OK. I think I’ve had enough. Cabin fever, the unrelenting snow and cold, the lack of sunshine. It’s seriously getting on my nerves. We’ve just gone through another round of cold/snow/blizzard and all I can think of is the feel of warm earth between my fingers, the rich smell of compost newly worked into the soil and the pure joy of tasting that first ripe strawberry. The burst of sweet juicy red sweetness makes my taste buds sing with delight! I just CAN’T WAIT ANY LONGER! But alas, I live in the frozen tundra of Minnesota so I still have a few months before these dreams will become reality.
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So what to do with my ideal time during this arduously slow Spring warm-up/thaw? Dive into my seed catalogs! There’s so many to choose from. Most places will send you free catalogs, coupons, codes and more in hopes of garnering your business. A few of my favorites: Baker Seeds, Johnny Seeds, Gurneys, Master Gardener groups, the County Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and plenty more! I tend to buy almost all my seeds from Baker Seeds since I’m looking for specific heirloom, open pollinated varieties with flavor and short growing seasons to survive and thrive in Minnesota. I tend to get fruit trees like Cherry, Lemons and Limes from Gurney’s (and yes, my house looks like a mini jungle inside!). My dwarf cherry trees from Gurney’s are excellent and prolific bearers. They were developed out of Canada. The only problem… you’ve got to get to them before the birds do. Other places that I look for good, hardy tree stock is the local growing garden centers that tend to have the strong root stock for my fruit trees to survive our winter Polar Vortexes.
If I’m looking for healthy plants that are more central to my area, I like to buy my live plants like raspberries, blueberries, rhubarb, onions and strawberries from my local County Master Gardeners Group. They are a wealthy of knowledge, put on an EXCELLENT Expo each year and their prices for live plants and viability can’t be beat. I mean where else can you get 25 raspberry plants for under $40 and blueberry plants that are tall, strong and built for the frozen tundra for only $10 a piece… without having to buy hundreds of plants. And the viability is better than anyone else. I’d be lost without my County Master Gardener Group.
With all the options out there… One’s head can spin. There are so many types of seeds and plants one can buy. So, where to start so you don’t break the bank?
I’ve got several proven steps that I use each year to not go “overboard.” Step 1…. First, I make a plan. I create my plan each year in Excel on grid paper, so that I can see how my garden has morphed over the years. I have all my raised beds listed, rows spaced out and refuse/ compost areas marked. This way I know what I have for space and what I don’t.
Step 2, I look at all my space and ask the hard questions; “What do I want to eat? What grew well last year? What failed? Is there a crop I could put in there to sell at Market? Are there items that I won’t eat? What’s my top 10 plants that I just can’t live without?” Once I have my list, I rank everything… 1=must have, 5=would like, 10=don’t need.
Step 3, this is part of my “Dream” phase. Here’s where I look at the different varieties and find the correct plants that will (A) grow in my region during our short growing season, (B) figure our their space requirements, (C) Plant nutrition/ soil requirements and (D) Plant sun and water needs. I put this information into the Excel spreadsheet on the side. Once I’ve got my “wish list” filled out with those requirements, it’s easier to determine “Who” will fit into my garden plant and where. Though this is a fairly short, and easy step, it’s probably the most fun!
Now I get to move onto the longest step in my plan… Step 4…. who/ where/ when to plant. In my “mirror garden” setup, I have each square set to 4 inches (flower/herb bed) or 6 inches (veggie garden). This helps with space management. For instance, say I’ve got a 4 foot wide by 8 foot long raised bed and I want to plant a Salsa Garden. I’d setup the raised bed with 6 inch spacing so that the plants fit nicely into the raised bed.
To figure out the “who/ where”… I look at my list of potential varieties in my wish list. By looking closely at the plant requirements, I can determine the space I need to have enough room for tomatoes, peppers, jalapenos plants, onion and herbs like cilantro and cumin. By using a mapping technique, I find out that I need ## tomatoes, ## peppers, ## jalapenos plants, ## onion starts, ## bunches of cumin and cilantro. The other added benefit of mapping is I can space closer together; similar to the techniques of Square Foot Gardening. (Here’s my favorite Square Foot Gardening book and one just for kids).
The last part of this step is the “when.” This part can be a little tricky. If I know how many live plants I need in my raised bed, I usually start at least double the number of seeds. This takes into account for losses from germination issues, seedling damp off, transplant shock and the inevitable critter/ weather attack.
Since I start everything from seeds, I check out the planting instructions for the variety and see when I should plant. Some say “plant in ground after the last frost.” Others will state “start indoors 6 to 8 weeks before last frost.” And then there’s the environment piece. I know the soil in my ground is a clay/ loam mix, which tends to take quite a bit of time to dry and warm up in the spring. So, for warm weather loving plants, I tend to start everything indoors and move out into the raised beds. The only thing I actually start by seed in the ground are: peas, beans, carrots, potatoes and peanuts.
The final step, Step 5, is the SUPER FUN part…. Buying the seeds! To me, buying seeds, is kind of a personal preference. Some people want heirloom, some want organic heirloom, others want hybrids. Whatever your preference, buy your seeds (or plant starts) from reliable sources either online or through your local Garden Centers. My personal preferences for seeds are Baker Seeds and Seed Savers Org, since I’m looking for heirloom, open pollinated varieties so I can save seeds from year-to-year. For my live, plant starts…. I can’t beat my local County Master Gardener groups and our local greenhouse. Again, this is all personal preference. The best thing to keep in mind is browse all the wonderful selections, STICK to the PLAN, and DREAM OF BIG BOUNTIFUL HARVESTS in the upcoming season!
Good Luck with your Gardening Season!