In the Garden

HOME

In the Garden

LOVE that garden!!!

Fall Vegetables - July Planting

Bush Beans, Snap Beans, Broccoli
Cabbage, Chinese Cabbage, Cauliflower, Collards, Cucumber,
Kale, Kohlrabi,
Leaf Lettuce,
Mustard,
Irish Potatoes,
Radish,
Spinach, Summer Squash,
Tomatoes, Turnip Greens, Turnip Roots

KEEP IN MIND
THE FOLLOWING STEPS
WHEN CANNING VEGETABLES:
1. Select mature, yet tender vegetables.
2. From the garden to the canner as soon as possible.
3. Wash and prepare vegetables.
4. Preheat vegetables if hot-pack method is use.
5. Pack in standard canning jars; cover with liquid.
6. Wipe jar mouth and seal according to lid directions.
7. Place jar on rack in pressure canner which has 2 to 3 inches of boiling water.
8. Adjust pressure canner lid.
9. Let steam escape 10 minutes from petcock, then close.
10. Start counting time when pressure gauge registers the recommended pounds pressure for altitude.
11. Use recommended time table.
12. When time is up, slide canner from range unit; let cool.
13. About five minutes after gauge has returned to zero, open petcock slowly.
14. Open lid from opposite side of the canner first; then all the way.
15. Take out hot jars, one at a time.
16. Place on rack to cool - out of a draft.
17. The next day, store canned food in a cool, dark, dry place.

For canners that do not have a petcock, allow steam to escape from vent for 10 minutes.

What can Gardening do for You?

Reduce Stress, Increase Strength, Lower Blood Pressure,

Reduce Cholesterol, Foster Creativity, Provide Optimism,

Make you feel like a Kid again, Connect You to the Earth,

Be enjoyeded by virtually Anyone Indoors or Out,

Burn about 340 calories an hour (based on a 150 pound person),

Gardening builds muscles, warms the soul, and puts food (and flowers) on the table.

What to plant:

Start with hardy, easy to grow varieties of flowers such as coreopsis, coneflowers (echinacea), Impatients, marigolds, and salvia; or vegetables such as bush green beans,herbs (basil, oregano, sage, thyme), leaf lettuces, radishes, and tomatoes. If you dont have a yard, buy a few small plants, such as the herbs rosemary and basil, or a bright geranium. Grow them in a sunny window or on a porch.

Equipment:

A shovel, spade pair of gloves, watering can, foam kneeler, seeds and/or plants. If you have arthritis, you can order specially made tools called Good Grips Sierra Club Garden Tools from independent Living products, 6227 N. 22nd Dr., Phoenix, AZ 85015-1955; 800-377-8033; or visit them online at www.ilp-online.com.

SOIL PREPARATION
Begin soil preparation by removing old plant supports, plastic mulches, excessive vegetable residues and other debris from the garden area. The amount of plant residue that may be turned under depends on how large the pieces are, how the garden will be turned and how long before the area will be planted.

Long cucumber or tomato vines, for example, may he spaded or plowed under but may tangle on the tines of a rototiller. Cover crops and thick mulch or crop residue should be turned under six weeks or more before planting. This will promote decay and reduce nutritional, insect, and disease problems in the garden. Adding three pounds of ammonium nitrate per 1000 square feet of soil surface before turning organic materials under will speed decay considerably.

Turning under plant materials such as compost, organic mulches, leaves or cover crops annually will gradually improve most garden soils. The moisture-holding capacity will improve as will the soil structure and nutrient-holding capability. Root penetration will improve on clayey soils and soil crusting will be reduced.

Garden soil should nol be worked when it is too wet. Pick up a handful of soil and roll it into a ball. If the soil sticks together and will not crumble easily, it is too wet to work. Soil worked too wet forms large, hard clods which are difficult to break up and are completely unsuitable for a seedbed.

Soil should be worked to a depth of at least 6 or 7 inches and smoothed before planting. Seed should he planted only in moist, finely aggregated soil. Soils worked into a powdery condition are more likely to crust. Small seed planted in cloddy soil usually dry out and germinate poorly. Garden soil may be worked with farm equipment, a rototiller or spadded with a shovel.

Weight Loss Surgery Information
Visit My New Website
After you finish this publication
Click Here