Maintenance+Guidelines

Fertilizing
The fertilizing will be done by the Summer Gardening Coordinator (Meghan Flynn).

**Harvesting **
One of the greatest pleasures of a garden is enjoying its bounty. As a reward for helping with the maintenance, please harvest ripe fruit and vegetables and herbs, keeping in mind others who will also want to enjoy the benefits of the garden. See **Plants** for ideas on using the herbs and vegetables. Please make a note on what you've taken so we can see how productive the plants have been.

Please do not pick the sunflowers. Please do not harvest the gourds or pumpkins (for classroom use in the fall). Please stop harvesting one week before the start of school so students upon their return may see "the fruits of their labors."

**Labeling**
If you plant anything, please label what you've planted and use both botanical and common names. The plant labels are in one of the pockets in the tool shed.

Mulching
Meg Flynn and Lucy Van Liew brought in compost and mulched/composted all of the beds except for the long bed next to the greenhouse (which will be finished shortly). Throughout the summer compost may be added to beds as necessary from the pile on the far side of the greenhouse.

Using organic mulch can help feed the soil, keep moisture in and suppress weeds. In the spirit of recycling, we are going to experiment by using the grass clippings from the TCS grounds. The clippings need to be applied a little at a time and immediately after mowing. (We want to avoid a pile of of fermenting grass clipping which is unsightly and will cause too much nitrogen (see **composting**).

In the fall, we can use shredded leaves as an overwinter mulch that then can be dug into the soil in the spring.


 * Directions: **As beds are cleared for the autumn, put a nice layer of leaves on the beds and around the shrubs for winter protection.

**Pruning **
The shrubs (i.e. roses, wysteria, honeysuckle, and clemetis) will need pruning once a year.


 * Roses: ** Best done in the spring at the time the Forsythia blooms.

These pruning suggestions are for established vines that have been in the ground for at least three years. Young vines should all be pruned to 12 inches the second spring and to 18 inches the third spring. It helps to develop more shoots, a fuller vine, and a better root system.
 * Clemetis: **

Pruning Group 2 • Large-flowered hybrids with first flowers about mid-June on old wood, may reflower later on new wood • Prune in late winter (March) to remove weak growth and twiggy side shoots • Remaining stems should be shortened slightly, leaving only robust buds. These will produce the first flowers.
 * Sugar Candy** Planted in the south west corner by the pergola


 * Sweet Autumn Clemati**s on the south side of the archway is in Pruning group 3 which means they flower on this years growth. It should be pruned hard in spring time, back to 12-14 inches above ground leaving two pairs of buds on each stem


 * Honeysuckle: **

**Wysteria:**


 * Grapevine:**

**Security**
Please keep the doors on the tool shed shut (the left door has an upper and lower latch located on the inside). Please keep the gates closed to discourage animals and other potential invaders.

**Watering **
The best time to water is in early morning so the water can soak in before it gets evaporated by the sun. Then it is less likely to cause mildew. In principle it is better to water deeply and infrequently rather than little and often, particularly in the case of trees and shrubs. This encourages the roots to grow down rather than stay on the surface. Seedlings need to be watered frequently at this stage (early summer 2009).

**Directions:** The soaker hoses have been placed on automatic timers set to water for 30 minutes at 7:00 AM,11:00 AM and 3:00 PM. Use the watering wand to showern the raised beds and any other parts of the garden not reached by the soaker hoses.

** Weeding ** After weeding, clippings can be placed in the wire bin on the far side of the greenhouse for composting.