The first think I’m doing is planting seeds with my new Pot Maker. This is a nifty little gadget. Here’s a way for you to use your own newspaper to make pots for your seeds. No more of buying that plastic stuff that’s expensive and only last a year-unless you do a lot of work to take care of them during the off-season. In which case they might last you two years. You end up cutting newspaper in lengths of 10 inches by 3.5 inches. Then, you fold them under the barrel and use the bottom to, in effect, crease the paper. After you’re done you have a nice little pot to fill with soil and start your seeds. This is the time to think about what kind of flowers you’d like to have in your garden. Here in northern Utah we will be able to plant outside in about 6 weeks. Six weeks out will put your plants at a good size to then be placed in your garden. Also, start to think about what other things you’d like to grow that will take squares for the whole summer and fall. Things like tomato plants need to be started right now. If you’re buying transplants it doesn’t matter-you can buy them whenever your ready. But b ready to cover them if the weather gets nasty. Pepper plants, herbs, cucumbers, and squash are all things you can start within the next week or two-inside that is. If you’re growing tomato plants from seed you’ll need to re-pot them once, maybe even twice. It turns out that the more you re-pot with tomatoes, the better they do outside. I think tomato plants are a little unique in that way. I don’t know of another plant that can be handled that much and still be good when you’re done with them. This picture? It’s one square of what has come up in the Food Bank lettuce SFG that I’m growing. This is Black Seeded Simpson. Imaging that….64 heads of lettuce in a single 4X4′ garden box…..
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Right now I am trying to figure out what I should grow in the summer and when to plant the seeds to have my starts ready. Thanks for the info.
Trevor, you’ll want to decide if you indeed want to start form seed or if you want to go the easy route and buy transplants. You know what I think and what I do in our home. If you’re growing tomato plants from seed you need to have those going immediately. Also, things like peppers, flowers, herbs are all things that you should get going on now. The squash things-you can start them in a another week or so, but they come up so fast it isn’t that big of a deal to start them off by direct seeding in the garden. I would say you’d be a little late on things like radishes and sugar snap peas though. About the third week of May it’s usually ok to plant all your onions, carrots, beets, beans, etc. I hope that gives you a little guidances….Jim