Show Spring fever hits gardeners Kim Nguyen Contributing Writer Gardeners are gearing up for spring even though it it still looks like winter outside Last Saturday March 29 gardeners enjoyed a little sun as they learned about container gardening in a workshop hosted by Wasatch Community Gardens The workshop was led by avid gardener Jonathan Krausert whom presented helpful information mixed with a sense of humor Krausert outlined the advantages of growing fruits vegetables and flowers in a container Some of those advantages include the ability to control water sunlight soil mixture and pest problems One of the advantages Krausert likes most is that its it's easier asier on the back and knees In a regular garden it looks like Im I'm ready eady to go to war with my kneepads kneepads knee kneepads pads gloves and other equipment Krausert said With container gardening though its it's easier on the back and knees since its it's already raised Krausert isn't picky as far as what types of containers can be used He said that as long as the container is sized to the plant and hasn't previously stored any hazardous material then it should be fine He has used wooden mop buckets big cookie jars and even an old Dutch oven found on the side of the road Th The selection of ofa a container is really left up to the individual gardeners gardener's imagination One thing tiling that the container must have is drain holes which allow for proper drainage If drain holes arent aren't possible Krausert suggested filling the bottom with pebbles or rocks Once the gardener has a container the next step isto is isto isto to fill it with the right soil soH mixture Krausert discussed the benefits of using items such as which holds water well and compost which provides good nutrients He also shared his composting hierarchy with the gardeners I compost everything organic minus dairy and meat Krausert said The hierarchy is us the dogs the chickens and then the worms If the worms dont don't eat cat it it goes into the compost bin Krausert recommends mixing together a batch of soil consisting of 35 percent compost 25 percent topsoil top topsoil topsoil soil 20 percent potting soil 10 percent straw and leaves and 10 percent sand all topped with some Krausert discussed the different types of fertilizer such as bone meal to rock phosphate He talked about how each fertilizer provides different nutrients to the soil He then cautioned the overuse overuse of fertilizer on plants We overmedicate ourselves and we overmedicate plants A Alot Alot Alot lot of the pesticides will weaken the plant Krausert said Krausert ended the workshop with a few more tips One tip most gardeners have probably heard before is to not over water their plants People need to get dirty They need to take their finger poke it in the sand to see if the soil is still wet before watering again Kra Krausert sert said Wasatch Community Gardens con continually offers these gardening workshops as part of their community education program Their community event schedule can be viewed at www |