Virtual Garden

By Deb Bauer

Starting to get antsy with the weather starting to warm up. Here in the Northwest, spring comes early, but then the on again - off again coat-wearing weather can last until June. Plants don't care, really and the season is ideal for cooler weather crops... Peas, lettuce, radishes, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, and various onions; all can do well here. Later on, as the weather gets warmer, tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, squash, peppers, melons and carrots come in season.

This year is especially important to many back yard urban farmers. The economy is not straightening out and many people are feeling the pinch of uncertainty and more limited resources. Self-sufficiency is good. Being prepared is good. Getting better acquainted with the cycle of the seasons and growing things, well, that is really good. These days, gardening just makes good sense

I love to grow things and play in the dirt. The smell of the soil; the feel of water-soaked knees - mucking about finding "homes" for all the seeds and plants. It takes quite a bit of time, but it is well-spent, certainly.

This time of year is devoted to planning my garden while I used to take paper and pen and sketch everything out with the dimensions, what goes where, etc. Plenty of catalogs are full of wonderful ideas and I look online as well as through various magazines and old books I have that show how to grow a proper garden. However, this method can take quite awhile to do and I don't have lots of free time to spend.

I did find a tool that is helping me and may work for you, too. It's called "Plan Garden" and there is a 45 day free trial on it. I signed up to see how it could help and I'm really excited to be using it. You can make a "virtual garden" and easily move things around before actually doing the work.

There are sections to put in the dates and what you plant, the harvest dates, it even has a section to tell you what to plant and when.. depending on the zone you live in. There is a section where some people can sign up to have an "open" garden so you can look at their plans and check out their ideas. If you want your garden plans to be private, you have that option as well.

Now, before you get started actually doing the work to start your garden, you'll want to figure out how much space you have and what kinds of things you want to grow. There are plenty of resources available to help with that, but be prepared to spend a bit of time as there are MANY varieties of each kind of vegetable and it's good to know some of the specific characteristics that will be the best fit for your area and taste.

Will you want an herb garden? It might be good to have it rather close to your kitchen door so you can dash out and grab some as you cook.

Take into consideration soil preparation, tools you'll need, whether you're going to buy nursery stock and where to get good healthy plants vs. growing from seed.

When you can create your first salad or steamed dish with food from your own garden, well, there's such a feeling of satisfaction that you're getting the best quality of produce possible. Have fun.

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