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How to Protect Against Critters |
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Written by Lorena Hawkins
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Wednesday, 18 May 2011 12:01 |
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It's that time of year when the local critters emerge and eagerly forage through our gardens. Although more prevalent at Winter Island and Mack Park, here is some advice to help keep our furry and feathered friends at bay.
Birds
While birds add life, personality, and sometimes pest control to gardens, many of them find freshly sewn seeds, young transplants, and fresh berries and pea shoots irresistible. While the most effective defense against this uninvited foraging is a barrier, shiny or noisy objects are also effective at frightening birds away. Bird damage is not reported as a major problem at our gardens, however it’s best to be prepared before nature’s appetite strikes.
- Hang clanging aluminum pie plates or shiny pin wheels within your plot all season long to help frighten birds away.
- Protect young seedlings with row covers or cages of chicken wire. Row covers are widely available through garden centers and seed catalogs and protect young seedlings from other common pests and late frosts. Instructions for a simple and effective chicken wire cage are included in Mel Bartholomew’s The New Square Foot Gardening.
- Cover the trellis supporting your pea plants with bird netting until they are well established.
Groundhogs, squirrels, bunnies and pets
Our furry friends are often more interested in playing in freshly dug soil than damaging our crops. However, soiling our gardens, mowing down fresh seedlings, taking a single bite out of each fruit on a plant, or digging around the roots of young or established plants can cause significant issues, to say the least. Barriers are the only foolproof method to lock out these curious creatures, whatever their motive.
- Place row covers or chicken wire over bulbs and young seedlings. Look to fellow gardeners or the web for inspiration for systems using PVC, conduit pipes and netting to build simple and inexpensive protective structures that suit your plot.
- ‘The natural deterrent’: products derived from predator urine. Find these at your garden or farming center. Beware, the rotten smell may also deter humans.
- Dispose of snack foods and wrappers off site.
- Remember to close the exterior garden gate when leaving and report any holes in the perimeter to your garden captains.
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Last Updated on Monday, 26 March 2012 10:15 |
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What to do with all that zucchini! |
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Written by Administrator
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Tuesday, 24 July 2012 00:00 |
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Sara O'Brien sent in a couple of recipes to help you work through a surplus of zucchini. One is for a twist on
zucchini bread. The other for zucchini kofta balls, which can be done either as an Indian dish or a vegetarian
meatball substitute.
Wheat Germ Zucchini Bread
From Sunset Breads Step by Step Techniques (copyright 1984) - Makes 2 loaves
3 eggs
1 cup salad oil
1 cup each granulated sugar and firmly packed brown sugar OR…. I use 2 cups turbinado sugar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
4 cups coarsely shredded zucchini (squeeze the water after it is shredded)
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour OR…. I use King Arthur’s white whole wheat flour
½ cup toasted wheat germ
2 teaspoons each baking soda and salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/3 cup sesame seeds
Beat eggs until frothy; add oil, sugars, and maple syrup, and continue beating until mixture is thick and foamy.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 24 July 2012 00:24 |
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Read more...
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Organic Fertilizers: What Are They? |
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Written by Administrator
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Monday, 18 July 2011 11:40 |
And why do I need to use them? 
If you are a Salem Community Gardener then you're required to use organic gardening practices. In part, that means you shouldn't be using chemical fertilizers or bagged soils with chemical fertilizer added. Why? Because...
- Chemical fertilizers are damaging to the long term health of the soil.
- At best, they don't add any organic matter to your soil. At worst, they deplete organic matter.
- These fertilizers don't provide the full range of nutrients your plants need.
- They often provide a short-term boost to plants, then are washed away.
- They are not safe for use around children.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 21 March 2012 16:50 |
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Read more...
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One More Year at Winter Island |
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Written by Lisa Spence
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Wednesday, 21 March 2012 06:08 |
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Great news for our Winter Island Gardeners! At their March meeting, Salem's Park & Recreation Commissioners voted
unanimously to allow the WI garden to remain on the island through the 2012 growing season. We have been asked
to reconfigure the layout of the garden in the short term. Read Sarah Thomas' well written in the Salem Gazette
covering the move.
This reconfiguration means that all of the boxes west of the concrete path (closest to the water) will need to be moved
as will almost every section of the fence. We will be tackling this as soon as possible - look for announcements of
work days and calls for volunteers in your email!
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Last Updated on Sunday, 01 April 2012 21:17 |
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How Registration & the Wait List Work |
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Written by Lisa Spence
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Tuesday, 20 March 2012 15:30 |
Gardening season is upon us, and I know many of you are anxiously awaiting placement in a garden plot. I thought it
might be good to describe the registration cycle for those of you interested.
In October, we send out registration sheets to all current gardeners. Gardeners are given the option to keep the
same plot for the coming year, request a new location or additional boxes, or request a move to a new garden.
This is when gardeners who ended up in their second choice garden the previous year can make their move! Over the
winter we contact people we haven't heard from and typically close registration by the end of February. At this point
in the process, we've identified the available plots and boxes for the coming year.
Then gardens are assigned in the following order.
1. Any moves requested within a garden are completed.
2. Any moves requested to a different garden are completed.
3. At WI and PP, gardeners requesting additional boxes are given one additional box - if there are boxes left after
the wait list is emptied, they may get more.
4. People on the wait list are placed in the order that they applied. Each person is offered space in their first choice
garden if available. If no space is available, they are offered space in their second choice if available, etc. This process goes quickly if people are quick to respond to the registrar!
5. If there are boxes or plots remaining after the wait list has been cleared, they are then assigned to gardeners hoping for additional boxes (at WI & PP) or a second plot (at MP). We like to have all plots assigned by the end of March.
6. People assigned a plot are taken off the wait list. People not assigned a plot are kept on the wait list.
7. There are always people who give up or abandon their plot during the coarse of the growing season. When this happens,we offer these plots to people on the waiting list first and then to gardeners looking for additional space. It is fine to turn
down a late season plot opening and remain on the wait list.
And that's how the magic works. If you have any questions,
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 21 March 2012 08:30 |
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