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The Perennial Buzz by Shelley Pederson

 

“Why don’t you garden a little instead of play

And help to pass your spare time away

Also, you’ll find, some of these days

Your Victory garden really pays.”

— Alice May Johnson, 14, during World War II

 

I believe after this outbreak,  there will be a surge of families to become more  self-reliant. One of the easiest ways is to provide food for your family by gardening. Nutritious, chemical-free food is essential to strengthen immunity and it is a wonderful way to connect with the earth and your family. 

There are different ways to begin: traditional, in-the-ground raised bed gardening, patio pots and Hugelkultur. My mom and dad had the traditional in-ground bed that was maybe 35-feet-by 70-foot long, maybe even bigger. Dad had a huge rototiller, that pretty  much went where it wanted to go, rather than where I wanted it to go! My job was putting a toothpick next to each plant to keep cutworms from killing the plants and weeding and hoeing. I can’t say at that time I enjoyed it, but I did learn a lot from two excellent gardeners, and for that I am thankful. 

Advantages of in-ground planting is you can easily make a nice big bed. Not much needs to be added to the soil the first couple years if the soil has not been previously worked. Disadvantages are that you need to buy or rent a rototiller. More space is wasted by making rows and people have a tendency to plant more than they can maintain. Grasses like to creep into the edges and weeding is an unending game. 

First, find a spot that is well drained — no standing water. Vegetables for the most part need full sun (six or more hours), especially morning sun. I recommend at least eight hours. Try to keep the bed away from tree roots, especially walnut trees. Make sure that a water source is easily accessible. The last thing you want to do is drag 150 feet of hose when you need to water. 

Plant your rows north to south to allow the sun to reach the plants. Trellis can go on the north end for vining crops like cucumbers or squash. Use two stakes with string to plot your rows and keep them straight. Plan out your garden. Just exactly what do you want to tackle? A good start would be a 20-foot-by-40-foot garden for a family of four. 

For a family of four, common crops amounts would be: (S plant seeds, P buy plants)  beets, 20 feet S;  bell peppers 10 plants P; hot pepper plants, four to six plants P; broccoli/cauliflower/cabbage, eight plants P; carrots, plant 2 feet S at a time, two weeks apart for a total of 10 to 12; cucumbers, four plants S or P; egg plant, four plants P; kale, 10 feet P — kale can get  bitter in the heat of summer; lettuce, 2 feet S at a time, two weeks apart for a total of 20 feet; spinach, 4 feet S at a time, two weeks apart for a total of 12 feet (it is not going to do well when it gets hot); chard is a great substitute for spinach. I would grow eight to 12 S plants and harvest the leaves when they are small; 20 to 30 feet of onions and they are generally planted by bulbs (sets) or plants —the plants are sweeter; snow peas 12 to 15 feet S early and then plant bush beans after they are harvested in the same space for freezing. For summer eating, plant 5 feet of bush beans S and two weeks later another 5 feet. Pole beans are great, too, but you will need a trellis.

Tomatoes: four to six P plants. If you have young children, grow one super sweet cherry tomato. It is a great way to get kids to eat them; they taste like candy and are nutritious. Invest in heavy, tall tomato cages. Your tomatoes grow up instead of out and take up less space. They are less likely to get blight. 

Next are the space eating plants: sweet corn, 40 to 50 S plants and they need to be planted in rows side by side for pollination — for instance, four 10-foot rows side by side. Melons can be grown up in a heavy tomato cage or a trellis to save space; four plants S or P. Plant 20 hills and they are started with seed potatoes; squash, S or P four plants for summer and four for winter; winter squash vine, so they can be grown up in a heavy cage or trellis; and zucchini, one to two plants S or P. 

Keep in mind these numbers are for feeding a family. If you want to can sauces or freeze produce for winter, double that number. 

As you can see, it is easy to fill a garden quickly. I urge you to choose wisely. Keep the rows wide enough to hoe between or rototill between. A couple tips that may help is that I plant a tablespoon of calcium carbonate or Tomato Tone in with my tomatoes and peppers to help avoid blossom end rot. I also add about a half cup of worm castings in the hole when I plant. Put a wooden toothpick next to single stemmed plants. Be sure to thin plants to the suggested spacing. If you think your soil needs amendments a good start would be putting a light covering of worm castings or other well-rotted manure over the bed. I also like a mixture of one part blood meal and five parts bone meal sprinkled over my beds, then worked in. Some people like to put a bit of wood ash on their beds, but do so very lightly. You can also take a soil sample to the extension service and have an analysis done. 

What to plant now: spinach, snow peas, carrots and potatoes. Plant in a couple weeks: onions, lettuce, chard, kale, cold crops (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi) and maybe sweet corn. 

These columns are being provided in gratitude for all that the Tribune offers and keeps us up to date during this time of crisis. Please share this information with as many people you feel can benefit by starting a garden. Be blessed and be safe. 

 

Shelley Pederson is a perennially busy master gardener, lover of nature and student of life.