HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1977-04-14, Page 24/rags 2
Compost Provides
Numerous Benefits
,Long before modern, ecologi-
cally -conscious man "got into"
recycling natural resources, com-
posting was a tool of the farmer
and gardener. It's still a good way
for you to build up and maintain
your soil for good plant growth.
Composting involves returning
dead plant matter to the- soil—
after it has been supplemented
with commercial fertilizer and al-
lowed to decay—to help strength-
en the soil for growing new plants.
Compost material is applied
just like any other mulch material
but it can do a lot more, according
to The Fertilizer Institute. Com-
post can add organic matter and
plant nutrients to the soil as well
as furnish food for earthworms—
essential for aerating the soil. As a
mulch, compost also reduces soil
erosion by wind and water and can
help suppress weed growth. In
addition it helps retain essential
soil moisture.
Practically any plant material
can be composted. Leaves, lawn
clippings, fine twigs, old sod,
straw, and kitchen and garden
vegetable refuse are excellent.
Avoid using diseased plants. In
the fall, great quantities of leaves
are available from neighbors for
the asking.
Begin by selecting an out-of-the-
way place in your garden or a
hidden corner of your lawn. If you
have' the space. two bins are
better than one—permitting you
to turn the compost by moving it
from one bin to the other.
You can make the bins by at-
taching wire fence or boards to
posts, or to adjoining fence or
wall. Each bin should be 4 to 6 feet
high, 3 to 5 feet wide and any
convenient length, tailored to the
amount of compost you need. One
side of each bin should be remov-
able to enable you to fill and
use) to each 10 square feet of sur-
face. Then add one inch of soil
and enough water fo moisten but
empty the bin. In the fall you may
wish to extend the sides
temporarily to boost the bin cap-
acity; by March the compost
should settle as much as 2 feet.
The sides should not be airtight or
watertight.
Build your compost pile by
spreading out a layer of plant re-
fuse about 6 inches deep across
the floor of your bin. Add one-half
to one pound of regular lawn fer-
tilizer (1-1-1 or 1-2-1 are recom-
mended fertilizer ratios for this
not soak mixture. Repeat this pro-
cess as bin is filled. Make the top
of the pile concave to catch rain-
water. If you desire an alkaline
compost, add ground limestone
(about 1/2 to 2/3 cup) to each
layer as you add fertilizer. The de-
caying action' will proceed ,most
rapidly during warm weather. Ap-
plication of lime and fertilizer, in
addition to adding plant nutrients
to the mixture, also hastens
organic matter breakdown to form
humus mixture. You can further
accelerate decay during midsum-
mer by forking over the pile, help-
ing to evenly distribute moisture,
and aerate the pile. .
If you begin your compost pile
in the fall it should be ready for
use by the end of the first summer.
You may insure a continuing com-
post supply by starting a new pile
each year.
Compost can be used as a
mulch—covering bare ground
next to flowers and vegetables in
the garden—or as an addition to
soil by working it in with a spade
or shovel.
Compost will trot take the place
of fertilizer, but it does aid in
maintaining loose, easily -worked
soil for favorable root growth.
Shorten the long; wait
for your strawberries
You can shorten the wait until
the first strawberries ripen this
year; by covering the plants with
a plastic tent in early April, the
fruit will be ready 10 to 14 days
earlier than usual.
"The plastic provides a
greenhouse effect so the plants
bloom sooner," explains Ontario
ministry of agriculture and food
horticulturist, D. M. Sangster.
Construct a wooden or wire
frame over the strawberry row
and attpolyethylene to it:
Although two mil polyethylene
works well, four mil pplyethylene
is easier to work with and lasts
longer. Anchor the plastic along
the sides of• the framework at
ground level by laying both its
edges in furrows and covering
them with soil.
Once the strawberry plants
begin to flower, ventilate the
plastic tent during warm days to
aid pollination. "Ventilating is
easy," says Mr. Sangster.
"Simply lift the plastic between
three and four inches along the
sides, turn it up, and secure it to
the outside of the frame."
If frost threatens during the
bloom period, cover the plastic
tent with blankets for the night.
Remove them the next day.
To get ripe strawberries even
earlier in future years, plant out
an early fruiting variety, such as
Veestar, this year. This variety,
grown under plastic, will assure
you the first strawberries in the
neighborhood.
TATERTIRES
Good old American ingenuity. This home gardener was stuck with a pile
of rubber tires. Rather than pay to have them hauled off, she stacked the
tires waist high, dumped in garden soil and planted Irish potatoes. The
thick rubber insulates the soil and keeps it from becoming too hot and
the tall "container" of soil drains rapidly.,
This idea can also be used for large -vaned tomatoes, cucumbers, and
melons. Not beautiful, but certainly practical. The "flowers'. in the fore-
ground acre onion seed heads.
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DO IT YOURSELF. By constructing
can easily turn your compost after 3
weather.
iipsTrans la tn tfor vegetables
s
two side-by-side compost bins, you
to 4 months of moderate to warm
Since tomatoes, peppers and
cabbage are the most widely -
grown vegetables in Canada,
home gardeners should consider
the individual likes and dislikes
of these three when buying
transplants. -
Cabbage, which is the first to
be planted into the garden in
spring, is hardy and will tolerate
light frosts. Unlike tomatoes and
peppers which are tender plants,
cabbage can be planted about
four weeks before the last frost
date in any given area. Healthy
transplants can be purchased
from bedding plant outlets. They
should be spaced 11/2 feet apart in
a row. Miniature heads are not
yet formed when cabbage is
bought as a bedding plant. Heads
appear after the plants are well
established in the garden. Even
so, healthy cabbage transplants
can cut six weeks from the
growing time.
. Broccoli is closely related to
cabbage and can be treated in the
same way with' early planting.
Like cabbage, broccoli will not
form heads until about six weeks
after transplanting.
Peppers and tomatoes cannot
tolerate frost and so should not be
set out as transplants until after
the last frost date in any area.
Tomatoes should be set out with
several inches of stem buried
below, ground. The stem will
produce additional roots and
create a healthier plant. Bedding
plant outlets often sell plants with
flowers .or fruit already formed.
When these are placed in the
garden, gardeners have an op-
portunity foranearly crop.
Tomato vines need the support
of staking. Left to sprawl on the
ground, tomatoes will occupy
more space and be more prone to
disease.
Bedding plant tomatoes in good
supply range from giant -sized
(usually red -fruited hybrids) to
cherry -sized fruits. Yellow -
fruited tomatoes ' can also be
found at bedding plant outlets.
Although peppers and tomatoes
are closely related and thrive
under similar conditions, the
stem of the pepper plant will not
produce additional roots, •so it
should be planted shallow. A
sunny location and fertile soil is
needed to get worthwhile crops of
peppers. The pepper stem is
generally strong enough to
support the plant without staking,
but when fruit is picked, care
must be taken not to break the
extremely -brittle branches.
Sweet bell peppers are the most
popular kinds in home gardens.
These generally ripen from green
to red, although several good
yellow varieties also 'y
available.
Clean garden tools' now
Cleaning your gardening tools
now will make the spring digging
and hoeing easier when you get
down to it.
"Dirty spades and shovels pick
up a covering of sticky soil at
each thrust," explains Ontario
ministry of agriculture and food
horticulturist, R.A. Fleming.
"Rusty hoes and cultivators
accumulate gobs of soil instead of
gently turning them over. So the
gardener who cleans ,his tools
are
before he needs them saves lots
of time and energy because his
equipment is less apt to clog with
mud."
Use cbarse steel wool and
emery paper to remove rust and
corrosion from steel tools. When
they are bright and polished, rub
them carefully with light
lubricating oil. This keeps them
clean all season with a minimum
of care. -
We can help
make it hapPe
Owl 4'
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