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Spring is getting closer. You have picked seeds or decided to plant seedling transplants. You now need to prepare your garden and determine when to start your seeds or plant them directly. Step 7: Preparing your GardenA decision on how you are going to garden has to be made. If you are doing in ground planting, you will need to either till the area you want to plant or get a dump truck of soil and spead over the garden. Most folks just till. If you have the time, grass can be killed by placing cardboard or a tarp over the area for several weeks. If you don't have the time, mulching will help stop grass from growing back in your garden after it is planted. A search on YouTube will yield a variety of videos to show how to garden. Raised bed gardening is a good option. If you are handy with hammer and saw you can build your own raised beds or purchase a kit from any number of places. There are a lot of patterns on the internet. If you don't want to build with wood, cattle tanks work well. You will need to put some drainage holes in the bottom so the water will drain out. Other large containers also work well. If your raised bed is wooden bed going directly on the ground, you may want to put a screen under it and up the sides to keep burrowing rodents out of your bed. Another option is container or patio gardening. Any containers will work...kits, 5 gallon buckets, pots, Container gardening can be done on a patio, in a space in your lawn, in existing flower beds. You can even build or find devices to lift your containers off the ground to make them raised beds. Straw bale gardening is another option. The bales take some preparation by wetting them down and you will need some soil to put in the middle. The Wisconsin Gardener has a video demonstrating how to make a Straw bale garden Lasagna gardening is another option. The Gardening Channel explains Lasagna Gardening and has links to other related articles Step 8: Cool Season Crops / Warm Season Crops.Veggies are broken down into "cool season" and "warm season" crops. Warm season crops should be planted after the last frost in your area. Check the back of your seed packets or the tags that come on your transplants for more planting information. Also their are some veggies that require little attention from planting to harvest. They are recommended for community gardens and are included here. Check the USDA Hardiness Zone map and your last Spring frost dates. Wisconsin Frost Dates and Hardiness Zones Frost Dates by Zip Code Hardiness Zones for the US When you become a gardener, you start watching the weather more closely.
Step 9: PlantingThe most important thing is to plant seeds as recommended on the seed packet. If you need to carry a small ruler to get the appropriate depth, do it. Or measure the distance on one of your fingers. You will soon be able to judge the depth and not need to worry about measuring. Seeds are sensitive to light and have different depth requirements. They also tolerate a tad to deep or shallow but if planted to deep they will not germinate. Soil temperature is another important aspect of planting. This is why there are warm season and cool season crops. Many seeds need the warmer temps to germinate and thrive. You can use a soil thermometer or plan on planting the warm season crops around Memorial Day. Seed packets usually have a temperature recommendation. University Extension Penn State has an excellent Vegetable Planting and Transplanting Guide with information on when to start indoors or to plant outdoors. The Creative Vegetable Gardener has excellent advice on her blog on How to grow more food with a custom planting schedule. If seeds are started indoors make sure they have enough light so that they don't get to leggy before transplanting outside. A planting method that is becoming more popular at our Community Garden is creating raised rows before planting. It enables us to know where the rows of seeds are and also to mulch the pathway between rows before the seedlings emerge, thus eliminating lots of weeds immediately. The raised rows are created by raking or shoveling the soil into a 6 inch elevated mound. In the picture, the elevation is visible on the right side. Once seeds are planted, don't forget to water. The water stimulates germination.  Sending wishes of success for your planting.
Remember when gardening there are no mistakes just learning opportunities.
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Ok, you have decided you want to have a garden. You have a tentative plan to handle the work. You have made a list of what you think you want to grow. You have done some research by reading some books, looked at catalogs, watched videos and are now ready for the next step. Step 4: Where Am I Going To Garden?Gardening at home is definitely more convenient. You can walk right out the back door and pick tomatoes or lettuce for lunch or beans for supper. Look at your yard. If you haven't paid attention to the sunlight in your backyard. Now is the time to start. Most veggies need at least 6 hours of direct sunlight. Some will grow with less. If you have too any trees you are faced with a decision of cutting some down or looking at other options. Patio gardening with pots or containers is another option but again you need the sunlight. Another option might be gardening at a friend or relative's house. Another option is the River Valley Area Community Gardens or a community garden in your town or city. There is definitely enough sunshine. At RVACG, there is also the option of a mentor to help get you started and lots of people to visit with to get advice on gardening things. With ornamental gardening, there is a much greater variety of plants for all varieties of sunlight from shade to partial shade to partial sun to full sun.  Step 5: Decide whether you want to start seeds early, direct sow into the ground or buy transplantsStarting seeds early can be fun. It is exciting to see their little leaves popping out of the starting soil. You need lots of light and warmth to start seeds at home. The recommendations for light run around 14 hours and consistent heat around 70 for starting seeds. Many people put in a special grow light over the table where their seeds are germinating. The light provides both warmth and light. Direct sowing into the ground is also an option. It means that you may have to wait an extra week or three for produce but it is still good. This is also where that maturity date is important. You don't want to plant a watermelon that takes 120 days to maturity and plant it June 1. If you are lucky, you will be harvesting around Oct. 1 but frost may get it first. If you are growing a small garden you might want to go to a greenhouse and purchase seedlings. The seedling transplants will give you produce a bit earlier than the direct sown seeds. Growers are starting seeds for everything. You can even purchase sweet corn transplants now. Almost There between Spring Green and Arena has both 4 packs and single purchase seedlings, especially in tomatoes so you aren't wasting seedlings. If you have room you can plant the extra plants to give produce to the food pantry or give the extras to friends. Anyway you choose is fine. You will learn what works best for you and your family. Not to discourage you but I am not a successful seed starter. I have a small garden. I didn't have a place to easily keep the seed trays when I started them nor a place to put a light. I have opted to purchase seedlings of tomatoes, cabbage and marigolds. It is easier. I have opted to plant seeds for sweet corn, lettuce, peas, beans and zinnas. Either way, you will probably want to purchase some seeds to purchase. You need to know how to read the information on a seed packet to successfully grow your seeds. Step 6: Reading a Seed Packet or a Transplant LabelYou are at the store or the greenhouse/nursery looking at seed packets and later in the season seedling tags. Each packet contains approximately the same information but arranged differently according to company. You need that information to make a good decision on what seeds to buy.  What are you looking for? Description of the plant which may include tips to grow it successfully . Light requirements: Shade; Sun/Partial shade; Sun; or Full Sun Planting depth Direct Sow information / Start Indoors information Days to Germination: Always helpful so you know when to start looking for the leaves Days to Maturity: When can you expect to harvest When to Plant: Before last frost / After last frost / When soil warms Thin to: Spacing between plants Height Remember you want to specifically look at the light requirements, days to maturity, and when to plant. Want more information? In Megan Cain's book Smart Start Garden Planner, she has a "Veggie Essentials Cheat Sheet" which provides a lot of information including whether to direct seed or transplant. On her web site she has a series of blogs under Plan Your Garden. There are many web sites that explain how to read a seed packet. These are only a few of the ones I checked. Ferry Morse Seed Company Gardeners Path University of Nebraska-Lincoln A search in Google, Bing, or whatever browser you use will turn up lots of articles on reading a seed packet. I did not check YouTube but I am sure there are videos too. Go for it. Ready, set, purchase!  Transplant seedlings will have most of the same information on their tags but none of the greenhouses should be selling any of those before early to mid April. You do not want to purchase them until you are and the soil are ready for them or they will not survive. Next time, we will be talking about cool weather and warm weather crops and getting your garden ready for planting.
"Hey, Let's start a garden this year" Maybe you heard something like that or said it. Maybe you just made the decision. OK, is this really what you want to do? We will look at the process over the next few weeks. Step 1: Deciding to GardenWhy do you want to garden? I want to grow my own food. I want to learn a new skill. My folks had a garden when I was young. It looks like fun. I want to save some money. I want to get outside more and do get some exercise. It looks easy, after all I only have to stick a seed or plant in the ground and let it grow It can be fun to grow your own food but it is work which varies on the gardening method you use. Ornamental gardening to attract pollinators or to beautify your yard and enhance curb appeal for your home looks easy and doesn't require harvesting but it also takes work. You will definitely learn new skills and if you continue gardening you will continue to learn more each year. Saving money can go either way depending on what type of gardening you are going to do. It always costs money to start a new hobby, but the food tastes so much better when you grow it yourself and flowers and plants always brighten up a yard, patio or house. You will be outside and you will get more exercise. How much time do you have? Who is going to do the work? Gardening requires time and a commitment even if it is only a few pots on the patio. Talk with the family. The most work intensive times are planting and harvesting. Spring, summer and fall can get really busy with outside activities. Although Covid 19 gave us all a lot of down time in 2020, we have learned to navigate the world and the vaccines are promising a time when life will be opening up and regular activities resuming. Will you have time to devote to this new hobby? Or, how are you going to work the time required for gardening into your daily or weekly schedule?  Step 2: What do you want to plantBefore you decide to garden, make a list of the veggies or flowers you want to plant. Consider what your family likes to eat, What plants catch your interest? Maybe you want to plant ornamental plants to attract pollinators, birds, butterflies, or hummingbirds to your yard. Maybe you would like to help protect the soil and water table as well as attract pollinators and are interested in planting native plants. There is so much variety out there.  Step 3: Research what you want to plantGMO vs non-GMO seeds / Organic vs Non-organic seedlings: If you want to plant veggies, you need to decide whether you are planting GMO (genetically modified organisms) seeds or non-GMO. Even the seedlings that you purchase can be organically started or non-organically started. There are health questions to ask about GMO seeds and non-organic seedlings. Then there is the question of hybrid seeds versus heirloom seeds. Some gardeners are preferring to plant heirloom seeds which are non-GMO seeds from plants that were planted and cultivated over the many years of gardening by our ancestors. Heirloom seeds have a rich heritage of providing for many generations of families. The hybrid seeds have been developed from these heirloom seeds through many years of interbreeding and testing. Hybrid seeds are often developed to be disease resistant, taste better, have either longer or shorter maturity dates, be better looking...get the picture. Books, wonderful books, on gardening are available through your local library. I would recommend starting there before purchasing a book. If you find a book that you like, then purchase it. Last year, I found a wonderful book, Smart Start Garden Planner by Megan Cain. The web site The Creative Vegetable Gardener previews pages from the book and gives puchasing information. It also provides many charts and graphs with lots of planting and spacing information for veggies. Megan lives in Madison, WI so her advice and information are relevant to the greater River Valley area and the Midwest. Seed catalogs are another good source of information. Most companies now have their catalogs online. Mother Earth news has a list of the 22 Best Seed Catalogs and a list of the Best Vegetable Seed Companies. Birds and Bloom Magazine also published a list of what it considers the 10 Seed Catalogs Every Gardener Needs. The Old Farmer's Almanac has a list of 40+ Free Garden Seed Catalogs and Plant Catalogs with mailing addresses and phone numbers. There are many more seed companies that are not on the lists. This doesn't make them poor or bad so don't be afraid to use them. Local stores now have seed packets on display. This is the time of year that it is fun just to go into a store and browse the seed packet displays even if you don't know what you want to buy. Locally Doerre Hardware, Ederer Dairy Supply, and Mazomaine Hardware have seeds. Heck's Market usually has seeds. In Dodgeville, Farm and Fleet has Livingston Seeds and Walmart has a variety including Burpee seeds. In Richland Center, Walmart has seeds and check the Do-It Center or Ace Hardware. In the Madison area my favorite seed spots are Jungs Seeds in Fitchburg and the Bruce Company in Middleton. The Bruce Company has seeds from Seed Savers, Botanical Interests, and Renee's Seeds which are all mentioned on the lists. When you are looking at seed descriptions online, in a catalog, or in a store, you need to consider the maturity date. The maturity date is the average number of days that it takes a plant to grow from planting to harvest. The maturity date should not be confused with the germination time which is the average number of days it takes a seed to sprout and emerge from the soil after planting. When I shop for seeds, I know that I am not planting much before June 1 for most of my veggies and I want to harvest between the end of July and early to mid-September, at the latest. Therefore, I am want a maturity date of 80-90 days. The exceptions would be popcorn, squash, pumpkins, potatoes, sweet potatoes and a few others which can handle a light frost if we get one in mid-September. But, more on this later....your minds are full. Go dream. Check out a few books. Visit YouTube for gardening videos. Visit the Creative Vegetable Gardener's web site. Shop, but you don't need to buy yet unless you see something you just have to have.  In a few days we will talk about your site and planting options, buying seeds, getting ready to plant. Any questions, please ask. Weather forecast is a week of 40 degrees for the next week. This snow will go. Talking to a lot of people who are ready for spring. So am I! Tired of the snow. Thankful winter didn't really start until January but those of us who don't ski, snowmobile, or ice fish, etc. are ready for this white stuff to be gone. Soon this below...  ...will look like this...ready for planting.  Then after a little work, planting seeds, and some watering, you get veggie plants. This looks like lettuce and radishes.  A little water, sunshine, weeding, a few weeks and love....In this plot there are green beans and cucumbers on the trellises, marigolds to attract pollinators, onions, zucchini and tomatoes. Report is that Marlon and Deb had great yields of veggies to enjoy this winter.  Depending on what you planted and when, at some point in the season you will start harvesting. You can enjoy fresh veggies or flowers that you have grown. The veggies below came from our food pantry plot and a couple of personal plots and were headed for delivery at the Spring Green Community Food Pantry.  Registration is now open for the rental of garden plots. Over the next few weeks I will be posting blogs about starting your own garden either in your backyard or at the Community Garden. hope the info helps. Brrrr...It's cold out there. Thought we had missed the Polar Vortex for this year, but surprise! I drove by the Gardens today. The perennial flower beds were buried beneath drifts from the recent snows and high winds. It's going to take awhile for those drifts to disappear. As we continue to hibernate in our warm homes this next week, thoughts will undoubted drift toward Spring. Jimmy the Groundhog from Sun Prairie, WI said we would have an early Spring. Only time will prove him right or wrong. So, to get you through until the temps rise, here are a few spring blooms from our the 2020 perennial bed. Sounds like above freezing weather soon!
Winter. It is too early to start seeds. It is cold here with snow on the ground so garden work is out of the question. So what better time to learn something new about gardening.. a new planting technique, new plants, soil amendments. weeds. pollinators, raised gardens, fertilizers, organic gardening techniques... all sorts of topics covered in all sorts of ways. Following are just a few sources to get new information on gardening.  Garden Workshops Covid has put a cabash to the in-person garden workshops. But that doesn't mean they aren't happening. Many organizations are going online. As a Facebook user I have new workshops from all over the Midwest and the nation popping up on my Facebook page all the time . The 2021 Wisconsin Garden & Landscape Expo is scheduled for February 20 and 21 online. The number of workshops has been greatly reduced because of the online format. Interested gardeners may get more information at https://wigardenexpo.com Grant County Master Gardeners is offering a series of speakers on various gardening topics. Interested people may get more information at http://grantcountymastergardeners.weebly.com/speaker-series-for-2021.html The first ever 2021 Virtual Wisconsin Community Garden Conference is scheduled for February 12 and 13. It has two strings...one for gardeners and one for community leaders. There is a small fee for this program. Interested people may get more information at https://danegardens.net/conference Some of these programs are free. Some require a small registration fee. As new workshops come across my Facebook page, I post them to the our Gardens Facebook page. BOOKS There are many books available on all sorts of gardening topics. Of course a great place to look for books is your local library which has a great collection of gardening books on various topics of interest. I use my local library to preview books before purchasing. One of my favorites is the Creative Vegetable Gardener's Smart Start Garden Planner. Not only is it pretty to look at but it is an easy read and full of wonderful charts about veggies and garden planning documents. The author, Megan Cain, lives in Madison so all the information is very accurate for our Midwest growing area. It can be ordered directly on Cain's website and it is available on loan through our local South Central Library System. Below are page shots of Megan's book.  Online Resources There are so many resources available online. A Google search for free online gardening resources will provide a list or resources and workshops from nurseries, garden organizations, and YouTube resources. Be sure that the learning opportunity is from a reliable organization or source. Facebook user? Gardening tips, workshops, and information is shared daily on the River Valley Area Community Gardens Facebook page. Like the page and get the latest updates. Melinda Meyer, Megan Cain and P. Allen Smith as well as Jungs Seeds, Burpee Seeds, Botanical Interests, Bruce Company, Proven Winners and many other suppliers and noted gardeners have Facebook pages, web sites and YouTube channels that provide gardening tips. Television Your local PBS station is a great place to check for gardening programs. Here in the Madison area WHADH airs University Place at numerous times during the day. University Place often rebroadcasts Wisconsin Garden & Landscaping Expo workshops and other programs from the University of Wisconsin on gardening topics. The broadcast schedule is listed on the University Place web site where the programs may also be watched directly. HGTV along with other channels may carry other gardening programs. Check your local TV listings. Associations There are a number of organizations focused on gardening that provide resources related to gardening topics. A few of those are listed below The National Gardening Association The American Horticultural Society The American Community Garden Association University of Wisconsin Extension, Department of Horticulture and many others Kids Gardening Resources Our kids are our future gardeners. KidsGardening is a source of activities, lesson plans and resources to help parents, teachers, leaders and others working with students. I hope you take some time to explore one or more of these resources to learn something new about gardening. A new year brings changes.This year we are saying "Good-bye" as President and Superintendent Duane Miller and Board member Becki Miller, long time Gardeners and 5 year Board members, leave the Board due to Duane's work schedule and wanting to spend time with their son Matthew. We hate to see them go but we know they are going to be volunteers and will stop to check the Gardens when they are in town. Duane, and Becki along with their son, Matthew, were instrumental in getting the Gardens up and running in 2016, helping at the brat frys and the caramel apple sales, keeping equipment running and making repairs, and in keeping the grounds mowed and looking great They were also instrumental in laying our first underground irrigation lines. Becki made our current RVACG sign on Westmor St. Becki has volunteered to continue mowing the grounds next summer. Duane has said he would help lay the irrigation lines into the new section on the western half of the property. He has said he would continue to be our mechanic as time allows. Thanks Duane and Becki for all your hard work over the years! We will miss your insights and suggestions at the Board Meetings but look forward to Spring and seeing you around the Gardens again.  At the December meeting of the Board of Directors, new officers were elected as follows: President / Registrar: Rose Ellen Schneider Vice President / Superintendent: Doug Rouse Secretary: Sarah Alt Treasurer: Melissa Hildebrandt (new Board member) Board Members: Thomas Hilston, Don Koller, Amy Thompson, Wid Yarnall Due to meeting via Zoom we are unable to get a picture of the new Board at this time. Below is a drone picture of the Gardens taken in October 2020. Last season we added a total of 27 new plots on the south side (bottom) and the west side (left) of the garden. This year we are opening the complete western area of the Gardens for plots with a possibility of approximately 21 more 20 x 20 plots. This will provide more opportunities for people to garden with us. These 20 x 20 plots may be subdivided into 10 x 20 plots or 10 x 10 plots. Registration is now open and information may be found on our Garden Plots page or via email at info@rvacg.org  The Board is also considering adding a shelter for shade, for outdoor meetings, and for public use. Looking at the picture, the tentative location of the shelter is somewhere south (below) of the white fences (lines) of the perennial bed which divides the parkland from the gardens. Currently we are discussing using all of our fund raising profits in 2021 for the shelter. Decisions also need to be made about moving the Gardeners Shed and constructing a new Mower / Storage Shed in the next couple of years. Cost estimates for the storage shed indicate we will need to undertake some major fundraising activities as planning progresses. We are looking forward to all the new opportunities to share gardening with our community in 2021.
Think Spring! To the River Valley Area Community, As our 5th growing season has ended, the River Valley Area Community Gardens Inc. would like to thank you for your support of our community garden. Covid 19 threw a wrench into some of our plans but it didn't stop the community from gardening. In 2020, the gardens nearly doubled as we added 25 plots to accommodate our growth from 14 family units to 26 family units including 3 student gardeners. We thank you for your support of our brat frys this fall as we raised money for our 2021 gardening expenses which include water and irrigation supplies, fertilizer, marsh hay, insurance, tiller, insecticides and other gardening needs. For monetary donations, we thank Peoples Community Bank, Cardinal Glass, and the St. John's Knights of Columbus . For help with our brat frys and garden projects, we thank Prems Meats, Hometown Supermarket, Doerre Hardware, Office Mart, Spring Printing, The Weekly Home News, Tri-County Building Supply, and all the area businesses that allow us to put posters advertising our gardens in their windows. For an indoor meeting space, we thank Spring Green Community Church. We thank the Spring Green Farmer's Market for allowing us to have a booth for distributing registration information. We thank Wendy and Vicky in the Village Office, Greg and the Spring Green public works department, and the Village Board for their help and support. We thank Jim Sprecher for tilling the new plots and the loan of equipment. We thank Jerome Sprecher for the spring and fall tilling of our plots. We thank Miracles on Hoof / CR Therapy Center for compost and Ron Miller for marsh hay. We thank our volunteers, those non community gardeners who have helped us harvest food pantry produce and work on our various projects throughout the gardening season. We thank those of you who have taken time to walk through our Gardens and have expressed your appreciation for all the work our gardeners have done in their plots. This year we donated a total of 740 lbs. of produce to the Spring Green Community Food Pantry which serves families in the River Valley area. We also delivered veggies to shut-ins who could not drive by our donation kiosk at the Gardens to pick up extra produce. Although the Gardens look bleak and lonely as they rest for the next season on this late December day, we are looking forward to spring and seeing you all again at the Gardens located in the 900 block of North Westmor behind Ring Brothers Classic Auto. We are currently making plans for the 2021 season and taking registrations for garden plot rentals. Again this year we are offering a discount to people gardening with us for the first time. Also we have free garden plots available for low income, unemployed or needy families. We have a Student Gardening program that provides free plots for students. Mentors are available for students and new or inexperienced gardeners. We have added more plots to accommodate more Gardeners. We are also working on an Enabling Garden to demonstrate ways people who have limited mobility may participate in gardening. To get more information or registration forms to garden with us, please check our Facebook page or visit our website at rvacg.org or email us at info@rvacg.org . Rose Ellen Schneider, on behalf of the Board of Directors of the River Valley Area Community Gardens (This thank you letter was submitted to The Weekly Home News for publication)  New plots for 2021
It is that time of year to be thankful for the harvest. For the 5th year we have donated over 500 lbs of produce from our dedicated food pantry plots to the local food pantries. This year the produce was donated to the Community Food Pantry of Spring Green which serves all the residents of the River Valley School District. Starting in August volunteers harvested tomatoes, cabbage, onions, potatoes, and sweet potatoes as they ripened. All of the veggies were washed, weighed and packed for delivery to the Food Pantry. Deliveries were made in August, September, October and November. Individual gardeners had plentiful harvests. Extra produce was put in the kiosk so that passser-bys could enjoy fresh produce. We had a couple of calls to deliver fresh veggies to the homes of shut-ins . Harvest pictures are from Ann, Amy and Wid, and Laura. On this Thanksgiving Day 2020, the lyrics of an old hymn seem appropriate.
Thankful we are!
If you would like to join us for the 2021 gardening season, we are accepting registrations throughout the winter months into the spring. So, we have to move our asparagus bed. So glad it isn't any larger than what it is. On Saturday November 7, Doug used Emily's walk behind tractor to dig the trenches for the asparagus. He got about 15 feet of asparagus transplanted that weekend. On Saturday November 14, a group of people gathered to transplanting the asparagus bed. We had 2 1/2 20 foot rows to transplant. Many hands made the work go faster. Some were digging the plants. Some were carrying them to the new plot. Some were planting. Some were covering Tom and I dismantled the marsh hay bale for mulch. Melissa mulched plants while David kept planting. Nancy found a straggler so Doug helped plant it. After we finished we took some time to visit while social distancing. Community gardening is a great way to meet new friends, learn new skills, grow fresh food for your family, get some exercise, enjoy nature, share recipes. We will be accepting registrations for 2021 through the winter with publicity starting again in mid to late February. We will also be at the Spring Green Farmer's Market with registration forms next spring. If you have questions, contact us info@rvacg.org
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