Purdue Extension Service

Vanderburgh County, Indiana

New Year's Resolutions for Gardeners

By Larry Caplan, Extension Horticulture Educator, Vanderburgh County, IN

For the Evansville Courier and Press, January 4, 2009

For my first column for the new year, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about resolutions for gardeners. I know, new year's resolutions are corny and overdone, but it's too cold to be outside gardening, so you may as well humor me.

I would like to see gardeners resolve to be stronger stewards of the earth. The use of fertilizers should be reduced to where we are applying only what we need for optimum growth. Overfertilizing our lawns will not entice Tiger Woods to stop by and tee off from our front yards, but it will cause excess nutrients to enter our ponds, streams and rivers. This, in turn, promotes unhealthy amounts of algae and other aquatic weeds.

Resolve to use insecticides, fungicides, and other pesticides only when absolutely needed, and only after other management practices have proved insufficient. Promise to read and follow all label directions to avoid harming you or your family, your garden plants, or the environment.

Another environmental resolution we can all live with is to plant more native plants, and steer away from exotics. Many non-native species have escaped cultivation over the years and become invasive nuisances. I've written over the last few months about the problems caused by Oriental bittersweet, purple loosestrife, and Japanese honeysuckle. There are many native alternatives that can easily be used as replacements, and still give you the beauty you desire.

A really big resolution I'd like to see gardeners make is to help feed those who are hungry. With the economy being in such tight straits, more and more people are turning to food pantries to feed their families. Gardeners can help in many ways!

Add a row or two to your usual garden this spring, and donate the extra veggies to your local food pantry or house of worship. The Southwestern Indiana Master Gardeners have been donating all of the vegetables raised in our display garden to the Tri-State Food Bank for the last couple of years. In 2008, they delivered over six thousand pounds of fresh, nutritious vegetables, which were then distributed to food pantries all over the area. Every bushel helps!

If you are an experienced gardener, share your knowledge as well as your veggies! Perhaps you can show the young family down the block how to start a garden. Or maybe you can help your church or civic group turn some of their unused land into a community garden. I was privileged to work with several Master Gardeners in helping get such a garden started at the Line Street Baptist Church in downtown Evansville this past year. I hope to continue with them this year, and perhaps add another community garden as well.

Finally, let us all resolve to have a healthy and safe year in the garden. Don't stand under a tree during a storm, don't stick your hands under a running lawn mower, and don't trip over a mole tunnel!

Give a call to the Purdue Extension Service at (812) 435-5287 for more gardening resolution ideas.