Ina Gadda Da Vidda Baby

So, what actually grows here?  Good news, more than you think!  I'm going to focus on edibles today, I'll discuss flowers and shrubs next Monday. 

Don't think you're a vegetable gardener?  I'll bet I can at least get you interested, if not growing your own vegetables (foodies, this is for you).  I didn't think that I was for a long time.  I used to think that all that tilling and weeding just wasn't worth it.  Not to mention the bugs.  I'm all about my bottom line; I firmly believe that time is more valuable than money, and I won't waste more than about 10 minutes to save a buck.  After all, you can always scrounge up a few extra dollars, but have you ever tried to find an extra 15 minutes in the day?  

I know that resonates with a lot of you.  You're busy, and making all the ends meet all the time is a bear.  Most likely, you're going to be going it alone in the gardening department.  So can you really make it easy, and is it really worth it?  After all, I keep saying that we have crappy soil and no growing season.  Here are the things that will make a difference; raised beds, containers, and season extenders.  These are more important than having a list of what you can grow.  If you understand how they work, then you can make your own list of things that you are willing to grow.

We'll start with raised beds.  By definition this is just mounding up the soil into separate beds rather than gardening in rows.  By concentrating the area and soil you are gardening in you overcome 3 things that plague WY gardeners; shallow soil, high soil pH, and soil temperature.  Raised beds warm up faster than traditional garden rows because they are above ground.  Mounding soil up increases it's depth, and you can easily add organic matter and till in minerals to help reduce soil pH and alkalinity.  More organic matter and concentrated planting will reduce the amount of watering and weeding you do, and many diseases and pests are reduced too.  Above ground beds mean no huge rocks, and eliminate the need for Roto-tilling (which is a soil destroyer).  All of this means less time spent working on your garden and more time enjoying delicious veggies and fruits.

I can't say enough good things about raised beds, a little extra investment of time and money up front gives you huge gardening dividends later on.  As you can see in these pictures, raised beds are a beautiful addition to your landscape, and they can be as elaborate or low key as you like.  It really depends on you, and your budget.

Maybe your living situation does not have enough space or time for raised beds, let me introduce you to the raised bed's cute little sister, Container Gardening.  Even if you only have a small front porch, you can grow your own edibles.  Containers beat any soil condition you can think of, outsmart the weather (snow? frost? just bring them inside), and even if you already have a nice garden, they can add whimsy and fun to your hard-scapes.

How about growing your own bag of lettuce?

Perhaps you're a fan of fresh carrots?

Or maybe you just want the freshest spaghetti sauce you can find in one pot?

Fresh Blueberry Muffins Anyone?

Still don't think you have enough room?  Go Vertical:

I hope this gets you excited for the Container Gardening Workshop on May 4th.  I've got some really exciting and fun things to show you :)

Next, season extenders.  When the temperature drops, plants can freeze.  This can happen on the 4th of July here, so it's good to know how to protect your plants from it.  The easiest way to protect plants from freezing is by covering them when you know we are expecting a frost.  Old bed sheets are wonderful for this, because if you forget to take them off right away, they won't fry your plants when the sun comes out and warms things up.  Plastic garbage bags and sheeting are good too, but remember that as soon as the sun comes out it's going to literally cook your vegetables.  Just remember to secure them well, as the wind might, possibly, begin to blow :) 

Another fantastic invention are Walls-of-Water:  http://www.wall-o-water.com/ .  They can be found at most garden centers, and sometimes even Wal-Mart and can be left on your tender plants all season long.  Once again, raised beds are your friend here.  It is very easy to fit them with hoops or makeshift scaffolding to support your season extenders, they also lend themselves well to cold frames and cloches.  Use a combination of these season extenders, and you can get another 45 days out of our growing season.  Since I know some of you just went "Huh?"  Here are some pictures:

Walls-O-Water:

A Cloche encounter:

Cold Frames:

Garden Cover with hoops/scaffolding:

You can use many combinations of these techniques to grow just about anything you want here in the BV, and extend your season from 60-81 days to 90+ days.  I hope this got you excited about your garden, and at least interested in growing your own vegetables.  Come back next week and see how you can overcome the odds and grow a flower garden that will rival anything you see in SLC.  Until next time, have fun gardening!