BUDDING KIDS RANCH GARDEN PLANS

 

 

The Kids Ranch youngsters and staff were so pleased with their 2007 garden near Rock Springs.  Our industrious volunteers and a huge donation of soaker hoses from Fiskars made that garden our best one yet!  This effort also produced a bumper crop of learning and fun for the kids throughout the summer and into the fall.

 

Planning is now underway to repeat this performance for 2008.  As soon as the weather warms to an average of 50 degrees and the garden has a chance to dry out a little if needed, we can begin to clear the 40‘ x 40’ area, hopefully by the middle of April.  The weeding, tilling and fertilizing should be completed at least by the end of May.  Planting is tentatively scheduled for early June.    In the meantime, seeds may be planted and nurtured in April so plants will be strong and ready to be put into the ground by June though we may need to buy the majority of seedlings this year by mid to late May. 

 

Several perennials are expected to rise again, including such plants as blackberry lilies, lambs ear, bachelor buttons, phlox, pussy willows, rhubarb, rattlesnake grass, blazing star liatris and raspberries.  We will probably also be planting most of the usual suspects such as Indian corn, canna lilies, chicken egg eggplants, cherry tomatoes, parsley (for Monarch butterflies to lay their eggs on), purple pole beans, squash, ornamental millet, marigolds, baby pumpkins, cucumbers, gladiolus, bunny-tails, sunflowers, multicolored small gourds, eight-ball black zucchini, black beauty eggplant, broom corn,  multi-colored marble peppers and globe amaranth  Plantings do change from year to year depending on the kids’ reaction to them, our experience with growing them and what comes out new each year.

 

We are hopeful that a few Master Gardener student volunteers have already signed up to help with this project this summer but we can always use extra hands.  Anyone who enjoys gardening and would like to have some fun with our enthusiastic group is welcome.  We will most likely be working from 6 PM for a few hours one or more days in the last 2 weeks of April, to clean up the garden and plan for the next steps, depending on how many volunteers we have available at one time.  It is possible that a church group of kids may also be interested in this community service as in the past so clean-up could also be scheduled for a Saturday but we need Master Gardener volunteers to guide them and help them identify dead weeds from valuable plants.  We will be sure to get the word out as soon as we know.  Ideally, the tilling, fertilizing and final weeding could be accomplished near the last week of May, avoiding Memorial Day of course.  Planting would then follow early in June, along with mulching, labeling and an initial watering.  The rest of the summer would be primarily maintenance (watering, weeding, staking, etc.) by whoever might be available at various times but the main job of watering can generally be done by Kids Ranch staff from Monday through Thursday. Weeding can be a challenge so we usually use Roundup to spray the prolific weeds at least once in April and again in May if we have the time and the weather cooperates and that really helps for the first half of the summer at least.  If we mulch well and it is not extremely hot and dry, it is usually not necessary to water more than during the week by the Ranch staff.  There is also an opportunity to work, teach or play with the kids in the garden on summer afternoons that can be very satisfying and delightful.  The kids really do appreciate their wonderful garden and I believe some budding gardeners are created during their days at the Ranch.

 

We recruit volunteers, often from the last Master Gardeners class, though anyone interested in helping out for an hour or so or with all phases of the project can contact Dot Roche at 356-2858 anytime.  She will be primarily consulting in 2008, but will be available to help in planning or problem solving.  We can also use the talents of those adept at growing plants from seeds since many of our plants are started from seed.  Most seeds need to be planted inside from about April 1^st to April 15^th to be ready for planting the first full week in June, especially if they take 6-8 weeks to mature and may require a transplant to small pots before going to the Kids Ranch in June.  Master Gardener volunteer hours may be gained in any phase of this gardening project for those needing to meet certification requirements.  Travel time to and from the garden counts too.  We will look forward to meeting some new gardeners and getting to know them as well as some faithful volunteers from previous years.  This project is always a lot of fun and we do come up with some silly and strange ideas at times but the kids love it.  Thank you in advance for your time and interest!