Every week (or almost 🙂 I will be posting here to let you know what to expect from your garden, and what you should be doing to maintain it.
This week we’ve had a lot of rain, so your garden shouldn’t need much water, if any.
Take a look at your seedlings. Any that have fallen over in the inclement weather may need propping or firming by pressing on the earth around them.
Make sure to take out any maple keys or small weeds. The key to a happy garden is to weed early and often so that your plants can get well established.
The beet seedlings may be coming up two or three in a bunch. This is because beet seeds are actually fruits, and are 2 or 3 seeds stuck together. These need thinning. Take a pair of scissors and cut away the smaller sprouts leaving the strongest standing.
Pinch off any dead leaves and don’t forget to spray or sprinkle some kind of hot peppery mixture to deter animals.
Here is one recipe:
Squirrel Repellent
- 1 Bottle (small) Hot Pepper Sauce
- 1 Gallon Water
- Water Retentative (available from plant nursery) or 1 Teaspoon of Mild Liquid Detergent such as dishwashing detergent
Although anything that uses cayenne pepper should do the trick. Even a mixture of 1/3 cayenne pepper and 2/3 flour sprinkled around the garden should work wonders.
Blood meal is a good addition, it adds Nitrogen to the garden and the critters don’t like the smell.
Make sure to re-apply often, especially after it rains!
It is supposed to go down to -4 tomorrow night. You can lay a light blanket or sheet over the garden to protect from frost, but the seedlings you have in your garden should be light-frost resistant.
Can’t wait for the sunshine!