Fearless Food Gardening

So, it snowed a few days ago.  As expected.  My husband calls that week of spring weather, followed shortly by one last snow, "fake-me-out spring."  It happens every year.  I knew it had to happen, so I wasn't too disappointed by the snow pouring down outside.  (I am, however, fully expecting that to be the last snow of this winter, so I'll be incredibly frustrated if we get anymore this month.)

I took advantage of the snow to spring-clean some of my closets.  I reorganized four closets, two cabinets, one buffet, and one side table.  I have several bags ready to go to the Brown Elephant (our local thrift store).  It felt good to bring back some order.

The garden continues to ramp up.  My baby lettuce, kale, and chard survived their blanket of snow, even without putting up any cover.  (A note for the future:  use some cover if you see snow in the forecast.  A milk-jug cloche or plastic bags--something protective.)  I was lucky.  Seedlings are continuing to look strong.  The only thing that hasn't made an appearance are some mini-pepper seeds, and those seeds are a few years old.  I planted two types, so it won't be a huge problem if they never germinate.

We had garden orientation was last night.  Our community garden opens next Tuesday, and I can't wait to get out there and get started.  I have one 4'x8' plot.  I put in eyebolts last year, so I'll re-string the twine and have my square plots marked out.  I will admit that I am really not sure how to prepare the bed for planting.  Most resources tell you how to make your own raised bed, but what if the bed is three years old?  How can I prep the soil then?  I had a problem with my soil compacting and cracking last year, and I am just not sure how to fix it.  My plan is to aerate the soil by using a fork to put in holes, but not turn over or till the soil in anyway.  I'll lay compost on top of that and hope it helps the bed.  I tried to incorporate the compost last year, and I am not sure that was helpful; I think I just tilled the bed and killed all the good soil ecosystems.

I picked up this book at the orientation last night:

It was created specifically for Chicago, so it can give detailed information on our last frost date (April 24), our hot crop plant date (May 15, which I had always thought was the last frost date), and the specific climate here.  It also gave some incredibly useful information on organic pest control.  As I may have mentioned last year, I had aphids, powdery mildew, tomato blight, blossom end rot, and squash borers.  I went into the garden without much information on how to prevent or control some of the infestations.  This year, I have a few plans:

1.  Prevent squash borers.  Squash borers are moth larvae.  The moth lay eggs on the base of the squash plants, and when the eggs hatch, the larvae bores into the plant and kills it.  I lost two delicata squash plants, an 8-ball squash, and a zucchini plant last year; I was operating under the misunderstanding that the bugs laid eggs in the soil, and it would be impossible to prevent year-to-year.  As it turns out, if you wrap the bottoms of your plants in aluminum foil or pantyhose, it discourages the moth from laying eggs.  If you do have an infected plant, you can cut open the base, pull out the larvae, and destroy it.  So this year:  aluminum foil on the base of my zucchini (I did not plan delicata squash, because I figured I would just lose it to the bugs!)

2.  Prevent powdery mildew.  I half-assed sprayed some watered down milk on my plants and didn't really take the powdery mildew seriously once it appeared.  With some baking soda and water, I can do some preventative spraying and hopefully stop it before it starts.

3.  Water less.  As a "grewbie" (new grower), I didn't really understand how much water the garden needed.  The plots are all on top of a cement lot, so I was worried the garden would get too hot.  I watered daily all summer.  That, plus the fact that it was a wet spring, led to the aphid infestation, mildew, and blossom end rot.  I am going to try watering every other day to every few days.  I'll try to check the soil with a finger; if it is dry down to a few inches, time to water.  If not, let it be.

4.  Keep an eye on tomato blight.  The blight is now, unfortunately, in my soil.  There isn't a lot you can do to prevent blight or stop it once it starts.  But I can prune the plants well, make sure no leaves are touching the ground, and remove any infected leaves as soon as I see the start.  If necessary, I can remove the plant.  Similarly, if I see blossom-end rot (which occurs because of a calcium deficiency in the plant; it's not pulling enough from the soil, either from bad soil or erratic watering) I can cut off the deficient fruit right away and give the plant a chance to make new fruits.

That's my current pest plan.  Expect another garden update when I can actually get my hands out in the dirt!