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The month oI October can

be a very special month Ior
many reason. Let us ex-
plore Lunar Moon Garden-
ing. Fact or Iiction? Gar-
dening by the diIIerent
phases oI the moon can
help your garden? This age
old practice suggest that
the moon in its cycles aI-
Iects plant growth. (!"#
Farmers Almanac) Those
that would have you be-
lieve in this legend would
simply state that the diIIer-
ent phases oI the moon will
aIIect the gravitational Iield
oI the Earth. As the gravi-
tational pull oI the moon
Iorces water Irom the
oceans to land in the Iorm
oI high tides, so will it pull
moisture out oI small bod-
ies oI water, thus aIIecting
the amount oI moisture in
the soil. This in turn aI-
fects the seeds ability to
absorb moisture and nutri-
ents out oI it. True you say,
perhaps not. A skeptic
might point out that there
seems to be no aIIect on
ponds or small bodies oI
water by the pull oI the
moon. There was a study
done by the Agricultural
Research Service in Iowa
where they Iound a link
between weed germination
and exposure to light.
They determined that till-
ing the soil, bringing weeds
to the surIace, was best
done at night by a new
moon. Tilling in the dark
led to less weed germina-
tion and thus Iewer weeds
in the garden. I will look
Ior you in the garden on the
next Iull moon, or maybe
not. Explore on your own
the diIIerent Web sites.
Use your Web browser
and Try gardening by the
moon on YouTube. Re-
member, it is October!
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As stated in the last news-
letter, the Santa Ana winds
are here! You may need to
visit your garden more
Irequently this Iall espe-
cially iI you are Iall plant-
ing. Your plants or seed-
lings may need more wa-
tering as these winds per-
sist.

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ReIrigerated Pickles
Ingredients
2 cups water, 1 1/4 cups white
vinegar, 2 cups sugar, 1 tbsp
salt, 2 large cucumbers sliced, 1
small onion sliced, 1 tbsp Iresh
dill chopped, 1 tsp peppercorns
Combine water, vinegar,
sugar and salt is a nonreac-
tive pot. Bring to boil then
remove Irom heat. Cool to
room temperature. Place
cucumber, dill and pepper-
corns in canning jars. Pour
in vinegar mixture. Screw
lids on tightly and place in
Iridge. Chill at least 24
hours beIore serving. Keep
in the reIrigerator one to two
months. The crisp, tart cu-
cumber and onions are deli-
cious right out oI the jar. The
recipe will make 1 gallon.
Prep time is around 15-20
minutes. Bon Appetit!

8'99 +'%:3.( 83.():'9
Our Fall Harvest Festival was a great success.
As usual, the side dishes were a big hit with
everyone as well as the ice cream and banana
splits! Plan on attending our Holiday Dinner
on Friday December 13th. The Vegetable
Garden Club is making every eIIort to keep
the cost under $25 per couple and still have a
wonderIul time. More inIormation in our next
newsletter.
!
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Our next newsletter will be sent in
late November. II you have some
questions on vegetable gardening a
recipe or a garden story, please e-
mail Randy Gish, Vegetable Gar-
den Club President at:
gishrasbcglobal.net.
Orange Iruits keep your eyes healthy
Watermelons are actually vegetables
Beet leaves are the most
nutritious part oI the vege-
table
The herb thyme was
planted in England as a
traditional Iairy playground
There are over 7000 diIIerent types oI
apples worldwide
Pumpkins and avocados are Iruits not
vegetables
Milkweed IluII was used
in WWII military liIe
jackets

A cucumber is a Iruit and not a vegetable
Tomatoes are a Iruit and not a vegetable
Eggplants are actually a Iruit
A strawberry is not actually a berry
A banana is actually a berry
Apples Iloat because they are 25 water
Red Iruits keep your heart strong






Here are some handy tips on pruning
your Iruit trees this Iall or spring. Pruning
stimulates growth and produces Iull, leaIy
trees with plenty oI healthy Iruit. Peach
trees should be pruned annually. II they
are not, they will become diseased and
may not recover. Annual pruning should
take place in January, in CaliIornia. Re-
move about 20 percent oI the previous
seasons' growth to let in more light. Wait
until the tree will lose its leaves and enter
its dormant period. Make sure you keep
your main line branches intact. Open up
the tree by pruning inside, smaller,
branches away Irom the tree. II you
place your hand palms together and open
up, this is the desired trimming design
that you want. The annual pruning Ior
plum trees should take late spring or
early summer. Pruning this time in Cali-
Iornia will help produce the desired
growth and shorten the length oI time Ior
Iruiting. Train your plum tree by pruning
away the vertical branches that grow
straight and up. These branches do not
Iorm load-bearing branches that support
quality Iruit production. Remove these
vertical branches near their point oI ori-
gin. These are just a Iew tips when it
comes to pruning your Iruit trees. Keep
in mind that as the weather warms up you
may also need to spray your Iruit trees Ior
leaI curl. This process is usually done
prior to the trees bud Ilowers opening up.
This inIormation comes Irom the staII at
Plant Depot in Jan Juan Capistrano. The
Iollowing is a link that you can review as
you start pruning your trees.
http://davewilson.com/community-and-
resources/videos


less able to support plant growth. Steve
Goto, noted tomato grower, states that
Miracle Grow does nothing Ior the soil
that the plant is growing in. Miracle
Grow last Ior about three months, long
enough to last through a complete grow-
ing season oI most vegetables. AIter that
you can amend the soil more organically.
First thing, organic does not mean
good for earth, soil, plant, or anything
it is a chain oI carbon compounds pro-
Last issue a question was posed as to use
oI synthetic Iertilizers such as Miracle
Grow and organic Iertilizers in your gar-
den. On one side some people swear by
Miracle Grow and how it can produce
bumper tomato crops. Miracle Grow is
classiIied as a synthetic Iertilizer. Oppo-
nents would argue that synthetic Iertiliz-
ers, the use oI synthetic chemicals, can
poison worms and soil liIe. This means
the soil loses biological activity and is
duced by any living thing. The whole
point oI organic gardening is to reuse
organic matter to create new liIe. Syn-
thetic Iertilizers Ieed the plant but not the
soil. Organic Iertilizers are slow-release,
and they work by Ieeding the microbes
that break down chemical elements so
plants can take them up. Synthetic Iertil-
izers can kill beneIicial microbes, Iungi
and worms that keep the soil healthy.
Your choice, your decision.
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