Plant a Row for the Hungry

When I learned that every summer the Yavapai County Food Bank runs out of food just as school begins in August, I was hit with a “DUH” of an idea. Because this is the same time that local gardens are at their peak harvest months, why not have these two factors come together in a timely solution to a critical community problem? I thought: As we plant this year’s vegetable garden why not put in an extra row for those most dependent on our food bank? “DUH”

I learned two things when I presented this idea to the Yavapai Food Bank:
1) It now has huge coolers that can easily accommodate fresh produce.
2) The folks running this invaluable food outlet are extremely excited about the prospect of fresh produce in August.

So, let’s do it! Plant a row for the hungry and contribute your extra bounty. As the end of August approaches, I’ll make sure to keep in touch with garden center customers and readers of this column. If the harvest swings a few days early or late we may have to adjust our delivery dates, but right now the last half of August is a reliable target.

I will have a truck running from the garden center to the food bank on Mondays, August 23rd & 30th, and more often if needed. If it’s more convenient for you, take the produce directly to the food bank in Prescott Valley.

I know that the generosity of local gardeners will contribute to making our communities kinder, more humane places to live. This is a problem we gardeners can solve by simply dedicating an extra row to this project. Also, for every pound of produce donated, Lisa and I will match it in produce or the equivalent dollar value. Just “Plant a Row for the Hungry”.

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One of my favorite plants for the 4-6,000 foot elevation garden is the Indian Hawthorn, Rhaphiolepis indica. Although it produces fragrant spring blossoms, this evergreen plant loves blistering hot sun and dry soils. I have several varieties of hawthorn at the garden center right now, but the pictured tree format is especially unusual. This hawthorn is low maintenance and is easily kept at the six-foot level. Two attributes that make it perfect for containers, raised beds, and places where plants need to stay within their bounds. I used one as the accent piece to showcase my waterfall and pond areas.

Indian Hawthorn is such a strong performer in the mountains of Arizona that I put it on the list of ‘Every landscape must have at least one’ category of plants.
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The mountains have an unpredictable, sometimes frustrating weather pattern, so this has been a very typical April week in the garden. I’ve learned to never believe the weatherman when it comes to predicting mountain forecasts that affect planting dates. That is why last week I wrote to protect frost sensitive plants with ‘Early Spring Plant Protectors’ if planting in April. The higher elevations of Walker and Highlands Pines need to keep a close eye out for frost well into May.

This frost caveat only pertains to the summer tropical plants in our landscapes. These are tomatoes, hibiscus, bouganvillea, passion vine, and all the summer blooming flowers such as impatience, vinca, and rock roses. Conversely, it is best to plant cold hardy shrubs ASAP. Many are in bloom now, but need as many rooting days as possible before the arrival of summer’s drying effects.
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The topics of container gardens and the right soil mix have comprised the bulk of questions at the garden center this week. Containers make sense if the soil in your landscape is too difficult to work. The right soil in a container makes the difference between success and struggle for that planting. Get the soil right and plants quickly grow up to size and produce at their optimal capability.

The quality of potting soil is of the utmost importance. If a soil is being featured and marketed for its cheap price, don’t use it. This is because the peat moss, perlite, wetting agents, or the organic plant food is insufficient so the mix can be sold more cheaply. Instead, buy a better quality blended soil that’s marketed as ‘potting soil’ or ‘professional mix’.

Premium quality potting soils are designed for plants to be planted into directly, no blending or mixing required. Point being, a good potting soil should look like the soil the plant has been growing in since its inception. Get the soil right and the plant will hardly notice it’s in a newly planted home. Note: I added a 5-5-5 organic food to my potting soils so plant nutrients are taken care for the first few weeks of life in the containers.

Until next week, I'll see you in the garden center.