by Elizabeth Smith
Right now is a great time to start your spring vegetable garden. Some of the things to consider when planning your garden include location, soil quality, how much time you may have to tend your garden, and what you and your family enjoy eating. The location is going to dictate what you grow as some plants prefer full sun while others like some afternoon shade. Full sun plants include tomatoes, sweet and spicy peppers, melons, cucumbers and eggplants. Partial shade plants include things like strawberries and some herbs and flowers. Next, ask yourself if your soil needs help. Quality soil is crucial to harvesting healthy and tasty fruits and vegetables. Unless you are growing prickly pear and mesquite trees, our native desert soil needs lots of organic matter to make it viable for most common vegetable crops. Compost, either from your own kitchen scraps or purchased from your favorite plant nursery, is a surefire way to add the nitrogen your plants require. Adding fish bone meal for phosphorus and calcium, and rock dust for minerals will round out your amendments. Mulching with wood chips is the last thing you need to make your garden exceptional. Why? Because mulch holds in moisture, keeps weeds at bay and slowly adds nitrogen to the soil as it decomposes. I always teach, “Feed your soil not your plants.” If your soil is lacking, your plants will never be at their optimum health, but if your soil is healthy, your plants will be outstanding. Are you short on time? A drip irrigation system helps considerably on this front. Also, planting small seedlings will save lots of time over sowing seeds directly in your garden. Lastly, plant what you like to eat! If okra grows great in your sunny garden bed, but no one cares for it, switch to watermelon or cucumbers or anything else that will reward you with growing AND eating pleasure.
If you would like to see some examples of exceptional gardens, join us for our 3rd annual Rita Ranch Garden Tour coming up on Saturday, April 30th from 10 am- 3 pm (see The Vail Voice Calendar for more details). For more information on our Rita Ranch Community Garden Project or upcoming gardening classes, go to www.facebook.com/RitaGardens, RitaGardens.org, email TheCommunityGardeners@gmail.com or call 520-591-2255.