PRIME TIME
12 April 2017
Prime Time Wants To Know:
What’s In Your Garden?
P
rime Time is asking our readers
to contribute tips, success
stories or even miserable
failures of their gardens. Think of it as
a way to help others be successful or
avoid pitfalls.
My tale is one of two neglected
Thai pepper plants. OK, so I forgot
I planted them. I tried to water
regularly without a drip system, but
my consistency was, shall we say, less
than consistent. Then, suddenly in
July, I noticed this plant that looked
better than a weed. My peppers
had miraculously survived despite
my ineptitude. Thank goodness I
didn’t pry the plant from the soil. It
resulted in three red Thai peppers.
Even though I had spent $6 per
plant, I was ecstatic. I will try not to
do a disservice to other wonderful
offspring in the future.
So, tell us: What grows, or doesn’t
grow, well in your garden? Submit a
story that gets published, and there
might be a little green thumb prize for
you next month. Please submit your
garden stories to barb.chavez@gmail.
com.
April’s Showers (We Hope) Bring
May Flowers and a Bountiful
Harvest
By Barb Armijo
Hope springs eternal, and that
phrase is certainly true for many of
us who attempt planting. We plant
and then we hope we did the right
thing. Was the soil tested, was it
rich, was it perfect for kale? Did the
tomato plants need a better spot in the
garden?
So many questions, and the
Bernalillo County Cooperative
Extension Office and the New
Mexico State University’s College
of Agricultural, Consumer and
Environmental Sciences are two local
resources to help get your garden
growing this spring.
Graeme Davis of
the Bernalillo County
Cooperative Extension
said March and April
are two of the most
popular months for
preparing gardens,
planting trees and
composting.
“In New Mexico,
really, there are other
things to do year round
to have a healthy
garden in the spring and summer
and then ready for harvesting in the
fall,” Davis said. “For most at-home
gardeners, March and April offer
plenty of time to get the soil prepped
and are even a time to get some things
in the ground.”
On the extension’s website, there
is a Frequently Asked Questions
area that is broken down by season.
For spring, one question is: “When
Should I plant my flowers/annuals?”
The response from an expert is:
“Sow the seeds of annuals and/or
transplant annuals after the last frost.
This is, on average, around April 15th
in the Albuquerque area. This date
will be later in the East Mts. (mid-
May) and later in the valley (early
May). Watch the weather forecast to
get a better idea of what to expect
in a particular year. Adjust planting
accordingly. Hardy annuals, such
as pansy and ornamental cabbage
(grown as an annual, but it is actually
biennial), may be transplanted earlier.
These plants can withstand freezing
temperatures.”
Stephanie Walker, an extension
vegetable specialist and assistant
professor at NMSU said that a
well-planned vegetable garden can
provide nutritious, high-quality, fresh
vegetables all year long.
“A 50-foot by 100-foot garden will
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PAL Prime Times April17