February

Welcome back seasoned and novice gardeners.

Spring is in the air, so are weeds! It is in full vengeance overtaking gardens big or small. Unfortunately, weeding is a necessary evil in the garden, but don’t despair “just do a little, but do it often”. The Elk Grove Community is also preparing for the new growing season providing food on our tables, growing and supporting the Food Bank, setting up free gardening classes and building community in and outside the garden gate. As we get busy in the community garden and in our own personal gardens, don’t forget to stretch or mind your movements while gardening avoiding injuries that could delay preparing your gardens for the upcoming growing season.

Tip of the Month:

Soil: Prepare your soil by removing all the weeds before amending it. Weeded soil is easier to amend with compost, manure or any preferred organic fertilizer of your choice. Building your soil each season means, healthy, pest free and abundant harvest awaits you.

Seed sowing vs. buying seedlings: Seed sowing is an inexpensive way to grow a garden. Most seeds are usable for multiple years. If sowing heirloom and organic open pollinated seeds, you may be able to collect your own seeds to be sowed again the following year. However, sowing seeds means starting indoors especially for peppers and tomatoes as these vegetables require 6-8 weeks before it can be transplanted outdoor. You will also need indoor space, pots, trays, soil, lights and
warmth (artificial lights, heat mats or sunny windowsills). Most importantly, indoor sowing requires hand watering and a lot of patience. If you don’t think you’ll have the time or patience, buy seedlings ready for planting by checking out the garden’s upcoming plant sale.

The community garden’s annual plant sale has a wide variety of vegetable seedlings ready for planting like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplants, herbs, flowers, succulents and so much more. The annual plant sale sells out every year. Support the garden by bringing your friends and family in this fun and exciting event right here in the neighborhood.

Once you plant your selections, stay back and enjoy your bounty as if you started it all from seeds! Having said all that, do experiment in your garden or plots. After all, you are the boss of it! Hello Spring, we gardeners are ready to party and have a fun

2020 gardening season... Checkout this planting guide from UC Davis website.