Coach Notes 8/17/2021

1. Sara and Ryan cut sod week of 8/23. They will help with heavy lifting (furniture, cedar herb box, heavy pots).

2. After Sod is dried and removed, Sara’s team will move the old soil and save it for the base of all beds.

3. In-Person Appt with Stacey will be Friday, 8/27 10am to help you with transplanting! Here are the tasks I can help with while I am there.

   • Update your Plant Inventory Spreadsheet

   • Transplant/Pot Up w/ amendments

   • Soil Amendments for Plants: Do not feed any of your plants prior to transplant. We don’t want tender new growth yet on your perennials.

     • Artichokes: Prepare soil in a new area prior to transplant with well-draining, loamy, fertile soil. Add horticulture grit (crushed limestone, loamy topsoil, or sand), compost, & worm castings. Mix amendments into the soil approx 4 feet in diameter and 1 ft deep. To dig up, loosen soil around plants avoiding main roots and under the root ball. Transplant old and new shoots, backfill, and top with mulch or straw. Water in deeply and check for good drainage. When leaves start to yellow, cut back the stem to the crown or a few inches above the soil line and cover cut stem again with mulch or straw. LIFECYCLE: After June harvest, cut the plant back to soil level. This will put the plant crown into a dormant stage during the rest of the summer. The plant will send out shoots in the fall. The new shoots can be dug out to be replanted into a new location in the garden or left in place to produce another year. Make sure you leave only the most vigorous shoot on the old plant for production next spring.

     • Asparagus: To transplant, we will gently dig around the root ball and separate the roots spraying water to separate clumps. Place an asparagus crown on top of a mound, allowing the roots to fall over the sides of the mound. The roots for each plant should be spread widely for adequate growth, and the pointed end of the asparagus plant should be facing up. Move the soil back over the crown and roots, packing it down firmly over the roots. Thoroughly water your plants, leaving the soil moist. Asparagus loves full sunlight and deep, well-drained, sandy or light-textured soils. Asparagus plants make a good border around the edge of a garden or along a fence. Prepare soil and till in 3” of compost 12” deep. Test the soil PH before planting the beds and add lime if needed to adjust the pH to 6.5 to 7.5. FERTILIZER: At transplant, dig a furrow and apply spread super phosphate fertilizer (0- 46-0) or bone meal for root development. In the spring, scatter 10-20-10 fertilizer before growth begins in the spring, late January, or early February. After the last harvest, apply a nitrogen fertilizer such as 21-0-0. Always water the fertilizer into the soil. Plant a few ft apart.

     • Passion Fruit - NPK of 10-5-20. Overall though, gardeners are encouraged to use fertilizers high in potassium.

     • Cherry Tomato - Use balanced ratio of the three major elements, such as 10-10-10 or 2-3-1 - 1 Tbs every month and scratch in. Apply sea & kelp tea foliar feed 1x a week after transplant to keep flowering going.

     • Peppers - korean, jalepeno - same as fruiting cherry tomatoes.

   • Innoculate the existing garden soil with mycorrhizae tea, worm casting tea, or compost tea prior to Sara’s team moving it to enhance soil biology.

   • The next meeting is Thursday 8/19 11:30am. I saw your email asking how to reduce the cost of the garden concrete beds. I would either suggest reducing the bed height or possibly change the layout. Ultimately, Sara will need to answer this question for you.

   • Plant List is updated - Plant sizes will be added this week.