Let’s get growing!
Posted on April 1st, 2009 – 12:00 AMBy Jaime Chismar
Move over March. You tease with 60 degrees and sunshine, then sucker punch me in the gut with snow, sleet and gray skies. I don’t care if you go out like a lion — or a lamb. Baby, it’s time for you to go, go, GO!
Bring on the bulbs and the blooms, the shovel and the spade! Enough with the garden catalogs and their promises of spring. I want to dig in the dirt, sow some seeds — and even turn my compost! Let’s get growing, now, now, NOW!
Yep, I’ve got a bad case of spring fever. Do you have it, too?
Welcome to Greengirls, a garden blog for plant nerds, novices and everyone in between. Today starts our SIXTH season of dishing the dirt. From heirloom veggies to rain gardens, we three Greengirls are fools for gardening in our challenging northern climate. (Follow us all growing season long and you’ll understand why we started this blog on April 1st — Hee hee!)
While it’s still too cold to plant, it’s the perfect time to share your upcoming plans. Are you starting seeds? Working on plans for an Italian herb garden or a new rose bed? Preparing to squirrel-proof your bulbs? What worked best for you last year and what will you improve?
I can’t wait to hear from you!
Jaime
AKA: The Greengirl with a carrot.
57 Responses to "Let’s get growing!"
It is great to see you back from hibernation! We will be needing your wisdom if the rumour is true that more people will be backyard gardening than in years past.
I have been answering gardening questions here at work since February for the curious newbies and the children are making compost! It is starting off to be a busy spring here.
At long last. Welcome back!
Our block club is creating the South Hawthorne Community Garden in North Minneapolis. A lot of hard work and planning has already been done. We hope to break ground on the raised beds and mulch paths the weekend of April 25th and 26th.
The garden so far consists of seven committed gardeners and a nice size grant from our neighborhood association.
Wish us luck.
Hey DebW!
Rumor has it that veggie gardening is going to be hot this year. Your coworkers are certainly lucky to have an expert like you around.
PS: Thanks Mark 
I’ll be following your blog as I try to change my gardening style. Just moved from a house with vegetable garden to a condo with terrace. Thinking about growing upside-down tomatoes.
Congrats Mike,
That sounds like a huge undertaking. I can’t wait to learn more about what you’ll grow.
What’s next? An urban orchard?
http://www.earthworksboston.org/urbanorchards
Make sure you take before and after photos!
Hey Mary Jo!
I dare you to grow upside-down tomatoes. They totally crack me up. You can also grow a very productive tomato plant in a large container. This way you plant a little basil or thyme on the side.
Hey All! Now spring is truly here, with the GGs back in action!
Mike, that project sounds really cool. I love seeing all the community gardens around the city.
I planted dozens of new bulbs last fall: Frittilary actopomela (or something like that) white daffs, crocus, asiatic lilies, and trumpet lilies. My chilies just germinated and I seeded the rest of my annual herbs and flowers on Sunday.
I am most excited about a nemesia that allegedly smells like coconut.
Welcome back! I’ve got 100 seedlings in the basement under a grow light, most waiting for their second set of leaves. I’ll probably plant peas and transplant the first set of lettuce starts next week and keep them enclosed for awhile.
Welcome Back!! I was so afraid the GG team would get ummm, “weeded out”… over the dormant season.
New this year in my corner of the world — expanded veggie garden, branching out past tomatoes & peppers to the whole salad thing with carrots, lettuce etc. Also have a new assistant — Puppy is in charge of critter control and is showing great promise even at a young age but he’s also showing serious talent for digging (uh oh)
Once again, JudyBusy and her love of unusual ornamentals has got me searching Google images! Welcome back!
[…] Greengirls – […]
[…] House this year, the first one since the Victory Gardens of the 40’s. I’ll point to the 2009 inaugural post of the Strib’s Garden Blog — I’m going to follow the comments today. It looks to me like more people are becoming […]
Diane and Amy F,
I have some serious wedding planning to finish up, so my seed starting had to take a backseat this season.
Like you, I am super excited for spring lettuce and snap peas!
When it comes to squirrel control, I hope Puppy works out better than our lazy cats.
My crocuses are already booming! April Fools. Sorry - I’m just trying to get that snow out of my mind. I planted Garden Glow (chartreuse)dogwood shrubs last fall and can’t wait to see how they will do in my shady border. They were hard to find at local garden centers. Also am starting some rare nicotiana from seeds that I bought on EBay.
Hey mnmaggie,
Garden Glow dogwood shrubs are lovely! I too am a sucker for any chartreuse plant.
Please keep us posed on the nicotiana
This is my very first year trying to grow anything. I have limited space so I am going to try to grow upside down tomatoes and strawberries. Or herbs. Or maybe try some containers. Truth is, I am terrified of worms and don’t want to dig in the dirt!
Welcome back!
I read you might be paying attention to your lawn this summer. Can I put a plug in for no fertilizer or weedkiller, just clover seed, grass seed, a decent amount of watering, and hopefully a little shade. It has worked for me for 20 years. And the clover has actually choked out some of the dandelions!
My end of the year mulch pile is huge but still a bit frozen. I’m turning it soon and adding new material so that it will heat up again. I’ll be using a good portion of the output in my new garden. No more container veggies and less grass to mow. W00t!
This is the first year that I will be trying to grow veggies. I’m a complete novice, so I will be checking out this blog often. I just built two 8′X 4′ raised garden beds with hoops so I can cover them easily. I plan to sow seeds in one and use the other for starting out plantings. When do you think is the earliest I can sow seeds for carrots, cauliflower, lettuce and oninons in a raised bed that will be covered at night?
Every spring, our clumps of tulip bulbs come up through our rock garden, reminding us that we need to thin them out in the fall. The problem is, we always forget where those bulbs are. What is the best way to mark them so we can remember, all while retaining an aesthetically-pleasing rock garden. I could mark them with dowels or popsicle sticks, but that would just look tacky and my two-year-old would probably just pull them out or gore himself on them. Advice?
Hi–I’m excited about Year Two in my new garden in my new (to me) house! Last year I planted a ton of perennials donated by friends, and I’m looking forward to seeing what survived the winter.
This year’s project–composting! Any ideas where to start? I don’t have a ton of room, but I do have one good corner. I’d rather make/build something than buy an expensive contraption.
Welcome back! I have been a reader in the past, but this is my first spring in a house and I look forward to all the tips when planning my new gardens!
Jeanne, strawberries take quite a bit of room, so if your space is limited you may want to try something else. I have a scary-bad squirrel population, so I’ve given up on strawberries. They always ate them just as they ripened!
Katherine,
We’re doing a whole cover story on composting in the April 15 edition of the Home+Garden section. Be sure to check it out!
Ben, why is it you need to thin your tulips? Most tulips tend to diminish with age, unless they’re species tulips (the smaller, non-hybridized kind). Sounds like you’ve got a nice tulip patch.
My husband and I are planning on planting some vegies this year, but we are faced with a shady yard and lots of wildlife. We need to start with some simple plants and grow from there and would welcome any ideas!!
Can’t wait to get back to digging in the dirt!!!
Chadwick,
You can plant lettuce as soon as you can safely work the soil. (Hopefully, in a couple of weeks.) But I’d wait a bit to seed carrots, cauliflowers and onions. They are cool-season plants, but I’d be worried about the seeds rotting in our cold, soggy soil … What does anyone else think? I’ve never grown cauliflower. It is difficult?
I just started some seeds last weekend and am super-excited to see what survived after last year’s ‘tough love’ in the garden (minimal watering and care)!
Ben,
I bought a house that has mystery tulips that threw out leaves but no flowers every spring. Wait only until the foilage starts to get yellow and transplant to where you really want them to be. They then have the nutrients they need and should bloom the following spring or at the least the following year ( bulb food in the new hole when you transplant).
Connie, I have grown cauliflower in the past. It isn’t any harder to grow than cabbages until they start to head up and then you need to cover the growing head either by wrapping the leaves over it and fastening ( a spring clothes pin works) or with a paper bag. If you don’t do that they taste really strong/bad.
I want to thin out my tulips so they don’t grow in funny clumps. Thanks for the advice from the both of you!
Greengirls - what a great read today especially in the snow.
Any ideas on how to keep deer and rabbits away from flowers?
Lucie
Thanks Connie; I will wait a bit, just to be safe. I think I just have a bad bout of cabin fever and want to get started right away! I think though, since I have my raised beds as mini “hoop houses”… hopefully I’ll be able to extend my growing season. If the temps increase in the coming weeks, hopefully I can sow everything on the weekend of the 25th.
Lucie,
There are all kinds of ways to TRY and keep deer and bunnies out of the garden. The only way that works FOR SURE is to fence them out. However, if you want to try a few homemade remedies you can: sprinkle human hair (need a trim?), shavings from smelly soap (ie Irish Spring) or cayanne pepper along the edge of the garden you’re trying to protect. You could also use a commercial product such as Liquid Fence or a predator urnine. (According to research by a prof at the U, they work about as well as homemade remedies. All of these remedies need to be reapplied after a rain and usually are effective only for a little while. But some gardeners swear by them . . .
Lucie,
I have used shavings of Irish Spring bar soap around my plants for years and it has been effective. I have a herd of 14 deer that daily travel in the woods behind my house. I have also used Milorganite fertilizer and poured it in a ring around all my hostas (favorite deer food). It has a distinct odor so you wouldn’t want to use it too close to your house - but this works especially if you get it down right away in early spring before the deer know where all the choicest plants are adn keep reapplying it every few days or immediately after a rain. It’s a natural fertilizer and is fairly inexpensive - I found it for about $5.99 a bag a Mills Fleet Farm last year. All these methods need to be reapplied immediately after a rain.
Let us know how it goes, Chadwick!
Hooray! I can see spring coming now. Thanks for the awesome posts, everyone.
So, this year I am hopefully going to not overdo it planting veggies in a small space. I may try to do tomatoes in a container and one other vegetable in my small raised bed (about 20 square feet). Any suggestions?
Does anyone know of a lawn service that does not use pesticides? Are they much more expensive than the traditional chemical lawn service companies?
Hooray! I am so happy you are back. This year I will be finalizing my small garden on the side of my house–where there used to be lots of landscaping rock. Any good suggestions for removing the last bits of landscaping rock?
sara - The Green Guardian does but I’m not sure on pricing:
http://www.greenerpast.com/
We have had a great hedge of arborvitae that is about 15 years old, but the deer decimate it every winter. I tried to nurse it back to … read more health the last 2 years, but have finally given it up to the deer! Yesterday we dug (my husband’s poor back) it out and are replacing it with very deer-unfriendly privet. It will look a little sparse this year, but what I hear it is really fast growing and will really look nice. Only problem is it looses it leaves in the winter. Any hints or suggestions will be greatly appreciated such as how much will it really grow in a season height and width? Marie at the Meadows Inn/Rushford, MN
Hooray for greengirls! It really must be spring. I am definitely on the Veggie and small fruits bandwagon.
I have a question regarding azaleas, our malamute Boris, who developed a healthy taste for dandelions last summer, moved right along to the azaleas during the winter. I only just planted them last July, do you think they will grow back?
He chewed them to the quick before I noticed and now we have a lovely diplay of turned over buckets protecting them.
siiiiiiiigh..you got any kind of vest I could wear?
Yay Greengirls are back! I have to admit, I was worried you’d been “weeded out” too. I have so far started a bunch of peppers and some flowers, and I will start a bajillion different tomatoes- perhaps even tonight! Seems like a good April Fools joke to play on myself.
I am also looking forward to an end to the cold sheesh!
Hooray for the first signs of spring! I’m starting a ton of tomato seeds this weekend–mostly tried & trues but some new heirlooms from Winter Sown. Can’t wait to see what happens with “Chudo Rinka”, “Bonny Best” and “Vintage Wine”–love those names! Also have seeds for the cutest, round little carrots that a friend brought from The Netherlands so it will be an international garden this year.
I’m on the bandwagon and will be turning over the sod to make room for more vegies. Let’s hope we have a more garden-friendly spring this year.
Allison, I can’t think of anything worse to deal with than landscape rock. It’s best to remove it, but it’s a hassle. My husband and I dug up rocked section last year. We shoveled the rock and dirt onto a screen over a tub. (The screen allowed the dirt in but kept the rocks out.) It was slow going, but we ended up with some pretty nice dirt and a great place to plant.
If there are not so many rocks, you can try to just add a mix of garden soil and compost on top, but you may end up with compacted soi.
Anybody got a better suggestion?
Sorry, Megan. Sounds like your azaleas may be doomed. Both azaleas and rhodies set their buds in winter, so if Boris ate the tips of your azaleas, the flowers are gone. The plants themselves may survive, but I’d cover them with chicken wire rather than buckets. They need sun and as much TLC as they can get right now.
Good luck!
sara — check out a company named biolawn. I talked with them at the Mnpls H&G show. I can’t find the biz card but he’s local, north metro-ish.
Welcome back! I am sad to say that a possum has gotten entirely too comfortable in the vicinity of my garden this winter and has decided it is a good place to do it’s, um, business. Live trap hasn’t worked so far, any ideas?? Gross!!
Chris,
What are you baiting the trap with? My mom has possoms and she swears by peanut butter cookies as they have a sweet tooth and the smell draws the in. Good luck, those things are nasty in more ways than one. They look like a giant rat!
Thanks for the tip about the composting feature, Connie–sounds like just what I need.
Next question–what ideas do we all have about ground covers or low grasses for boulevards? Mine look terrible, the current grass is all turning into weeds, and I’d love to find something that doesn’t need mowing but stays looking good. Help!
Yeah! You are back! I hate possums too. They give me the creeps and they carry bad diseases for horses. I ordered potatoes and can’t wait to plant them.
I am so ready to get my hands dirty. Glad to see that GreenGirls made it through the winter.
Peter! I’m glad you made it through the winter, too!
DebW, thanks for the idea. We are baiting the live trap with crackers, seeds, and even some meat. We’ll try something sweet!
GreenGirls — perhaps their ought to be a weekly open thread for random Q&A.
i am SO ready to get my hands in the dirt and start gardening. i’ve got a grow light set up and my tomato seedlings are about an inch tall. i planted some petunia seeds and they’re just teensy little hints of sprouts at the moment. i had no idea they took so long to start from seed or i’d have started them even sooner than i did.
i added a second dog to my family and its taking its toll on the grass in front of my deck steps. i’m interested in ground cover alternatives to grass as well. i’ve been struggling for three years to get different kinds of grass to grow in this super shady heavily trafficked area.
and i’m planning on expanding my garden to grow a little plot of corn, so this will be my first time ever messing with a tiller (rented from a local hardware store). any suggestions about tilling would be welcome as well.
Greengirls Connie Nelson, Robyn Dochterman and Jaime Chismar are dishin' the dirt from the backyard garden and beyond. Whether you're a greenthumb or greenhorn, they're eager to learn from your misshaps, mistakes -- and most importantly, your sweet successes -- all growing season long.
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