January 2010
RGCF Monthly Garden Guide
This month’s topic list
Click on the links that interest you:
January month-by-month NM
gardening tasks
One of our 2009 planning meetings in the shade structure.
This information is taken from “Month-by-Month Gardening in New Mexico” by John Cretti, copyright 2007.
- Plan your vegetable garden by visiting a local garden retailer or NMSU: Bernalillo County Extension Office where you can learn about recommended varieties of seed suited to our area.
- Draw a garden plan for your row. Those plans or garden row maps will need to be submitted to the RGCF Community Garden Coordinator by May 15.
- Browse through seed catalogs to get ideas of what you and your family or friends would like to grow. We recommend Seeds of Change in Santa Fe. You can order a free catalog from their website by clicking on the “Free Catalog” link in the upper right hand corner. We’ll also have some 2009 Botanical Interests seeds left over from the 2009 season that were donated to us. These seeds will be available to RGCF gardeners for free but there will not be a full line of varieties, of course. We’ll move those into the seed closet at the farm in February or March.
- Consider signing up for one or both of the free e-newsletters available from the websites listed above. This will give you more gardening information, if you want it.
- Use this vegetable planning chart to help you decide which seeds you’ll want to get first.
Vegetable Gardening in NM: Planning Tips
The dates used in this chart are taken from “Month-by-Month Gardening in New Mexico” by John Cretti. The dates are based on Zones 4 to 5 and are approximate for the Albuquerque area. Use these guidelines to plan your garden in January and February. Submit row maps by May 15. Use ONLY organic or non-GMO seeds when planting.
| Variety | Indoor Sowing Tips | Plant Outside | In-Row Spacing | Space Between Rows |
| Asparagus | Purchase Transplants | March 15 to April 15 | 10 inches | 36 inches |
| Beans: Bush & Snap* | Seed directly in garden | May 10 | 18 inches | 24 inches |
| Beets | Sow directly in garden | April 20 | 3-4 inches | 12 inches |
| Broccoli | February 25 | April 25 | 18 inches | 36 inches |
| Cabbage | February 25 | April 25 | 12 inches | 18 inches |
| Carrots | Sow directly in garden | April 25 | 2 inches | 12 inches |
| Cauliflower | February 25 | April 25 | 18 inches | 36 inches |
| Chard, Swiss | Sow directly in garden | April 2 | 4-6 inches | 18 inches |
| Chinese Cabbage | March 1 | April 25 | 12 inches | 24 inches |
| Corn, Sweet | Sow directly in garden | May 7 | 9 inches | 24-36 inches |
| Cucumbers | April 27 | May 27 | Plant in hills | 36 inches apart |
| Eggplant | March 30 | May 27 | 18 inches | 30 inches |
| Endive | March 10 | April 25 | 9 inches | 18 inches |
| Garlic | Late August-September | 2-4 inches | 12 inches | |
| Lettuce | March 15 | April 15 | 2-4 inches | 12 inches |
| Muskmelon (Cantaloupe) | April 15 | May 25 | Plant in hills | 36 inches apart |
| Mustard | Sow directly in garden | April 15 | 2 nches | 12 nches |
| Okra | April 20 | May 27 | 12 inches | 36 inches |
| Onion sets | Sow directly in garden | April 10 | 2-5 inches | 12 inches |
| Parsnip | Sow directly in garden | April 20 | 2 inches | 12 inches |
| Pea | Sow directly in garden | April 1 | 8-10 inches | 18 inches |
| Peppers | March 15 | May 27 | 18 inches | 24 inches |
| Potatoes | Plant seed pieces in garden | April 15 | 12 inches | 24 inches |
| Pumpkins* | April 1 | May 27 | Plant in hills | 48 inches |
| Radishes | Sow directly in garden | April 10 | 2 inches | 12 inches |
| Rhubarb | Plant transplants or roots | March 20 | 36 inches | 48 inches |
| Rutabaga | Sow directly in garden | April 10 | 6 inches | 18 inches |
| Spinach | Sow directly in garden | March 20 | 4 inches | 12 inches |
| Squash, Bush or Vine* | April 1 or directly in garden | May 27 | Plant in hills | 36-48 inches apart |
| Tomatoes* | March 20 | May 27 | 36 inches | 36 inches |
| Turnip | Sow directly in garden | April 10 | 4 inches | 12 inches |
| Watermelon | April 15 | May 27 | Plant in hills | 48 inches apart |
*Not recommended to grow at RGCF Community Garden for 2010 season due to a high incidence of insects or blight during 2009.
- It’s still too early to plant but now is a good time to build a seedling-starting stand at home, using a workbench or two saw horses, which can be used to secure boards too. Four feet by 20 inches is a good size surface to accommodate several flats or pots.
- Use simple lighting fixtures that use 40-watt fluorescent bulbs suspended on chains and pulleys for easy adjusting. You can use one cool white tube and one warm white tube. Or, you might choose to use a study lamp that has an arm with a grow-light bulb in it.
- Most seedlings do well with the light source 2 to 3 inches above the tips of the young seedlings.
- Household dishwashing soaps and liquid hand soaps have been used for generations to control insect pests indoors and out. These are effective when used in a diluted spray.
- Be careful to insure that the soaps you use don’t have bleach or degreasers that can be caustic to plant leaves. Old-fashioned, biodegradable soaps or liquid detergents generally are the safest.
- Mix up: 1-2 Tablespoons of liquid soap (with NO bleach or degreasers) in 1 gallon of water.
- Pour mixture in a spray bottle and apply to the underside of the leaves, on infested stems or directly on to the insect pest. Test the spray on a small amount of foliage first to make sure it’s safe for the plant. Wait and check for damage before continuing.
- CAUTION: Do not apply to the foliage during the heat of the day. Always apply soap sprays in the coolest part of the day or on an overcast day.
RGCF Community Garden challenges to be aware of in 2010
Winter is a good time to plan for upcoming challenges.
A community garden can be particularly challenging because our members are often changing. The reason that can be a problem is that we might be doing more “mono-cropping” than we realize. Organic gardening principles require that we rotate crops every season and let portions of our gardens lay fallow or bare and that we plant cover crops and add more organic amendments to keep our soils in top condition for providing good, healthy food crops.
Since many of our new gardeners have no idea what was planted in their rows the years prior to their taking them over, they could be growing many of the same plants like tomatoes, squash and beans over and over again in the same rows without even knowing it. As a result, we will be having each gardener turn in a simple garden map each year by May 15. That will stay on file with the farm for future use of rotation of garden crops.
Mono-cropping (planting one crop over and over) provides a feast for insects and viruses to reproduce and cause many problems. That’s why traditional farmers turn to toxic pesticides and insecticides. When insects who like to eat a certain plant find a farm or a garden that plants the same crops, they literally have a field day feasting. However, if crops are regularly rotated and the soil is re-nourished, the insects can not get a good foothold. That’s a basic organic principle and the reason for filing a garden map.
As you know Rio Grande Community Farm is a certified organic farm. Our Community Garden, while it is NOT certified organic, needs to follow organic principles. To prevent some of the problems we had in 2009 (like an invasion of squash bugs, Mexican bean beetles and curly-top virus in tomatoes) we all need to avoid planting those crops for 2010 to prevent further compounding of the problems from last year.
Organic agricultre is a production system that sustains the health of the soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. Organic agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and good quality of life for all involved.
One of the most important things all of us can do this year to keep ourselves and our soil healthy is to re-build the soil in our rows by adding more nutrients. Organic amendments increase soil organic nutrient content plus offer many other benefits. Organic matter improves soil aeration, water infiltration, and both water- and nutrient-holding capacity. Many organic amendments contain plant readily-available nutrients and act as organic fertilizers. Organic matter also is an important energy source for bacteria, fungi and earthworms that live in the soil.
Here are some common organic amendments you can add to the soil in your rows. Add about a half cubic yard per garden row.
- Manure (must be aged at least six months) so bags from local garden stores are the best option
- Compost (some will be available from our compost bins at the Community Garden or you can buy weed-free compost in bags from local garden retailers)
- Grass clippings, leaves, shredded branches
- Sphagnum moss (this can also be purchased from garden retailers)
- Straw (available at the farm)
- Composted coffee grounds (do not apply fresh grounds unless you have 5-6 months for it to break down before planting)
- Cottonseed meal or bloodmeal
Being a novice to the nuances of irrigation last year, I (as well as many other gardeners) didn’t understand that our once-a-week irrigation should be more than enough for the various crops to grow. I spent a lot of time schlepping watering cans up and down my rows. Finally, someone explained to me that by watering my rows by hand that I was encouraging the roots to stay closer to the surface because they came to expect that extra water.
In the beginning, giving in my plant starts and seedlings the extra water was helpful because their roots couldn’t reach the “moist zone” farther down in the soil. Over time though, I needed to help my plants learn to send their roots down further into the row’s soil by struggling to grow down.
Had I been patient with the process of irrigation in the cooler temperatures of May letting their roots search for moisture, I would have learned that my plants would send their roots deeper into the row where the irrigated water lingered in the “moist zone”. There my plants roots would have happily had access to all the moisture they needed without the need for all my extra work.
Since I have now learned that lesson, I thought it would be helpful for all of you. I encourage you to try that out this year and save yourself a lot of work. It will also help cut down on the amount of water we pump from the ditch to fill the water tanks. Last year during the hot months, we were filling tanks about four times a week. Let’s see if we can be more water wise and save ourselves some time doing less hand watering.
Volunteer opportunities at the RGCF Community Garden in January
Come help us get the Community Garden ready for Spring!
As most of you may remember, we will be requiring each gardener to contribute two hours a month to do work in the common areas of the Community Garden at RGCF. These hours will only be required during the 8-month growing season. That means that every gardener will be putting in 16 hours of time over the course of the growing season from March through October.
If you’d like to get some of your hours logged in now during the slower part of the gardening year, you might want to pitch in and do some volunteer work right now. Here are some of the tasks we need help with.
- Cleaning away debris from the field south of the garden and alongside the road.
- Hauling composted horse manure to spread on the education rows. (Does anyone have a pick-up truck we could use? I may have some located in the South Valley.)
- Cleaning out the tool shed and doing inventory on the tools.
- Weeding around the tanks and hedgerows.
- Using the rototiller to till up your rows and rows that are becoming available to work in loose organic amendments (except for straw, as it winds around the blades making it hard to use). Instruction by the Garden Coordinator on how to use is equipment is required before using.
- Turning over the two compost piles.
You can work these hours during times I am at the garden to give you help or assistance or you can work them during your own time, if you’re already familiar with what to do. Weather permitting (that means temperatures of above 40 degrees and clear) I will be at the Community Garden on Tuesday, January 12 from 10 a.m. to Noon and or Saturday, January 16 from 10 a.m. to Noon. Please e-mail me at garden@riograndefarm.org and let me know when and what tasks you’d like to complete.
