March Wind-Down
Where did March go? Down here, some have been following NCAA sports. Not me. I, along with my fellow master gardeners, have been gearing up for the home gardening season to semi-officially begin. April 1st is the date that the MG demonstration garden opens to the public.
While biding our time for the opening, many of us have been prepping the beds and putting in some plantings while the weather is still mild. My layering projects are coming along nicely, and the plants are beginning to fill out a bit. However, because of the drought here in California, I curtailed any further layering projects until the fall. For those of you in cooler, wetter climates, if the frost dates have passed, this is a good time to layer before the weather gets too hot/dry. Some of the upsides to layering are:
- Keeping weeds at bay. Weeds are strong competitors for resources, When you layer in more plants, you are taking the nutrients from the soil for your plants, leaving less nutrients available for weeds.
- Retaining moisture in the soil. Plantings closer together and at different heights help to create a canopy against the suns, and prevent the soil from drying out too much. Less evaporation means less watering.
Now, its already time for another DWV. . .
We’ve (the poetic “we”, actually my wife) have gotten our tomatoes into 4″ pots now, but we’re running out of room on the light stand. Next week they are going out to the (unheated) greenhouse, to make more room for planting flowers for the bees.
My echium is going to bloom this year…it’s high time as it came from a “Tower of Jewels” tree planted in October 2012 which bloomed in the summer of 2013 and threw off a number of volunteers. I’ve nursed it through two winters having had to protect it from the frost, but it’s worth it because it’ll be pollen and nectar for the bees all summer.
We’ve got rain here (lucky us), but we still managed to get a couple of short rows of potatoes in. What kind did we plant? California Whites, of course. 🙂
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The royal “you” is so busy. I don’t know how you find the energy to do all of those things.
What tomato varieties are you planting? How many plants do you put in? I just picked up my plants from the Master Gardener tomato plant sale. I picked out a few varieties I haven’t tried before. One plant I picked just because it’s it’s a black color. I’ll put them into the ground in a few weeks.
I planted three bags of my potatoes so I hope they pan out. We’ll have to share notes later in the season. 👍
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Great ideas! I really worry about the California droughts:-( We have had our share here in the Midwest:-(
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