The Westmont Garden club held its monthly meeting at the
home of the Program Director on Saturday, May 27, 2017.
One of the Garden Members presented the program on growing
vegetable gardens in container beds. She had recently attended a seminar on the
subject lead by Master Gardener, Harold Annis. The Club Member distributed handouts to the club
members of the material covered in the seminar.
The program began with how to go about setting up a vegetable
garden which included several essential elements that should ensure success. They are:
Site
light
(6 hours sun needed)
Garden Orientation
Soil
Access
Drainage
Proximity
to Trees and Shrubs
Water
Access
near
the house – easy to get to for harvesting plants
accessibility
for weeding, cultivating, staking plants
One solution for instant backyard gardens is using boxed
beds. Some can be purchased online for
easy assembly.
The handouts pointed out to use transplants (seedlings)
as often as possible.
Better soil makes for better crops. The soil should consist of:
1/3
blended compost
1/3
peat moss
1/3
coarse vermiculite
Green sand was also discussed by the members as a way to amend
soil.
Various vegetables require different light requirements.
It is important to know the correct light requirements for the vegetables being
planted to ensure they will thrive and produce a successful harvest.
Additionally some plants have quick maturity rates and
others are moderate or slower growers.
Quick growers are about 30-60 days, moderate 60-80 days and slow growers
are 80 days or more.
Trap crops were also discussed. They are used to attract the various bugs or beetles
away from the vegetable plants.
The end of growing season brings with it several other
gardening activities that need to take place:
clean
garden equipment
compost,
till or dispose of all plant material
add
animal manure to soil
test
soil every 2-3 years
It is important for gardeners to decide what vegetables
to grow - such as ones that will be consumed or is unavailable or poor quality
in stores. Grow vegetables that fit into
the available space and select vegetable that will adapt to the particular
climate or environmental conditions of the garden.
There was much discussion about the information in the handouts
and many of the members provided additional personal information about their
own gardening adventures.
The Club Member was presented a token of appreciation for her presentation
by the Program Director.
After the program, members walked outside to the Program
Director’s new raised bed and seeds were sown.
Club members then drove a few blocks to tour a community
garden on land provided by UNTHSC. The
community garden consisted of raised beds made of railroad ties. The plants were thriving with many already producing
tomatoes, though green, were very enticing. We also saw black-eyed peas (a Texas
favorite), green peppers, string beans and even a few strawberry plants. There was even a beautiful passion flower
plant in full bloom. The garden also
featured a robust compost pile.
 |
| plants full of tomatoes |
 |
| Passion Flower in bloom |
 |
| compost pile |
 |
| strawberry plants |
 |
| pepper plants |
After the garden tour, several members met at a local restaurant
for lunch and to continue the discussion on gardening experiences.
