Tips for Starting a New Garden

Rising food prices, unemployment, financial woes...we all need to stretch our food dollars. If you start now in the early spring, you can be eating fresh, nutritious food from your garden this summer.

Beginning gardeners should keep the garden plot at a manageable size. If you begin with a plot that is 15'X15' it will be 225 square feet of growing space. If that sounds like too much, try 100 square feet, or 10'X10'. A garden doesn't have to be square, either. If you have a narrow strip along the driveway or fence, that is a great place for tomatoes, peppers, and some green beans. Use whatever space you have that receives full sun. You won't have to mow it, and it will give you good food.

If you plan where you will plant your garden during winter or early spring, remember that the spot needs full sun during the summer. Make sure you check areas that will be shaded by tree limbs when the leaves are out. Sheds and garages, and nearby buildings also create shade, and the shadows will be cast in different places as the day progresses. In the northern hemisphere, the north side of a building will be in full shade, so use that area for impatiens or other shade-loving plants.

Do not use weed killers to clear your new garden area for tilling. Herbicides are toxic chemicals, and they will also keep your garden plants from growing! As soon as possible in the early spring, till up the spot you have selected for your garden. Remove grass clumps so they won't root again and grow in your garden. If you till before the grass turns green, the soil will be easier to work. Another way to kill grass and weeds in your garden spot before you till it up is to cover the area with a large sheet of construction black plastic. Weight it down so it stays in place for a couple of weeks, and the heat from the sun and the absence of light should kill anything trying to grow under the plastic. Remove the plastic, and fold it up to keep for another project. Till the area, and you are ready to plant.

Study seed catalogs and save them for reference. They are packed with wonderful planting and growing information. Seed packets also have planting instructions printed on them, telling you how deep to plant the seeds, when you should plant them, and spacing information about how far apart to plant the seeds or transplants. Sometimes there is additional cultural information, such as staking recommendations or when to apply fertilizer. Packets also tell you how many days from planting until harvest.

If you are going to start your own plants indoors for tomatoes, peppers, and other tender plants, be sure to label the starting pots and cells so you remember what you have planted. This is especially true if you are growing some different varieties of tomatoes, for example. When they are little plants, they all look alike. You will want to know whether the baby plants are cherry tomatoes, or big beefsteak slicers.

Be sure to include some flowers in your garden. They are the poetry and song that makes the rest of the work fun. Some flowers are beneficial as well as pretty. Marigolds will keep your soil free of root-knot nematodes that may infect the soil around your peppers or tomatoes. Just intersperse some marigold plants with your tomatoes and peppers, and they will do their work while they look pretty. And while you're at it, plant a few flowers for cutting. Nothing is more cheery than a vase of garden-fresh flowers on the table, especially while you are enjoying those homegrown green beans for dinner.

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