Gardening: How to Get Going

     Getting going is usually the first obstacle in doing anything.  When it comes to gardening, your first year is going to be the most challenging at least it was for me. You can read about that on last summer's blog called My Gardening Adventures. This year though my husband made me a more sophisticated fence of sorts to keep the rabbits out.  He stapled some netting to some 2 x 2 posts  and then nailed them to the raised bed.  I really like having a gate.  

Here's a picture of some of my grandkids checking out the garden  few weeks ago.

   This spring my daughter started to make a garden, and right now I am visiting her, and one of our projects this week has been to make a netting fence to keep her dogs out of her garden.  At her public market she picked up  a newsletter from the master gardeners club, and most of this blog is a summary of the first 5 pages.  I hope that this boiled down version helps make gardening as fun for you as it is for me!

      CHOOSE A SPOT:  For a healthier garden find a sunny location that has well drained soil.  Making raised bed helps alleviate that problem. Raised beds also let you plant your crops earlier because the soil gets warm faster.   Check out how well grass or weeds grows in this spot because that will determine how well the plants in your garden will grow!

DIG OUT THE DIMENSIONS & PREPARE THE SOIL:  After you’ve dug out the dimensions of your garden:

      1. Rototill if it’s a big space or just turn the soil over with a shovel to a depth of at least 2-3”.

2. Spread about  2 to 3 inches of organic material over the top of the soil. 

3. Top that with  some scattered steer manure—it contains nitrogen that  helps break it down.

4.  Rototill or shovel all of that to a depth of 6 inches.

5.  Rake the ground level.

6. Make a path to walk on and if you like you can put bark or sawdust on it. 

PLANTING: Besides finding out from your nursery what grows best in your area,  the newsletter states it's important to plant at the right time, the right depth, and the right distance.  

THINNING PLANTS:  Once your seedlings get started, thin them out because this not only gives the plants more room to grow but helps provide good air circulation between the plants.

My daughter's garden - the before picture

CROP ROTATION:   The only thing of importance I'd like to recommend is jotting down what you plant so that you can rotate your crops to keep the soil healthy.  

MAKING A FENCE OUT OF NETTING: 

An inexpensive way to keep rabbits and dogs out:

1.   Buy some 2 x 2 posts at the hardware store and have them cut them in half.   

2.  Hammer them in to the wood that makes your raised bed.  

3. Use BirdBlock or any kind of plastic netting that keeps birds out of gardens,  and cut it to fit and pull it tight and staple it to the posts.  

WATERING: 

 1.  If you have seedlings - Try to keep the soil uniformly moist by gently watering it every day or two.  You can also sprinkle a bit of peat moss over the seeds as this helps to keep in the moisture.  

2.  For developing plants -  Plants like tomatoes, corn,  potatoes need to be watered deeply but less often to encourage deep root growth.  Water at a depth of 6" and then let the top 2" completely dry out before watering again.   Lettuce, beets, and green beans are plants that draw water from the top of the soil so you need to water them more often. 

SLUG CONTROL:  

*Pick them by hand -  Check 2 hours after sunset and put them in a bucket of soapy water. They like to hide under wood, large rocks, etc.

*Use copper strips  - Copper gives an unpleasant charge that makes slugs reverse their course.  You can also make copper wire rings and put them around your plants.  We bought Corry's Slug & Snail Copper Tape Barrier that has an adhesive backing.  We put this on the top of the 2 x 4s that outline my daughter's garden, and then she stapled it down.

*Slugs are attracted to yeasty odors - You can use fermented apple juice or put in 1 cup of water 1 T of baker's yeast, 1 T flour and 1 T of sugar.  Cut a 2" hole in a yogurt container two-thirds up the side and bury it so the hole is above ground. Then put the yeast mixture into it and put the lid on it and remove slugs daily.

NATURAL PEST CONTROL:  Did you know that weeds harbor insects and diseases?

Flowers - These  flowers attract beneficial insects to your garden that will take care of your pests:

Daisies, cosmos, alyssum, yarrow, dill, fennel, angelica, clover, and coneflower.  

Natural alternatives - Planet Natural has some great ideas for iother things you can do.

Project finished!