Saturday, September 5, 2020

Growing a Gardener

 

July 2020

Pickaway to Garden

 

Growing a Gardener

 

By Paul Hang

 

Gardeners grow gardens, and they grow plants. To garden is to make choices about which plants you will try to grow and where, and what plants you will eliminate (weeds). Gardeners use, and interfere with, natural processes. We alter reality. We nurture the plants we want. We water them. We give them what they need in the way of nutrition. We provide healthy soil. We give them space. We may support them if they need it. We do what we can to raise healthy plants of bloom and food.

 

We also grow gardeners. Sometimes the gardener we grow is ourselves. We go at it every year trying to be better. We read, watch videos and  gardening programs, experiment and talk to other gardeners. Like our gardens we change and hopefully they and we become better.

 

We may also grow other gardeners, intentionally or otherwise. Neighbors and passersby may notice what we grow and be inspired to try it themselves. Giving friends a tour of your garden and discussing plants that you see educates them. They may learn what to do and maybe what not to do. We often do not know what effect we have on others.

 

Probably the best example of growing a gardener is when we interact with a child in the garden. It can be your child, or the child of someone else. Because most gardeners are older we often influence a grandchild. Some children are interested in plants and gardens and some are less so. Some are full of questions. Some want to help. I tried to be patient, not always successfully, when my children wanted to help in the garden. My desire to get things done could sometimes see their presence as interference. When they pulled a plant and came to me with the question “Is this a weed?” I tried to show how the plant was different or the same as a weed or a desired plant.

 

I think that to grow a gardener we have to be mindful, especially with children, that what we do and what we say has an effect. Showing our delight in plants, prompting curiosity, perhaps explaining things to the level of the child are important. We pass on a love of nature and responsibility for it. We need more gardeners. Gardening can be a source of satisfaction and happiness. It is a gift worth passing on. A gardener is perhaps the best thing we can grow.

 

Have questions? Call the Gardening Helpline 740-474-7534. To read a discussion of problems facing those of us who “grow things,” check out bygl.osu.edu.

 

Things to do in the garden:

This is the time to dry herbs. Harvest just before they flower. Pick on a sunny dry day and in the morning. Tie them in small bundles with rubber bands. Hang them upside down in a hot, dry, dark, well ventilated spot in an attic, barn or shed. This is also the time to harvest garlic and hang them or lay them out to dry and cure. Harvest when leaves are turning yellow but there are still one or two green leaves.

 

Weeding, deadheading and watering are high on the list of routine activities. If July turns out to be bone dry, as usual, water the equivalent of one inch per week. Mulch to conserve moisture and keep down weeds. If you haven’t mulched yet do so after a soaking thunderstorm or a good watering. Vegetables higher in water content need more water e.g. watermelons, onions vs. green beans.

 

Keep your mower blades sharp; cut your grass long, 3-4 inches is ideal. If you use a pesticide for grubs you are also killing the ones that produce fireflies. Consider organic methods if you have a grub problem.  Kill Japanese beetle scouts before they let their comrades know about your garden. Brush them off into a cup of soapy water or alcohol (not Jim Beam). Repeatedly letting the lawn go dormant and reviving it by watering can kill the grass. Either keep watering or wait for Mother Nature to do it for you. Don’t forget to water your compost heap. It needs to remain moist for fast decomposition.

 

Going on vacation? Water well before you leave. Place container plants in a shady area. They should do fine for a week depending on the weather. If you will be gone longer have someone reliable come over and water regularly. Container plants in the hot sun may need watering daily.

 

If your grafted trees or roses are sprouting suckers below the graft, cut the sprouts off.

Keep picking seed pods off the annuals and clipping spent flowers (deadheading) to encourage bloom all summer. Pinch back mums July 15th for the last time.

 

Always read the labels on your plants for fertilization. Most woody plants have completed their growth and their buds for next year so fertilizing trees and shrubs after early July is a waste of money and may harm the plant. Keep watering trees and shrubs planted in the past 2-3 years. Ten gallons for every inch in diameter every week is good.

 

Consider planting a fall garden this month. Cool weather vegetables can be planted to take advantage of the coming cool fall weather. Plants such as cabbage, broccoli, spinach, collards, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts (plant seeds now, seedlings later), kale, Swiss chard even beets and parsnips thrive in our fall weather. If it is hot and dry, consider starting your plants indoors (except for root crops). Acclimate seedlings to the sun before putting them out in the garden.

 

Other vegetables that grow well in cool weather but should be planted a little later are lettuce planted through August and September, carrots and radishes in September.  Count the days before the average frost (mid-October), veggies that have that many days to harvest can still be planted. Check the seed packet. There are also some other varieties of vegetables that can overwinter for harvesting in the spring.  Check varieties in seed catalogs or on-line. Order now.

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