Somerville Garden Club

November 5, 2015
by Head Gardener
Comments Off on Lead in the soil – what to do?

Lead in the soil – what to do?

A member recently was asking about what people in the club have done when they’ve found out they have high levels of lead in their soil. This article has a an interesting summary of some tactics: http://thefoodproject.org/soil-testing-and-remediation Much of the advice focuses on food production, but if young children or chickens who like to play in the dirt (who doesn’t?), you might be motivated to take some action.

Highlights from the article:

  • You can remove the contaminated soil with clean soil; this is an expensive option
  • Raised beds can be effective; use landscape fabric to separate the old soil from the new
  • Amending with LOTS of compost dilutes the soil, neutralizes the pH, and therefore makes the lead less “bioavailable”
  • Phytoremediation – growing plants that will pull out lead from the soil – may have moderate effect; may take many years

Interesting stuff!

And if you haven’t gotten a soil test, what are you waiting for?

You can order a soil test from Umass Amherst: http://soiltest.umass.edu/services

Other resources:

October 14, 2015
by Head Gardener
Comments Off on Meeting – October 21, 7-9pm

Meeting – October 21, 7-9pm

Cold Frames

Gretel Anspach, a recent past president of the Massachusetts Master Gardeners Association, software engineer, and member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s Board of Trustees will give a talk about cold frames. Cold frames and hoop houses are a way of extending the growing season, allowing vegetables to be planted 2-4 weeks earlier and helping seedlings transition from inside to the outdoors. We will learn how, where and when to use these interesting tools in our gardens.

All Somerville Garden Club meetings are free and open to the public. Meetings are usually held the second Wednesday of each month at the Tufts Administration Building, (TAB), 167 Holland Street, second floor, wheelchair accessible. Parking is available, and the building is a ten-minute walk from the Davis Square MBTA stop.