So after many weeks of research on timing, location and which plants would do best around here we finally broke ground.
This our front yard, we picked a spot that's got plenty of sunlight, almost completely from sunup to sundown, and has fairly good drainage. The landlord had a little input on the location so the drainage is not what I had hoped, but we've planned around it by putting the zucchini and cucumber mounds in the wettest area where the drainage is not such an issue with the plants growing on little hills.
If you want a garden, now is not a good time to start planning it. This sort of thing should be thought of mid-January, when you can take the time to figure out which plants need to be planted first and it gives you time to get your soil started in the right direction. I do encourage you to grow potted tomatoes and fresh herbs anytime though, they will make a great addition to your mealtimes.
A compost heap is a great investment of time and energy for the added nutrients it will allow your growing veggies. We used a large Rubbermaid container and drilled holes in the bottom, then buried it in the ground for warmth and just plain ease of location. You can add any kind of vegetation to your compost, and coffee grounds, tea bags and eggshells are really good as well. Just dump your extras in there with a small amount of dirt, leaves and grass clippings, add a few grubs and earthworms and you're good to go. Turn it at least once a week and once everything is broken down into a crumbly mess you can start adding it to your soil.
The patch we started with was completely grown over with grass so we spent a couple of weekends breaking it up and turning the soil, picking out the large clumps and the abnormally huge grubs. The benefit of a community garden is the involvement of several people, so thankfully even though this is my (and Brenda's) yard, we were not the only ones breaking ground! It was a laborious process, and one the locals were not happy about us doing on Sundays, but it was eventually ready to start prepping for planting.
Because the ground had not been planted in many years it had to be turned with a looser, more nutrient rich soil. It was a bit clay-like and would not have been ideal for drainage. The idea was to hit up some local farmers for manure to turn into the dirt, but we resorted to buying 3 large (150 L) bags of compost dirt and spread it on top of the areas intended for planting. We turned the soil once again and then made rows for seeds. At this point we had planned out where we were planting what and made little paths to keep the baby plants safe from wandering feet.
In this area planting starts a little later than what I'm used to. Being from Florida we are sure to get our veggies in the ground before it gets so hot and dry that they end up dying before producing much of a yield. Here were were surprised to learn that most everything, with the exception of potatoes and onions, can be planted between May and June and a second planting can be done in August. The ever-bearing variety of strawberries should be planted while it is still a little chill out, early ones should be planted as soon as the ground is ready to be worked (along with the onions and potatoes).
Once the rows were lined up, the path laid out and the fence up (to keep those pesky pets out) the seed and plant shopping began.
We have big plans to learn to can our food this autumn, so we picked things that we know we will use on an almost daily basis. Tomatoes were a big winner, as were bush beans. Cauliflower, broccoli, bell peppers, lettuce, spinach and hot peppers were all something we agreed we would all eat and enjoy. Those particular plants may not be for canning so much but they won't go to waste. As for vine plants we picked cucumbers (the medium kind, for eating and pickling), watermelon, yellow squash and zucchini. To get a good yield but not an over abundance we decided on 2 plants each of the vine plants.
We didn't start any of the seeds indoors since it was a hectic spring, instead we just planted most of them right into the ground. The tomatoes and peppers we bought plants for and set them in the ground because we'd like to get them producing fruit as soon as possible. At first the outer leaves on the tomatoes looked as if they wanted to shrivel up and fall off, but the new growth in the center reassured me. I'm assuming this is natural for a plant raised in a greenhouse once it's been planted in the earth under a bright sun to have a bit of shock.
The seeds were planted in sets of 3 along the rows. Three each gives at least one the chance to sprout between the birds, squirrels and other natural disasters (like my dog Nova hitting a mound at a dead run). Once they are in a the ground a good watering right off the bat will give them a head start. We were having a very dry couple of weeks so I watered them at least every other evening until they began sprouting, now I'm just making sure that the ground doesn't dry out too much. It only took about a week and a half to start seeing sprouts shooting up from the dirt, and only a day or two more to see leaves emerging.
Marigolds will be planted randomly to aid in keeping insects and critters away. My grandma lives in a place where there are bears and deer right in her yard and none of them have ever messed with her garden, she always attributes it to the marigolds she plants around the perimeter. You can also set little half Dixie cups of beer into the ground to attract the grubs and cutworms that may take a liking to your plants.
It's exciting to see the little baby plants growing, knowing they will provide us with food and nutrients without the usual grocery costs or the use of harmful pesticides. There are so many ways to keep your vegetables long into the year as well, I'm looking forward to learning how to can, dry, preserve, etc... way more than the hours of weeding that will be done in the meantime!
*kari*
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