(575) 835-9002 • 1-888-349-3189 Big Blue Building - Mountain Mail

Studies have shown that children
who read during the summer
generally maintain their reading
skills, and that children who see
their parents read, or who read
with their parents generally have
scored higher on standardized
tests.
To that end, Magdalena
Librarian Yvonne Magener has
announced the dates for the
Summer Reading program.
“The program runs from June
eighth through July twenty-seventh,”
Magener said. “Every
Friday and Saturday we will have
a different activity for those who
participate. Right now we are in
need of volunteers on those days.
She said the top readers can win
bicycles, e-readers, and MP3
players.
The Reading Program is a free
program at the library that encourages
children, teens and adults to
read throughout the summer.
“Everyone can register, read
and be eligible for fun incentives,”
she said. “There are two groups.
One for younger kids and the
other for older.”
Babies and kids (up to 11 years
old) can come to the library every
week to earn a different incentive.
“Those kids can bring in their
reading log to show us what they
Photo courtesy of Magdalena Public Library
Magdalena summer reading program
have accomplished,” Magener
said. “For teens and adults – over
age 12 – can submit their completed
reading cards any time.”
Participants can sign up at the
Magdalena Public Library on
June 8 to register.
“At that time they will fill out a
registration form, and babies and
kids will receive a reading log,
bookmark and the schedule,” she
said. “Teens and adults will get
their reading card.”
The schedule for June:
June 8 - Register, log books and
model airplane making.
June 9 – Zentagles, What Are
They? Bring t-shirt to decorate.
June 15 – Felt Crazy. Make fun
things with felt; stars, letters, etc.
June 16 – Dream Catchers.
Make them and hear stories about
them.
June 22 – Make salt dough
clay. Model and sculpt amazing
monsters.
June 23 – Make paper model
kits, planes trains and buildings.
June 29 – Yarn mandalas, big
ones and small ones, also known
as Ojos de Dios.
June 30 - Mixed media. Bring
a picture to scan, print and make a
frame.
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mountainmailnews.com • Mountain Mail • May 31, 2012 • Page 13
HIGH COUNTRY GARDENING
I apologize for missing the last issue; between
coursework and getting the garden growing again, I
just ran out of time! This past month I’ve been livin’
the dream: hauling horse manure, tilling it into the
garden beds, pounding stakes and setting up fencing,
repairing drip lines…
As much as we may lament the late start to our
planting season up here, there always seems to be
more than enough to do to keep us busy before we
even set out the first plants.
This year I gave myself yet
another challenge: growing up.
Well, some of us never really
grow up, but in this case I
mean growing our vegetable
gardens upward rather than
just outward by staking,
caging, trellising, and otherwise
training plants to grow
vertically. We already do this
with pole beans and peas,
planting them along the garden
fence, perhaps, and enjoying
great yields from plants that
take up very little square
footage.
Grapes are always staked
and trained along trellises or
arbors or other supports, and
tomatoes clearly grow better
and develop more fruit when
caged or otherwise supported
off the ground. So why not take other vining plants
such as cucumbers, squash, and melons vertical using
similar garden structures?
Vertical gardening takes a bit more work than just
planting and walking away but offers some great benefits.
You’ll save a good bit of space when, for example,
each squash plant takes maybe three square feet
of garden bed instead of a dozen; this is especially useful
here, where every square foot of garden bed is hard
won out of rock and silt and caliche.
Training plants upward increases ventilation which
helps prevent powdery mildew and also improves visibility
to make it easier to spot vine borers, aphids, and
hornworms. This all helps to improve both yields
(what the plants can make) and harvest (what we can
see and pick before critters or rot beat us out).
A few things to think about include heavier soil
amendment, since you’ll likely be planting more plants
in less space; strong support to withstand our spring
Grapes grow best with strong, open support, and
many garden vegetables do as well.
Photo courtesy of Anna Lear
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4x4-$375.00/Year4x8-$600.00/Year zephyrs; and permanence versus mobility.
Tomato cages are totally mobile; t-posts and welded-wire
fencing, not so much. I now use both, actually,
and they have the added benefit of being strong
enough to support floating row covers which, here,
you’ll want to clamp on so they don’t “float” into the
next county. I also use bamboo stakes, arranged into
“teepees” or 2D and 3D lattices using zip ties, wire,
or twine.
Other options include metal or plastic mesh, open
netting, or a simple twine teepee or trellis made by
looping a length of twine
between ground stakes and
an upper support. Peaceful
Valley has a clear, concise
article at http://groworganic.com/organic-gardening
/articles that also links to a
helpful video.
When you grow squash
and melons vertically, you’ll
need to support the fruits as
they develop. A welded-wire
fence provides plenty of
strength for attaching cloth or
mesh slings; don’t use solid or
tightly-woven plastic because
the fruits need ventilation and
at least a bit of sunlight to
ripen.
Another idea: build a
wire-fencing tunnel (rounded
or squared, at least three to
four feet off the ground in the center and a few feet
wide) and train the vines up and over as they grow.
Inside the tunnel, plant lettuce, spinach, and other
greens that will appreciate the shade as the squash
mature. When frost descends and the vines die, you
now have a tunnel to cover with clear plastic or frost
fabric such as Agribon so you can harvest your
greens, and perhaps some carrots and other veggies,
well into winter.
For more ideas on vertical gardening and other
great ideas for our area, please join your fellow highcountry
gardeners at Organic Gardening Club’s
monthly meeting, held every second Saturday at the
High Country Lodge.
Anna Lear lives and gardens in Magdalena and will
soon be a child and family therapist at Southwest Family
Guidance Center in Albuquerque. She blogs about gardening,
photography, and life in Magdalena at http://thelaughingraven.blogspot.com/.
Sizes of Units
10 x 7 $35.00/month
10 x 8 $45.00/month
10 x 10 $57.00/month
10 x 15 $65.00/month
10 x 19 $80.00/month
10 x 22 $92.00/month
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575.854.2240