Field and Garden: Be cautious when amending your garden

When I was growing up, it was my job each spring to mulch our rhubarb and asparagus with a thick layer of straw and composted manure.

The mulch suppressed weeds and supplied nutrients to the perennial garden plants.

Both crops thrived in this system. The rhubarb stalks and asparagus spears were big and thick, always tender and never stringy.

Last spring I started a new asparagus bed in our yard in Carrington.

The plants grew well, and I’m optimistic that the asparagus made it through winter in good condition.

To allow the bed to get established, the recommendation is to delay harvesting the asparagus until the third year after planting.

As spring draws near and the snow melts, it’s tempting to ask an area rancher if I can have some composted manure for my asparagus. But I know it’s important to be cautious.

Pastures, hay fields and roadside ditches are sometimes sprayed with herbicides to control broadleaf weeds and brush. It’s perfectly safe for horses and livestock to ingest these forages.

However, the herbicides can pass through the animal’s digestive tract and be present in the manure at concentrations that can injure vegetables.

It’s safest to use composted manure purchased from our local farm supply store.

If you prefer to use locally sourced manure, then be sure to ask the rancher what grass or hay the animals were fed and if herbicides were applied to those fields.

Herbicide residues can also be a problem when grass clippings are used to mulch gardens.

Unless the herbicide label states otherwise, the recommendation is not to use grass clippings within one month of chemical application. This includes “weed and feed” lawn products.

I’m a big proponent of using mulch to control weeds and organic amendments to improve soil.

The main point is to think carefully about what you’re doing so as to avoid the introduction of unwanted herbicides to your garden.

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The dates are set for NDSU Extension’s Spring Fever Garden Forum. The popular program is hosted annually by horticulture specialist Tom Kalb.

The topics and dates of this year’s program are as follows: Flower Gardens, March 25; Trees and Tips, April 1; Fruits and Vegetables, April 8; and Special Topics, April 15.

Spring Fever Garden Forum is broadcast live around the state via the Internet. Gardeners have the option of watching on their home computers, but I find it more enjoyable to watch with gardening enthusiasts.

A small group of us will view the broadcast in the Community Room of the Carrington City Library. I invite you to join us at 6:30 p.m. on the dates listed above.

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If you are a gardener who likes to start your own seedlings indoors, now is the time to start broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, pepper and eggplant.

April 1 to 5 is a target date to start tomatoes. Wait another six weeks, until around May 1, to start squash, pumpkin, cucumber and melon.

If you would like more information about starting seeds indoors, please contact me ([email protected], 652-2581).