Gardening 101 and Uncle Craig's advice

    I usually wouldn't see much of my uncle, Craig Musel, at this time of the year. It's prime gardening season in Iowa and Uncle Craig is one of the best. He sells his veggies at farmers markets in the Tama area and has won many blue ribbons at the Iowa State Fair.  He also generously shares with many people who visit his farm near Chelsea and typically supplies all the potatoes for events like the Fall Festival in Chelsea. He grows the most tender, huge kohlrabi and most of his crops come in a good month before mine. He also raises free range chickens on the family farm, which, growing up, I assumed was the way all chickens were raised.

   But Uncle Craig has been laid up in the hospital as of late, just itching to get out, of course, and try to salvage what's left of the gardening season. Still, that offered the opportunity for me to discuss the basics of vegetable gardening with one of the pros. There's been a jump in interest in vegetable gardening as of late, and my editors wanted a story on tips for beginners. That article ran in the April 18, 2010, Gazette.  So I thought, having more time than usual, that Uncle Craig might impart some in-depth analysis of soil composition, expound on the organic benefits of chicken manure or muse on the timing of plantings based on phases of the moon. But his answer for beginner's advice was very simple, and as I reflect upon it, very insightful. "Watch the weeds," Uncle Craig said. If a vegetable gardener lets the weeds get the best of their garden, you can be sure there will be smaller everything, including yields. Weeds compete with other plants for sunlight, water and nutrients from the soil. Worse yet, when weeds take over, temptation grows to just give up on the season and walk away from all the work that's gone into the garden. At that point, beginning gardeners become former gardeners. 

     One way to watch the weeds is to keep the size of your garden manageable, something that Linn County Master Gardeners Devon Dietz and Shelby Foley also mentioned when I quizzed them for advice. Another is the use of mulch. My favorite is a combination of newspaper, layered with yes, weeds that have been pulled, and leaves piled on top of that. I've seen gardeners use straw and chemical-free grass clippings, as well. Time, too, helps. I always vow I'll stay ahead of the weeds in my city-leased garden. I'm sure my neighbors out there would appreciate that. This season, I'll renew that vow and keep in mind Uncle Craig's sage advice to watch the weeds.

From Sunday's article - For planting times and other information go to

www.extension.iastate.edu/yardgarden/vegetables