This weekend on the Frugal Upstate Facebook page I posted a picture of some of the seed catalogs that had already come in and asked folks if they were planning their gardens yet. I got a great question from Kayte: For someone who is starting their first garden this year….what are a couple plants you’d recommend?
Well Kayte, I’m glad you asked! It’s not a question that can be answered in just a few lines, so I decided to pull it out and answer it here on the blog.
There are a lot of factors that go into a successful garden-more than I could cover in a single post, which is why I had already planned that in 2012 I’d be starting a gardening feature to walking brand new gardeners through all the information and decisions they need to make a great vegetable garden in 2012! Be on the lookout for that-and if you haven’t already make sure you Follow Frugal Upstate on Facebook and sign up for the email feed for this blog–that way you won’t miss a thing!
But back to your question. I have three steps for you to figure out what to plant this year:
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1. Make a list of vegetables you enjoy eating.
Photo by Marc Roberts
It is senseless (and frustrating) to grow something that you don’t really want to eat. For example, many folks suggest radishes as a quick and easy crop-which they are. But most folks don’t actually EAT a lot of radishes–so why bother. To really enjoy your first garden it’s best not to get crazy and experiment-plant veggies you know you already enjoy!
(Note: Actually, there are some interesting things you can do with radishes. You can take nice crusty bread, butter it and then layer on some thinly sliced radishes. Mmm. You can also saute them in butter, which completely changes their taste.)
2. Figure out what zone you are in and how long your growing season is.
The USA (and other countries I’m sure!) are divided up into gardening “zones”. These zones (USDA Plant Hardiness Zones) have to do with the wintertime cold temperatures in various regions. Finding your zone is easy-just use Google! For example, in my area I’d Google “USDA Zone NY”. That brings up several sites with maps to consult-from there I can see I am in Zone 5 (actually on the border of Zone 5a & 5b).
photo by Edible Office
Most seed packages will give you a planting date based on this data. Most seed packets will say things like “plant up to 3 weeks before last frost date” or “plant 4 weeks after average last frost date”
Next you need to figure out how long your growing season is. This is done by checking the average first and last frost dates in your area. Again-Google is your friend. I would search for “first frost date Binghamton NY” and “last frost date Binghamton NY”. That gives me May 10-20 for the last frost in the spring and Sept 20-30 for the first frost in the fall. Looking at a calendar and doing a bit of counting that tells me that 123 days between frosts that things can grow.
(Note: From experience I know that I rarely get 123 days of growth out of anything in Upstate NY–there are other factors to consider! Sometimes it rains and the ground is too wet to plant in for several weeks. Other seeds and plants need the soil temperature to be warmer than we have first thing in the spring.)
3. Find what varieties of the plants you enjoy eating do well in your area.
Photo by LollyKnits
This is where your state’s Cooperative Extension Office will help you out (sorry-if you aren’t in the US then I’d check with local gardening organizations, folks who garden in your area or ask for advice at a reputable nursery-NOT your local box store!) . Google (again-yes, I love Google) your state and the phrase “cooperative extension office” and you’ll get a site (usually associated with your state university system). There should be an office in each county and somewhere either on the website or by calling the office you should be able to get a list of specific plant cultivars that do well in your area.
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By picking vegetables that you enjoy eating and then making sure you pick cultivars that do well in the conditions specific to your area you’ve given yourself the best shot at doing well and enjoying your first gardening experience.
All that being said I’d say that most people enjoy garden fresh tomatoes and cucumbers (although each can have it’s difficulties and quirks), it’s also fantastic to be able to pick fresh lettuce and carrots out of your own garden and make a salad, or snip off some chives (which come back every year) parsley, or basil that you’ve grown yourself.
Photo by Renee
And one more thing-start small. Really truly–if you go huge first thing you are going to be overwhelmed, the garden and weeding will get out of control, you’ll be sad and discouraged and you might give up. It’s best to start smaller, enjoy the experience, learn a bit, get to know your area, and get an idea of how much work it all takes this first year. Then you can build on your success and go even bigger & better next year!
I am planning a container garden. I know I will be moving in the next 6 months and I want to enjoy a garden. I have been evaluating containers, the costs related, and the portability component. I am planning tomatoes, jalepenos, cilantro, maybe some letuces (not sure yet).
I would include some easy growing flowers around the border. Marigolds help keep the insects away, and zinnia’s give some beauty to your garden (plant on the North side). These flowers also attract bees and help with pollinating your vegetables. I would also recommend keeping a small garden or even starting out with container gardens. I planted tomatos and cucumbers in pots last year and they really did great on the East side of my deck. You just need to make sure and water them more frequently than an in-ground garden. My brother was in Afghanistan last year and I wanted to make him some Salsa (his favorite) for when he came back.
I received an Aerogarden for Christmas and am excited to finally be gardening. The basil came up within 2 days and the peppers came up in about 7. Once they get larger I am going to transplant them outside. I also bought a Topsy-Turvy so I can make some home made salsa once everything is grown!
Great article. All of my seeds have started and I am ready to get outside soon. Any tips for preparing the soil? Do you try to warm it up first by covering during spring?
I just wait till the soil warms and plant 🙂
Hi there, Great tips by the way and thank you. I
did have a question though. I’m hoping you can answer it for me since you
seem to be pretty knowledgeable about gardening.
Can you use regular pine boards for a raised garden bed?
If you had some insight I would greatly appreciate it.
I think the biggest issue is chemicals leaching from pressure treated wood (so don’t use that) and the wood eventually rotting from moisture. So you should be able to use plain pine boards, but they may eventually rot and need to be replaced.