Your Questions About Gardening

GardenersCardiff answers:

First off I want to say how wonderful that you want to plant a garden. Growing vegetables is one of the most satisfying past-times. You can use your rabbit manure if you compost it first. If you are going to go to all the trouble to fence off an area and prepare the soil, then don’t ruin things with commercial fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. I would start a compost pile first thing. It can be any size you want, surrounded by what ever materials you have on hand, blocks, pallets (my choice because they are free), even wire. Start by layering dry materials (leaves, straw) with wet materials (rabbit manure, kitchen scraps [no meat or fat], fresh pulled weeds, etc.) Wet each layer until it is damp like a wrung out sponge. I don’t know what your climate is like, I live in Arizona so I need to water my compost pile every few days, you just want to keep it constantly like a wrung out sponge. Turn it occasionally and keep adding manure and kitchen scraps. When it breaks down and looks just like soil it is ready to use. Now, I know that this takes time, so what to do in the meantime? Pick the sunniest place in the yard for your vegetable garden. Till the soil (or just turn it with a shovel) and add sand if you have clay soil, a couple bags of compost from the home/garden store, maybe some bone meal. The first year I would start with started plants from the home/garden store. Don’t start too big or you can become overwhelmed. 1 zucchini plant will give you more squash then you know what to do with. Weeds pop up and if your garden is too big, you will just throw up your hands in despair. I really great book for beginners (the book that got me interested so many years ago) is Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholemew. This book is still in print. I highly suggest you start there and read it from cover to cover. It is very interesting, not text book dry. Grow the vegetables that you and your family really like to eat. Go online and find some seed catalogs (Gurneys, Burpees, Henry Fields are good ones to start with). Next winter if you enjoyed you gardening experience, you can order seed and start them in your garden. Seed catalogs give you so much more variaty then what you can find started in home/garden shops. Call your cooperative extension office as they are a wealth of knowledge as to what crops will do good in your area.
Good luck to you and happy gardening!

GardenersCardiff answers:

While you are tilling up the soil, remove any rocks and break up the clumps. Add some organic compost to the soil…this will provide nutrients that you veggie garden will need. Work it in to the soil.

You’re aware of the health benefits of eating fresh vegetables, you have the space for a small garden, but just don’t know where to start? Look no further. Here’s all you need to know to put fresh, crisp vegetables on your dinner table.

First, think small. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, or hoe. It’s like starting out an exercise program by running five miles the first day. You get tired, sore and you quit. Likewise, if you plant a huge garden the first year, you’ll curse, cuss and turn your sore back on gardening for good. So, if you’re new to gardening, start off with a garden no larger than 8′ X 10.’ You can always expand later if you can’t get enough of those fresh, crispy vegetables.

Choose a location that receives as much sun as possible throughout the day. Northern gardeners should insist on full sun. Now you’re ready to work up the soil. You can rent a rear tine tiller or borrow one from a friend or neighbor for this task. Work the soil up sod and all–in other words don’t remove the sod. Removing the sod creates a recess in the soil, resulting in poor drainage.

Next, examine the soil. Is it predominantly clay, sand or a sandy loam? The latter is the best. You can distinguish a sandy loam from the other two by giving it the squeeze test. If you can take a handful of dirt and squeeze it in a ball then watch it crumble when you let go, you’ve got a sandy loam soil type. If you’re not sure, take a sample down to your local extension office. While you’re there ask them about having your soil tested for proper pH levels and major nutrients like nitrogen, potassium and potash.

If you’re stuck with a predominantly sandy or clay soil it will be worth bringing in some topsoil to get you off on the right foot. If you can’t afford topsoil, you can amend the soil with compost. Compost includes any biodegradable material which can be broken down into a fine, dark humus. Well rotted livestock manure is the best choice for getting a clay or sandy soil into shape. Whatever you use for compost apply it often, like once in the spring and once in the fall. It will take a few seasons to improve a poor soil type.

Another thing you can do is use topsoil to make a raised bed. Landscape timbers or treated 2 X 12’s work best for this. You can stack these about five high. Besides enclosing your garden and making a good growing medium, the raised bed will make it easy to plant and weed your garden, particularly if you’ve got back trouble or have difficulty bending over.

Hey, I think we’re ready to plant! Here’s the fun part. You can purchase seeds from the store or order them through the many catalogs on the market (see below). Whatever you do, buy quality seeds. I hate to see people spend hours preparing a garden and then go out and purchase 10/$1.00 seeds. It would be like buying a new car and replacing the engine oil with a cheap brand of oil. Look for brand name seeds just like you would anything else. What we’re trying to do is maximize our chances of success at this endeavor, not pinch pennies.

In a small garden you may want to avoid some of the space hogs, like corn, squash and pumpkin. However, there are bush type varieties of pumpkin, such as Hybrid Spirit Bush and Autumn Gold that don’t take up much room. Also, summer squashes take up less room then do the winter squash. If you do plant corn, remember to grow this one along the north side of your garden so it doesn’t shade the rest of your crops.

Easy to grow crops include onions, peas, beets, rutabaga and zucchini squash. These can also be planted early.Tomatoes and peppers need to be started from seed indoors about 8 weeks prior to planting time or purchased as transplants. Be sure to space things in your small garden according to the instructions on the packets. And make sure you plant your tender crops (tomatoes, squash, beans and watermelon) after all danger of frost has passed. Ask the old timers in the area when this date is. One common mistake people make, especially in the northern climates, is to plant everything when the weather turns nice only to succumb to a frost a week or two later, thus wiping out all their hard work. Plant by the expected last frost dates, not the weather.

Unfortunately, critters (and children) may take a shine to your new garden. Rabbits, geese and deer can be a problem. For the small garden, a wire mesh surround works well. This will discourage most critters and some people. I’ve seen people take chicken wire and staple it to the top of their landscaping timbers on a raised bed to keep out geese and the like.

Vandals can also attack gardens, especially in conspicuous areas of a city, such as in a community garden. Since things like watermelon and squash are the vandal’s favorite, some folks pl

GardenersCardiff answers:

Http://www.beginner-gardening.com/

I find that Doug Green’s site is my first stop “go-to” place for gardening information. Have a look around by clicking on the above link. He has even made some “how-to” videos.

I find that during the winter months, as the gardening catalogs arrive, I go to web sites to gather further information about specific plants. During those gloomy months, it’s a delight to research, look at photos and dream up plans for the upcoming spring and summer garden.

Hope this is what you are looking for.