Garden Delights by Kellen Watson - April 2017
While apple blossoms sweeten the air and winter rains become more infrequent, we anxiously await the beauty of spring. The sun is slowly peaking its warm head out of the clouds, encouraging the wildflowers out of hibernation and into bloom. For us too, it is the perfect time to get our bodies moving again, reconnecting with the earth as we prepare our gardens for the coming bounty. Of course, all the welcome rain and latest patches of sunshine can have a great impact on the garden, in particular in the healthy development of weeds! While this is an exciting time of year, it can also be overwhelming deciding just where in the garden to start.
With this in mind, I wanted to share a few simple strategies that will allow for an easy garden transition from cold, wet winter to a resilient spring.
1) Focus on grasses – These are in full swing by now in the garden, taking in all the newly composted nutrients of winter and burning them up as they reach for the sky. Luckily all the rain has kept the ground soft and the weeds succulent, making this an easier task. Grasses grow quickly and set seed, making them a good first target. If you catch them early they are also the perfect nitrogen rich addition to the compost pile, not to mention less seed drop which means less weeds next year.
2) Start a Compost Pile – Got weeds, why not compost them? There are a lot of different ways to create and tend a compost pile whether you use the slow or fast method and worm bins are a whole other story. Want to learn more? Daily Acts is hosting a Composting Workshop on May 9th at the Santa Rosa Junior College. Get dirty with local experts as we learn how to set up and maintain your own backyard system.
3) Mulch! Mulch! Mulch! – If the rain washed away your wood chips or disintegrated your mulch material, now is a good time to apply another 1-2 inch layer to your garden. After all, when the top two inches of soil dry out, so do the microbes, bacteria and fungi – all key components to a healthy soil system. Mulch will help retain moisture as the weather heats up, suppress any weeds you may have missed and leave your garden looking fresh.
4) Select Multi-Functional Plants – Where possible choose plants that serve multiple functions in the garden providing shade, screening, pollinator habitat, food, medicine and beauty. Rosemary is a great example with its water-wise, edible, medicinal and pollinator potential (bees galore!) and its great suppression of weeds. Still need inspiration, well come on out to the Free Rockin’ Homesteads Tour of Petaluma, Cotati and Windsor on May 13th from 10am - 1pm, part of the self-guided Eco-Friendly Garden Tour hosted by Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership, this county wide experience is sure to offer a few ideas for your garden!
5) Think of the Bees – And all the other pollinators out there! While planting multi-functional plants is sure to help, it can often be hard to know which will attract what. A basic rule is daisy-like flowers for bees, tubular for hummingbirds and larva food providing plants for butterflies. Many nurseries have helpful signage to steer you in the right direction, but if researching on your own sounds daunting, then why not explore a pollinator garden first hand. Stay tuned for Daily Acts Pollinator Talk this May and check the website for more details.
Lastly, if you are taking any of these small actions in your garden, then it is high time you stand up and be counted, for you are what makes Sonoma County and our community more resilient! TheCommunity Resilience Challenge is an annual campaign where local everyday people pledge simple actions they will take this spring to save water, grow food, conserve energy, reduce waste and build community. Join the movement and mark your calendar for the Community Resilience Challenge launch party on March 29th from 6-8pm at thePetaluma Regional Library.
