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Show AiPds ELonsunrpe The Park Record D Section B For the week of April 28-May 4 B1 0 Thursday, April 28, 1994 I' Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow? With silver bells, cockled shells And pretty maids, all in a row. by AMBER McKEE Record staff writer r CORNED SUITORS and ladies-in-waiting are' probably (not the usual fare in Park Citys backyards, even if they were the case in Mary the first's courtyard gardens. Still, it makes the point that gardens have been around for a very long time, (if you count the Garden of Eden, at least as long as biblical record.) What makes us sow seeds in the ground each spring in order to reap the fruits of our labors? Certainly, before the days of the produce section at Albertsons, it was a . necessity, a fact of life. Now a garden is a luxury of sorts, a respite from the 9-to-5 office, school or home. Working out in the dirt is good for the soul. Not, perhaps in the traditional sense; Adam and Eve would probably disagree as far as gardens go. But almost nothing is more satisfying than seeing the tender sprouts of newly planted seeds grow taller stronger each day. (Unless, perhaps, it is little sprouts of a different variety.) Consulting the Farmer's Almanac, there's a bit of astrological advice about planting your garden. The best time to plant is during the period of time that the moon passes through the fertile water signs ; (Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces). Second best are the earth signs (Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn.) The almanac also notes that above-ground above-ground crops like to be planted between the new Moon and full Moon (waxing), whereas be!ow: ground crops prefer to be sown after the full Moon and before the new : Moon (waning). Weeding and plowing, it says, are ' best done when the Moon occupies : the fire and air signs of Aries, Gemini, Leo, Sagittarius or Aquarius, insect - pests should also be handled at that time. Transplanting and grafting are most successful under a water Moon, : while cleaning out the garden shed runs most smoothly under the Virgo Moon. A Capricorn Moon is good for building fences or permanent beds, but avoid indecision during a Libra Moon. The almanac also predicts May 3 to be Denver's last night of frost this spring, while Boises is May 8. Cedar City, on the other hand, isnt expected to be frost-free until May 20, while Spanish Fork gets the same prediction as Boise. Where this all leaves Park City is unclear, but the lowest common denominator would suggest sometime in the middle of May as safe to plant. (Writing this on Tuesday evening during the snow storm makes me wonder if well ever see spring for sure.) Course then, there's folks who'd prefer their planting advice from a more local expert. Almanac advice can citys Landscape Architect Jennifer Harrington. Her gardening advice is less focused on when to plant than what to plant. "High altitude gardening is a little different. Some general advice," she said April 26, "is to make sure things are hardy here. Park City spans two or three different zones." (Zones encapsulate an area capable of sustaining a particular variety of plant life.) The highest areas, such as Bald Eagle or American Flag, are probably Zone 2, while the lowest, like the Thaynes Canyon area, might support Zone 4 plants. The bulk of the city falls into Zone 3, however. "One thing that's critical is things that stick above the snow, such as evergreens, are more zone sensitive than things that get covered by snow," Harrington Astrological Moon Phases for Aphl 28-May 31, 1994 S M T W Th F Sa APRIL: 28 29 30 SAG SAG CAP MAY: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 CAP AQU AQU PIS PIS PIS AR1 8 0 10 11 12 13 14 ARI TAU TAU TAU GEM GEM CAN 15 16 17 18 10 20 21 CAN LEO LEO LEO V1R VIR LIB 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 LIB SCO SCO SAG SAG CAP CAP 29 30 31 AQU AQU PIS KEY: VIR-Vlrgo, earth UB-Llbra, air ARI-Aries, fire SCO-Scorpio, water TAU-Taurus, earth SAG-Saglttarlus, (Ire GEM-Gemlnl, air CAP-Caprlcorn, earth CATCancer, water AQU-Aquarlus, air LEO-Leo, fire PIS-PIsces, water A J A rx4 J -hi ......... v Jirf Atri J0 istf ) A WW . P. be a bit vague at times. Well, luckily, Park City has one such resource (and a great one at that) in the explained. The snow acts as a kind of; insulating blanket. Some types of perennials even do better in Park City than they do in Salt Lake, contrary to -what you might think. "Up here they stay in the ground better," she said. "And because our summers are cooler, the bloom times are extended." One thing she said people need to watch out for, though, is the damage the winter sun can do to plant material. For instance, irs important to water a tree well for the winter to help combat the winter sun. Still, Park City folks can, with a little care, grow a great garden here, Harrington said. Tomatoes and squash are pretty tough, but you can grow really wonderful lettuce " here. Peas, too. Root crops, such as carrots, potatoes, and beets, do really well here, as do cabbages, i broccoli, rhubarb and raspberries if you can keep the porcupines out of them." Tomatoes do take a little extra work, although "patio" tomatoes, which can be taken inside if the weather gets too rough do pretty well, she said. "You could probably do the same thing with eggplant." There are many resources for planting a viable garden in this area. Harrington suggests: Taylors Guide to Water Saving Gardening: The authors are from the Denver-area (also a high altitude region), so they give useful information," xeriscape Flower Gardening and xeriscape by Jim Knopf Sunsers Western Garden Book, "Good information about drought r tolerance, but not very helpful with -zone information." Local nurseries, she added, are also a great resource and are good about selling plants that are hardy in this area. Park City Municipal Corporation also publishes several brochures on water conservation and gardening in this area. They are available on the third floor of the Marsac building. Cinema Review: ,.' Park City Profile: Album Review: Street Beat: Whether they're shootin1 the bad m , miTOIT Earth Day, SCH Ml RF day. , guys, ridin' around harem Lil.ehammer didn't feature 811 Myst,c places and the OUOr The was there, but the SCarem or simply knockin' . , oftheSOU I haunt the newest weather sure wasn't. Still, Park City folks off with air conditioner : of Park City's OlymC-cJiber c celebratedin StVle atCity UnitS women break out of athletes. Writer Luke Smf7 talked McCenntt Writer Amber McKee celebratedin IC? atClty U IO, women break out of to U.S. Disabled Ski Team member ,ikedit so much she sounds like a Park. Photographer Eva Kropp their traditional roles in Melissa Madden convention of brown had a look g3'-w"v B6 nosers. B5 .ar0und.... |