By Adrienne Jones
We are getting our first hints of Spring. Those wonderful warm days tease the end of winter and our returning to our patches of soil. It’s at this point when garden planning, or overplanning, kicks in high gear. What to plant? When to plant? Cool-season crops? Warm-weather crops? Seeds or transplants? The options are somewhat endless, but we still have to work within our hardiness zone (5b) and short growing season. Below are some practical considerations when planning your garden.
What do you want to eat?
Don’t plant foods you or your family won’t eat. Are you able to cook/prepare a vegetable in multiple ways you enjoy? Growing zucchini forces some serious creativity by September. If you have a surplus, what’s your plan for making sure it doesn’t go to waste? (Hint – FCG donates extra produce to area food banks!)
Location, location, location
If you don’t have an established garden bed, there are a couple of important details to check off:
- Does the space get enough sun – ideally 6 hours per day?
- Is there easy access to water? Lawn or overhead sprinklers are not good options as they can spread disease and waste precious water.
- What does the soil look like? Is there potential for chemical contamination? If your soil leans to the clay side, what is your plan for amending the soil to allow for proper water and airflow? (Hint: Compost!)
- Size – Planting a 25’x25’ garden might be a tad too much if you are just starting out. Start small – gardens will require regular upkeep with watering, mulching, pruning, tying, and fertilizing. A 12’x4’ area can take an hour or more a week to maintain, depending on your crop selection.
Plant what works for our climate
We have a short growing season in Colorado, around 120 days between first and last frost, which makes some vegetable varieties more challenging than others. Cauliflower is hard to grow here because it likes cool weather and has a long growing season (60-100 days) – it doesn’t have time to mature before the summer heat arrives. Easier crops for Colorado include leafy greens (preferably planted early and in a shaded area), carrots, zucchini, tomato, radishes, and beets. There are numerous resources that provide recommendations for specific varieties that work well in Colorado. My favorite is the Guide to Rocky Mountain Vegetable Gardening by Robert Gough. Your local garden centers are also a great resource.
FCG is hosting two educational events in April:
Saturday, April 9th at 12pm: Introduction to Raised Bed Vegetable Gardening
Location: At Foxridge Community Garden next to the Foxridge Swim and Racquet Club (alternate date due to weather is 4/23)
Thursday, April 14th at 7pm: Planning a Warm Season Vegetable Garden
Location: Virtual via Zoom
Please register for and review upcoming learning opportunities on our Events page.
Foxridge Community Garden is open to renters! We have several beds available to rent for the 2022 season. Full beds (12’x4’) are $100 and Half beds (6’x4’) are $50. Soil and water included. Please email us for more info!!