My garden doesn't grow. I don't have one.
January 31, 2011 12:28 PM Subscribe
I'm looking to start a small vegetable garden this year. I'm in Westminster, CO. I have no experience with gardening. Where do I start? and when do I start?
Gayla's You Grow Girl forums are great. The grandaddy of internet gardening forums is Gardenweb, where you will likely find people in your area who've been gardening since before the internet. Also, check out your county's extension services and possibly your nearest university, which may offer very specialized advice for your exact area.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:38 PM on January 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Lyn Never at 12:38 PM on January 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Square Foot Gardening is the way to go - and it'll save your back and H20 bill. Search for that phrase here and on the Google. There have been a number of posts on SFG here. IIRC, there is a pretty active SFG forum on Gardenweb that Lyn Never mentioned. If you get the SFG book, make sure you get the most current edition, as it's changed (for the better) since it was first published.
posted by webhund at 12:40 PM on January 31, 2011
posted by webhund at 12:40 PM on January 31, 2011
Best answer: Adams County Extension Office
Jefferson County Extension Office
Planning a Vegetable Garden
posted by MonkeyToes at 12:42 PM on January 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
Jefferson County Extension Office
Planning a Vegetable Garden
posted by MonkeyToes at 12:42 PM on January 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
I don't know about when but I do know about how and what.
1. Agree with webhund. Square foot gardening is definitely the way to go.
2. Here's my brilliant and well researched tip about starting one's very first garden. You will want to plant everything. Everything seems so pretty and easy and cheap. Don't do it. Build a bed. Make some Mel's mix (trust me, this stuff doesn't fail -- I don't know Mel and I'm not getting paid for this). Then plant a few things. 4 or 5. If you start your first spring with 18 herbs and veggies, you'll get overwhelmed and everything seems suddenly messy and disorganized. Too many bugs, not enough lettuce. Grow a few things. Space them apart. Take some notes. Did you plant too few? Too many? Too close together? Could have planted closer? Did you wish you had something that you hadn't thought of or realized that actually, lettuce is a pain in the ass with all the slugs...
Then, next year, refine your garden up instead of down.
posted by Sophie1 at 12:50 PM on January 31, 2011 [3 favorites]
1. Agree with webhund. Square foot gardening is definitely the way to go.
2. Here's my brilliant and well researched tip about starting one's very first garden. You will want to plant everything. Everything seems so pretty and easy and cheap. Don't do it. Build a bed. Make some Mel's mix (trust me, this stuff doesn't fail -- I don't know Mel and I'm not getting paid for this). Then plant a few things. 4 or 5. If you start your first spring with 18 herbs and veggies, you'll get overwhelmed and everything seems suddenly messy and disorganized. Too many bugs, not enough lettuce. Grow a few things. Space them apart. Take some notes. Did you plant too few? Too many? Too close together? Could have planted closer? Did you wish you had something that you hadn't thought of or realized that actually, lettuce is a pain in the ass with all the slugs...
Then, next year, refine your garden up instead of down.
posted by Sophie1 at 12:50 PM on January 31, 2011 [3 favorites]
We took one of these free composting classes from the city of Denver and it was very educational. They will tell you that Denver residents get priority, but we live in Aurora and didn't have a problem.
The Denver area is a little tricky in terms of gardening because of the acidic soil, all the sun, and the late frosts. My husband and I have had the most luck buying large wooden planters and soil rather than trying to grow veggies in the ground directly (that said, I know lots of people who have made it go, it just takes more work and care).
posted by Kimberly at 12:51 PM on January 31, 2011
The Denver area is a little tricky in terms of gardening because of the acidic soil, all the sun, and the late frosts. My husband and I have had the most luck buying large wooden planters and soil rather than trying to grow veggies in the ground directly (that said, I know lots of people who have made it go, it just takes more work and care).
posted by Kimberly at 12:51 PM on January 31, 2011
Compared with other locations, your growing season there in Denver will be short, so you can't just plant seeds that everyone in, say, Virginia is using. Instead, choose seeds that will mature quickly. For example, don't plant the popular tomatoes, such as Big Boy or Beefsteak, choose instead a variety that ripens much earlier.
posted by exphysicist345 at 12:57 PM on January 31, 2011
posted by exphysicist345 at 12:57 PM on January 31, 2011
Sent you an email with my automatic seed start dates in Excel. Just plug in your last spring frost date and first fall frost date for your area and it'll calculate when you need to start indoors/outdoors, plant out and harvest, fall sowing as well as succession sowing for most vegetables.
Offer is open to anyone else who is interested. Email is in my profile.
posted by KathyK at 1:08 PM on January 31, 2011 [3 favorites]
Offer is open to anyone else who is interested. Email is in my profile.
posted by KathyK at 1:08 PM on January 31, 2011 [3 favorites]
Oh, and check out wintersowing. It's great - no start dates to worry about and no indoor lights to deal with. Also, transplants develop serious root systems that will help it grow nice and healthy.
posted by KathyK at 1:11 PM on January 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by KathyK at 1:11 PM on January 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
Okay, last one. I checked your location and looked here and it seems like you're pretty close to Denver which has a last spring frost date of June 1 and first fall frost of September 10.
posted by KathyK at 1:15 PM on January 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by KathyK at 1:15 PM on January 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
Check the abovementioned resources. My top tip is this: Don't plant too much at once, and plant a little bit more every week. This sounds very simple, but in my experience, it's the hardest thing to get right. Plant your earliest things in the northernmost side of your bed so they don't shade the younger plants as everything grows up.
Nthing the suggestion to think small at first, planting only a few things. Try starting a salad garden, growing some mesclun lettuce, spinach, chard, and arugula. They are all very easy to grow, and the lettuce and spinach should survive a late frost. You really can plant them the minute the soil can be worked.
posted by Camofrog at 1:22 PM on January 31, 2011
Nthing the suggestion to think small at first, planting only a few things. Try starting a salad garden, growing some mesclun lettuce, spinach, chard, and arugula. They are all very easy to grow, and the lettuce and spinach should survive a late frost. You really can plant them the minute the soil can be worked.
posted by Camofrog at 1:22 PM on January 31, 2011
Response by poster: These are all great suggestions, thank you very much! I like the idea of Square Foot Gardening, I think it'll be helpful with my five year old, and in planning.
posted by boo_radley at 1:24 PM on January 31, 2011
posted by boo_radley at 1:24 PM on January 31, 2011
Response by poster: And wasn't there something similar in concept for potatoes? Like, you'd get a year's worth of potatoes out of a cubic yard of soil?
posted by boo_radley at 1:26 PM on January 31, 2011
posted by boo_radley at 1:26 PM on January 31, 2011
Start now. Plan out your garden; what you really want to grow, how much space it will take, etc. Visit nurseries and ask advice. Get a couple pots of herbs that can be set out later, like rosemary and thyme. Start some parsley from seed; it does okay indoors. That's to get in the mood. Soil preparation, and soil-building can really make a garden. Read up on composting. The Cooperative Extension Service is a great resource.
I like this planner: http://www.gardeners.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Gardeners-Site You don't have to grow everything from seed; it's okay to buy some plants to set out. I tend to buy my tomato plants at the farmer's market because I love the variety.
posted by theora55 at 2:13 PM on January 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
I like this planner: http://www.gardeners.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Gardeners-Site You don't have to grow everything from seed; it's okay to buy some plants to set out. I tend to buy my tomato plants at the farmer's market because I love the variety.
posted by theora55 at 2:13 PM on January 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
I started using an Earthbox last year about May. I am continuing to harvest tomatoes. green peppers, lettuce and strawberries. I like that the boxes have wheels and that when it gets cold, I can just roll them into my garage. They aren't cheap, but I was able to get a good deal on mine. They save on watering, (you put water in the reservoir) and you don't have to weed them!
posted by 6:1 at 2:36 PM on January 31, 2011
posted by 6:1 at 2:36 PM on January 31, 2011
Camofrog writes "Try starting a salad garden, growing some mesclun lettuce, spinach, chard, and arugula."
Swiss chard (available in multi colour packages) is great because it is very frost tolerant and it looks pretty. I've harvested it when there is snow on the ground around it.
posted by Mitheral at 3:18 PM on January 31, 2011
Swiss chard (available in multi colour packages) is great because it is very frost tolerant and it looks pretty. I've harvested it when there is snow on the ground around it.
posted by Mitheral at 3:18 PM on January 31, 2011
Best answer: If you're going to be doing square foot gardening, check out this online garden planner. It's lots of fun to play with.
posted by mudpuppie at 7:36 PM on January 31, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by mudpuppie at 7:36 PM on January 31, 2011 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: So, with a SFG box, it seems like the standard depth is 2 feet, is that right? If you're growing root veg that require deeper soil, do you put those in a separate box, or a utility pail?
posted by boo_radley at 7:48 AM on February 3, 2011
posted by boo_radley at 7:48 AM on February 3, 2011
Best answer: So, with a SFG box, it seems like the standard depth is 2 feet, is that right? If you're growing root veg that require deeper soil, do you put those in a separate box, or a utility pail?
Are you building a box with a bottom to put on a patio deck? The depth of your box should be at least 6", however, you can build a box to be as tall as you have planks wide. If you buy 1" x 12" x 10' pieces of lumber, you can build a 12" tall box. You will be limited to those root vegetables that don't grow deeper than the height of your box (you can grow carrots but not potatoes).
If you are putting a frame on the ground, you can build a 6" frame with no bottom and set it on the ground. Be sure to remove any sod and fill it up with a garden blend that has black earth and composted manure. You will be able to grow any root vegetables in this box, including potatoes
If you can do either of these options, you can grow deep root vegetables, like potatoes, in stacked tires, garbage bins or straw bales.
posted by KathyK at 9:46 AM on February 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Are you building a box with a bottom to put on a patio deck? The depth of your box should be at least 6", however, you can build a box to be as tall as you have planks wide. If you buy 1" x 12" x 10' pieces of lumber, you can build a 12" tall box. You will be limited to those root vegetables that don't grow deeper than the height of your box (you can grow carrots but not potatoes).
If you are putting a frame on the ground, you can build a 6" frame with no bottom and set it on the ground. Be sure to remove any sod and fill it up with a garden blend that has black earth and composted manure. You will be able to grow any root vegetables in this box, including potatoes
If you can do either of these options, you can grow deep root vegetables, like potatoes, in stacked tires, garbage bins or straw bales.
posted by KathyK at 9:46 AM on February 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Right now I think two things are important. First decide what you are trying to achieve. Is it experience, a certain level of self sufficiency or just plain enjoyment. This will effect what you should plant. And second start small, if you enjoy the process you will increase your garden next year.
For your first garden I would say that you should focus on crops that you can sow directly in the soil and are foods that you are familiar with cooking. Some crops are more difficult to grow than others. Perhaps the easiest and fastest crop to grow are radishes. They are very cold tolerant so it is hard to plant them too early, they grow to maturity quickly and are relatively resistant to pests. But if you would not buy radishes from the grocery store you probably wont eat that many from your garden either. I would also recommend a mesclun lettuce mix if you enjoy salads. I would also second swiss chard as it is a hardy plant that provides right through into the fall if you enjoy greens. It is a member of the beet family which tend to be trouble free plants for me. We also enjoy Kale as a garden green and it is exceptionally cold hardy and has a nice cabbagey flavor.
For a first year garden I would recommend a tomato plant or two at most. Most likely a cherry style tomato. I prefer sungold cherry tomato. Great for salads or snacking while working in the garden. I might also recommend a zucchini plant or two at most. I like Black Beauty zucchini for easy of growth. I can also recommend bush beans as a prolific and easy to tend crop.
I could go on and on about this but these are some solid first year choices.
I updated my profile to contain a link to my blog which is mostly about my gardening for the last few years. There may be something there that is of interest. Also feel free to Memail me any specific questions you may have.
posted by The Violet Cypher at 7:13 AM on February 4, 2011
For your first garden I would say that you should focus on crops that you can sow directly in the soil and are foods that you are familiar with cooking. Some crops are more difficult to grow than others. Perhaps the easiest and fastest crop to grow are radishes. They are very cold tolerant so it is hard to plant them too early, they grow to maturity quickly and are relatively resistant to pests. But if you would not buy radishes from the grocery store you probably wont eat that many from your garden either. I would also recommend a mesclun lettuce mix if you enjoy salads. I would also second swiss chard as it is a hardy plant that provides right through into the fall if you enjoy greens. It is a member of the beet family which tend to be trouble free plants for me. We also enjoy Kale as a garden green and it is exceptionally cold hardy and has a nice cabbagey flavor.
For a first year garden I would recommend a tomato plant or two at most. Most likely a cherry style tomato. I prefer sungold cherry tomato. Great for salads or snacking while working in the garden. I might also recommend a zucchini plant or two at most. I like Black Beauty zucchini for easy of growth. I can also recommend bush beans as a prolific and easy to tend crop.
I could go on and on about this but these are some solid first year choices.
I updated my profile to contain a link to my blog which is mostly about my gardening for the last few years. There may be something there that is of interest. Also feel free to Memail me any specific questions you may have.
posted by The Violet Cypher at 7:13 AM on February 4, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by sararah at 12:31 PM on January 31, 2011