Why germinating seedlings in pots may be the way to go in your garden

5 things to do in the garden this week, courtesy of Greg Alder:

1. Now is the time to get your sprinkler system in order. Alder waters everything via drip tubing with inline emitters. In his vegetable rows, emitter spacing is nine inches and around fruit trees the spacing is 12 inches although he avers that 18 inch spacing is also acceptable. Alder keeps meticulous notes of daily air temperature and amount of water applied so that he does not have to start from scratch each year in thinking about how much to water. For example, the temperature last year at this time approximates what it is this year, so he will apply the same amount of water as he did a year ago.

2. Alder describes removal of a patch of weedy Bermuda grass with a garden fork as follows: “I work from one side of the area to the other incrementally. I sink the fork in and rock it back and forth to expose the Bermuda grass with loosened soil around its roots, and then I gently tug on the grass until I can pull it out of the ground without breaking any stems. Sometimes this requires reinserting the fork deeper a few times. Whatever you do, do not yank the grass out such that it breaks since chopped bits will grow into new plants if left in the dirt.”

3. Alder germinates his vegetable seeds in tiny pots and then plants the sprouted seedlings in the ground. The container mix used for germinating his seeds is the same wood chip, poultry manure, and kitchen scrap compost – with coarse material filtered out – he uses as a top dressing around his plants. Upon removing the mix from his chicken coop, he does wait one month before using it in pots since fresh manure would interfere with development of his baby plants. This mix is also used in all of his larger containers, including the one-gallon containers where his strawberries grow. Strawberries planted in the ground rot when they touch the soil whereas his container-grown strawberries remain pristine, suspended in the air.

4. Alder has written that there’s “a sense of urgency” in the June garden. “It is your last chance to plant seedlings of most warm-season vegetables (squashes, pumpkins, melons, peppers, tomatoes, eggplants). Put them in now or they won’t have enough time in the heat of summer to mature and produce up to their potential. (The main exceptions are corn and beans, which can be successfully planted in July.)”

5. Alder advises planting citrus and avocado trees now. “They feel right at home in the warmth of late spring and early summer,” he explains, “and soon prove it to you with a flush of new leaves which gives you an immediate sense of success that you won’t get when planting the rest of the year.”

. Please send questions, comments, and gardening predicaments to joshua@perfectplants.com