We are getting close to Mother’s Day, which is always exciting because that means it is usually safe to plant your fruit and vegetable gardens without worrying too much about your plants freezing.
Planting a vegetable garden at home is becoming more and more popular as people start to catch on to the hobby and the satisfaction of growing your own food. There are a lot of environmental reasons to grow your own food, and nothing beats the taste of fresh vegetables and fruit grown right at home. With COVID-19, more people are looking into growing their own food as it has been a challenge to go grocery shopping along with the scarcity of goods. Not to mention, gardening is a great way to get outdoors and pass the time at home when you are socially isolating, and a really fun activity for kids who are home from school.
We started a few plants indoors a couple of weeks ago as a seed growing project for the kids. They had so much fun planting their seeds, getting dirty and then watching them grow a little bit each day into plants. Keeping seedlings alive has always been a challenge for me as once you transplant them outside they are usually pretty fragile, but certain seedlings like tomatoes, squash and cucumbers tend to hold up pretty well.
I have been gardening for years since we bought our first house in 2009, but we always had a few small planter boxes. We recently moved into a new home and I was so excited because there is a huge garden area and since we moved last August, I have been dying to fill it up with plants. This year we decided to plant a big variety and we included space for a small pumpkin patch for the kids in hopes that we will have some pumpkins for the fall.
Our very ambitious garden this year includes:
- Kale
- Spinach
- Beets
- Bok choy
- Cucumbers
- Cabbage
- Lemon Cucumbers
- Tomatoes
- Jalapenos
- Bell Peppers
- Snap Peas
- Green Beans
- Zuchinni
- Yellow Squash
- Butternut Squash
- Pumpkins
- Herbs: Basil, Rosemary, Sage and Mint
Crossing my fingers that everything survives! I have learned a lot from gardening over the years, especially what works and what doesn’t in Nevada since we have such a hot, dry climate and really indecisive weather (ie it snowed a few weeks ago and it’s going to be 80 degrees this weekend).
Here is some of my best advice if you are just getting started:
- Plan your garden based on what foods you typically eat and that will grow well in your area. I always at least plant two of each plant to accompany each other.
- Certain herbs like mint and rosemary will take over your garden so it is best to put them in a container.
- use good soil products, especially if you have clay-like soil like many of us in Reno have. Be sure to surround your plants with healthy potting soil.
- Make sure you have a drip line set up to water each of your plants regularly
- Use an organic fertilizer on your plants (remember you are going to eat this so only use organic materials).
- Don’t plant too early. The second week in May is usually a safe time to get started. If the temperature does drop down at night past 35 degrees, cover your plants. You can use a tarp or even buckets and boxes.
- For bugs: There’s nothing worse than working so hard on your garden and then having your vegetables infested with bugs. Plant marigolds throughout your garden as these are a natural insect repellant and are even said to keep rabbits out of your garden. If you end up with aphids or mites, spray them with soapy water or use neem oil.
For more tips, UNR has a great resource page for growing gardens in Nevada!
Any questions?? Let me know!
Happy Planting!
