Great gardens start with winter preparations
Summer’s heat is definitely here, and your garden is probably firing on all cylinders, working on creating delicious, fresh vegetables for you to enjoy this summer and to stock away for winter enjoyment. It might not seem like it, but you can take steps now to make next year’s garden even more productive by planning to properly transition your garden from summer’s productivity to a long winter’s nap.
Ashland Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) is hosting a Conservation Chat on September 4 to provide hands-on instruction and assistance to help gardeners learn tips and tricks for putting their gardens to bed for the winter. The Goodnight, Garden! Conservation Chat will take place at the Ashland County Park District office at 1301 Park Street, Ashland at 6 p.m.
Several types of registration are available. Basic registration is just $5 for the event, but is free when you bring a friend for both of you! Basic registration includes a light meal and any hand outs or materials from the meeting. Or, participants can choose to register and include the purchase of a packet of garden cover crop seed for $10/person or $16 for two attendees.
“We know there are a lot of Ashland County residents that are interested in making sure their garden is as productive as possible,” said Jane Houin, Ashland SWCD director. “Gardeners make up a significant portion of our soil testing program, and this will be our second year offering a cover crop seed sale to the public designed specifically for gardens. We’re excited to bring folks together with some great gardening resources and talk about how conservation practices like garden cover crops can really make a difference in your garden.”
Valerie Smith from Honey Haven Farm and Fernanda Krupek from Ohio State University will be talking about the best management practices for winter garden preparation. SWCD staff will also talk about the benefits of using cover crops to build soil health and prevent erosion in your garden. Information will also be available about soil testing options available through the SWCD.
2024 is the second year Ashland SWCD is offering a cover crop seed sale, offering three different 1-poud mixes for $8 each: a late cover mix, a fall cover mis, and a garden raised bed mix. Garden cover crops should be planted from August to late September, and each of the available mixes is designed to provide specific benefits.
For example, the late cover mix can be planted through mid October and still provide the benefits of using a cover copy by loosening top soil, protecting the soil from erosion and nutrient loss, suppressing weeds and providing mulch in the spring and food for both micro and macro-organisms in the soil to improve soil health. It contains cereal rye, soiled radish, hairy vetch and crimson clover and will continue growth in the spring.
The fall cover mix, on the other hand, is designed to winter kill, leaving a surface mulch in the spring that requires little to no management prior to planting. It is ideal for cool-season vegetable spaces and will loosen topsoil, product the soil from erosion and nutrient loss and suppress weeks. The surface reside will feed soil micro and macro-organisms in the spring, and it contains cow pea, oilseed radish, ming bean, pearl millet, oats, and Ethiopian radish.
The garden rained med mix is designed to provide diverse root structure and organic matter to fortify and amend depleted soils and can be used in all garden types. This mix provides pollinators and beneficial insects with spring and fall blooms, containing buckwheat, flax, hairy vetch, phacelia, yellow mustard, oilseed radish, and Austrian winter peas.
Registrations that include a cover crop seed pack will receive an assorted pack; participants are not able to request a specific mix. However, all mixes are available for pre-order separately from the Conservation Chat tickets at www.ashlandswcd.com.
To RSVP, call Ashland SWCD at 419-281-7645 or visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/conservation-chat-goodnight-garden-tickets-912803849887