Garden Panache

Historically, gardens have been a place of beauty and relaxation, in addition to a source of food. While no one could deny the beauty of the ruffled edges of a red leaf lettuce or the glossy sheen of a pepper, gardens can be much more than vegetables. Cottage gardens and formal gardens around the world have traditionally featured a balance of vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers. Why should the modern urban garden be any different? Well in truth, they shouldn’t. Herbs and flowers add beauty, attract pollinators and other beneficial insects, and can add scrumptious flavors in the kitchen. Even if space is limited, there are a few herbs and flowers that no garden would be complete without.

Archway of apple trees at Pittmeden, U.K.

There are herbs for every palette, dish and garden space. I like to keep a variety of fresh herbs close by, from common sage to thyme. If you include no other herbs to your garden, you should at least add basil, chives and a pot of lemon grass. All three can easily be grown in containers and are readily found as seed or transplants. The lemon grass and basil are tender perennials and will need to be treated as an annual or brought indoors for the winter. Chives are hardy and will thrive in the Midwest. A pot is recommended for chives however, since they can easily spread. In my experience basil is easy to star from seed, but lemon grass can be a bit more challenging.

Beneficial insects like this wasp are attracted to diversified gardens and can help control pest insects

If you want to be a bit more adventurous and include other herbs, rosemary, sage, parsley, savory (winter and summer), marjoram, mint, oregano, and thyme are other good options for beginners. These herbs have a variety of uses and can be used as solo flavors or in combination for sweet and savory drinks and foods. An extension bulletin from Purdue has some additional recommendations. My favorite part of herbs in my garden (besides having fresh herbs) is the delicate scents their foliage adds to my garden. I often find myself rubbing a sprig of thyme or a sage leaf while I’m weeding the garden beds.

Notice the nicely rounded mounds of herbs in this garden

Another spot of beauty in your garden are flowers. Besides adding bright spots of color and attracting beneficial insects, flowers can also be a delicious addition to the garden. There are a number of edible flowers that can fit into any space. Be sure to double check before eating any though, as some flowers are toxic. Colorado State University has a handy list of edible (and toxic) flowers. Most of my edible flowers are perennials: borage, bee balm, pansy, roses, etc. But I truly love some of the annual edibles. Begonias are possibly my favorite edible flower. They are tart and tangy and have a hint of citrus to them. Another good option is common Nasturtium. Nasturtiums have a bit of spiciness or peppery tang to them. If you add a few flowers to your next garden salad this summer, you’ll be amazed that you didn’t try it sooner.

Research has shown that native bees are excellent pollinators. You don't need to buy a hive, just plant a nice variety and you'll see plenty of native bees in your garden.

Most herbs and flowers can be started indoors or direct sown. So go ahead, take a chance this year, and include a bit more variety into that garden!

http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/hortcult/herbs/ne208hrb.htm

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/HO-28.pdf

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/tog/herbs.cfm

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/07237.html

Prepping Part 2: Improving drainage

Drainage is also very important for good growth. Low lying areas retain more water and often have lower germination (if direct seeding) and higher incidence of seedling diseases. On commercial farms, drainage can be manipulated by adding organic matter and drainage systems (tiles). While tiling a home garden is not often economically feasible or practical you can still adjust the water retention and draining of your soil. An easy way to improve your drainage is by adding organic matter. Organic matter can be a lot of things: kitchen compost, animal manure (usually cow or chicken), grass clippings, spent mushroom compost, or even a green manure (usually a nitrogen-fixing crop, like alfalfa, planted the previous fall). The important thing when using organic matter is that it is decomposed, for most compost piles this means that the material will be dark, earthy smelling and crumbly. 
 

Spring garden plot ready for minor debris removal and waiting for a new shiny layer of compost.

In addition to improving the soil ecosystem, organic matter can also provide important structural changes to your soil. Adding organic matter can increase the speed of water drainage when you have a clay-based soil and can help water retention if you have a sandier soil. When adding compost, apply a 2-3 inch thick layer of compost to the area and work it into the top 10-12 inches of soil. If you don’t have a compost pile, a number of landscaping stores can provide and deliver compost for a moderate fee. In Lansing, Hammond Farms Landscape Supply is one option. In the U.S., compost is often sold by the yard. If you have the measurements of your garden (length and width) then a good landscaper should be able to help you calculate the amount that is needed. If you have a community garden plot structural changes are not recommended and you should limit yourself to improving your soil.

If drainage is still a problem, even after adding compost, there are several structural changes you can implement. Subsurface drainage holes, French drains and raised beds are common structural options. Choosing which option to use depends on your location and the type of drainage you have. If you have compacted soil (thicker than 12-24”) raised beds or subsurface drainage might work the best. French drains are a centuries old technique for draining water. In their most basic form, French drains are shallow trenches with a slight downward slope ending in an outlet. These trenches are filled with gravel. The water seeps into the trench and is slowly carried down along the slope to the outlet. Tutorials for building French drains are available on the web, but be prepared to dig.

Subsurface drainage holes are most suitable when there are thick compacted layers of soil (12-24” thick), and raised beds are not available. They can be made by digging a hole, 3-4 feet deep, using a post hole digger. The hole should be filled with pea gravel (available from landscaping stores) and tamped down. Place drainage holes every 6 feet throughout your garden plot. These deep drainage holes will provide a place for water to seep from your garden plot down to the water table.

 

Standing water is a good indicator that you have a low spot in your beds.

Raised beds are the last structural option I’ll mention. There are a number of reasons to consider raised beds, but from a drainage perspective, raised beds are a great option. In my backyard garden I have a clay-based, heavy soil. In addition, the garden is in a low spot in my yard. The first year I gardened here, I would have to wait weeks for the soil to dry enough to start gardening. By the end of the first year I installed raised beds. They’ve been fantastic. Using raised beds provides better control over the soil composition (soil type and amount of organic matter), and this provides better drainage control. Kits are available at local hardware stores or you can build them using regular lumber. A number of concerns have been raised about treated wood for raised beds, but at least one study actually found that there was almost no movement of the chemicals from some types of treated wood into the soil. However, if you are still concerned you can always use cedar (which will be more expensive) or you can use a heavy 3mil black plastic liner on the inside of your treated wood to prevent contact of your soil with the wood. A traditional width for raised beds is 4 feet wide. This width allows the gardener to reach the middle of the beds without having to walk across anything, reducing the chance for compaction in the future. 

Raised beds can be any height that you wish, this is a nice example of a 3 ft high bed. This is especially convenient for people who might have trouble bending over.

Sources that contributed to Part 2:

http://web.extension.illinois.edu/homecompost/benefits.cfm

http://www.extension.purdue.edu/gardentips/county/countyallen.html

http://www.cmg.colostate.edu/gardennotes/219.html

http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G6985

Prepping Seeding Beds: Part 1

Part 1

It’s almost time to start prepping your garden beds. The days are starting to get warmer, the sun is shining longer and leaves are just beginning to pop out. As a gardener, nothing feels more like spring to me than getting my beds in order for transplanting. Bed preparation is extremely important for the overall success of your garden. Whether it is a new garden plot or an existing one, there are a number of things you can do to promote a healthy, productive garden. First of all, when trying to determine where your garden will be and how to prep it consider a soil test. Many land grant institutions and universities provide soil testing services for a small fee. Soil tests are quick and easy tests that can provide the pH, nutrient profile and soil type of your location. You can also have your soil tested for lead, which in urban gardens, can be a problem particularly when growing root crops.  In MI, soil testing is available through the Michigan State University Soil testing facility.

Last year's garden bed waiting to be cleaned out

When getting beds ready for spring, the most important thing to remember is patience. Working your soil before it is ready will result in compacted plots and/or chunky soil. If you grab a handful of soil and it retains its shape after you let go of it, the soil is too wet. As a bulletin from Utah State University says “Test this way: take a handful of soil from a 3 inch depth. Squeeze it firmly in the hand. Drop it on a side-walk. Unless the ball shatters, do not try to rototill.” If it’s a new bed however, there are a few things you can do while waiting for it to dry out enough to till. Perennial weeds such as grasses or Creeping Charlie can quickly overrun a new garden if not properly removed. If removing grass, the sod in addition to the roots should be removed to minimize regrowth. Weeds can be removed by hand or you can use an herbicide such as Roundup. Roundup degrades quickly in the soil and should have no effect on your seedlings when you transplant in a few weeks. If applying an herbicide, only apply when the temperature is ~50 °F or higher. Herbicides work best when weeds are actively growing. 
        Wait until the weeds are removed or dead (7-10 days if using an herbicide) before tilling up the area. If possible, allow the tilled beds to sit for a week or two prior to planting. Many weed seeds require light to germinate, and tilling provides that needed light. After a week or two you can use another application of Glyphosate (Roundup) to kill off the new weeds. Alternatively, you can always hand weed them as well.

Contributing sources:

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/perennials/bedprep.cfm

http://easttexasgardening.tamu.edu/tips/land/newGardenBed07.html

http://www.extension.purdue.edu/gardentips/county/countyallen.html

http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/factsheet/HG_H_01.pdf

Vegetables for small spaces

Whether gardening for fun or necessity, gardening in urban areas is all about making the most of small spaces. As someone who often gardens for the sheer joy of it, I don’t always think about what varieties are the best fit for my small urban garden, and sometimes that gets me into trouble. This year I’m being more mindful of my planting, and at the end of the season I’ll be letting you know the winners and losers from my test garden. For this spring, however, choosing small, productive varieties and mixing crops are good places to start for the beginning gardener.

Vegetable varieties

Thanks to generations of breeding, there are multiple varieties available for most crops. You aren’t limited to the 20 lb watermelon with the 15 ft vines or the tomato that grows 4’ tall and takes over your beans. Growing bush or dwarf varieties (plants with a smaller, stockier growth habit) instead of indeterminate (continuously growing) and vine varieties can increase the number of plants that can fit in any given space. When growing squash, cucumbers, watermelons, tomatoes, eggplants or the like, if the description in the seed catalog doesn’t use words like “bush”, “determinate” or “space-saver” you may want to pick a different variety.

Size difference between a "space-saver" or "patio" variety and an "indeterminate" variety of pepper

I found a great bulletin from Iowa State University that listed varieties that performed well in small garden plots in their area. This doesn't mean they will all do well here, but they are a good starting point. Here are a few they suggested:

Cucumbers – Patio pickle, pickle bush and Spacemaster

Lettuce – Buttercrunch, Black Seeded Simpson

Muskmelon – Honey Bun

Pepper – Lady Bell, Mariachi (hot)

Tomatoes – Standard: Bush Early, Celebrity

                   Patio: Patio hybrid, Patio Princess

                   Grape: Red Candy, Sweet Zen

Spinach – Bolting resistant varieties: Indian summer, Medania, Tyee (from a bulletin from Colorado State University)

Additionally, these are a few small-space-appropriate varieties that I’ve grown and found did really well here:

Winter squash – Table Ace

Watermelon – Golden Midget

Zucchini – Greyzini, Green Summer Latino Hybrid

Pumpkin – Lil Pump kemon

Eggplant – Black Beauty

Multiple harvests

 Gardens are dynamic. A well-planned garden is always in season from early spring to late fall. It takes experience and a lot of trial and error to get to that point, but this post should help you get started.
Step 1: Stagger your planting dates. For some crops you can get multiple harvests per season. Broccoli can be started indoors and transplanted early in the season, and it can also be direct seeded into the ground once the weather is warmer. The direct seeding ensures a second crop in the fall.  Another option is to direct seed mid season crops like beans for a second harvest after a spring crop such as lettuce or peas has been harvested.
Step 2: Planting slow maturing crops along with fast maturing crops. Somewhere on the seed packets is a number printed called days to maturity. This is your guide. Choose plants with fast maturing times (lettuce, radishes, peas) to plant in rows between your slower maturing plants (tomatoes, eggplants, carrots, and corn). As the faster maturing plants are harvested, they’ll be making room for those slower maturing plants that will require more space. Another alternative is mixing seeds of slow maturing with fast maturing seeds. This really only works for a few crops though, like mixing radishes with carrots.
Step 3: Fall plantings. As you harvest mid season crops don’t be afraid to plant another round of some of your early season vegetables. Those cooler nights and shorter days sound just lovely to lettuce, spinach, mustard greens and peas.

Sources contributing to some of the information in this post:

http://licking.osu.edu/top-stories/vegetable-gardening-in-a-small-space

umaine.edu/publications/2761e/

http://www.extension.iastate.edu/publications/pm870a.pdf http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopExt/4DMG/Plants/smlspace.htm