Wow, what a difference a few weeks makes in the temperature! It's chilly out there! Are you keeping your seedlings warm under a plastic cloche? It will help your plants grow a little faster during the cold weather. Cut the bottom off a juice bottle and put it over your seedling. It acts like a mini-greenhouse and keeps the birds and slugs at bay.
Here are some other useful garden tools, in a blog post by Taylor.
We look forward to seeing you and your happy vegetables in the gardens!
March 10, 10am-1pm Garden Resource Day at Ft. Scott Community Garden
Blog Post #9: Garden Tools
Hello community gardeners of the Presidio! This week I
thought I’d go over some basic gardening tools. I’m going to outline the tools
below and explain how they may help you cultivate and care for your raised
beds. There are links to a good example of that tool, or helpful websites.
Gardening gloves: So this is incredibly basic but really
helpful. Whenever I forget my gardening gloves in the truck, I end up trying to
get dirt out from under my fingernails for days afterwards. Gardening gloves
are really helpful for protecting your hands and your skin! They can protect
your hands from vegetable plants that have tiny thorns (such as zucchini) and
weeds that have large thorns (blackberry).
Kneelers: Before working in the Presidio Community gardens I
had never heard of kneelers. But they are so awesome and so simple! A kneeler
is basically a foam pad that you can kneel on (or sit on) while working in your
raised bed. This tool may be especially helpful for those of you whose garden
beds are on top of cement. Kneelers save your knees and are great for days when
you are out in the garden for a long amount of time- weeding out your bed or
replanting your bed. You can find kneelers at gardening stores or you could
just repurpose an unused cushion.
Snips: Snips are basically just sharp gardening scissors.
Snips are great for harvesting, thinning, and light pruning. Jean and I use
snips when we are harvesting small and delicate plants like broccoli, peas,
beans, cherry tomatoes, and leafy greens. We also use snips for cutting off the
flowering parts of plants and for other general pruning.
Pruners: Pruners are a step above snips- a little more heavy
duty. Pruners are best for harvesting from woody plants (like rosemary and
sage) or thick and bulky plants (like tomatoes and zucchini). Cutting back
bulky plants is also much easier with pruners as they will provide a sharp and
healthy cut that won’t do any serious damage your plants. Pruners are also
helpful for when you need to clean up overgrown tomato or zucchini plants from
your bed and netting!
Hori-Hori: Another name for the Hori-Hori is digging knife.
It basically looks like an 8 inch blade/trowel combination. Jean and I use
Hori-Hori’s CONSTANTLY in the garden. They are fantastic for weeding because
the blade allows you to cut through tough soil and easily retrieve tap roots
and rhizomes. I think the Hori-Hori is a great tool to choose if you have a ton
of oxalis or mallow weeds that pop up in your raised bed.
Cultivator: Great tool for loosening the top layer of soil (i.e. for disrupting all those small weeds before they go to seed) or to help the water penetrate garden soil in the dry summer.
Digging Fork/Shovel/Spade: I’d say a digging fork or shovel
is the best way to break up your soil or turn compost into your bed in
preparation for planting. A digging fork looks like a large fork and it helps
with digging into a bed that has really tough, hard soil. You can also use a shovel
or spade for the same task. All three of these tools are very useful in the
garden, you’ll have to test out what works best for you. Shovels may be more
helpful when you are trying to dig large plants or root balls out of your bed.
Plant support structures: Tomato cages, pea trellises,
cucumber and bean trellises. Trellises and other support structures are vital
for your climbing plant’s success! Check out whether your plant needs to climb
horizontal or vertical trellises and then buy a structure or make your own.
It’s not too difficult to create a trellis with string and a little bit of
lumber. Another plant support structure that I’ve talked about in a previous
blog post is a wide-mouthed plastic bottle. Plastic bottles are great
mini-greenhouses for small seedlings and transplants. Place a wide plastic
bottle (with its bottom and top cut off) around your seedling and it will
provide your plant with warmth AND protection.
Plant ties: Trellis are essential for climbing plants and can give you more growing space by going vertical with your plants, but many plants need help getting using the trellis you provide. Plant ties- plastic, jute, string, foam covered etc.- are your tool for getting the plants off the ground and onto the trellis.
I hope this tool list is helpful (or at least a good
reminder). Email me if you have any questions about a particular tool or where
to find the tools listed above! tjais@presidiotrust.gov
Taylor
