Starting a Garden
Some basic steps to start a garden:
- Determine your climate zone
- Decide what to grow
- Choose your garden location
- Plant your garden
- Water and care for your plants
- Harvest when ready
1. Determine your climate Zone
Have you ever looked on the back of a seed package and seen a map of the United States with a wave of color? That map is telling you your climate zone. The zones range from 1 (cold) to 14 (hot). We are in Zone 5. This number is determined by how cold we can get, -15 degrees. This means that we’ll not be growing a lemon tree outside! It just gets too cold!
Also, on the back of the seed package it will tell you when to plant the seeds for your zone. This has to do with the frost dates. The average frost dates for our area are October 1 in the fall and May 9 for the spring. Many gardening experts in our area point to Mother’s Day as a good time for planting. Before I plant in my garden outside, I check the weather forecast to make sure there is no freezing expected is the next 10 days. As you may know, we can get frost/freezing later than the 9th of May. Seed packages also tell you how many days to maturity. This lets you know when you are likely to start harvesting.
In our area we have about 150 days of a growing season for the garden.
2. Decide what to grow.
Plant things that you like to eat: lettuce, peas, tomatoes, peppers, corn, potatoes, green beans, onions, herbs, cucumbers, carrots, etc.
Some easy vegetables to grow include:
- Lettuce
- Green Beans
- Radishes
- Tomatoes (Bush variety or Cherry are easiest)
- Zucchini
- Peppers
- Beets
- Carrots
- Chard, Spinach or Kale
- Peas
- Potatoes
Just because it might be easy to grow, don’t plant it if you or your family will not eat it!
3. Choose your garden location
If possible, select a place with at least 6 hours of sun every day. It is also good to have a space that’s fairly level. Most plants require several hours of direct sunlight each day. Clear the ground of weeds, rocks and other non-garden objects. Use a shovel to dig and turn over the soil. This will help loosen the dirt so the plants can grow. Add to the soil some fertilizer or compost. This will help amend the soil and provide nutrients that your plants will need.
Some people like to make raised beds for their gardens. If you make a raised bed, make
it no more than about 4 feet wide to facilitate access so that you can reach in to weed and harvest garden produce without having to step on the soil.
Another option is to grow vegetables in containers. This is a way to experience vegetable gardening without a larger dedicated garden spot in the yard. You will need to match the container size with the plant you will grow. If your container is 12”x 12”, tomatoes are too big but peas, beans, carrots or herbs may be a good choice.
4. Plant your garden
Many garden vegetables will grow just fine when planted from seed. For example, peas, green beans, and lettuce will readily grow from seed. Some garden vegetables are more difficult to grow from seed and may actually be better to plant as seedling. Peppers and tomatoes may do better in your garden if you plant them as already-started plants. Some people start planting the seeds indoors to get a head start. For tomatoes, peppers, basil, onions, and parsley this is a good idea. You will need to put them in a sunny window about 6 to 8 weeks before planting outside. When Transplanting to your garden outside remember how big the plants will get and don’t plant them too close. The plants need to get sun to produce fruit.
5. Water and care for your plants
When the plants are young, they need a little water each day to get the roots established. As the plants start growing you should water every couple of days. One way to check the soil is to stick your finger in the dirt about an inch deep. If the soil feels dry, it’s time to water. Plan to water about 1 inch a week. Some plants may wilt a little in the afternoon sun but if they recover in the evening, they are ok. If they still look wilted in the evening you need to increase their water. Don’t let your plant be in standing water, that can cause root rot. When you plant in containers you may need to water more frequently. In the heat of the summer, you might also need to increase the water. If plant leaves turn yellow it may need more or less water. It is best to remove weeds when they are small. You will also need to fertilize your plants to keep them healthy. You can add fertilizer every 2 or 3 weeks while the plants are growing.
6. Harvest when ready
If you are an experienced gardener, consider trying something new. Try a different kind of tomato or maybe gather seeds for next year. Always try to learn new skills. We live in a world of technology, where we can search anything. There is an abundance of on-line resources to help you improve your gardening knowledge and skills. How blessed we are to have so much information at our finger tips. With all the helps out there anyone can enjoy the fruit of the harvest!
