Veggie Garden:
1. A few years ago, my neighbor (who I liken to Mary Poppins) decided to plant a "shared" garden. We removed one panel of fence and put in a raised bed. Let me break this down for you. Get some 2x10's and create a rectangle (whatever size you desire). Anchor the boards to some square posts in the corners. Place in desired location (somewhere where you get a lot of sun and can reach with a water hose). Now put down about 2-4 inches of sand (prevents grass and weeds from growing up from the bottom). Now fill with good soil (you will probably need to have this delivered since it's a large amount). Since we have the garden on both sides of the fence we decided to add some chicken wire so that veggies that vine could travel upwards and save some garden space (i.e. cucumbers, green beans etc).
2. Now you need to choose what to plant. Since I live in central Texas, this is all I know.
* You definitely need to plant some tomatoes. You pick your variety (that's the fun part). I love heritage and celebrity varieties but really you can't go wrong. These get pretty big and create shade so put these towards the back of your garden. I love planting tomatoes because you can pick when they are large enough and allow them to ripen indoors before birds and bugs eat them and need I say it, fried green tomatoes... delicious! (tip- you do need to buy those tomato cages because as your plant begins to produce the limbs get heavy and break)
* Cucumbers did great for me my first year and not so great my second (big draught didn't help!). Plant these where you have room for them to trellis or lots of square footage because they GROW.
* Green beans- either a bush or vining variety work. These are awesome because you can pick a handful and cook them up for dinner or collect them as they mature and store in your freezer till you are ready to cook all at once.
* Peppers- particularly jalapeños and banana peppers do REALLY well. I've had success with bell peppers as well but they tend to be quite a bit smaller than store bought ones. Since these are easy to maintain and not too big I put these towards the front of my bed. (If you don't have a large space for a garden consider a "salsa" garden with just tomatoes and pepper varieties!)
* Onion- These are delicious but a bit delicate in their early stages. They also take a while and you only get as many as you plant. These need a little space and some sun so plant toward the front where you can monitor.
* Carrots- Since these are a root plant they only grow as deep as your soil and for me this wasn't too big. They are really fun for kids to pick though. Same rules as the onion- plant near the front where you can assure they have sun and water.
* Squash/ zucchini- Did great one year and awful the next. You have to really watch for a certain insect with these bad boys. Mine got killed pretty early last year but I had a wonderful crop in years prior. I plant my squash in the corner of my backyard and not in the garden because these get enormous.
* Okra- this will be my first year with this plant but I've been assured these are big producers in this heat.
* This is by no means an all inclusive list. I just happen to really love these veggies. Other fun ones to try might be radish, pumpkins and perhaps some melons.
3. In terms of choosing your specimens for planting head to your local nursery. I love Milbergers and Rainbow Gardens here in San Antonio but honestly Home Depot has quite a bit in the spring. Many of these veggies grow really well from seed. I usually will buy a starter plant of tomato, peppers and okra. They are a bit heartier this way. For seeds you just have to follow the package directions- super simple. For choosing a starter plant I try to pick one with a heartier stem that is growing as straight up as possible with lots of low leaves (generally choose one that looks "healthy" to you and you can't go wrong).
4. Don't get frustrated.
*Some years are better than others.
* You get better as you go.
* Nothing is as good for a garden as rain and good soil.
* Once you get an insect infestation it's best to pluck the plant in my experience and let it go. Yes there are some solutions but I haven't been successful yet.
* Lots of blooms but no veggies? Could be several things. You may just need rain. You may need to mate the male and female sex organs... yup, they have those "parts". Also try adding some healthy soil from a nursery (or from your compost :)
* Gardening can be year round. There are lots of great fall/winter veggies. (I'll post on these later).
* Adding some bright flowers attracts butterflies and bees which help pollinate your plants.
* Nope, it's not cost effective but it's damn good for the soul. I love to see what I can sow. And nothing tastes better than fresh from the garden.
* You need a good reference book. I love my Neil Sperry's Complete Guide to Texas Gardening. Easy to find a great used version on Amazon.
I used to visit and revisit it a dozen times a day, and stand in deep contemplation over my vegetable progeny with a love that nobody could share or conceive of who had never taken part in the process of creation. It was one of the most bewitching sights in the world to observe a hill of beans thrusting aside the soil, or a rose of early peas just peeping forth sufficiently to trace a line of delicate green. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mosses from and Old Manse
We have a community garden about a mile and a half from our house. We LOVE it! Our veggies are a little different because we aren't in Texas but spring salad is the BEST!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the concept of community gardens. There is an awesome documentary called The Garden about a 14 acre community garden in south central LA- fascinating. Do you have to agree to a certain amount of work time or do you pay for a small plot? How does yours work?
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