Posted on 04/26/2009 6:10:21 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
It looked like a mad game of Twister in the vegetable seed section at Home Depot on Verona Road last weekend. The arms and legs of strangers criss-crossed as they grabbed seed packets, then paused to read instructions and make decisions.
Among them were Angela and Tim Lucas, of Madison, who gave themselves a roto-tiller for their second wedding anniversary in March.
"We never planted a single thing before, but we think it will be a lot of fun," Angela said. "We love to cook, and we're trying to save money."
It's estimated that for every $100 a homeowner spends on their vegetable garden, they will harvest produce worth between $1,000 and $1,700.
The Lucases got their seed shopping list from "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegetable Gardening": artichokes, arugula, asparagus, edamame, eggplant, garlic, herbs, jicama, leeks, lettuce, okra, patty pan squash, poblano chilis, radicchio, Swiss chard, shallots, snow peas, sorrel, specialty potatoes, strawberries, beets, tomatillos, tomatoes.
The gardening business is one of the few bright spots in the economy these days. Major seed companies are seeing major surges in sales of vegetable seeds -- with occasional shortages of certain varieties reported -- as well as gardening paraphernalia.
"There's a renewed interest in vegetable gardening across the board, and seed sales are up substantially," said Karen Johannsen, a co-owner of Johannsen's Greenhouse, of Madison. "We're very optimistic about the spring season."
Johannsen said many customers tell her they've never grown vegetables, and others haven't done it for many years. "Vegetable gardening just fell away for a long time; when I was a kid everyone had a vegetable garden."
In addition to wanting to save money, many are expressing an interest in knowing where their food comes from, and in supporting local businesses like Johannsen's. "People are nesting instead of taking vacations, and gardening is part of that,"
Heirloom vegetables (varieties that are at least 50 years old and not a hybrid) are among the best sellers. "Some hybrids have superior qualities -- they might be larger or disease resistant -- but many of them have also had the flavor bred out of them." They are also looking for organic fertilizers and pesticides. "That's been building for a decade," Johannsen said.
Richard Zondag, president of the Randolph-based Jung Seed Company, said they've sold 3.5 million packages of seeds this year, compared to about 2.75 million last year. Jung's vegetable seed sales are up about 30 percent, while sales of ornamental seeds and bulbs are down at least 15 percent. "Overall, sales are up 20 percent," he said. "We're having a great year. The only time we did this well before was during the Y2K scare when people started growing vegetables because they thought everything in the world was going to pot." In addition to vegetables, Jung's sales are strong for berries and fruit trees.
Both Johannsen and Zondag recommend that newbie vegetable gardeners scale back on their ambitions:
"Start on a smaller scale so you will be success," Johannsen urged.
"Plant about half of what you want to, or you'll get sick of it," Zondag said.
Vegetable gardening tips
• Start small. • Grow your favorites. • Do some research. • Make sure you have room. • Consult other gardeners, especially those who live nearby. • "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegetable Gardening" by Daria Price Bowman and Carl A. Price (Penguin, $16.95) covers just about every aspect of vegetable garden: planning, earth-friendly techniques, soil nourishment, planting seeds and seedlings, growing vegetables, berries, and medicinal herbs, recognizing common plant diseases, identifying and eliminating weeds, pruning and trimming plants, knowing when to harvest, deciding whether to can, dry or freeze. • An excellent website is www.VegetableGardener.com, a sister site to FineCooking.com and developed by the editors of Fine Gardening. Look for advice on how to choose a site, organic gardening and growing specific crops.
You don't need a garden to garden
Anything that can hold a good amount of soil and plants, and allows water to drain out, is suited for container gardening.
Containers can be terra cotta, concrete, plastic, metal, wood, ceramic, wire, watering cans, buckets, old boots -- just about anything. Bigger pots require less watering, while darker colors absorb heat and help plants grow in summer (though warmer containers cause quicker evaporation). A benefit of container gardening is that you can move plants around to see where they do best.
Some herbs, like mint, are invasive and almost impossible to get rid of once they take hold and should only be grown in containers. A windowsill that gets about five or six hours of sunshine a day is a great spot for growing herbs in containers. The best herbs for windowsill gardens are dense an compact: oregano, thyme, mints, rosemary, basil, sage, cilantro, chives, tarragon and lavender all do well in pots. Lettuces also grow well in pots, Bigger vegetables, like squash, do well in large containers like wine barrels, as do strawberries, tomatoes and bell peppers.
Think about what you like to eat before planting. If you like salsa, combine cilantro, garlic, onion, jalapeno and tomatoes in a container. Those who like Italian food can put a tomato plant in the center of a pot and surround it with Italian herbs such as thyme, sage, oregano, parsley and rosemary.
Also suited for containers are edible flowers, like nasturtium, pansies, and marigolds. Medicinal gardens can grow in containers as well: peppermint, Echinacea, calendula, feverfew, St. John's Wort, valerian, dandelion and chamomile.
When watering container gardens, water just enough so that the soil is moist to the touch on the surface and wait to water again until the soil is dry to the touch on the surface, but still moist an inch or so under the surface.
The most efficient way to water a container is to put your containers in a deep dish or tub, fill it up and let the water soak into the plants from the bottom, which will take a few hours. When the soil is moistened thoroughly, pour excess water on the ground. Glass bottle hacks sold at garden stores (glass bulbs with long spikes) are filled with water, then turned upside down so water is released very slowly. You can also use glass bottles from your recycled bin with a set of spikes.
Sources: http://planetgreen.discovery.com; http://home.howstuffworks.com
Getting started
Recommendations for beginning vegetable gardeners:
Bean, Festina: Resistant to Common Bean Mosaic Virus, it's a bushy plant with straight pods about six inches long.
Squash, Park's Straightneck: The slender squash grow about eight inches and have thin skins, with a high yield compared to most other varieties.
Cucumber, Salad Bush Hybrid: These have an improved disease resistance.
Lettuce, Summer Glory Blend: Includes seven heat-tolerant varieties that will produce lettuce most of the growing season.
Basil, Large Leaf Italian: This Genovese-type basil grows 18 to 24 inches high and 12 to 15 inches wide.
Parsley, Italian Plain Leaf: Flat-leafed parsley is much more nutritious than curly. It can been harvested frequently so the plants keep sprouting new stems.
Source: Park Seed Company
Get free plants
Another suggestion for those interested in developing a green thumb and saving money: Get free plants. Check out these sources:
•Freecycle.org, where people often offer excess garden materials, especially if you offer to return a portion of the produce. •Gardening groups who share advice, help and sometimes even plants. •Landscapers: they often know who has extra plants, including vegetables. Ask if you can have plants that would otherwise go to a landfill. •Nurseries: Sometimes they throw away plants that are getting too old or ugly to sell. •Green houses, either commercial or run by schools. Another good place to get throw-aways as they thin out seedlings. •The grocery store: Some vegetables can be started from a portion of the plant itself (potatoes, yams, garlic, ginger, beans, herbs that still have roots). Ask what produce is being throw away and ask to go through it. The same is true of your own kitchen, or those of friends •Compost pile: Seedlings pop up in this fertile material all the time. Relocate them to the garden or containers.
I love your garden pictures. Seeing how the fencing is done is very helpful. We have deer :-(
I am struggling to start a garden this year — we have started from scratch with a house purchased last autumn with trees in the yard — so the trees have had to be cut down, etc. I’ve got about 50 tomato plants that might be homeless —
Also, we live in an area with red clay, which is completely disturbing.
I’ve planted from seeds:
Yellow Gooseberry (gorgeous happy plants)
Sungold (an orange cherry)
Black Truffle Hybrid (a black plum tomato)
Carbon (a purple/black tomato)
Big Beef Hybrid (Burpee)
a few Giant Belgium
Also cucumbers, beans (bush plus asparagus beans), radish, carrots, lettuce, watermelon. Just the basics this year.
An inspiring website for me has been Claire’s youtube videos from England. “claire’s allotment” is the keyword.
Love In a Mist. I had a friend in England (devoted gardener) send me a bunch of flower seeds a few years ago, with no instructions on how to plant them.
So I planted these seeds in the sun and shade. They do great everywhere. They are perrinials, and spread each year.
They have become my favorite flower. My friend said they are called Love in a Mist. They have fernlike foliage, with a beautiful purple flower. The flower becomes a seed pod and is full of seeds.
I sent some to gardengirl. How are yours doing GG?
please do not insult me by calling me a city slicker( i know you didn’t mean to)...grew up in farm country to a long line of farmers...I still won’t buy beef or milk in the store here...and it’s been many years...
my ambition is to “farm” my way back to the country...
I planted three small gardens this week-end - tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, squash, green beans, lettuce, cabbage, spinach, cantaloupe = can’t wait for some fresh vegetables!
No you don't --- believe me you don't!!!!!
Our weather has freaked out on us.......90 degrees in the shade and it is still April, unreal.
NellieMae has been added to the list!!!
could i be added to the list as well?
I have very little property, so I used some space in front of our house, which gets alot of sun, to grow some yellow crookneck squash. It had been there almost two weeks. When I went out to water it tonight, it was completely gone, like someone just pulled it out of the ground. I live in a suburbun area, I can’t imagine what did this. Rats maybe?
The fencing and the posts are left over from when we lived in Texas and we had to have a fence for our dogs. I still have rolls of the fencing and many polls. My Wife wanted to just leave it when we moved since the property we have now has a chain link fence all around it. I could not leave it and am glad I didn't.
You’re now on the list!!!!
I saw your comment about wanting to get from city to farm -— I know what you mean. I grew up a “city slicker” yet couldn’t wait to get out into the country. Took me a while, but I finally did it and love our little slice of the middle of nowhere!!!
Both of us grew up on vegetable farms and have a big garden every year. Tried parsnips for the first time last year and still have some in the fridge that we wintered over in the garden.
Love in a Mist
Nigella damascena
Thank you!
I agree. I spent 10 years in Oklahoma and had to till, turn and pick rocks out of my Mom’s 1 acre garden. I hated it! Very time consuming and we weren’t going to eat everything that came out of it.
Convinced her, after 2 years, to pare the monster down. She agreed and we started using 1/4 and acre. Plenty big enough and much easier to manage. Still had to pick up rocks that somehow keep pushing their way up through the soil.
Started to pick lettuce/mesclun this last week, fresh greens are so good.
Still have petunias to plant and some snapdragons.
I have to honestly say I have never heard of anyone starting corn indoors and it never even crossed my mind to do so.
Yes, I grew them all from seed this year—could not believe everything grew.
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