Last month I attended a local meeting on gardening and learned a lot of great tips from the presenter, Katie Brandt, one of the founders of Groundswell Farm. She has a great amount of experience growing food as this farm offers a CSA program and also sells at our local farmers market.
While Katie offered lots of in-depth growing advice (some a bit over my head as a beginner gardener), but I took note of a few handy tips to share that are easy, but could make a difference in your produce and supply.
- Harvest lettuce in the morning so that it is crisp and not yet wilted from the heat
- Keep picking green beans or the plants will stop producing (they think that they’re done!)
- It is stressful for a plant to be planted after it has a flower or fruit on it
- Laying straw in the garden helps to control weeds, but keeps soil cool so it’s not as good for tomatoes
- If sending in soil to be tested, make sure to not dig it out with an iron shovel
- For a bushy basil plant, always cut above the second set of leaves, wait for additional growth and then cut again at the next level
- When moving plants from the greenhouse to the garden, try to plant before a light rain (the same goes for planting seeds in the garden)
- When planting seeds in pots for the greenhouse, cover lightly with soil (especially lettuce)
While these tips are a bit random, they are all simple to do in the garden. Do you have any helpful tips to share as we approach spring and gardening time?
