Summary: This past week, I missed the normal scheduled show release. I wasn't sure anyone would miss a single show episode. Boy, was I wrong! I want to thank everyone who took time to email me expressing concern that something was wrong since there was no show. Actually, I will come clean. I took some time off from talking about how to garden, while my wife and I traveled to Corpus Christi Texas to celebrate my birthday, and retirement from my day job. While there, I spent nearly a day onboard the USS Lexington, a WW II era Aircraft Carrier, touring several of the decks, including the flight deck and the hanger deck. It was an exciting step back in history for me, seeing how they lived and worked aboard this floating city on the sea of 33,000 Tons! Same as a 19 Story building 3 football fields on Flight deck 14 Basketball courts 33,000 Ton City at sea with its own post office, hospital, barbershop and dental clinic Overnight campout for Scouts Back To Gardening For this weeks episode, I decided to talk about my favorite varieties of Heirloom watermelons, and why they are my favorite. · Blacktail Mountain Small, 12-18 lbs, deep scarlet flesh. · Golden Midget · Moon & Stars – Medium Size Yellow Fleshed. 18-24 lbs · Orangegeglo –Large – Orange Flesh 24-32 lbs · Petite Yellow-Small Round Icebox sized ~5 lbs · Sweet Siberian · Georgia Rattlesnake – Large 25-30lbs As a result of several emails this week, I wanted to talk a little about basic soil improvement and how you can easily improve your soil enough to have a good first year garden and beyond.. Your garden needs three things: Sun, water, and Soil. You can't add sunlight, you can't make it rain, but you can improve your soil. Unlike dirt, soil is full of fungi- mycorrrhizal fungi – several varieties 1. Structure and texture – physical properties 2. pH level ( acidic or alkaline 3. Nutrients 4. Organic matter If just starting your garden, need to work in one or more of these factors. Goal is a pH just slightly below normal – around 6.5 - 6 Adding compost and well rotted manure yields wholesale improvement to your soil on all 4 points. Turn over the soil, sift out weed roots and rhizomes, add a few inches of manure and/or compost – could have a decent experience in your first year. Add more next year and it will improve even more. Natural Mulch – Mulching with Hay or Straw, and then turning it under after the garden is done or after each crop is as good as “Green Manure” Turn mulch and all over in either the Spring or Fall. Green Manure is a crop that grows quickly, usually an annual that adds a lot of nitrogen fixing to the soil. They are turned under before the crops are planted. They add beneficial microbes and nutrients to your soil Clover, Hairy vetch, field peas, mustard, many others, mainly legumes. Mixtures available at Johnnyseeds.com Mail Bag Thomas writes in from Illinois, asking if it's ok to use commercial plant starts instead of seeds. I respond with my opinion. Alex writes in asking about the best way to prep his soil in his new community garden plot. I talk a little about methods and recommend using a stirrup hoe since his weeds are still small.
