Accepting New Patients at Spring Green Medical Center

Tanya Neumaier, APNP

group), onions and garlic (root group). I plant other vegetables, but these crops are guaranteed the most real estate in my garden.

Next divide your garden into four equal sections. The goal is to create a four-year rotation based on each groups’ nutritional needs. The sections should be the same size and should be as large as your largest crop. For example, I plant lots of tomatoes, so I dedicate two of the eight raised beds primarily to tomatoes. I don’t plant as many onions or garlic, but when it’s time for my tomatoes to rotate into the next area, it is always large enough to hold them.

This is how the rotation works. The legume group put nitrogen into the soil and follows the root group. The leaf group is a heavy nitrogen feeder so it follows the legume group so it can use the nitrogen put into the soil from the previous year’s legumes. The fruit group needs phosphorus but can’t handle a lot of nitrogen in the soil or it won’t set fruit, so it follows the leaf group. The root group needs potassium and even season, producing fruit up until it frosts, or the plant dies from disease. They tend to be bigger with longer stem growth, requiring staking to keep the fruit off the ground. They will set flowers alongside the shoots and will continue to grow until it gets too cold. This is the type that many people decide to prune to increase air flow and also promote new flower buds. If you want to enjoy tomatoes the entire growing season, an indeterminate tomato is the way to go. Sidenote: there are also some tomatoes that are semi-determinate and their growth and fruiting fall between these two types. Another thing to consider when selecting tomatoes, is whether they are heirloom or hybrid. Heirloom tomatoes are open pollinated by wind or insects. Many have come from seeds that have been saved over generations and hand-selected by gardeners for a particular trait. To be considered an heirloom, the tomato must be able to reproduce itself from seed, be at least 50 years old, and have its own history. They tend to be more prone to tomato disease, don’t produce as much as hybrids, do not travel well as they usually have thinner skins. So why less nitrogen, so it follows the fruit group. Each year, just simply rotate to the next appropriate section. grow them? Heirlooms are generally considered to be better tasting and come in lots of different colors, shapes, and sizes.

Fit your other crops into their appropriate sections as best you can. Utilize companion planting for those that don’t fit into their assigned sections, so they can benefit from another nearby crop. I plant lettuce (leaf group) between my onions, carrots, and beets (root group) as onions help deter pests such as aphids and supposedly rabbits. They also have different root depths, so they don’t compete for the same soil space. I just make sure to rotate my major crops as noted before and everything else gets fit in, just not in the same location as the previous year.

Crop rotation has its place, even in small gardens. Take some time to group your vegetables into these four main groups and start a rotation. You’ll be happy when you have fewer insect pests and soil-borne diseases, and better soil nutrient management.

Hybrids are created when plant breeders cross pollinate two varieties to create a plant that has the best traits from both parents. This could be crossing a plant that produces larger fruit with one that is particularly resistant to disease. You will not get the same plant if you save the seeds from the fruit. Hybrids offer benefits such as easier care, early maturity, better yields, and disease resistance. Some have successfully improved flavor as well.

Most of this information should be on the tomato plant’s tag or on the seed packet. Determinate versus indeterminate or hybrid versus heirloom – there is no wrong answer. In our garden, we tend to plant a selection of all of them. We love having tomatoes all season long, in a variety of colors, sizes, and flavors. However, I appreciate having big batches of tomatoes ripen at the same time when it comes to making salsa or spaghetti sauce. Keep this information in mind when you select tomatoes for your own garden. Happy gardening!

Healthcare Employment Opportunities

*Occupational Therapist – full-time position

*Physical Therapist & Physical Therapy Assistant – full or part time opportunities

*Dietitian – .5 FTE Day shift position

*Operating Room Technician – .8 FTE day shift position. $3,000 Employment Bonus eligible!

*Director of Marketing – full-time management position

*Director of Health Information Management – full-time management position

*Human Resources Recruitment Assistant – full-time day shift position

*OB RN – .9 FTE evening/night shift position. Employment Bonus Eligible!

*RN Emergency Department – .6 to a .9 FTE p.m./night shift position. Employment Bonus Eligible!

*RN Float & House Supervisor positions – .75 FTE evening/night shift position! Employment Bonus Eligible!

*RN – .5 FTE p.m. shift position in our Nursing & Rehab Center

*Certified Nursing Assistants – part-time positions available in our Nursing & Rehab Center day, evening and night shifts available, $3,000 Employment Bonus included!

*Imaging/Lab Technologist (Clinics) – full-time day shift position working 4 -10 hour day shifts

*Respiratory Therapist – .5 to .6 FTE day shift position

*Med Tech/MLT or CLS – .6 FTE Premium Pay Weekender Day shift position

*Certified Nursing Assistants – 5 FTE day shift & .6 FTE p.m. shift on our Med/Surg unit.

*MRI Imaging Technologist – .5 to a 1.0 FTE day shift position. Up to a $5,000 Employment Bonus, prorated based on FTE!

*Imaging Technologist – full-time night shift position. Up to a $5,000 Employment Bonus, prorated based on FTE!

*Patient Access Specialist – .6 FTE night shift position

*Clinic Registration Specialist – full time positions in our Spring Green Clinic and our Therapy Center in Dodgeville.

*Clinic CMA or LPN – part time day shift position in our Family Practice & Specialty Clinics

*Maintenance Technician – full time position with on-call responsibilities

Let us assist you with making an appointment today.

*Environmental Services – full and part-time day and p.m. shift positions. $1,000 Employment Bonus!

*Culinary Aide – .8 and .5 FTE day shift positions available.

To find out more detailed information about all open positions and to apply, go to our website at www.uplandhillshealth.org

Upland Hills Health

800 Compassion Way Dodgeville, WI 53533