All the Dirt on Gardening

Your garden may look asleep or almost asleep but under the soil surface beneficial microbes, earthworms, helpful bacteria and fungi are still working on your behalf. If you do not provide winter food for them, though, their numbers will be reduced by half and your soil in the spring will be half as healthy since harmful nematodes will multiply and chomp on your plants' roots. George Driever, Oklahoma State University Extension Educator in Pottawatomie County wrote an easy to understand article explaining it all for OK Farm Bureau magazine ( link here ). Driever points out the advantage of planting a cool season cover crop - *Cover crops reduce weed populations by shading them out *Cover crops store nutrients in their biomass that are later released and help reduce erosion *Cover crops add organic matter that pull nitrogen from the air, that organic matter helps your soil hold moisture and increases the good microbes. *The good microbes help release nutrients from the...

Don't miss out on the third season of gardening in Oklahoma or other areas in zone 7 and above. Even though the August heat is still with us, we can plant cool season vegetables, perennials and spring flowering bulbs. If you don't know your plant zone click on the appropriate link - United States zones or worldwide plant zones or the AHS heat zone map . Hazzard's Greenhouse and Seeds lists thousands of varieties of flowers, vegetables, herbs, grasses, and walk-on-plant seeds in their online catalog. You can click on the Search feature and enter a common or Latin name to find what you need. Joyce Hazzard created a free shipping coupon for anyone reading this. Enter MSFS in the place for coupons at checkout or use the code for phone orders at 989.872.5057. Start seeds in containers so you can control moisture and temperature. This is especially true for heat sensitive greens. Refrigerate lettuce seeds for a few days and then soak them in water the day before planting. Flow...