I've been waiting patiently for Memorial Day weekend because it marks the date when I can plant my first (ever!) vegetable garden here in New England. Being conscious of where our food comes from has been on all of our minds lately and I am very happy to be following suit by preparing my summer's bounty. Read on for a few practical notes on starting a garden after the jump.
Visit Your Local University's Garden Center On-Line
The most comprehensive gardening resource I have found is through the Garden Education Center at the University of New Hampshire. For those outside of the state, here is a list of other New England University Garden Centers.
They provide accurate, state-specific information on basics such as where to plant a vegetable garden, to the possible overlooked list of harmful insects, to the complete outline of all successful crop varieties and their harvest times. These centers usually provide soil testing for a small cost as well, which is essential to starting your garden. You can also visit your local Agway for free soil testing but they only test the PH, which is only part of the equation.
Ask Your Neighbors
A while ago I read that gardening is the most common hobby in the US, so if you see your neighbors out in their yards tending their plants, introduce yourself. If they love to garden most likely they also love talking about their garden and they can share tips, regrets, and different approaches in what will most likely be the same, if not a very similar, environment to yours.
Start Small and Take Your Time
Only grow the very things you are excited to eat as an incentive to do the work required. Naturally, the bigger the garden, the bigger the commitment. For my first garden I am starting with herbs (which I can't live without) beets, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce and summer squash. It's minimal I know, but I do not want to be overwhelmed.
Keep at It
It took a while to learn to care for my house plants so this will be no different in that there will be trial and error. If my garden yields less than bountiful results, there is always next year, and the soil will be all the richer.
Image: Violet Marsh
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Hopefully we will have a summer in NH this year.
I was a beginning vegetable gardener last summer, and I used this book as a guide:
http://www.amazon.com/All-New-Square-Foot-Gardening/dp/1591862027
It was great for a smaller space, and I had very few utter failures. Since you're not doing a giant patch of any of your "crops," if you screw up, no big deal. The variety allowed is also really nice. Year two is already off to a great start.
I started my balcony garden ages ago, and I'm in North Eastern Canada. Okay, so there was a freak snowstorm three weeks ago, but everything seems to be doing fine – including the flowering peppers and strawberries!
We're starting one too - but we only have a balcony and we're in Albuquerque - so we're just giving herbs a try this go-around. Thankfully, we have a great CSA (fantastic stuff, reasonable prices, really nice people) in Los Poblanos.
Good luck with your garden!
I started my first... way too early in the year. Though while some things died, other things are starting to look edible!
I have some chard that started out as little "knocked over" seedlings but now they look pretty strong!
I don't think the radishes are working out, and I had to start a new pole bean and pea.
The cucumber is a little iffy, and I don't know how to take care of this basil I bought, hmm. I bought a strawberry plant but it hasn't flowered so I don't know.
So far, the tomato is still alive.
Tricky stuff, this is. And I have no idea what I'm doing!
Congrats on your first garden!
One person posted on our vegetable garden facebook page, "Ever wonder why an 80 year old woman knows so much about gardening?" Answer: Because she has seen and done it all and knows what works and what doesn't. If I ever in doubt, ask your veteran neighbors.
Thanks for the great read!
-Mike
Just planted all our veggies in the last few weeks. In pots this year to start with but hoping we'll be able to set out a proper veg patch in the next year or so (planning mighty renovations so no point in starting if the garden will become a sea of mud for a while). We have tomatoes, spuds, runner beans, french beans, mange tout, salad leaves, lettuces, carrots, mint, basil, chillies and courgettes. Usually they all get eaten by snails, slugs and flea beatles so this year we are going full out with slug pellets and fencing to protect the dog. Fingers crossed!