From the Gardens Registrar: CORONAVIRUS PRECAUTIONS; Seeds; Know Your Boundaries

Hello Gardeners,

VIRUS PRECAUTIONS – More safety suggestions from gardeners:  Carry a plastic ziplock bag with you, with a washcloth and soapy water in it – you can use it to clean your hands when there’s no running water handy. You can also add rubbing alcohol to your bag, and then you have a wipe. We were able to bring some more free tools to the gardens, but of course, they were gone in 30 seconds. If any of you have extra tools you could donate, please bring them to either garden and leave them leaning against the share shelves. The more people who have their own tools, the fewer of us there are sharing them. Wearing garden gloves when you use tools is better than nothing, but the best practice is for all gardeners to sanitize their hands and everything they touch, including tools and carts. We want to keep tools and carts available to everybody, but there is a real risk of spreading disease, so we all have to take this seriously.

SEEDS – Our free spring seeds are almost gone now. If you need to buy seeds, you can get them at grocery stores, hardware stores, and garden centers. (Call ahead to make sure they’re open.)  If you want to order over the Internet, I would recommend the seed companies that donate seeds to us, such as Seed Savers, Renee’s Garden, Territorial, Baker Creek, Johnny’s, and Agway. The best source for Asian vegetables is Kitazawa Seeds in California, although we haven’t been able to get them to donate….

WHAT TO PLANT NOW – It’s still early in the season for spring planting. But, unless your soil is very muddy, you can go ahead and plant peas, lettuce, radishes, kale, Swiss chard, cabbage, broccoli, spinach, and root crops such as beets, turnips, and carrots. These are plants that can stand cool weather and even a little frost. The ground is still cold, so plants won’t grow very quickly at first. But there are so many seeds in a packet that you might as well try planting – if you lose an early crop, you can plant again.

Don’t plant bean seeds now – wait until May. They can be damaged by frost, and they also require warm soil to germinate.

If you have seeds for tomatoes, peppers, or eggplants, these should be started now, inside your house. You will have best results if you buy some seed-starting soil mixture – this is lighter than normal soil, and your seedlings will grow better in it. (You can buy this at hardware stores and garden centers.) If you don’t have regular plant pots, you can use plastic food containers. Put some holes in the bottom for drainage. Get the soil thoroughly wet, then put a few seeds on top, and sprinkle a little more soil over the seeds. Place the pot in a warm, sunny window sill, and keep it moist (but not soggy.) Once the seedlings come up, be sure to give them as much light as you can.  Starting seeds in the house can be tricky. Here’s a link to a website with more detailed instructions: https://www.gardeners.com/how-to/how-to-start-seeds/5062.html

KNOW YOUR BOUNDARIES – If you’re a new gardener, be sure to figure out your boundaries first thing. Each plot has a metal sign in front of it with the plot number. (If it’s a small plot, there is a metal piece under the number with A and B on it at Eagle Heights, or N and S on it at University Houses. (I admit, some of these are missing right now.) There should also be two yellow (or red) posts at the front of the plot – these mark the corners. Your plot extends from one yellow or red marker to the other. BUT every gardener must allow six inches on each side of the plot, including the back, for access. Since your neighbor also must allow six inches, this means there is one foot of empty space between each plot. This space is necessary for you and your neighbors to be able to work, push carts, and connect hoses to water. You are not allowed to plant anything in this space, and you should not have big plants next to it that will grow into it or hang over it. If you put up a fence or trellis, it CANNOT be placed on the boundary – it must be at least six inches into your plot – 12 inches would be better. 

Happy Gardening, and Stay Safe, 

Kathryn