Vegetable Garden For Beginners

Jake here!

For several years now the idea of having a vegetable garden has always sounded so fun, but I never really knew where to start, that is until I met Rachel. Rachel is a gardening pro. She has been gardening with her family since she was able to walk. With her guidance and expertise, she helped start my very own vegetable garden this year. I am so excited to learn more about gardening and watch my veggies grow! I will be sharing every step of the way.

I first selected a sunny spot in my backyard. I made sure that the location I picked would get a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight per day. And measured out the dimensions of my garden- 8 feet by 4 feet with some string and post. There are two main ways to make a vegetable garden- a raised bed or in ground. I decided to make an in-ground bed for my first year.

I then tore up exciting landscape fabric and moved some pavers out of the way.

I installed two fences, square wire mesh fence to keep critters out zip tied to a decorative fence. I buried the fence about two inches to keep critters from crawling underneath. I then added 9 bags of garden soil so the new garden soil depth was 6 inches and mixed in some fertilizer. You can determine the amount of soil you need by calculating the volume. So in my case 8 feet x 4 feet x 6 inches = .59 cubic yards, which is roughly 2/3 of a yard. There are 27 cubic feet in 1 yard. Each bag of soil I purchased was 2 cubic feet, so I purchased 9 to equal 18 cubic feet, so 2/3 of a yard. Don’t worry if this is confusing, you can look up a soil calculator to help you determine the amount of soil you will need.

I was able to plant my onions first (end of April), as they can be planted as soon as the soil can be worked. My squash, leeks, lettuce, thyme, chives, basil, tomato and pepper plants were planted after the danger of frost. This year in Minnesota I started planting May 15th. It is usually safe to plant around the middle of May in Minnesota, but always be sure to check the extended forecast for temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

I added a cage to both the tomato and pepper plants to keep them upright. I then planted some zinnias around the perimeter and added some mulch around the garden area to add a finishing touch.

Now it’s just time for maintenance, tender loving care and to watch them grow!

Container Gardens

Geranium // Verbena // Bacopa // Goldilocks

Container gardens are one of the easiest ways to add flowers and beauty to your outdoor living spaces and landscape. To make a beautiful container garden you will need the following items: A pot in your choice of size with drain holes, container potting mix, and plants for either sun or shade. To determine if the area you wish to put your container is sun or shade, observe it throughout the day. If gets less than 6 hours of sun a day plants shade loving plants. If the area gets more than 6 hours of sun a day plant sun loving plants. When you pick your plants out, they will state sun or shade on the tag.

After you determine if you need sun or shade plants, you will want to consider the type of plants. The most attractive containers include a thriller, filler and spiller. The thriller is a tall plant placed in the middle or the back. The filler, fills in the middle space and is usually full of color. The spiller, cascades down the side and adds fullness.

Once you select your plants, it is time for the fun part planting! First decide if you want your thriller in the center, in the back, off to the side etc. Then add your fillers and finally spillers. How close you plant your plants together will depend on if you are planting sun or shade plants. Shade plants don’t like to touch as much, so space them out slightly more, such as 4-5 inches apart. Due to shade plants not liking to touch and mix together, containers with only one or two types of plants look beautiful! Sun plants like to touch and mix together, so they can be planted 2-3 inches apart.

The final step is fertilizing to keep your plants fed and blooming all season long. Decide on if you would like to use a slow release or a water based fertilizer. A slow release fertilizer is added to the soil when you plant and typically feeds for around 3 months. A water based fertilizer is typically mixed in water and watered in around every two weeks. When picking a fertilizer look for a bloom enhancer fertilizer to encourage more flowering. Bloom enhancer fertilizers have a higher amount of phosphorus which is the second (middle) out of the three numbers on a fertilizer label.

Agatha reminding everyone to stop and smell the flowers 🙂

My favorite thrillers: Indian Summer Rudbeckia, Dahlias, Asparagus Fern, Angelonia, Dragon Wing Begonia, Tall Coleus, Geranium, Juncus Big Twister Grass, Purple Fountain Grass, Canna Lily, Papyrus Dwarf Egyptian Grass, Alocasia and trellis with a flowering vine.

My favorite fillers: Impatiens, Petunia, Coleus, Rieger Begonia, Tuberous Nonstop Begonia, Biden, Calibrachoa, Geranium, Gerbera Daisy, Heliotrope, Euphorbia Diamond Snow, Fushsia, Lantana, Lemon Ball Sedum, Sanvitalia and Verbena.

My favorite spillers: Wave Petunia, Candlestick Ivy, Dorotheanthus Mezoo Red, Lysimachia Goldilocks, Blackie Sweet Potato Vine, Chartreuse Sweet Potato Vine, Torenia, Wandering Jew, Wire Vine and Yellow Thunbergia.

Happy Planting!

Spring Nursery Visit

Every year I get so excited to make a trip to my favorite garden center, Gerten’s to purchase all of my spring plants. I look forward to it all spring, even though I worked there for several years during high school and college, going to Gerten’s never gets old.

This year I picked up annuals for four containers, annuals for flower beds, herbs, and some scrubs and perennials to replace a few areas that did not make it though the winter. I also picked up some gardening essentials- container mix, bloom enhancer fertilizer and another trellis. I grew all of my vegetables from seed this year, or will directly sow.

Top // Necklace // Jeans // Sneakers // Bag // Scarf // Sunglasses

I cannot wait to share my garden projects and progress as they bloom!