Putting Your Garden to Bed

New London County School Garden Network Update

Putting Your Garden to Bed is the topic of this issue: At our last meeting we were pleased to welcome Tracy Burrell, Master Composter at UConn Extension Service. Tracy provided tips for preparing our garden beds for the harsh New England winter. Here are some excerpts from her slide presentation. The full presentation and Tracy's "106 Items You Can Compost" can be viewed on our website at Ledge Light Health District - www.llhd.org/farm-fresh. 

Putting Your Garden to Bed

General Fall Tasks:

• Get Your Soil Tested!!!  Determine what needs to be done and schedule it. (see the side bar for more information)
• Keep harvesting, if that works for you. Tip: Hang your tomato plants upside down in the garage 
• Keep deadheading, especially your container plants. Tip: Follow the sun for your container plants 
• Keep weeding
• Keep watering until the 1st frost, especially any trees and shrubs planted this year Tip: Keep an empty tuna or pet food can around to gauge rainfall.
• Aw, Ma, Can’t I Stay Out a Little Bit Longer? – Get your plants ready to come inside, put them in a shadier spot for a couple of days. Once they’re inside, keep it ‘light and breezy’.
 • Divide Perennials - (examples: hostas and Siberian irises) Replant in another part of your garden or give them away (plant swap!!!) 
• Prune - Check your list of plants that need to be pruned in the fall and schedule it on your calendar
• Sanitation, Sanitation, Sanitation – Pick up/remove any diseased leaves, decaying, rotten fruit, etc. 
• Add compost to your garden beds: Consider mulching perennial beds and/open spaces, like your vegetable garden. 
Leaf is a Four Letter Word – Decide what you’re going to do with them: Compost, mulch, leaf mold, bag for collection, etc. – don’t forget to leave some for the birds 

Get Your Soil Tested NOW:

• http://www.cag.uconn.edu/plsc/soiltest/index.php

• Lab is not as busy in the fall. The typical turn-around-time for results is 3 to 4 business days from time of sample receipt except during April and May when it may take 1 to 2 weeks due to heavy sample load (Soil Test Lab web site) 

• Amendments to the soil have time to sink in over winter 

Hey Baby, What’s Your pH?

• pH:  relative acidity or alkalinity of the soil 
• Ranges from 0-6 acid (sour) , 7 neutral, 8-14 alkaline (sweet) 
• CT soils are generally acid – acid soil loving plants include azaleas, blueberries, hydrangeas, rhododendrons 
• Most plants do well in 6-7 pH

A Soil Test is More Than Just Testing the pH 
Standard Nutrient Analysis – Samples are analyzed for soil pH, macro and micro nutrients (calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, manganese, copper, zinc, aluminum and boron) and estimated total soil lead. Soils are hand-textured and a visual estimate of the organic matter content is made. Limestone and fertilizer recommendations are made based on results.

 How Often?

• Every three years, but if you’ve applied significant amendments to your soil, to adjust the pH or to improve fertility, test again a year later.     
Where Can I Get a Soil Test Kit? 

• New London County Extension Center, 562 New London Turnpike, Norwich, CT 06360-6599 
• Tel (860) 887-1608/Fax (860) 886-1164 
• Email: newlondon@uconn.edu 
• Cost: $8, plus $2 for shipping (call for bulk testing discounts) 
• Call ahead to make sure someone is in the office 
• CT Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES): http://www.ct.gov/caes/cwp/view.asp?a=2836&q=378202

General Process:

1. Using a spade, trowel or bulb planter, take cores or thin slices of soil from 10 or , evenly distributed spots in your sample area, to the appropriate depth indicated above.
2. Put the cores or slices of soil in a clean container, and thoroughly mix them. Transfer at least ONE CUP of the soil mixture to the plastic bag and seal.

Available Grants:
 Grant for Gardens, Annie’s: 
Annie’s offers grants for school gardens that connect children directly to real food. These funds can be used to buy gardening tools, seeds or other needed supplies. 30 schools will receive $2,500 and three schools will receive $5,000. The deadline to apply to Annie’s 2015 Grants for Gardens program is December 4, 2015 at 11:59 PM (PST). Winners will be selected and notified in February 2016. Learn more and apply here. 
USDA Grant Support for Farm to School Activities: Fact Sheet on USDA Grants and Loans  
Stay In Touch: You can stay in touch between meetings by "liking" our Facebook page to stay up to date on the latest school garden news! It's easy at https://www.facebook.com/nlcountyschoolgardennetwork.

Happy Holidays Everyone!