Garden Inspirations
Seeds seeds seeds
As you start to plan your garden there is always the question of when to start seeds. Many experienced gardeners have their schedule of when to start indoors. I have my own schedule here in Colorado and my green house allows me to start a little earlier than most.
To start off, I plant onions and leeks on February 1st. These are the first because they always seem to take a long time to grow to a point where they are strong enough to transplant. Alliums are followed by peppers around Valentin’s Day. Next come the brassicaceae or cruciferous vegetables in the first two weeks of March. Broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower all like cool weather and this gives them 4-6 weeks growth before going out in the garden in mid April. Tomatoes, Eggplant, and lettuces are seeded around St. Patrick’s Day. The remaining vegetables are directly planted in the ground. There may be a few flowers I start as well but my primary focus is vegetables.
The larger seeds I reserve for direct seeding; beans, corn, cucumbers and squashes. There are some gardeners that will seed these indoors because they need warm soil to germinate and they can supposedly get a jump start on the season. But the problem is they don’t transplant well. That’s not to say it can’t be done successfully. Last year I did an experiment out of curiosity. I started a few cucumber plants indoors and transplanted them into the garden. I also direct seeded a set of cucumber seeds in the same garden bed on the same day. What happened was amazing! The transplants sat there for a long time doing nothing. They looked ok but no new growth. By the time the planted cucumber seeds started to sprout, the transplants had started looking better and showed new growth. The direct seeded plants caught up to the transplants and eventually outgrew them. The direct seeded plants were healthier and produced more fruit than the transplants.
In the first 2 weeks of July I start another round of cruciferous vegetables indoors for a fall harvest. By mid August I start lettuces and peas. All these plants prefer cooler weather and thrive in the fall. The 1st of October I plant garlic and shallots for an early summer harvest.
If you haven’t ordered your seeds yet order them asap! It looks like a lot of varieties are already selling out. Gardening has become more than a hobby. People are wanting to growing some of their own food to gain greater food security for their families. So get out there and order your seeds and lets get to gardening!
Happy gardening from your Garden Sage!
questions to ask when planning your vegetable garden
Its January and its time to start planning the spring and summer vegetable gardens. For the seasoned gardener this can start with the seed catalogs that are arriving in the mail. Looking at new varieties and old favorites, dreaming of spending time in a lush, beautiful garden. For the new gardener this may seem a little intimidating and overwhelming. So if you are the latter, here are a few simple questions to help get you started.
How much space do I have to grow? This will determine what style and methods to use. Square foot gardening, companion planting, successive plantings, raised bed gardening, raised row gardens, and no till gardens are only a few.
What vegetables will you and your family eat? Plant what you like to eat. Don’t plant broccoli if no one in your household will will eat it. Growing vegetables you like will help keep you motivated and keep you on track with maintenance. Identifying what to plant will answer sun and shade preferences , heat and cold tolerances and water requirements. Once you figure out what you want to plant then you can begin mapping your garden.
How much work do I want to put into maintenance? It easy to see a beautiful lush garden and imagine your garden looking great. Be aware that your garden will take time and effort to maintain. Preparing the soil, planting, watering, weeding and pest management can be overwhelming if your are not prepared for it. If you don’t have a gardener to maintain it, then be realistic in your expectations. The size of your garden will help determine how much time you will spend in your garden. A small kitchen garden may take 1-2 hours a week while a larger garden may require in excess of 5-6 hour a week.
In summary, planning can help you have a successful garden season whether it be a small kitchen or potager garden or a larger harvest garden for preserving. Hopefully, thinking about these questions will help you get started planning for your spring and summer gardens.
Happy gardening from Your Garden Sage!
How to care For tomatoes
Now that you have your tomatoes planted how do you care for them. Cage, stake, trellis, or allow to grow freely.
Most home gardeners will buy tomato cages. I like them for one or 2 plants but they can be expensive. The smaller 3 ring cages are only a couple of dollars but will usually only last one season. A better value is the 4 ring cages. They are made with a thicker gage wire and will last several years. The best way to use these cages is to sink them into the ground deep enough so the 1st ring sits on the ground. If the cage isn’t deep enough it can fall over as the fruit gets heavier.
Stake tomatoes by driving a stake about a foot into the ground. As the tomato grows taller you tie the main stem to the stake. My favorite is a green T- post. They are heavy duty and last for years. You can also buy fencing to attach to the posts to make a cage/stake hybrid.
Trellising tomatoes requires you to prune. You want to guide the tomatoe to grow up a trellis. You trim back the sucker branches to encourage a single stem to grow up the trellis. To trim properly look for tiny branches growing out of the main stem and in between a major ranch. Pruning out these suckers makes it easier to trellis and also creates a better fruiting environment. You wont have fruit rot on the ground. In my early years I didnt prune and I lost so many tomatoes to rot because they either rested on the ground or i didnt seem them to pick them at their prIme.
Free growing tomatoes can get out of hand quickly. The suckers grow out and the plant can take over the garden. It rests in the ground and it is nearly impossible to harvest without stepping on fruit. So cage, stake or trellis your tomatoes this season and have the best harvest yet.
If you need advice with your tomatoes this season give me a call. I’m always willing to help.
Your Garden Sage
Tomatoes -determinate vs INDETERMINATE
Detetminate or indeterminate. Many new gardeners have wondered the difference between the two. Which is better? That depends!
Determinate tomatoes grow to a specific size and ripen all at the same time. Usually within a 2 week period. The plants grow to a uniform size. This is ideal for commercial growers as a whole field can be harvested with machinery all at the same time. The growing habits of a determinate tomato are also great for the home gardener who preserves their harvest. Being able to harvest all at once gives you enough volume to make sauces and salsas without having to purchase additional tomatoes.
An indeterminate tomato ripens its fruit throughout the season until killed by a frost. It can also be a perriennial in areas with a warmer climate. I prefer inderminate varieties because they produce the whole season. There is less waste from having too many to use all at once. I also like indeterminate tomatos over a determinate tomatos because there are many more varieties to choose from and I think they taste better.
The heirloom tomatoes in my greenhouse are ready for planting. If you still need tomatoes for your summer garden and you live along the Colorado front range, please message me.
Have a great gardening weekend!
COMPANION planting
Companion planting. What is that? Its putting compatible plants together in a bed for each others benefit. Ever hear of the 3 sisters garden? This is a classic companion planting model. It is commonly known within the native American culture. The 3 sisters garden consists of corn, beans and squash. No specific varieties are named primarily because there are so many varieties of all three.
I am planning on growing a 3 sisters garden this year. First, I will plant the corn and their stalks will become the skeleton of the garden. Once the corn has a good start the beans will be planted. Corn is a heavy nitrogen feeder and as the beans begin to sprout they will pull nitrogen from the air and store it in nodules within their roots. Its through these nodules the corn is able to access the nitrogen it needs to boost its rapid growth. In exchange the corn lends itself as support for the beans.
After the beans are planted the squash will be sown. The squash is a low growing vining plant with large leaves. It will stretch out and cover the bed providing shade low to the ground helping keep moisture in the soil. Some squash vines will also climb the corn stalks.
Planned correctly, the harvest can be done at the same time. This of course depends on the varieties of each of the sisters: dried corn, dried beans and winter squash.
You can use companion planting in your home gardens. What grows well with tomatoes? What plants are susceptible to disease and insects that can be curbed by a companion plant? Here at Your Garden Sage, we can help you with a planting plan for optimal companion growing and a rich harvest.
From row gardens to raised bed gardens
For 26 years I gardened in a community garden. I started when I was pregnant with my first child wanting to know where our vegetables were grown and how they were grown. Not having a gardening background I started reading and researching anything and everything gardening.
For a couple of years I had been driving by this community garden in my neighborhood and always curious. What is going on over there? Who are these people? Is this a private farm? Finally one spring I stopped and walked in. To my luck it was opening day and all the gardeners and were digging, tilling, planting and watering. As I walked in I was greeted by Jack, one of the founders of the community garden. He answered all my questions about this wonderful place. He took my name and number and got me started on this gardening journey.
There I learned to row garden with irrigation. That’s planting in rows with trenches in between to allow for irrigation. This community garden is located in an old reservoir that has a ditch that runs adjacent to the garden. We irrigated our gardens with the water that ran in that ditch.
I hurt my back a few years ago at work and struggled to keep up with the maintenance of my community garden. So with a heavy heart I gave up my plots at the community garden and started gardening more at home.
Last year I tried the raised row gardening method in hopes of easing the heavy weeding of a traditional garden bed. It worked OK but i think I can do better with a raised garden. So this is my journey into raised bed gardening. Come join me in this me adventure where I blend my 25+ years of gardening experience into raised beds. Pictured is my first bed.
The Dirt on Raised Beds
What do you fill yours raised beds with? Dirt right? Sounds like an easy question. Well not necessarily. It depends on the dirt. To grow a healthy garden you need healthy soil. Can you just use dirt lying around in your yard? Yes! Using dirt found in your yard can be the least economical way to fill your raised beds. However you will need to amend that soil.
Here in Colorado we have a lot of clay in our soil. Adding compost and composted manure will add nutrients to the soil. The more organic matter the better. You can get a soil sample and have it analyzed at the CSU agricultural extension office for $35. This tests can tell how healthy the soil is and what you can add to bring it to a healthy balance. Balancing the soil this way takes time but is the most affordable way to get the right balance.
You you don’t want the hassel of balancing your soil? Well there are a lot of pre-mixed garden bed soils available at any garden nursery or big box store. This is the most expensive way to fill your raised beds. A 4×8 bed 12 inches deep can run you $300-500.
The best option is to find a landscaping company to deliver a good garden mix. The soil mix will cost anywhere from $35/yard to $60/yard. The price is great for the soil but the delivery charge is where the cost comes in. So make sure you ask what the delivery charge before you order.
What is a yard of soil? Its based on volume. A yard of soil measures 3 ft high, 3 ft wide, and 3 ft long. A 3 ft cube of soil if it could keep its shape.
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