Garden Clean Up

Now that we are starting to loose a few minutes of daylight each day, hopefully the heat of summer is soon to go as well. We Master Gardeners cleaned up several rows of summer vegetables and weeds in the demonstration garden. This was to make room for ‘cool weather’ seeds that should withstand the last hot days of summer and early fall.

Weeding

The weeding took us longer than the planting as the weeds flourished with the heat and rain! In a little over one week, the scarlet morning glory vine took over the small garden rake left near one of the raised beds! Nut sedge, coastal Bermuda grass, and crab grass add to our problematic weeds at the Extension Office.

Early Morning Gardening

If you can get out in your gardens in the early morning when the temperatures are a bit cooler, the weeding goes a little easier. Here are some vegetable seeds that we planted in late August: cabbage, collards, kale, mustard, pumpkin, and turnips. A long-handle tool, such as a rake, can make an indentation in the soil for strait rows for the small seeds. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil. To help slow down weed growth a light layer of hay or pine straw over the entire area does the trick. Water the rows to get planted seeds off to a good start.

Natural Wakulla Event

By mid-September we should have our cool weather vegetables growing in the demonstration garden, just in time for the Natural Wakulla event at the Extension Office. Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 22, if you would like to tour the gardens, attend some gardening demonstrations, and shop the Master Gardener plant sale.

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