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| Edibles in the flower bed |
Sunday, April 19, 2020
If you are thinking of starting your first garden and are wondering “What should I plant in my first garden" and "How many plants of what do I need?”. Here are some tips to get a first garden going the easy way.
One way to decide what to plant is to track what you buy for a couple of weeks. This will give you a good idea of what you like to eat. You can then plan your garden around your favorite eats. During the summer, you can go to farmers markets and try out what looks interesting to trial run them for the next season.
If you eat a lot of salads, greens with complimentary veggies and herbs would be a great first garden. In early spring, any type of lettuce is good. Once you head into May, use varieties that withstand the hot temps of summer like Jericho Romaine, Simpson Elite or my favorite Red Sails. Bolt-free, sweet summer lettuces
The biggest watch out for starting a new garden is starting too big. Start small with what you use the most in the kitchen. Herbs, lettuce, carrots, radishes, peppers, or tomatoes are great ones to start with.
One thing to keep in mind is that some veggies like cool weather and some like warm weather. Crops that thrive and stay sweet in spring are carrots, radishes, cilantro and all types of leafy greens. A spring edible garden For crops that come into their own in warm months are the fruiting crops like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, melons, and squash to name a few. What to plant in the May edible garden Don't despair, you can still have salads all summer, you will just have to use heat tolerant lettuces and other greens. Growing summer salads
One thing to keep in mind is that some veggies like cool weather and some like warm weather. Crops that thrive and stay sweet in spring are carrots, radishes, cilantro and all types of leafy greens. A spring edible garden For crops that come into their own in warm months are the fruiting crops like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, melons, and squash to name a few. What to plant in the May edible garden Don't despair, you can still have salads all summer, you will just have to use heat tolerant lettuces and other greens. Growing summer salads
Here is the basic garden I grow every year:
Herbs (1 each)-chives, thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano, and flat leaf parsley
3 basil plants (for pesto and seasoning)
3 tomato plants-1 cherry tomato type and 2 slicer types
3 pepper plants-2 sweet peppers and 1 spicy pepper
1 bush zucchini
1 eggplant
8 or more garlic plants (you can buy cloves for planting at any big box store) Time to plant garlic! With growing tips......
Arugula, spinach and lettuce scatter sown in self watering pots
The easiest way to start a new garden is to plant your veggies in your flower garden. It is a win-win for the veggies as flowers attract pollinators which increase the harvest. Mulched beds keep weeds down and conserve moisture in the soil so less watering is needed during the hot days of summer. Weed free, self fertilizing, till free garden beds
If you don't have a lot of garden space, plant in pots in a sunny spot. There are so many varieties bred just for pots and small spaces. Look for words in the description like "compact", patio", "container", "dwarf". Burpee seed packets have a little clay pot emblem on the front for those that grow well in containers. Decorative container gardening for edibles
Happy gardening!
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