Plant Care

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twinturbotom

New Member
I'm new to gardening and excited to learn through experience and some advice from the experienced (YOU!).

We had a pretty big rain storm recently and it made me think about the proper way to care for my plants. Some of my new smaller plants ended up having leaves that were pretty dirty from soil being thrown around in the rain splashing down. I went and wiped off the soil from the leaves... this is a good thing right?

also... Some of the plants, like my cabbage for example, have very healthy leaves (vibrant colors held off the ground by the plant) while other leaves are discolored and hanging down on the soil. I gently pulled on the not so healthy leaves and some came right off, while others didn't. Should I prune the not so healthy leaves or let nature take its course? This example is valid for several of my plants.

Final thing. When I bought my topsoil to fill my raised beds (thread with garden build up if your interested) the bulk supplier was out of sand and soil conditioners (vermiculite, perilite). I wanted to use these things to stop the "puddling" when watering / raining...So the plants are just in top soil now. I was planning on troweling around and mixing in a little sand and soil conditioners around the plants while adding some compost around the plants. Is this a good idea or should I not mess with my freshly planted garden?

I appreciate any feed back on plant care you can give. As I research these topics I see arguments for yes and no.. which is why I'm turning to your thoughts.

Thanks!
 

Randy

Super Moderator
Staff member
In the garden at my last house, I had heavy soil and decided to add sand for texture and drainage. A retired North Dakota farmer that lived a few doors down told my wife that I made a bad mistake by bringing in that sand. But I disagree. Over the years I also amended with leaves and compost and it resulted in excellent garden soil. In the earlier days of the garden I would plant the Danvers Half-Long carrots because my good soil was not very deep. But as the years went on I could plant the longer carrots and they did well. I have never added sand to my present garden, but we have a horse here that provides amendments that have also resulted in excellent garden soil.
 

Crabbergirl

Super Moderator
Staff member
Hi Twinturbotom, ( Tom),
Living in Florida we have sugar sand to deal with. You need drainage but you also need soil to hold some moisture. I have always done my amending with compost I make my self. You can also purchase compost at landscape centers and here we can even get it free at the county dump.It is a great way to get your soil in a natural state for planting.

You mentioned the dirt splashing up on your plants from the rain. In my garden I have a system of newspaper ( no slick ads) and grass clipping and if I am short on grass I use leaves. The newspaper helps keep the weeds down, and holds in the moisture and the grass/leaves hold down the paper and provide a way for the paper to compost in to the garden with the leaves. As I cut grass I just continue to add the clippings. If I keep up with this process, I don't have to wed, and I do not have veggies and flowers covered in sand! For me it's a real bonus ;)
 

RickRS

New Member
Muddy leaves isn't a real problem, but if you want to clean them off it's ok.

I don't worry about removing yellowing, dying leaves when the plant is still growing, just let them go.

If adding amendments to the soil in a planted garden, be careful to stay clear of the roots when digging the material in. Assume the root ball of the plants like tomatoes are spreading out almost are far from the plant as the young plants are tall. So dig in new material between the rows and only if you can do it without distrubing the new plants. Compost you could just top dress for now on the rows and wait until the season over to dig it in.
 
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klevelyn

New Member
Sounds like your doing great with your garden. I like to mulch around the plants as well. It keeps them clean, holds in the moisture and adds organic matter to the soil as it breaks down.

Take care digging around the plants as RickRS has pointed out. You don't want to damage any of the plants feeder roots.
 

twinturbotom

New Member
Mulched my plants! Already notice the difference! Thanks!

photo 2 - Copy.jpg
 

Wombat

Active Member
Great job there Tom! One word of advice keep an eye on the feeder roots of those trees making sure they don't steal all the moisture and fertiliser from your patch.
 


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