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I had so much fun growing vegetables this year I want a bigger garden next year. I can't make this one bigger but where would be a good place in my big yard to put another? And what do I do to this garden after harvest is finished?

Congratulations on a great gardening season. The next garden has a few requirements for a good location. You need to get eight or more hours of sun on the area for good veggie growth. This should also be an area that you can drag the hose to when you need to water. It needs to be convenient to stop by on a daily basis to see how your garden is doing. The farther from the house the more attractive it is for livestock to stop by and eat. Mammals like deer, rabbits and woodchucks don't need any more encouragement to dine in. It is best to pick an area that isn't lower than the surrounding terrain. These areas can have cold air and frost drain in. This is a perfect time to check this because of our early morning fogs. Look for areas in your yard where these are accumulating and these will not be the garden area. For your current garden, remove any plants that were diseased from the garden and don't toss them in the compost pile. Many fungal diseases can come back to haunt you next year, especially if compost comes back to the garden. Pull out any stakes, tomato cages or temporary pea fences. Mow down plants. You may not be able to do this well if you grew corn. You can till the soil to loosen it and add organic matter like manure and till again. Toss in raked yard leaves and trash them with the mower. It's all organic and it's all good. By tilling them in, they won't blow away in the next windstorm. If you had a soil recommendation for sulfur, lime, phosphorus or potash, this can also be tilled in. Save the nitrogen for the next gardening season. Don't add these unless you have a soil test that recommends them. Store the stakes and cages somewhere they will be out of the way until the next big gardening extravaganza.

Why do I keep killing the orchids that I buy? I put them in a north window and have added some rich potting soil to all the bark-junk they come potted in. I use well water to keep them constantly damp. I have other houseplants that are fine. So why do they die?

Because orchids are like no other houseplant that you own. It's like taking the information for keeping chickens and using it for parrots. If you want orchids, you have to learn new rules. All plants are minimally adaptive. They get even by dying. If you don't know the rules, they die. Buy some books at a bookstore. Since it takes a bit to read and learn, it is better to buy than to borrow. Check the American Orchid Society website. There's good stuff to be had a click away. The site is orchidweb.org. North windows cannot supply enough light for most flowering plants, orchids included. This window may be too cold in the winter. These are tropical beauties and not snow bunnies. They need a relative humidity of about fifty percent. Tap water has too many minerals for orchids. Distilled water doesn't have enough. Rainwater is pretty good. Store some in milk jugs for the winter. Orchids need to grow in a medium that allows the roots to get air, supports the plant and hold some moisture. The smaller the roots on the orchid, the better the medium needs to be at holding moisture. Buy an orchid mix when potting. Just using bark may be too dry. Using potting soil will destroy your orchids. These are plants that are called epiphytes. They grow in mosses and bark off the ground. They cannot tolerate soil. If you orchid potting mix breaks down too much, it will hold too much moisture and rot the roots off the orchids. Read up before committing "orchidicide" again.

Gretchen Voyle, MSU Extension-Livingston County Horticulture
Agent 517/546-3950

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