From the Gardens Registrar: Mulch Again; Tips on Tomatoes; Garden Talk; Workday

Hello Gardeners,

ANOTHER REASON TO USE MULCH – For reasons connected with DNR regulations, we need to use up our pile of leaf mulch by the end of August. (Shorewood will deliver a new pile of leaves this fall.) The pile has shrunk considerably since last November, but we still have quite a bit of it left. Remember – leaf mulch improves soil fertility, helps retain moisture (so you don’t have to water as much), and suppresses weeds, which saves you time and work and aggravation. Please help use this up by the deadline.

LEAF MULCH AT UNIVERSITY HOUSES GARDENS – We know you’re out of mulch now, and we are arranging with the Village of Shorewood to get more to you – it will probably be next week. Getting more mulch to you will help make the Eagle Heights pile smaller, so we’re really motivated.

TIPS ON TOMATOES – Most gardeners want to grow tomatoes, so there’s lots of advice in books and on the Internet on how to do it. Of course, a lot of the advice is contradictory. However, garden writers tend to agree on a number of points. Good light and air circulation are important in protecting your tomato plants from the fungal diseases that they’re subject to. It can also be helpful to remove the bottom leaves from your tomatoes, once they’re established, because these are the first leaves to get diseased. It’s best to water tomatoes from below, so the leaves don’t get wet, which can in turn lead to infection.

It’s standard advice to pinch out or prune suckers (side shoots that appear in the crotches between the leaves and the main stem) because these new shoots compete for nutrients with the main plant. But other writers say that pruning can do more harm than good – diseases can spread very easily if your cutting tools haven’t been sterilized. Also, removing suckers may give you larger tomatoes, but not necessarily more tomatoes. Tomatoes benefit from fertilizer, but too much fertilizer will lead to big healthy plants with very few fruits.

I would guess that many of our long-term gardeners have been growing tomatoes successfully for decades. If you’ve discovered the secret to great tomatoes, please send me an email with your brilliant method, and I might share it with the other gardeners.

THE LARRY MEILLER SHOW – GARDEN TALK – Every Friday morning, from 11:00am – 12:30p.m.  the Larry Meiller Show, broadcast on Wisconsin Public Radio’s AM station in Madison, WHA, (970 AM), hosts “Garden Talk.” It’s well worth listening to, if your schedule allows it. Larry has gardening experts in the studio who talk about different gardening topics and take calls from listeners. https://www.wpr.org/programs/larry-meiller-show

WORKDAY – This weekend’s workday will be on Saturday, July 8, at Eagle Heights, 8am – 11am. The task will be maintenance to the chipped paths. The temperature will be cool and pleasant for working. Please be on time, so the project can get done before the weather turns hot.

Here’s the link to sign up:  http://doodle.com/poll/ssngc5yxmcn9uc6k

Happy gardening,

Kathryn