Category: Blog • Tags: ability, adult program, Adult Services, blog, disabilties, engaging program, garden tips, GardenWorks, KAC, nature

Keep your Garden Flourishing: 7 Tips for the Next Season

Posted on October 28, 2020 • by Morgan Hyatt

The first frost of the season just froze over our backyards. A successful garden, however, takes planning year-round. KAC’s GardenWorks program participants work together throughout the entire year to make a complete garden come to life every summer. Check out our seven Garden Tips from GardenWorks below to help make sure you and your next garden flourish! 

1. Sprinkling your seedlings with cinnamon can protect them from fungus (via The Rusted Garden). Fungus, or damping off, can grow and spread across new seedlings when conditions such as humidity and temperature are right. The cinnamon sprinkling will help keep your seedlings strong.
2. White vinegar in a spray bottle is a great, non-toxic way to get rid of pesky weeds (via 101gardeningideas.com). A mix of vinegar and water can also help get rid of salt deposits on clay pots. Plus, it’s organic!
3. Create your butterfly garden in a location with full sun to attract the most butterflies (via Get Busy Gardening). Keep in mind which plants butterflies like most, such as zinnias, penstemon and even parsley. Once a location is identified, you can also add in your own butterfly puddler complete with colorful rocks, water and sand.
4. Raspberry plants can grow up to 9 feet tall! A trellis provides the support needed for raspberry plants to grow tall and strong (via Garden.eco). We are grateful for our donors, Gary and David, for building KAC’s very own trellis this year, thank you!
5. Crop rotations help keep your soil enriched year after year (via Harvest to Table). Move plants around your garden each season to boost nutrients and keep your garden looking fresh.
6. Daisies are perennials. They grow back each year! Every couple years, perennials should be divided into multiple plants to create more space for root growth (via The Old Farmer’s Almanac). Other common perennials include Black-Eyed Susans, Daylilies and Hostas.
7. After a successful harvest, compost plant refuse and dispose of debris in preparation for the next season (via Harvest to Table). Cleaning out your garden helps ensure insect pests, plant diseases and fungus do not spread when your garden is not in bloom.

What is GardenWorks?

KAC’s Adult Services GardenWorks Program engages adults with special needs in nature, helping to teach and demonstrate the growth cycle from planting seedlings all the way through harvesting. GardenWorks also partners with community volunteers. Together, we create a peaceful, welcoming and beautiful space for everyone to enjoy. This year, we also added a raised flower bed, which helped make our outdoor space even more accessible! 

For more information about KAC’s Adult Services, click here.

Have a garden tip you’d like to share? Let us know on Facebook!