b'The September GardenBy Bridgette CrosbyH opefully, cooler daysa small organic farm near my and nights are on thehouse. You may want to get way! After a blisteringyour soil tested, which I do summer, everyone I meetrecommend if you are having is ready for the end oftrouble with your soil or if you the summer heat! For usare a new gardener. gardeners, fall is an amazing time in the garden. So, to give you more time to get outside and dig, I will keepSecondly, the next step you it brief.can take for a great fall garden is to focus on planting quick- First of all, for a great fall garden, you have to preparegrowing varieties. If you plant and feed your soil. If you havent done so already, it isntat the beginning of September, too late to create a wonderful, living mixture of livingyou can make an additional micro-organisms that isplanting at often the most overlooked,the end of yet most important partthe month toin a square pattern all over of gardening. Think ofextend youryour garden bed. As soon as your soil like an architectharvest intothe sprouts grow and start thinks about building aDecember andtouching each other, gently cathedral - the cornerstoneeven January.pull out every other sprout is the most important partDont overlook leafy vegetables likeand save for your salad. The resulting growth from the of what will be an amazinglettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, andseedling left to grow will amaze you! Keep thinning workand the soil in yourbroccoli - get them planted now(and eating) your sprouts every three weeks. You will garden, regardless of sizeget more food from less space and your garden will or if in a container, is yourlove you! cornerstone. Everything in the garden builds and livesAnd last but not least, if you are interested in taking a off of the work you put intoprivate tour of the Arizona Worm Farm, on Thursday, your soil.September 7th, please contact me at 480-235-8388 no later than September 6th. Get out there in the morning or in the evenings and clean up oldThis tour is open only to my readers and to members debris from summer. Hope growsof Desert Diggers Garden Club. Cost is $15 per in the garden and with eachperson. We will meet for coffee at 6:30 am and have a bit of work, new opportunitiesso they have time to develop.private tour at 7:00 am which will last about an hour. will bloom! The seasons changeLook at your local nurseryWe will have the option for brunch or lunch afterward. quickly, so be prepared beforeor farm for transplants; they you start. Have your compost,usually have a large selectionFor more information about planting times, visit: manure, amendments, organicto choose from. Add a fewextension.arizona.edu/pubs/vegetable-planting-matter, ammonium phosphate,Oriental vegetables to yourcalendar-maricopa-countyand sulfur ready and waiting togarden for an interesting, easy, go into the garden. and fun mixture of food!For information on soil testing or improvement, visit: extension.arizona.edu/pubs/laboratories-conducting-There are many recipes for this out there on theThird, for a great winter harvest, do some intensivesoil-plant-feed-or-water-testinginternet, but one of my favorite ways to add nitrogen toplanting. Sow your seeds as soon as you notice ants my soil is to add leaves, old coffee grounds, chopped- have gone underground for winter. Sow thickly andFor information about the Arizona Worm Farm, visit: up tomato vines from my summer cleanup, and lotsquickly by pressing a rake into your slightly damp soilArizonaWormFarm.com of banana peels. Due to my all-consuming battle withuntil the tines are about 1/2 into the soil. Remove gophers, I recently decided to purchase compost fromthe rake and drop one seed into each hole. RepeatHappy Digging! Dont forget - you want your soil to be as alive and thriving as all the wonderful creatures who live in and visit your garden! Embrace Mother Nature, she has wisdom to share.Photos by Bridgette Crosby38 September 2023'