From the Gardens Registrar: Don’t Waste Water; What to Do in the Garden in September; Garlic Workshop; Cover Crops; Workday at Eagle Heights Saturday Afternoon

Hello Gardeners,

WATER USAGE – A University Houses Gardens gardener reported that last week, someone in a nearby garden had set up a sprinkler, with water shooting high into the air, and then left the garden. The water ran for more than an hour before my informant turned it off.  Why on earth anybody was watering last week, when there was still standing water in several places in the garden, is anybody’s guess. But I want to remind people that turning on the water and leaving is against the garden rules. The result is often that your neighbors’ plots get flooded. It is also very wasteful. Also, please do not leave your hoses attached to spigots, and don’t leave them lying in the paths.

SEPTEMBER GARDEN TASKS – Keep picking your produce, and pulling out your weeds. If you have vegetable plants that have died, or are nearing that stage, pull them up and take them to the weed pile. But if your bean plants are done, cut them off above the ground, leaving the roots in the soil, and take only the tops to the weed pile – the roots put nitrogen in the soil, so leave them in the soil to decay and feed your vegetables next year.

If you have geraniums in your garden, this is a good time to take cuttings of them to bring into your house. You can root them over the winter, and plant the new plants next year. https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/geranium/how-to-start-geranium-cuttings.htm Begonias and impatiens can also be grown from cuttings. Also, if you have perennial flowers in your plot, this is a good time of year to divide them.

If your herbs are still in good shape, you can pick them to dry or freeze for the winter.

GARLIC WORKSHOP – Wondering when to plant garlic? Don’t plant until after you’ve attended Gary K’s annual Garlic Workshop, which is scheduled for Saturday, October 6, 10am – 11:30am at the Eagle Heights Shed. “Growing Great Garlic” will cover seed selection, soil preparation, planting, and harvesting next year. Gary will have hand-outs, in English.

COVER CROPS – If your garden is nearly done for the season, and you plan to be back next year, you might want to consider planting a cover crop. These are plants that are grown to add nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil. Some of these plants will naturally die down in the winter – others will need to be cut down and dug in, in the spring. Here is some good information from UW Extension: https://hort.uwex.edu/files/2014/10/Using-Cover-Crops-and-Green-Manures-in-the-Home-Vegetable-Garden-May-14-2014.pdf  You can find seeds for some of these at garden centers and farmers’ co-ops. Also, we still have a few packets of Austrian Winter Field Peas – let me know if you want to try them.

WORKDAY AT EAGLE HEIGHTS – We will have a workday this Saturday, September 22, from 2pm – 5pm, at Eagle Heights. The project will be working on the tree lines. As always, gloves are a good idea, plus hats, long pants, and long sleeved shirts. Here’s the link to sign up: https://doodle.com/poll/hnks322rp5b5g4md

Happy Gardening,

Kathryn