better get started...

Yep, it's that time! In fact in some ways it's past that time. But, thanks to our wonderful Utah weather, you may just get a pass!

Planning on growing peas this year? Cabbage, Kale or Broccoli maybe? Well that's what I'm talking about here. It's time to get those babies in the ground! OK, truth be told you could and some would argue should have put them in the ground a week to two weeks ago, but there's still time.

Yes I looked out the window today, and yes I know it snowed. It's alright, reallly, these plants are all considered cold tollerant plants and I do mean tollerant. I did manage to get some peas in the ground a couple of weeks ago and they started popping up late last week. This morning I peeked at them and they're all just chugging along with no problems. They'll actually push right through the snow from what I understand. This might even be the year to test that theory.

At the very least, if your really wanting to get a garden going this year, take a serious look at where you're gonna do it, what you want to grow and then make a plan to get going soon. Spring fever is a hard thing to push through when you just want to take walks and enjoy the sun (when it shows up that is...) but if your going to grow a veggie garden, now is the time to do the work.

Good luck to you all. I'll try to be a little more frequent in the postings here now that the season has begun and now that I've finally finished my Master Gardener program. Whoopee!!
Paul~

Building community through gardens

If you're reading this, there's a good chance you came over here from my personal blog where I mentioned this topic the other day. Glad to have you! If that's not the case, and you've just stumbled in here per chance, let me bring you up to speed.

I declared in the beginning of January that I wanted to make this the year that I really started working towards realizing a goal that I've had for some time. That goal is to start a community garden in Syracuse UT, my home. I don't know exactly how it will end up, in fact I have very little order to the idea that I have other than what is in my head. And that's where I find myself today.

Because I have this wonderful vision in my head, but have little form or order to it, I've decided to document the idea and the accompanying development process here. I want to hear from you too. PARTICULARLY if your in Syracuse or one of the surrounding towns. Do you see a need for this? What would you like to see happen? Are you interested in participating?

I'm looking forward to the process, and to hearing your input.

More to come...
Paul~

Time to get started.

Yeah that's right, it's about time to get the garden started.
What? You mean you thought you started gardens in the spring? Oh no, no, no they start much earlier than that. OK, so I'm being a little facetious but honestly they do start, if at all possible, in the fall. Think about it like this; in the spring the ground is wet, the air is cold and generally it rains everytime you try to get anything done in the garden. So like most people you do your best on the decent days when the ground is workable and figure you'll be alright, and you may be. However, if you get that new bed dug in now or those new garden boxes built then in the spring you'll be able to maximize the actual gardening time that you have. This will allow you to enjoy it rather than feeling under the gun to get stuff set up, and will give you the opportunity to enjoy some of the best crops of the year.
Spring brings us, brocolli, lettuce, spinach, peas and greens of almost every kind. Even if you don't like the spring crops it's a great time to add compost, bone meal or other soil amendments and get the ground ready for the summer stuff.
I know I might be go on about starting in the fall, and some of you reading might not even know where to start. With this in mind, I decided to ask if anyone is interested in setting up a get together for this fall, sometime in the next few weeks, to go over planning and starting a garden before the snow flies? Maybe you'd like some advice, or like me, just love to "talk shop". We had some great local gardeners come out this last spring and had, I think, a great time. Please, if your new to this blog, sound off and let me know what you're looking for. If not, do it anyway, I'd love to hear what you're up to this fall.
Till next time Syracuse...Grow on!
P~

p.s. Interested in compost? Check out my personal blog for ideas, I just built a two bin system for my yard and it's cooking HOT!

Start your fall garden NOW!

I’d like to take a second to paraphrase Mel Bartholomew’s Square Foot Gardening September Newsletter. I am not a SFG evangelist by any means, although that is how I began when I started my garden and I do still use some of its principles but I do tend to be a bit Fast and Loose with it. In this case however, Mel says it best, “Start your fall garden NOW!”

When is the best time to plant a garden? Answer: The fall. When do most gardeners plant their garden? Answer: Springtime. Why? Because that's the way we have always done it.
In the springtime, the farmer plows up his land as soon as he can determine it is not too wet and frozen and the old-fashioned single-row gardeners get out their rototillers and do the exact same thing in their yard. But from a plant's standpoint, spring is the worst time and fall is the best time. Here is why. A cool weather crop (mostly the salad greens and the root vegetables} can be planted in both the spring and fall. The trouble in the spring is any crop has a slow start because of the cold weather, but once they get going and the weather warms up, they quickly go to seed and there is little time to harvest.
Just think, in the springtime, the soil is cold and wet, even mucky. The seeds take a long time to sprout. Once they get going the weather gets warmer quickly, the plants grow rapidly and suddenly it is almost summer when it gets hot. Those same plants then go right to seed and there is little time to harvest anything. Yet everyone keeps planting in the spring because the winter has been so long and they are anxious to get outside and plant something. It's traditional.
The fall crop has exactly the opposite conditions. You can plant all the same vegetables, flowers and herbs but they are planted and grow exactly the opposite of the springtime crops. You plant the seeds in the summer when it is warm. The seeds sprout quickly, grow healthy and become strong plants. Then the weather cools down and the plants slow down as they come into harvest as the cool fall time arrives. The plants just kind of sit there waiting to be harvested. They don't go to seed and there is no urgency to finish their period of growth as long you protect that harvest from the fall frost or freezes. Now with a Square Foot Garden, that is much easier to do than with a single-row garden because a SFG is so much smaller in space and easier to protect. So when is the time to start a fall garden? Right now, late summer or early fall in all parts of the country.

It’s the truth, I planted by fall garden a little over a week ago and I already have sprouts of kohlrabi, spinach, broccoli and other cool weather loving plants popping up. The cooler nights and warm days make the perfect mix to germinate seeds and grown healthy plants. Not ready to plant a garden yet? Planning on starting one next spring? Don’t put it off. I’ve done it, and it never works out the way you want it to. When spring arrives the ground is wet and the days cool, not to mention the number of spring cleaning projects that always pop up. Get that garden dug, or garden boxes built and you’ll be thankful that you did. Many people’s favorite plants grow best early and late in the year and if the garden’s not ready for you to plant them, you’ll miss the season all together. This is, in fact, the first year that I have ever been able to truly take advantage of the spring harvest because I took the time last fall to prep my garden for it before winter. Now, do you think we can get the weather to cooperate?
Good luck and Grow on!
P~

Find your "Freedom" ...Garden.

I wanted to take a minute to encourage everyone who reads this blog, and that has even a cursory interest in growing food and gardening to pay a visit to the latest effort being put forth by the fantastic folks over at Path to Freedom. The new site is called Freedomgardens and is a really great social networking site for folks like us who are trying our best to increase our connection to growing our own foods, or raising animals for food. You can read the press release, or just stop by the site and check it out. Look me up while your there, you can find me as "Corner Gardener".
Grow on!
P~

Garden showcase

Do you live in syracuse? Think you've got the best garden on the block, the neighborhood, the city? Well that just may be, but even if it isn't, are you proud of it and want to show it off?
If this is you, I'd like to start a new series of posts highlighting local gardens. It doesn't have to be the biggest, or even the best, just a garden that your proud enough of to want to share.

If your interested leave me a post, or email me at CornerGarden @ gmail.com and we'll take it from there.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Your Corner Gardener.

Thank yous & Catch ups

I wanted to take a minute to thank all the ladies that came out on their Saturdays to support my classes. Through the process I found that they were far than I had anticipated. They had changed from the classes that I thought they would be to more of a group sharing event, a gardening group or club if you will. I have to say that I was a little disappointed that I lost some of the original participants after that first rainy weekend, but I hope to build this further in the future, so patience is the name of the game.
Since the classes I've had a bit of time to get caught up on a lot of the garden chores that I had on my list. I thought I'd take a minute to share some of it.

I finally was able to take the time to run some trellising for my runner beans. This is a new configuration for me this year, but hey, gardening is all about trying out new ideas and keeping what works.
I also got around to stringing up my tomatoes. This is a tried and true method for me, just new materials and a slightly different configuration. I have no doubt it will be a success. If you haven't ever tried tying up your 'maters, consider giving it a shot this year.
Here's one of the seasons firsts. A beautiful and delicate zucchini blossom. After these start producing, I'm planning on trying to fry a couple of the blossoms this year. They are edible you know?
I hope everyone's having a great gardening month and I encourage, rather ask, that you'll take a minute to share your successes or challenges. (Remember, there's no failures in the garden, just plants that need another shot.)
Grow on!
Your Corner Gardener.