Have questions about gardening? Check out our resources:
Good Herbs to Tend in Pots from the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/18/garden/18qna.html?_r=0
PDF entitled Organic Fertilizers by Colorado State University http://cmg.colostate.edu/gardennotes/234.pdf
From website “The Organic Gardener” http://www.the-organic-gardener.com/organic-fertilizer.html
PDF called Selecting and Using Organic Fertilizers http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/factsheet/HG-510.pdf
Basic-Info-4-Organic-Fertilizers http://www.basic-info-4-organic-fertilizers.com/
Here are some links for Local Area Farms for Fairfield County:
Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut (brings you to the section on Fairfield County) http://www.ctnofa.org/Farms/Fairfield.php
Fairfield County Farm Bureau Incorporated http://www.fairfieldcountyfarmbureau.org/general/master.php?pn=home
Edible Nutmeg magazine, great articles and recipes http://www.ediblecommunities.com/nutmeg/
Tips for Planting your Garden:
Plan in advance – will you have a garden on your deck, a square foot garden in your yard or some herbs on your windowsill?
- Start small – in order to enjoy your garden, you must be able to control it.
- Choose productive plants – do some research to find out what grows best in our area.
- Share with others – here’s where we come in. “Check out” a few of our vegetables, flowers, or herbs and experiment in your garden.
- Buy quality tools – make your life easy by working with a tool that is easy to handle and is durable and lasting.
- Read up on gardening – try Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew or ask a librarian to recommend a book.
- Have fun! – this is the most important tip. Involve the whole family and reap the benefits of your hard work together!
What’s our planting zone?
Zones 6 or 7
Early Spring: Soil temperature is cool, but past the last hard freeze or heavy frost. May still have light frost.
Late Spring: Soil has begun to warm, and danger of frost is past.
Early Summer: Soil temperature and night temperature have warmed.
Late Summer: Soil and night temperatures have begun to cool, but still before frost.
Fall: Soil temperature has cooled and light frosts occur, but before first hard freeze or heavy frost.
Winter: Soil temperature is very cold or soil is actually frozen. Hard freezes and heavy frosts.
Want to grow some herbs but might not think you have enough space?
Check out this great article from the New York Times – Herbs in pots, simple, easy, delicious! http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/18/garden/18qna.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=good%20herbs%20to%20tend%20in%20pots&st=cse
Library Resources
The library has wonderful choices of books for you to pick from. Everything from square foot gardening, seed saving, fertilizing and picking and savoring your bounty. Also take a look at our DVD’s such as,
“The Real Dirt on Farmer John” a movie about a Farmer who worked hard to continue his family’s farming traditions and “Herbs & Spices” a great DVD that describes the importance of herbs and spices in your cooking. You’ve grown them, now what do you do with them! Don’t forget the popular British series “Rosemary & Thyme” – Laura Thyme (Pam Ferris) and Rosemary Boxer (Felicity Kendall) are gardening experts who go after criminals. They are a team of sleuths who delve into garden-variety skullduggery, uncovering bodies, dirt, and other nastiness along the way.
Gardening and quiet go hand in hand. Being outside and listening to the birds sing and leaves rustle. An occasional bug flying by…..nice but if you’re in for a little music grab your iphone/mp3 player or other listening device and download some free gardening music from FREEGAL, a library database. You get to download three songs a week, FREE. Here is a nice selection to listen to:
“Daydream”, the Lovin Spoonful
“Secret Garden”, the original Broadway Cas Recording
“In the Enchanted Garden”, Kevin Kern
“Spiritual Garden”, Kitaro
“Rusted Moon”, The string quartet tribute to Neil Young
Or just type in the word garden as the title!
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