Hello!

Correct me if I am wrong - but I think that it has snowed practically every single day almost forever now! Is the end in sight? I think not! Life in the North Country - gotta love it! At least with all these super cold freezing, frigid temperatures, we’re all pretty well preserved!

At any rate, come on in now; take a break from snow shoveling, snow blowing, snow moving. Let’s give it a rest. At least for a few minutes, let’s think warm thoughts; let’s think spring thoughts. Come on now - can’t you just feel it?

Last week we went through a list of about 5 different New Year’s resolutions that we gardeners can concentrate on to make our gardening chores easier and better for this coming growing season. These included plans to grow more, to grow more, better, different stuff, to grow more, better, different healthy, healthier stuff. Let’s continue. Maybe we can just keep that cabin fever at bay for a little while longer.

Resolution 6 - (because we did the first 5 last week) - grow your garden better. Grow your garden bigger if you are sick and tired of all the rising food prices! Think back to last year’s garden. Try to even remember what the last growing season was like. What grew good for you? Then grow it better this year! What was a depressing disappointment? Don’t repeat that failure; grow it differently. Grow a different variety; grow it in a different spot. Find out what went wrong; make plans to correct it. Come on - write down your plans. Hey, that can be resolution 7!

Resolution 7 - write down all your garden plans for this next garden. Make a list; check it twice! Number them; prioritize them. Draw a garden diagram; plan where all your favorite varieties are going to go. If you have last year’s plan - great! Compare last year’s garden layout to this year’s proposed plan. Because . . .

Resolution 8 - rotate those crops! Do compare last year’s layout; make plans to switch things around. For instance, if you plant potatoes, keep in mind that they need a really low pH. So keep potatoes on the edges of your garden where you are not going to throw down too much lime. Lots of lime = high pH = sweeter soil.

Keep in mind, certain vegetable families should not be planted in the same spot for more than 2 years in a row. So rotate all vegetable crops to minimize the risk of disease. Some crops - like beans and peas -are especially susceptible to foot and root rotting diseases. (Doesn’t that sound a lot like hoof and mouth disease?)

At any rate these foot and root rotting diseases build up in the soil and remain for years. Conversely - on the other hand – peas and beans and the other members of this legume family always increase the nitrogen levels in the soil. And that’s a good thing for the next season’s crop that’s planted in this location.

Certain pests and pathogens - aka bad bugs and plant diseases – that affect members of the nightshade family do not affect the brassica family. (Nightshade = tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant. . . . Brassicas = broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower . . . .)

Resolution 9 - learn about all of the different kinds of cultural practices out there and make plans to use some of them. Now we’re not talking Bach, Beethoven, or Brahms here!
• Crop rotation
• Mulching
• Composting
• Raised beds
• Wide beds
• Companion planting
• Integrated pest management
• EcoGardening

All these are some other easy cultural practices that are guaranteed to make garden life easier and better for both you and your garden plants. Use these winter months to find out about them and then decide if they will work for you.

Resolution 10 – Vow to go to new lengths and heights! If you have a computer, go to Cornell University’s fantastic web site for gardeners at www.gardening.cornell.edu. This is a very extensive, very intensive garden resource that is also very user-friendly. This is a must-go-to site designed for all kinds of gardeners, from beginner to expert to all points in between. There are tons and tons of great gardening fact sheets all at your fingertips – www.gardening.cornell.edu. What – no computer? Then go to your nearest, favorite public library and use their computer.

So for 2009, make plans. Make garden plans! Right now I’m making plans for a complete listing of all the wonderful seed and gardening supply sources out there. Give us a call at 376-5270 or stop on by at our Cornell Cooperative Extension office for a copy. Also available is a complete listing of the 2009 Recommended Varieties for the Home Garden put out by the great gardening gurus at Cornell University.

Remember – Eat Smart New York!
And – Bye – talk to you soon!
Dolores DeSalvo