Reflecting

I've been thinking a lot lately about how this year's garden turned out and where it may be headed in 2012. While I begin to dog-ear catalog pages for seeds I want to buy, my mind goes back to where it all started.

This small piece of land was an oasis for me when I was a child. In it, my father taught me basics about annuals, perennials and concrete statuary to make up for our non-native wildlife in the city.  Over time, we created the path that is shown in the photo below. He was the muscle power, driving multiple pounds of white rock to our garden (and killing the struts on our station wagon in the process) as he attempted to create bigger and better raised beds. (He actually grew better roses then I do today- I don't remember his having blackspot!) What I didn't learn in that garden I learned in my grandfather's, where he grew tomatoes and pumpkins along his property line and the railroad tracks. He taught me to love the smell of tomatoes warmed by the sun, and to enjoy the pucker of the tart cherries from his trees. Some of my favorite memories of my childhood have taken place in those gardens. 

I had no idea what was in store!

Here's to a happy and healthy new year in 2012 - may your garden fill your heart with lasting memories and may your roses not get blackspot!

The Good News

The test results for my soil samples arrived right before Christmas. The good news: the lead levels in my soil are "low, typical background levels."

Great!

The not so great news is that my soil actually needs a lot of work.  It's classified as sandy loam throughout the three test areas.

The spot along my neighbor's fence, where I hoped to transplant raspberry bushes, has above optimum phosphorus levels. The pH of the soil is 4.6 in this area, where I also have a rhododendron bush growing. This plant needs acidic soil to survive (a pH of 4.5 to 6.0 is ideal, according to the American Rhododendron Society). Raspberries need a pH of 5.8-6.5, so it looks like I'll have to work on raising this level in order for the two to coexist. The calcium, magnesium and potassium levels are all in the below optimum fields. I wonder if this area suffers so greatly in the nutrient department because it is a victim of major rainwater runoff from my neighbor's higher property line.

Shifting to the front of the property, the soil is a bit better. The pH is 4.9 where I hope to plant eggplants next spring. Right now this is a patch of grass in front of the butterfly-shaped garden. Phosphorus and potassium are at optimum levels while calcium and magnesium are in the below optimum range. Since this will be a new bed, it will be getting imported soil in the spring, so I'm not too concerned about  it at the moment.

The garden by the road is actually the best pH, at 5.4. But the nutrients are all at below optimum levels, so it needs help as well. This area has multiple plant needs, so it will probably need the most work.

What I like best about the soil tests from UConn is that in addition to the test results, the lab made recommendations for fertilizers based on the plants I am growing (or hope to grow) in that area. They also included handouts to help explain certain plant needs. What a wealth of information for only $8 a test!

Gardening in December

I can say, for certain, that this is the first time I've ever been able to plant a rose bush in December here in the northeast.

And if I didn't have errands to run, I probably could have planted my potted mums and leftover daylilies in the ground today too.

The weather has been so erratic, that I was even outside taking soil samples for testing today without a coat on. It feels more like spring than December.

Speaking of the soil samples, I know it's a good practice to test your soil, especially if there is an area where a plant is not doing well. I've always kept this in the back of my mind, and pretty much ignored it. Hey, I didn't need to really worry, right? Add more compost until it looks good. I thought that way until this past week when a customer (at the bakery I work at) came in and started to talk gardening with me. We talked about vegetable gardening, and she explained why she had to use the community garden in town.

"There's just too much lead in my soil."

"Oh?" I had never really thought about that before. Sure, my father had instilled in  me to not use raised beds ever with pressure-treated wood, and to not plant vegetables as foundation plantings against your house, but never had I considered that the lawn could be contaminated.

"Oh yeah," she continued. "I have a 100-year-old house, so the amount of lead in my soil was unbelievable."

"How did you get it tested?" I asked, now feeling uneasy.

"UConn lets you send soil samples in - it's really inexpensive."

About $8 per cup of dirt to sample, actually.

So today, on this extrememly unseasonably warm day, I took three soil samples from three different areas in my garden. The first came from the area along my neighbor's fence in the back yard, where I wanted to transplant all my raspberry bushes.

The second is from the bed along the road, where a rhododendron is simply miserable.

And the third is from the lawn, in front of the butterfly bed, where I was considering moving my eggplants to next summer.

I could literally test at least a dozen more locations, but my wallet may bleed if I do. (Ok, it's not that bad, but my vegetables are all in raised beds, so I figure I can postpone that temporarily.)

The soil was a little too wet to mail out today, so I'm hoping to be able to bag the samples tomorrow and make it to the post office in time to mail them. Results are sent back within 7-10 days. I figure it's good to know what I'm up against before the winter sets in, and my gardening planning kicks in.

And I'm hoping for the best possible outcome. My house is from the 1950s. Let's hope they didn't use lead paint.