorous to the soil and can raise the pH of acid soils. It takes a good deal of time for this material to break down into the soil. Fish bone meal is especially nutritious.

Kelp meal is a good source for trace elements like boron, calcium, chlorine, copper, iron, magnesium and manganese. Adding one pound of kelp meal per 100 square feet on a yearly basis will boost the micronutrient content of garden soil.

——

Terry Kramer is a trained horticulturist and journalist. She has been writing a garden column for the Times-Standard since 1982. To get in touch with Terry, send an e-mail to style@times-standard.com and put “For Terry Kramer” in the subject line, or write to Terry Kramer, c/o Times-Standard, P.O. Box 3580, Eureka, CA, 95502.

Gardens by the Bay, East Coast Park to be linked

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Gardens by the Bay, East Coast Park to be linked

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay will be joined to East Coast Park, creating the country’s longest continuous stretch of coastal parkland – from the island’s north-east to south-central Singapore.

Construction works to link the two are expected to start in late-2013 and finish in end-2014.

The National Parks Board is now studying details of how to bring the two major green spaces closer.

The Eastern Coastal Loop of park connectors currently lets residents in Simei, Bedok, Tampines and Pasir Ris, among other estates, access East Coast Park on bicycle or on foot. When the park is joined to Gardens by the Bay’s East section, they can cycle, stroll, or jog to the attraction without using public roads.

Starting from Changi Beach Park, they can cycle through the Coastal Park Connector to East Coast Park, and head to the Bay East Garden of Gardens by the Bay via the new link.

This route measures over 25 km and at more than half the island’s length, makes it the country’s longest sweep of park space along the coast.

From the Bay East Garden, people can already access the Bay South Garden, where the two cooled conservatories and Supertrees are, by crossing the Marina Barrage at the mouth of the Marina Reservoir.

People can also head to the future Sports Hub from Bay East, by using the Tanjong Rhu Promenade Park Connector, and crossing the Tanjong Rhu suspension bridge.

Construction on the Marina Coastal Expressway is currently being carried out and are set to be completed by end-2013. After that, works to link Gardens by the Bay and East Coast Park will start.

Associate Professor Tan Puay Yok of the Architecture Department at the School of Design and Environment with the National University of Singapore, said: “The terrain itself is not very challenging, I think it’s a fairly easy site to work with. And the fact that Singapore has already a fairly large, extensive network of park connectors, means that the design intention, design considerations could be followed for this site.”

Currently, cyclists who wish to access Gardens by the Bay from East Coast Park have to exit the park from near the western end of the park along East Coast Park Service Road, and head onto public roads. This will not be necessary anymore when the two green spaces are finally linked.

19-year-old polytechnic student Chang Teck, who is an avid cyclist, is happy with the new link.

He said: “It will be more safe for cyclists like me. Because we don’t have to go on the roads and look out for cars…and follow the traffic rules. [With the] straight path to the Gardens by the Bay, we can have a longer route, we can have more recreational activities for cyclists, we can cycle a longer path.”

Joining both green spaces also opens up possible new routes for the many organised runs taking place yearly around downtown Singapore.

The National Parks Board’s long-term goal is to create a Singapore-wide park connector network, linking up the whole of the island.

-CNA/ac

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Landscaper picks new favorites to grow in Hampton Roads

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Climate changes and new plant introductions often cause landscapers to alter their palette of preferred plants.

That’s the case with Eric Bailey, who has been doing landscape design and involved in garden center management for several decades.

“After this summer’s deluge of rain, I’m crossing daphne off my list of plants that I really like to use,” he says of the fragrant bloomer.

“I saw established plants drown this summer, and they were plants that were in the perfect spots doing well.”

He’s also crossing Flower Carpet roses, dwarf gardenias and Indian hawthorn off his plant list because they no longer perform well in our growing conditions.

In place of them, he’s excited about the new Distylium hybrid evergreens Blue Cascade and Emerald Heights, Drift roses and petite butterfly bushes Blue Heaven and Tuttti Fruitti.

Blue Cascade and Emerald Heights are good because they are for sun or shade and wet or dry, he says, and deer do not seem to like either. Blue Heaven and Tuttie Fruitti bloom early summer to fall frost and grow 24 to 30 inches tall and wide, making them great for borders, embankments and in large, mixed containers; they need little water and attract hummingbirds and butterflies.

His favorite perennials include Hellebores, purple coneflower, hostas and salvias.

Eric, who owns Landscapes by Eric Bailey in Newport News, discusses these new and other underused plants at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, during a remodeling open house 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at Custom Design Works, 1101 Coventry Blvd., off Route 17 in York County. Industry experts will also discuss windows, patios and sunrooms, kitchen design and energy-efficient products; for details about the free event, call 599-0626 or visit http://www.tccustom.com.

“I’ll bring about 20 plants to show – new ones and some oldies, and hopefully teach people how to use them and what to expect from them,” says Eric. He can be reached at 890-0770.

He’s particularly excited about Drift roses because they do just that: create drifts of low-growing color.

“Flower Carpet roses have become leaf spot and mildew magnets,” he says.

“And, contrary to the name, there is nothing carpet about them. The drifts are much better with disease and are really a low-growing plant.”

Drift roses come from Star Roses, the breeder of the disease-free Knock Out roses. Like Knock Outs, the Drift family delivers flowers spring through fall with minimum care required. The flowers come in red, apricot, coral, peach, pink and yellow that fades into a creamy white, according to a company spokesman.

The miniature roses grow 2-3 feet wide and 18 inches tall, making them great for filling in spaces, creating drifts of color or adding accents to container gardens. They need minimum six hours sun daily.

Drift roses are trimmed back to six inches above ground each spring, about the time you see new shoots start growing from canes. Small hand shears or hedge trimmers will do the job. The roses are sold at independent garden centers, as well as Home Depot and Lowe’s, according to the website http://www.driftroses.com.

Old Clintonville sign’s tree logo moves to new neighborhood

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KEVIN PARKS

ThisWeek Community News

Wednesday October 10, 2012 10:23 AM

With some reluctance and requests for “tweaking” of the design, Clintonville Area Commission members last week gave the go-ahead for the Eastgate Garden Civic Association to use the panel’s old logo.

It wasn’t strictly necessary, but more of a courtesy, commission members said.

The organization requested use of the C-shaped tree for its own welcome signs near the intersection of East Broad Street and Nelson Road, said City Attorney Richard C. Pfeiffer, who was on hand for the October commission session.

Some residents feel an attachment to the old design, Vice Chairman Rob Wood said during the discussion. Following a contest early in the summer, the logo was supplanted, after more than 30 years of use, by South Side resident Ann Luttfring’s white tree branch with six green leaves on a brown background above the words “Welcome to Clintonville” for new community signs.

The old design was even used for new welcome signs in some specific sections of Clintonville, Wood said.

District 1 resident Jason V. Advani said he would be “disappointed but not bent out of shape” at seeing the design used elsewhere than just in Clintonville.

“It just seems rather confusing,” said James R. Blazer II, the District 3 representative, wondering aloud why Eastgate Garden Civic Association members don’t want to come up with their own logo.

“I’d be fine with blessing it,” said Jason Meek of District 7.

The Clintonville Area Commission doesn’t have any legal right to say “no” to the request, said Dana K.G. Bagwell of District 5.

A member of the audience suggested the commission ask the civic association not to take out a copyright on the logo. That’s fine, but it wouldn’t be binding, Pfeiffer said.

District 9 representative D Searcy said, in order to show some “sensitivity” to Clintonville residents still fond of the old logo, that the design for the Eastgate group’s signs be “tweaked” in terms of color or design.

“That covers two birds with one stone,” she said.

The panel voted unanimously to grant permission for use of the tree design.

In other actions, commission members voted 7-0, with the District 8 seat vacant and Chairman Dan Miller absent, to amend a policy adopted Sept. 6 relating to notifications to residents near proposed rezoning and variance requests.

The policy now includes contact information for the commission member in whose district the property in question is located.

“We certainly don’t want to take the commissioners out of the equation at all,” Bagwell said.

The panel agreed to send a representative to all City Council meetings, beginning Monday, Oct. 15, and rotating among the nine districts.

“I don’t think it could hurt,” Blazer said.

“I think we definitely need to have a positive presence at the city,” Bagwell said.

Finally, with Searcy casting the lone negative vote, the commission approved the final design for a mural, created by neighborhood artist Brenda Lloyd, to be painted in the spring in the middle of the intersection of Calumet Street and Crestview Road. Searcy indicated she wanted to see some guidelines for how the mural will be maintained.

Florida friendly landscaping and your association – Sun

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Guest column by Ryan Poliakoff, Esq.

In 2009, the Florida Legislature dramatically modified an older law that was designed to encourage Florida-friendly landscaping in communities governed by homeowner associations. Under Florida Statute section 373.185, “Florida-friendly landscaping” is defined as “quality landscapes that conserve water, protect the environment, are adaptable to local conditions, and are drought tolerant.” Such landscaping is also sometimes called “xeriscaping”—the use of gardening and landscaping to naturally reduce the reliance of irrigation water. As you can imagine, xeriscaping is an extremely active discipline in drought-laden areas of the country, such as Arizona, and our own repetitive winter drought conditions have increased interest in xeriscaping in Florida.

The statute specifies that Florida-friendly landscaping abides by nine governing principles: planting the right plant in the right place, efficient watering, appropriate fertilization, mulching, attraction of wildlife, responsible management of yard pests, recycling yard waste, reduction of storm water runoff and waterfront protection. The law directs water management districts to create their own plans for managing Florida-friendly landscaping in their communities and to provide incentive programs to encourage such plantings.

The law also states “a deed restriction or covenant may not prohibit or be enforced so as to prohibit any property owner from implementing Florida-friendly landscaping on his or her land.” This law is then supplemented directly by the HOA Act (FS 720), which provides that homeowners’ association documents may not prohibit or be enforced so as to prohibit any property owner from implementing Florida-friendly landscaping as defined in s. 373.185, on his or her land.

Note, however, what these laws do not do. They do not require that HOAs or their residents must only use Florida-friendly landscaping in their plantings. Nor do they mandate that HOAs remove or force owners to remove their own traditional, non-native plants. All the law does is encourage water management districts to create programs that endorse and incentivize appropriate natural plants and landscaping plans and prohibit HOAs from enforcing covenants that would keep residents from following Florida-friendly landscaping principles if they so choose.

The law also does not establish an agency or mechanism for enforcing the law. If your HOA is attempting to prevent you from installing Florida-friendly landscaping, you will unfortunately need to sue the association to enforce your rights under the Act.

Rather than a mandate, the law encourages healthy landscaping practices such as using native, drought-resistant plants, reducing reliance on fertilizer, encouraging composting, providing natural places for wildlife and insects to live and breed, and limiting pesticides. Would this law allow a homeowner to tear up their lawn and replace it with pebbles, or artificial turf, contrary to HOA covenants? Probably not. The Florida-Friendly Landscaping Program, developed by the University of Florida, has guidelines that specifically provide for covenants that prohibit artificial turf and for covenants that require natural plantings at turf-alternatives. And “Florida-friendly” does not mean “ugly.” Plants native to Florida can be quite beautiful–full of exotic blooms, easy to care for and very resistant to changes in water.

Visit the University of Florida’s IFAS website for tools and ideas on how to assist your HOA in enforcing landscaping rules and drafting new ones, and for ideas to help residents adopt a Florida friendly landscape that is both attractive and kind to Florida’s environment.

http://fyn.ifas.ufl.edu/community_association_kit.htm.

Gardens of the Week: non-residential and business choices

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Cities which are fun to visit usually make an all out effort to welcome and enchant visitors and residents with lots of flowers and neat landscaping during the warmer seasons. Many of our downtown businesses have not made floral displays a priority and we hope that this might become more the norm as the city of Dunkirk turns to tourism and waterfront entertainment for more of its revenues. We do highlight businesses and non-residential properties once a year, so here are the choices for 2012.

Monnies Club on Lake Shore Drive East is selected for Ward One. Sculpted beds of shrubs and flowers welcome guests to the Club. Neatness abounds with nicely mulched beds. Our second selection is the Clarion Hotel , Lake Shore Drive East, with new flower beds in front providing showy color. Beds of wigelia are blooming once again this year. The pond and waterfalls under the canopy are a sight to see with a large number of koi.

Second Ward recipients are two social service agencies which have created beauty for their clients and the community. Absolut Care at 447 Lake Shore Drive West has developed gardens around a nautical theme, reflecting their location close to Lake Erie. Custodian Cain has developed these gardens over many years, including bird sculptures and driftwood, and large dock-sized pilings supporting the Absolut Care sign and repeated throughout the grounds. There is a wooden pier with a small boy fishing, all surrounded by wave shaped flower beds filled with tall grasses, phlox, starburst, roses, sedum, black eyed Susans, daisies, lilies and geraniums. A large assortment of ornamental trees also adorn the property.

Also on Lake Shore Drive West is The Resource Center, a large, handsome facility surrounded by multicolored shrubbery. Close to the entrance is a circular garden at the base of the flag pole brimming with bright and fragrant annuals and a small plaque dedicating the garden to deceased friends at the center. Behind the building is a new greenhouse promising future projects and there one can find “the sensory garden”. This grant-funded project as explained by staff member Jackie Simpson was started in 2010. Four raised wooden beds give easy access to those individuals in wheelchairs or with other disabilities. Other in-ground gardens feature plants with different textures and smells to stimulate the senses of the blind and delight others with various disabilities. Clients have helped plan, water and care for the gardens. Some of the vegetables were started with grow lights indoors , then moved to the new greenhouse, and have been used for cooking and baking projects at DayHab. Over the course of the summer, the gardens provide a nice area for participants to enjoy picnics and outdoor activates.

Third Ward business garden of the week goes to McGraw-Kowal Funeral Home at 736 Central Ave. An expansive front lawn is neatly manicured and kept a verdant green. A flower border in front of the brick home is bursting with red geraniums, silver artemisia and white alyssum giving a very attractive and well cared for entry. Holy Trinity Church also on Central Ave. is recognized for a thoughtfully placed bench facing a three-part trellis surrounded by pink and red roses and a white statue of St. Teresa of Little Flower. A border of impatiens in shades of pink and ornamental grasses are planted at the front entry.

The Fourth Ward has chosen the Kosciuszko Polish Home Association building surrounded by many small shrubs, neatly trimmed with an American flag at each shrub.The landscaping is well done and highlights bright geraniums at the base of the flagpole with a handsome stone edging.

Also selected is the Blessed Mary Angela church (St. Hedwig’s) showcasing many shrubs and perennials, white and yellow daisies, in the landscape around the church. Roses are in abundance around the Rectory in many colors. Special care has been given to selecting a variety of lovely trees on the property, with a crimson red maple as a prime example.

Descanso Gardens to plant new native oak woodland

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LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE – Descanso Gardens plans to create a native oak woodland on four acres of land long closed to the public.

The site is now being fully cleared of non-native eucalyptus trees.

“It was planted back in the 1980s, I don’t know what the thinking was,” said Brian Sullivan, Descanso’s director of horticulture and garden operations.

“They probably thought eucalyptus were appropriate trees for Southern California, with low water needs. And they grow pretty quickly,” said Sullivan, who is spearheading the project at the 160-acre county-owned garden.

The gradual clearance started about five years ago, prompted by the Los Angeles Fire Department’s concerns about the highly combustible trees, Sullivan said.

“They’re not all gone yet, we’re still clearing and there’s work to do – a lot of roots and stumps are still there,” he said.

But just starting to clear the eucalyptus has had an effect, he said.

“There were some naturally occurring coast live oaks, Quercus agrifolia, in addition to the eucalyptus,” he said. “What happened was these other trees started to generate on their own, from acorns. Once the eucalyptus was removed and the sunlight really came in there was some regeneration of the oak woodland.”

The new woodland will be planted with nine different native oak species plus native shrubs, perennials and grasses to recreate a natural landscape. It’s part of the new “vision” for Descanso

developed in the last couple of years, Sullivan said. “We’re interested in reclaiming a more natural feeling … It’s important to note this area is adjacent to the natural areas, the chaparral hillside surrounding the gardens, and we wanted to be true to that authentic nature on the hillside.”

Work is expected to start in about a year, he said, after public input and decisions on a final design, which will include paths and benches.

“This area is adjacent to the lake, it’s pretty prime real estate,” Sullivan said. “One of the goals is we want to reconnect a walkway where you can actually go around the lake, and reconnect two sides of the garden.”

The cost will depend on the design, Sullivan said, but the project will be funded with a combination of private contributions and money from the Los Angeles County Oak Mitigation Fund. The fund was set up to replace oaks lost in county projects, such as the hundreds of old-growth oaks and sycamores bulldozed for a Los Angeles County Public Works Department flood-control project in Arcadia in 2011. The land was cleared to spread sediment dredged from Santa Anita Dam and other debris basins.

The Descanso project will also include “caring for the watershed,” Sullivan said.

“And we’re hoping to create a habitat for birds and small mammals and insects, looking at it from a whole-system point of view,” Sullivan said. “We’re planing pretty small plants, one- or five-gallon, so people will be walking through a very young garden.”

It will take up to 30 years for the woodland to grow, he said, but it will look as if nature had no helping hand.

“A lot of oak woods are not in a natural state, the plants with them are not native,” he said. “Although it feels very natural, it’s not.”

A public meeting on the planned oak woodland is planned from 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 16 in Van de Kamp Hall at Descanso, and the gardens will also offer a walk through the site at 1 p.m. on Oct. 13, free with admission.

For more information, visit descansogardens.org, or call 818-949-4200.

janette.williams@sgvn.com

626-578-6300, ext. 4482

Repelling insects with plants

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Tags:

flowers,

gardening,

insects,

lifestyle,

plants

Companion planting helps repel unwanted insects and pests.

I WROTE about how good bugs can help in your garden last week and some of the plants that can attract them.

This week, we’re looking at the flip side – how you use plants to repel insects.

Pest repellent plants work in a few different ways.

Masking plants – including sage, sweet marjoram, thyme, lavender, and scented geraniums – produce strong, volatile oils and scents that actually mask the fragrance of the plants the insects might be looking for.

So you can plant these herbs, as well as members of the garlic family, such as chives, near roses and citrus to help repel aphids. They’ll also help to keep whitefly away.

There are also repellent plants such as cotton lavender or santolina, tansy and wormwood.

These plants produce a scent or taste that is so bitter or putrid it drives insects away.

Marigolds help to repel nematodes, which is why they are such a good companion for tomatoes.

Oregano will help repel cabbage moth from cabbages, broccoli and kale.

Catnip is said to be good planted with eggplant to repel the metallic flea beetles that chew holes in the leaves.

This herb from the mint family is also a good deterrent for ants, aphids, cockroaches, and weevils. It’s also known to repel mice.

Tansy and basil will both repel ants, flies, and mosquitoes, so you might want to plant them near doors, windows and outdoor entertainment areas.

Tansy, lavender, catnip, pennyroyal and mint also repel fleas, so you can plant these near your pet’s resting places.

Wormwood is good for repelling cats, and sprinkling the leaves around young seedlings can help to keep snails away.

The scent and flavour of tarragon is disliked by many pests, making tarragon a great herb for intercropping to protect its garden mates. Nearly all vegetables grow well with tarragon.

Bay leaves will help to keep weevils out of containers of dried goods such as flour and rice. You can also place the leaves inside books to deter silverfish.

Place sachets of lavender in the linen closet to help keep moths and silverfish away.

Many Australian native trees contain oils that are effective insect repellents. Eucalyptus and tea tree are among the most powerful.

One of the foremost authorities on this topic is Penny Woodward.

You can order her book, ‘Pest Repellent Plants’ on her website, pennywoodward.com.au.

The revised and expanded second edition, documents more than 60 pest repellent plants, and has tips on their cultivation and usage.

There is absolutely no doubt you can limit the need for pesticides by including in your garden plants that will attract beneficial insects.

You can also plant to repel some of the pesty ones. It’s a fascinating area of study, and there is a wealth of information available.

And it’s delightfully easy to make some small changes in your garden that will yield big results.

To read more lifestyle stories

Planting tips to get ready for spring

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Temperatures may be getting colder, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to think about spring.

While you won’t be able to enjoy the benefits immediately, it’s the perfect time to plant bulbs before temperatures get too cold to do that.

Right now, bulbs are for sale at your local garden center. At 16 acres garden center in Springfield, bulbs are sold in these little packets. While they’re little now, if you plant them soon, they’ll be nice big flowers by March or April.

But there is a race against the clock when it comes to planting bulbs, you can’t wait much longer.

“If there is a frost or if it’s suddenly cold for a few days, it will only be not even an inch that would freeze, so there is still some time. However, you want to plant the bulb before it freezes so that the roots could actually mature,” said Assistant Store Manager Nalini Benoit.

Once the ground freezes too deep, over 1 inch, then the ground will be too hard to plant bulbs. It’s best to plant the bulbs in healthy garden soil or better yet, compost.

You only need to water them right after you’ve planted and the fall rain should take care of the rest. Normal first freezes in western Massachusetts happen in the middle of October.