How to garden in the suburbs
I’m going to go through with it this year. I’m becoming a gardener. The concept of going into my backyard and picking green beans for dinner sounds delicious, but the whole “gardening” thing has me a bit overwhelmed. I’ve decided to share my trials here as I try to get things to grow. Here’s my super geeky gardening profile:
Name: Alyssa Aarhaus
Location: Denver, Colorado
Gardening Zone (wow, I already sound professional): between 5 and 6
Prior Experience: Despite three moves and leaving it in the car for a few days, kept a house plant alive for seven years (Plant name: Epipremnum aureum… oh yeah, I just threw Latin out there). Continues to keep basil, parsley, and oregano alive in planters on the kitchen window sill. O.K., honestly, the basil’s looking a little weak sauce lately.
Gardening Goals: Grow a small raised bed garden in the back yard to teach the boys about vegetables. Hopefully grow enough cucumbers and tomatoes to can relish and stewed tomatoes in the fall.
Resources: 1. My Internet researching addiction 2. All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew and The Backyard Homestead edited by Carleen Madigan 3. Gardening friends that are patient enough to answer a barrage of ridiculous questions
Yes. I’m a nerd, but I’m NOT a gardening nerd so we’ll see how it goes. My first gardening discovery was the importance of seeds. You can buy seeds from the supermarket, but better seeds produce better veggies. I went a little nuts and ordered the following recommended seed catalogs that should arrive in the mail within the next few weeks:
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
Burpee Seeds
Johnny’s Seeds
Park Seed Co.
Seeds of Change
Seed Savers
Stokes
Thompson and Morgan Seeds
Vesey’s Seeds
I told you I went overboard! I also found Botanical Interests, a Colorado company, on Twitter and I’ve been reviewing their online catalog. I haven’t decided if I will be purchasing hybrid seeds or heirloom seeds yet. Hybrid seeds are professionally cultivated seeds, while heirloom seeds are from plants that have been passed down many generations. You can’t save your hybrid plant’s seeds, but there are certain heirloom plants that provide seeds worth saving for the next gardening year. I’ll report back when seed shopping begins.
Until then, I’ve got to convince Hubby of our essential need for a outdoor 55-gallon drum composter. I mean, I’ve got to convince Hubby to buy the drum, build the composter, and, oh by the way, build the wood frame for my garden bed. Wish me luck!
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Related posts:
Our Haus and Home
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city garden, garden in small space, how to start a garden, raised bed garden, suburb garden
Themocracy
OMG. WEAK SAUCE. I haven’t heard that expression in YEARS.
Sounds like you have a good plan in place – just beware that you will probably wind up with waaaaay more veggies than you thought so it’s good to know who you can pawn off the excess to.
One more hint: SALSA TOMATOES. I got mine from Burpees and they are the BEST. Oh and vine cucumbers tend to go all Pinky & The Brain and try to take over the world… but I haven’t had nearly as good a crop with bush cucumbers.
Glad you enjoyed. Hubby says I’m about 10 years behind when it comes to expression… namely, I still like to call out a “doofus” when I see one.
Thanks for the tips. Do you can your salsa tomatoes? I’m looking for a really hearty tomato to can for spag sauce and stewed toma-ters.