It's Spring! Last Minute Tips to Get Your Garden Ready

Welcome to Spring, the official beginning of terrific weather, sunshine and refreshing showers. The southeast has had an abnormally crappy winter (not that the midwest or northeast had it any better) and Spring couldn't come fast enough.

Some of you lost track of the calendar as one bleak, gray day blurred into another. Spring has caught you by surprise--you've got nothing done in your garden but it's not too late! If you start now, you've got plenty of time to get your garden ready for late spring and summer harvests.


It's not too late to start your seeds indoors. Several plants, especially peppers and tomatoes, do well if you start the seeds indoors in a controlled environment . Ideally, you should start 8-10 weeks before the last frost date. (The last frost date for Atlanta/ Zone 7 is listed anywhere between the end of March to the middle of April.) But there is still time! The southeast has a long growing season so you can still get an ample harvest even if you're falling a bit behind schedule.

You can buy a starter kit, which I did this year. I still recommend DIY seed starters to conserve resources. Recycle small plastic containers like yogurt cups, strawberry pints, or the little black containers that plants come in at home supply stores. Just be sure to select a plastic that is easy to cut through when it's time to transplant the seedlings. Also be sure that there is a hole in the bottom for drainage.

Next, fill your container with Fox Farms Light Warrior Seed Starter. It's the best seed starter that I've used, hands down. It's ultra light, making it easy for little sprouts to push through. The material holds the right amount of moisture so you don't have to water  it every day and risk water-logging your seeds. Lastly, it's got good nutrients to give your plants a healthy head start.

I started my seeds in recycled containers filled with Light Warrior and a Bio Dome by Park Seed Co. Both are on top of a heating pad. I put the dome from Park over the seeds in the recycled containers since I started those later and they need  the warmth for a little boost :)

Once your seeds are sown according to their instructions, find a sunny spot near a window and be patient. Lacking sunlight or patience? Put your seed starters over a heating pad or heating blanket. Set the temperature between 65-80 degrees, depending on what you're growing and how much light is available to naturally heat the soil. The additional heat will jump start germination. Even if you have a sunny spot, you can use the pad in the early morning and late evening to prolong the soil's warmth.

Prepare your outdoor soil for direct sowing. Ideally, you'd have your native soil tested in the winter so that you know exactly what your soil needs. Soil testing through a local university extension takes several weeks. Oops. Too late for that. There are ways to work around it.

You can buy a home testing kit for your native soil at a garden supply store or online (expedite the shipping). Those tests can be completed in a day. I recommend working with native soil (at least in part) for gardeners who are working with large spaces since this method can be most cost effective.

The second option is to start a raised bed or container garden. Fill your bed with store-bought garden soil and fertilizers. Bagged soil has its nutrient composition on the outside of the bag so that you know what you're dealing with already. I recommend this for smaller garden spaces simply because store-brought soil can be quite costly.

A few of my pots, cleaned and ready to go!
My faves are the rustic cauldrons, a gift from my mom.

Are your tools ready for use? Do a walk-through of your garden and gear:

• Check hoses and nozzles for drips, gaps, and other damage that could have occurred during the winter. 
• Sharpen your metal tools--it makes weeding and digging so much easier. 
• Buy your plant supports now since you'll want those in place soon after you transplant the seedlings; if you wait until the plants need the supports, you run the risk of damaging the root system when you shove the support into the ground. 
• If you let soil sit in your planters and pots over winter, dump it out and sterilize the vessel. (A simple clean with warm soapy water will do. Rinse well and let it dry.) Some diseases, bacteria, and harmful pests can overwinter in containers. It's best to start fresh when you can.

Spring Garden 2014: Bring it.

Spring is near! The chilly, gray weather outside of my window isn't too promising but unless the globe comes screeching to a halt, spring is indeed on its way. Time to revamp the vegetable gardens!

There are a few things that we're doing differently this year.

• Wooden raised beds in the old garden and adding a new raised bed near our garage
• Improving soil composition
• Focusing on the health and strength of seedlings
• Adding fruit to garden
 

 

So...we've got some work to do.

Raised Bed Plans, Phase I and II

Our 4' x 16' bed frames, on their sides

Last year, we started raised beds made of compacted clay. Fail. This season, we're building proper raised beds out of wood. These won't get washed away and they look prettier. We're also hoping that raised beds and better soil composition will promote better drainage and root health.

We will have two main raised beds that are 4'x16'. Those two will be 1' deep. We're also adding an L-shaped raised bed near the garage that has 8' and 10' legs, each 2' wide. One leg of the L is 1.5 feet deep and the other leg is 1', just for aesthetic purposes.

Though the frames could fit through our basement door, we had to cut the 4'x16's in half so that I could help carry them out. (All the working out in the world hasn't enabled me to lift something like that!) It turned out to be a great decision; they were easier to carry and my husband had the splendid idea to terrace two levels of one bed. That bed fits into the natural landscape better that way.

Original garden during winter, 3 rows. The plastic garden trim prevented the garden soil from washing away during our rough fall and winter storms. That plastic will be repurposed for the flower gardens (mostly buried as a border). We will reposition the deer fencing later.

We created two large rows instead of three small ones. The row closest to the house barely got any sun, anyway. This design also allows for 3 large walking aisles. In this photo, we added the first raised bed, moved the compost bin closer, and added a compost mixing box.

Two beds installed, along with supports for tomatos.

Almost done! Just need to add sisal rope for Florida Weave tomato support system.

This used to be a flat grassy area near the garage. It gets tons of sun so we added two raised beds for growing space.

Filling the Garden Beds

The native clay sucks. The first problem is that it is acidic, hard, clumpy clay. The second problem is that there are TONS of rocks in it, even after the hand sorting that we did last year. My husband made two sifters that we will use to get the rocks out and break up the clay. This will help us to evenly integrate the soil amendments.

The sifted clay will be mixed with homemade organic compost, cow and chicken manure, lime, Fox Farm Happy Frog Soil Conditioner and a bit of Ocean Forest Garden Soil, and Miracle Grow Organic Choice garden soil. To estimate, the soil will be 40% clay and 60% good stuff. We will leave 1"-2" at the top of each bed for light mulch.

Starting the Seeds

Last year, I did it all wrong. I started the seeds in native clay, blended with a smidgen of potting mix. Most seedlings developed but they were weak. Between flash floods, weeks of drought and scorching temperatures most plants struggled to survive. Only my bell peppers and tomatoes produced anything worth talking about.

This year, I brought a Bio Dome to start the seeds. There are a few cheaper styles out there but since I'm starting seeds in full view of my kitchenette, I wanted something that looked nice. Once the seedlings can be hardened off, transporting the Bio Dome outside will be a lot easier that moving all the tiny recycled plastic cups that I had last year. (I didn't have a rolling table.) I loved the idea of using recycled materials but the convenience and aesthetics of the dome won.

Giving the seeds a good start in the BioDome sponges should help strengthen them until I learn to master my own seedling starter mix.

Garden Layout

I don't have much diversity. This season, I'm aiming to master a few things, especially peppers. For one, I love them. Secondly, organic peppers are expensive so growing our own makes sense ($3-$4 each at Kroger. Ew!) The spring/summer garden will contain:

• Marketmore Organic Cucumbers
• Mater Sandwich Organic Tomatoes
• Moneymaker Organic Tomatoes
• Sweet N' Neat Hybrid Cherry Tomatoes
• Carmen Hybrid Red Pepper
• Cayenne Blend Organic Peppers
• Sweet Rainbow Blend Peppers
• Strawberry Rainbow Treasure 
• Hull Blackberry Shrub
• Sunshine Blueberry Bush
• Organic Chives
• Organic Basil
• Organic Cilantro
• Organic Parlsey
• Organic Dill
• Organic Garlic
• Spinach and lettuce

Most will be grown in the raised beds, though the leafy greens, herbs, and strawberries will be grown in containers on the patio.

Our ROI

This year, I'm keeping track of how much we spend on the garden updates. I'm going to compare that against this year's yields, pricing out each harvest as if I'd brought it at Kroger. This will give me an idea of how quickly the garden will pay for itself.

So far, we've already saved money by DIYing the garden. We created 164 square feet of garden space, a compost mixing box, and two sifters. We spent $550 on building materials. We spent $165 on soil, seeds, and fertilizer. DIY Total is $715.

Home Depot sells a 80sq. ft raised garden frame for $285. Buying our square footage in garden space would be $570. Add 4 coated galvanized steel tomato and that's $28. (Not exactly comparable.) Buying our raised beds and cages would be $598. 4'x4' wooden frame for compost mixing would be $40. Two metal sifters would cost $302! (Ridiculous.) Add $165 for soil, fertilizer, and seeds. Store-bought Total: $1,105

On the surface, we saved $390. That's enough to make me happy. But upon closer look, I think we got an even bigger value. Our tomato cages will last longer than the flimsy wire ones from the store. Our sifters are larger, of higher quality, and attach to our wheelbarrow. (They will get plenty of use--going to do flower gardens in the front and back yards.) We got to customize the style and dimensions of our beds. Lastly and most importantly, my husband had a great time playing with his toys :) I couldn't be prouder.

And...we're ready for spring!

Let there be life!

By July the organic garden was doing fairly well. It wasn't easy getting there, though.

This is one of the larger harvests of the month. Humble beginnings!

The weather gods are against me. Days of 90+ degree heat have been intermittent with deluges. The soil started to erode in the frequent downpours, exposing some plants' roots along the perimeters of the rows. I hadn't amended the soil properly beforehand so what wasn't eroding near the edges began to form puddles near the middle. It was a hot mess.

I knew this would happen, to an extent. Georgia's clay is horrible with water management but in my haste to get the garden started I figured it would be okay for the first season. (My mother had a beautiful flower and shrub garden. Veggies couldn't be that different, right? Wrong.)

As a short term solution, I bought topsoil and added it to the rows. The chunky little bits of wood slowed the erosion and minimized the puddles at the surface. The added soil also covered the exposed roots. Once the weather became a bit more merciful, I added liquid fertilizers and diligently applied insecticidal soaps to fend off critters that tried to take advantage of the fragile plants. Shame on them!

Slowest. Change. Ever.

The quick-fixes worked long enough to let the batch of plants produce some promising fruit. The Bonnie Patio Tomatoes--so named because the plants only grow 3 feet tall and can fit in a patio container--were the first ready to harvest. Our tomatoes are DELICIOUS and they're still giving fruit now at the tail end of August.

The Bonnie Red Bell Pepper and Bonnie Yellow Bell Pepper plants consistently bare large fruit (5+" long and about 6+" in diameter) but they take weeks to change color since they aren't getting as much sunlight as they should.  When they finally change, they are very flavorful and I love their brilliant colors. So delicious and lovely, in fact, that I refuse to cook them. We only eat them fresh so we get the full enjoyment of the nutrients and color.

Next, the Sweet N' Neat Cherry Tomatoes by Park Seed that I started from seeds began to mature. They produce the cutest little cherry tomatoes and I get 10-20 per week. I slice them in half and pop them over salads and omelets.

The herbs were most difficult to grow outdoors, surprisingly, but I'm not sure why. First problem: Georgia heat can be a beast. Second problem: the seeds are by Weeks Seed Company, a small business without a very strong reputation. Third problem: they seeds were stored at this local nursery. Only God knows how old they might've been. So many of the seeds were duds.

Nom nom cherry tomatoes!

I did manage to get some decent chives and parsley out of the bunch. The basil hasn't matured yet (my fourth try) and the cilantro hasn't gotten beyond a few small leaves and scrawny stalks. I know better what to do when the cooler months arrive.

My Sweet Rainbow Blend Peppers and Cayenne Blend Peppers, both grown by seeds from Park Seed, will be the last to mature. I know Alejandro is excited about the homegrown cayenne and I personally can't wait to add the multicolor peppers to some sort of sautee or stir fry. More to come!