LOCAL
Increasing soil quality for the best garden possible Roswell Daily Record
Q. My daughter and I cleared and sifted the soil in a small patch of our xeriscape rock backyard (3 feet by 50 feet), and we installed a drip irrigation system so that we could have a tomato garden. We worked peat moss and manure into the soil and made it ready to plant. We purchased and planted a variety of garden center tomato plants (sweet 100's, cherry, and beefmaster) in mid-spring of this year. The tomato plants never really took off ... they did not die, but they seemed stunted and only reached a height of about 18 inches (2 to 3 times their original when we purchased them). Only the sweet 100 plant seemed to do slightly better and have only yielded a small number of tomatoes (less than 50). Do you have any suggestions for increasing the soil quality of our tomato garden this fall and next spring in preparation for next year? Jaime and Grace G. Albuquerque A. This has been a difficult year for gardens in much of New Mexico because of the heat and drought. You installed a drip irrigation system, but how much did you irrigate and how often. The goal will be to moisten the soil to a depth of 1 to 2 feet and replenish the moisture as needed. The frequency of irrigation will depend on the type of soil in which you are growing the tomatoes and other plants. Clay soils are difficult to moisten, but hold more water and need irrigation less often; sandy soils hold less water and must be irrigated more often. This water
must be applied over a sufficiently large area of soil. A single emitter at the base of the plant may be sufficient for the plant when first planted, but several emitters further out around the plants will allow development of a larger root system that can support a larger plant and crop. Adequate nutrients are also necessary for good plant growth and production of a crop. If the soil had been covered by plastic and rocks for many years, the soil may not have been providing sufficient nutrients to the plants. You applied peatmoss and manure as soil amendments. The peatmoss helps the soil retain water, but provides few nutrients to the plants. Manure does provide nutrients, but slowly. Manure is a low-analysis fertilizer. That means it has only a low percentage of nutrients readily available to the plants. Over time the nutrients can accumulate to be sufficient. Be careful with manures. They often contain minerals that can cause salt bur n. This will cause browning of the edges of the leaves and stunting of the plants. So, although manure is good, it can be overdone. Apply manure in the fall so that winter precipitation will leach the harmful, burning minerals from the manure. A very good amendment to add to soil is well decomposed compost. This may be purchased in bags, in bulk, or made at home in a compost pile. Compost is superior to peat moss in that it is already well decomposed, while the peatmoss will decompose more after being added to
Austin, Texas, indie folk/pop singer-songwriter Rebecca Loebe will release her third album, “Circus Heart,” produced by Matt Sever (AKA Matt The Electrician), on Sept. 18. She performs at Pecos Flavors Winery on Wednesday. Rebecca was one of the
first contestants to perfor m for the panel of celebrity coaches on the first season of NBC’s “The Voice.” An early fan favorite, she re-interpreted Nirvana’s classic grunge anthem “Come As Your Are” into a moody ballad which inspired both Adam
the soil. Compost provides some nutrients (once again low analysis and slowly released). Compost also helps soil retain moisture, supports growth of beneficial soil organisms that were depleted under the rock landscape. Compost also improves the characteristics of the soil so that each year it becomes better. It does continue to decompose slowly in the soil and must be replaced annually.
A soil test will help you know more about the characteristics and nutrient content of your soil so that you can manage the garden better next year. Your local NMSU Extension Service agent can help you get a soil test and understand the results of the test.
Another management technique that often helps is the use of organic mulch over the soil to reduce water loss, maintain constant soil temperatures, and slowly improve the soil as it decomposes. Mulch may increase insect problems, so the proper material carefully managed is important. Mulch would probably have helped your garden this year. For more gardening infor mation, visit the NMSU Extension publications Web site at http://aces.nmsu.edu/pub s/_h, or to read past articles of Yard and Garden go t o http://aces.nmsu.edu/pub s/periodicals.html.
Send your gardening questions to Yard and Garden, Attn: Dr. Curtis Smith, NMSU Agricultural Science Center, 1036 Miller Rd. SW, Los Lunas, NM 87031. Curtis W. Smith, Ph.D., is an Extension Horticulture Specialist emeritus with New Mexico State University’s Cooperative Extension Service. NMSU and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating.
REBECCA LOEBE TO PERFORM AT PECOS FLAVORS WINERY
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Referencing Allen Weh, who ran in the GOP primary won by Martinez, Rogers wrote Weh “would not have dishonored Col. Custer in this manner.” The howl heard around the state was not one of laughter but of derision. Rogers followed with a lame apology and said his remark was a poor attempt at humor. Then, in his letter of retirement from the law firm, wrote the clamor is really the fault of politically motivated accusations that are “patently false and highly inappropriate.” As they say, really? The district attorney’s office objected when criminal Christopher Blattner was sentenced to jail back in 2007 but was given a short amount of time to gets his affairs in order. Blattner took a hike and no one noticed he was gone until he wound up back in court in 2009 for drug trafficking. He was sentenced to 12 years in jail but, guess what? The sentencing order was never given to the New Mexico Department of Corrections.
Dr. K
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Some people find it hard to get all the fiber they need in their diets, so they take a fiber supplement. The amount and type of fiber in a supplement varies by product. When possible, I prefer to get most of my fiber from whole foods, which provide many other healthful substances as well. There are other health benefits from diets that are high in the fiber -rich foods mentioned above. Those foods contain antioxidants, “good fats” and
Levine and Christina Aguilera to offer her mentorship. You can watch her performance here: youtube .com/watch?v=DTlbpcK_s_ k. The album is available for stream at rebeccaloebe.net/circusheart/.
As a result, Blattner got out with good time in 2012 when he should not have been released until 2015. When the cops finally figured all this out they went hunting for him. Blattner shot at them during a prolonged SWAT standoff. He is in custody again, but it is most disturbing that he is being questioned in the disappearance of a 62-year -old woman. To her credit, District Attorney Brandenburg said “even if you have one mistake out of 10,000 ... we need to fix it.” That’s an appropriate response had it been accompanied by “when things like this happen, we are going to find out who dropped the ball and fire them.” Instead, she said, “The miracle is that most (sentencings) don’t go wrong.” It’s a miracle when the courts sentence someone they actually go to jail? Really? My Clovis gaffe seems tame compared to these instances but nonetheless, Clovis, I am sick with remorse. I meant to say Espinyolla. (Columnist Ned Cantwell — ncantwell@beyondbb.com — has learned his lesson.) “good carbs,” as well as fiber, and provide a healthy source of protein. So I strongly recommend using foods rather than supplement powders that you can get over-the-counter at drugstores as the primary source of fiber. The supplement powders seem to help many patients with their constipation when added to fiber -rich diets, but I never recommend just the supplements alone. (Dr. Komaroff is a physician and professor at Harvard Medical School. To send questions, go to AskDoctorK.com, or write: Ask Doctor K, 10 Shattuck St., Second Floor, Boston, MA 02115.)
Saturday, September 8, 2012
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