Get Growing!

It's that time of year again - the getting-off-my-ass and to Apache Seed to select our fruit and vegetable seeds for the upcoming growing season!  Actually, we are a bit behind, but lets not return to a conversation about our past winter... Apache has a great selection of seeds and plants, as well as everything one needs to get started in the garden from books on how-to to stuff to get-going!  This year, I see some more Mexican plants growing in our patch, especially tomatillos and poblano peppers!  My wonderfully handy and oh so planned husband has already helped out by pre-planting our herb seeds last weekend in hopes of getting a head start!

This is by far the best time of year, if you live in Edmonton!  Time we said goodbye to winter, the snow has melted and guess what I found under some leaves in the backyard last week - chives!  They are far from perfect, but they are green and growing!  Not to mention strawberry shoots and lavender making it's way out of the earth and into our lives for another season.  Yup, something about Spring that puts a kick in your step and releases all that energy we have been storing over the winter.  My husband now spends hours in the garden and we have to decide what to do with the backyard and the impending return of the dreaded fairy rings.  So, if they appear, it's raised beds for more vegetables plus a few more trees and throw in some flagstone walkways for good measure.  If they don't... well, I don't think we will go there!

That means it is time for me to organize my vegetable beds and decide what gets to grow next to what (something like a desk change in my daughter's classroom) and keeping in mind that we need rotate the position of the plants from last year.  Why?  Some plants drain nutrients out of the soil while others provide the nutrients.  Keep circulating them and your soil will remain in good balance.

So, you want to plant a veggie garden this year.  Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1.  You need to become intimately aware of your planting area, and that means understanding the type of soil in your ground, what direction it faces and how much sunlight the area gets throughout the course of the day.  This information will help you choose the right type of plant to use.   A simple google search will indicate what growing zone your home is in, which removes the mystery of what plants will survive the winter! Because winter cold is, in most regions, the single greatest threat to plant survival, the zones are divided according to the average monthly temperature they experience locally.

2.  From Martha Stewart Living, the importance of crop timing ( vegetable crops fall into two categories): 

Cool-Season Crops: Peas, lettuces, radishes, brassicas (broccoli, kale, cauliflower, collards), and spinach germinate and thrive in the lower temperatures of spring and fall and tolerate light frosts. Many cool-season crops can be direct-sown in the garden around before the last frost.

Warm-Season Crops: Tomatoes, eggplants, summer and winter squash, beans, and corn prefer summer's heat. Plant these only after the soil has warmed. Many warm-season crops require a long growing season and should be started indoors in late winter or early spring or purchased as seedlings ready to be transplanted.

3.  I know it's a bit OC, but consider Mapping Out Your Plants:

Sketch out your plan on paper. Use graph paper and draw to scale, keeping in mind the mature size and habit of each kind of plant. Site larger plants like corn and tomatoes where they won't cast shade over shorter plants. Choose compact varieties if you have limited space. Start small: You can always dig more beds or enlarge existing ones in subsequent years.

Helpful Note #1: The latest newsletter in Goop (http://www.goop.com/) gives some great tips for starting your garden as well as highlighting GrowVeg - a site for garden planners.  This is a fantastic website that not only allows you to design and map out your garden, it will find your home on Google Search, tell you what zone you reside in and cross reference your growing season and the local weather forecast to tell you the optimal time for planting, transplanting, harvesting and concerns like frost.  Brilliant!  Did I mention you can have a 30 day free trial?  Check it out:  http://www.growveg.com/

GrowVeg

At the end of the day, this beginner gardener suggests just do it!  You will have fun and feel a sense of reward harvesting your own crop, no matter how big or small.  It's a great hobby to include the kids and I have to admit, I am spoiled with the help and knowledge I get from my hubby, and couldn't do it without him! my best advice is just do it!    My one recommendation would be to pick up a local book on vegetable gardening that simply outlines the best yield and easiest to grow plants and just become more adventurous as your garden grows!

Helpful Note #2: Here are my pics for some easy peasy veggies to grow and enjoy from your own garden:

Radish and Beets

Lettuce, of several varieties: mixed, spinach, romaine

Cucumbers

Carrots

Peas

Spinach

Tomatoes

And try out some herbs - they add a fantastic smell to your garden and wonderful taste to all your dishes!  I typically plant:

Parsley

Oregano

Thyme

Basil

Sage

Lavender

Epazote (a Mexican herb)

Cilantro

Mint

So, what will our garden look like this year?  Probably the same as last year - the fava beans were a hit, as was the eggplant and variety of peppers: sweet, jalapeno and poblano.  Tomatillos will have the time to form their delicate paper lanterns and produce great green tomatoes for salsa, and I think with the raised beds, we should have enough room to grow additional veggies, maybe parsnip and celery root!  Stay tuned!