August │Enjoy Your Harvest

Yep, it’s a fun month for Central Coast gardeners. Now is when we get to enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of our labor; juicy tomatoes, tasty corn, crisp lettuce and more. August is traditionally the month to harvest delicious summer crops, but it's also the time to start planning for a fall garden.  

To get the best yield out of your garden make sure to pick veggies regularly to stimulate growth and ensure they’ll produce through fall. Water is important now; so get out there and check for moisture in soil around zucchini, squash and tomato plants and you will enjoy an almost continuous supply of vegetables during August.

Plant Your Fall and Winter Vegetables: It's too late to plant summer crops, but it is the perfect time to plant seeds or transplants that produce cool-season vegetables such as green onions, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, mustard, radishes and beets. Seeds and young plants will thrive in the warm summer soil. If you’ll be planting seeds in flats, put the flats in partial shade to avoid the direct summer heat. Transplant the seedlings into the garden when they are about 4 inches tall.

Of course before planting, you'll want to make sure soil contains the recommended 5% Soil Organic Matter (SOM). This is an easy fix; simply amend soil with Harvest Blend Compost for the healthiest foundation possible. Plants will thrive!

Water Smart: Even drought tolerant and native plants need plenty of water in the heat of summer. Give them a good soak at least twice a week. Potted plants are especially susceptible to high temperatures. If they still wilt after daily watering, think about moving the pots to shade or partial shade locations until the weather cools. Water in the early morning hours to reduce evaporation and water longer so the water has a chance to travel deeper into the soil. Cover your soil with a layer of mulch (compost) to retain moisture. Naturally!

Protect Fruit From Predators: Put bird netting on fruit trees two or three weeks before the fruit begins to ripen. This will keep birds from feasting on the tree fruit. Use rocks or bricks to hold down the netting so birds, rabbits or squirrels can't accidentally get trapped inside.

Plant for Color and Fragrance: August is a good time to plant bushes and trees that add color and fragrance to your garden just about year round. For a dash of color, consider begonia, impatiens, oleander, Chinese hibiscus and firebush. For fragrance, plant gardenias, jasmine and lilac.

Visit www.GotCompost.com for more info.

Got Compost: GOT MULCH? Mulching protects plants from heat

Got Compost: GOT MULCH? Mulching protects plants from heat: Here on the Central Coast we seem to be experiencing a minor heat wave; this means a little extra TLC is needed for landscapes and garden...

GOT MULCH? Mulching protects plants from heat

Here on the Central Coast we seem to be experiencing a minor heat wave; this means a little extra TLC is needed for landscapes and gardens. Without some human help, a heat wave can wipe out a vegetable garden in just a couple of days.

The high temperatures of a heat wave damage a plant in several ways. First, there's the evaporation of soil moisture, which robs the roots of water. A heat wave will also dehydrate a plant by extracting moisture through the leaves and stem. Finally, the hot rays of the sun can sunburn the leaves, turning them a pale yellow-to-tan color which eventually die and fall off. Protecting your vegetable garden from a heat wave means slowing down the loss of water and minimizing sun damage. Here's how it's done:

Mulch, mulch, mulch │ Mulch is more than a pretty way to decorate a garden. It actually serves an important function in shading tender roots from the sun and slowing the evaporation of ground moisture. Mulch doesn't have to be expensive or fancy to work – bark, newspaper, straw, leaves, grass clippings and compost are affordable and do a great job. Just make sure to keep bark and compost a few inches away from the base of trees and shrubs to discourage insects.

Compost as mulch │ Applying compost to garden beds is a win/win. Not only are plants and soil protected from the elements, compost adds vital nutrients to the soil; increasing porosity and water holding capacity, encouraging a healthy root system. Premium STA Certified Harvest Blend Compost is the perfect choice; Naturally! Click for a map of our trusty dealers

Change how you water │ A vegetable garden can basically be watered in two ways, either at ground level or overhead. During a heat wave, overhead watering with an oscillating or other type of sprinkler head should be avoided. The combination of high temperatures and a hot sun can evaporate up to 90% of that water even before it hits the ground. A better watering solution is to use a soaker hose system, watering through channels, or hand watering the roots.

Other changes that need to be made include -

• Increasing the watering times to twice a day until the temps dip below 90 degrees.
• Avoid watering between 10 am and 7 pm, unless you have a soaker system or irrigation channels. Overhead watering when the sun is beating down on your plants can scald the leaves and kill them.
• Deep water when possible. Deep watering encourages deeper root growth.

Provide shade if possible. To protect more vulnerable vegetable plants, we set up a canopy to shade tender veggies during a heat wave. If you don't own a canopy, sheets draped over 5 foot bamboo stakes can also provide some plant relief.

Plants and soil sometimes need a little extra help from their human caretakers; and periods of extreme heat and/or cold are 2 of those occasions. For more info on compost uses and benefits, visit www.GotCompost.com or Like us on Facebook.

Got Compost: An Ounce of Prevention...

Got Compost: An Ounce of Prevention...:  Microbe rich Harvest Blend Compost  Healthy soil takes a long time to develop naturally. However, it can all be destroyed in a si...

Got Compost: An Ounce of Prevention...

Got Compost: An Ounce of Prevention...:  Microbe rich Harvest Blend Compost  Healthy soil takes a long time to develop naturally. However, it can all be destroyed in a sin...

An Ounce of Prevention...



Microbe rich Harvest Blend Compost

Healthy soil takes a long time to develop naturally.
However, it can all be destroyed in a single planting season or with a just one landscaping endeavor. Basic soil conservation is like preventative medicine: The better you are at keeping soil healthy, the fewer drastic measures you have to take down the road to keep your garden or lawn thriving. You know the old saying, ‘An ounce of prevention...’

Soil quality should be a concern to everyone on the planet. Whether you're a suburbanite looking for a perfect lawn or a fifth-generation farmer looking for the perfect harvest; the nature and quality of your soil are among the most important factors in your success. All soils contain a mixture of organic and inorganic matter, but their proportions and characteristics vary from place to place.

Topsoil

Topsoil is the upper layer of soil in a given area. It typically contains sand, silt and clay in varying proportions, which can account for as little as 40 percent or as much as 80 percent of the soil's bulk. Sandy soils are loose and drain well, but they retain water poorly. Silt soils compact and become dense, while clay soils can become hard and drain poorly. All of these characteristics can be modified if there is enough organic matter in the topsoil. Some of this organic matter is fully decomposed, and some is actively decomposing.

Organic Matter Soil

Above the topsoil, at ground level, is a thin layer composed almost entirely of organic matter. It's made up of varying materials, such as thatch in grasslands and leaf mold in forests. This layer is constantly decomposing as bacteria, fungi, worms and insects digest it and transform it into rich humus. Through the normal passage of time and the activity of soil-based organisms, this organic material slowly becomes incorporated into the topsoil beneath it. We can speed up this process by adding organic matter to this layer as mulch or by adding finished humus to the soil in the form of mature compost.

Organic Matter and Drainage

Soils with increased organic matter are proven to maintain consistently superior drainage. The addition of compost acts as a sponge, creating air pockets where water can seep in and be retained. This is beneficial to all types of soil. Compost improves a sandy soil's ability to retain moisture, reducing the need for irrigation. In hard-packed silt or clay, adding compost will soften and lighten the soil. This allows water to seep in and be absorbed, or "infiltrated," rather than pooling on the surface to create runoff and wastewater. This reduces both erosion and water use, two important environmental benefits.

If you have areas of soil that puddle and won’t drain, don’t give up. Here’s a relatively simple method to drain water from soggy soil – after which you can proceed with soil amendment.

Items you will need:

1.     Shovel

2.     Perforated drainpipe

3.     Compost

4.     Fertilizer

5.     Tiller

Step 1:

Drain the soil if it collects standing water, which will make gardening more productive and help prevent erosion. Locate the lowest spot in the area that needs draining, and then find a low spot below that area, wherever the water seems to drain to. Dig a trench and install a perforated drainpipe running downslope from one spot to the other. Surround the pipe with gravel to prevent dirt from clogging the perforations.

Step 2:

Stay off wet soil. Do not walk or drive on wet soil or do anything that packs it down. Compacted soil prevents air and water from flowing through, which eliminates room for roots to grow.

Step 3:

Mix compost into sandy soil to improve nitrogen levels and bring a greater yield of crops and plants.

Step 4:

Fertilize your soil wisely. Use organic fertilizers designed to meet the needs of the soil in your particular region. Follow the instructions on the container carefully and do not apply more fertilizer than is suggested.

Step 5:

Till the soil at the proper time. Tilling the soil when it is wet causes it to clump, which destroys the soil's composition. Soil that crumbles in your hand is ready to till.

Soil Biology

The physical properties of organic matter soil, and their importance as a portion of the topsoil, are only part of the larger picture. Soil Organic Matter (SOM) is also crucial to soil's ecosystem. Billions of bacteria, fungi, nematodes, insects, worms and other organisms that make up the Soil Foodweb, feed on fresh organic material, leaving nutrient rich compost in its place. The more varied and plentiful these organisms are, the healthier the soil. A thriving, biologically diverse soil provides more nutrients to plants, doing away with harmful pathogens; helping to build healthy soil. Naturally!

For more info visit http://www.gotcompost.com/

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Got Compost: Got Compost: A Cubic Yard of Compost = ?

Got Compost: Got Compost: A Cubic Yard of Compost = ?: Got Compost: A Cubic Yard of Compost = ? : You visit your local nursery and ask how much compost it’ll take to amend soil or top dress your ...