When should I start? UPDATE - I started, details in p 7!!

[Pearl In Oyster]

I'm new to gardening, but I really want to have a fruit and vegetable garden this year.

We live on my inlaw's property in Central CA (somewhere between Fresno and Bakersfield ;)) which is 5 acres of sandy soil. There are probably 3 acres that are uncultivated beside the 1 acre with our houses/yards on it and 1 acre with a small grove of walnut trees.

When DH was growing up out here, they did have fruit trees and a vegetable garden, so there is plumbing and faucets every so often on the east side of the property.

(There's also an old chicken shed that is currently full of junk that I'd love to restore to its former glory and populate with chickens!)

I'm thinking of doing square foot gardening in raised beds.

I have zero supplies or seeds, but some access to FILs old equipment.

When should I start preparing? What should my priorities be?

[Hermana Linda]

Are you getting frosts? :think

You should be working on clearing the land or building the raised beds. Also start a composting pile.

If no frosts, you can start a winter garden of leafy greens, broccoli, things that like cold weather.

[Pearl In Oyster]

We have had some frosts, and I imagine there may be more. According to the National Climactic Data Center, in my vicinity, there is a 90% chance of 32 degree or lower temps after December 22, 50% chance of below freezing temps after Jan 28, and 10% chance of below freezing temps after March 2.

[Hermana Linda]

Well, get your beds ready, what ever that means for your situation, get your compost started (bins, piles, whatever. Mine is just an old trash can.) Or look into lasagna gardening (http://organiquegal.com/lasagna-gardening.html). And start planning. Get seeds and next month you can start them indoors. Decide how you're going to do that. You might want to start saving cardboard egg cartons, for instance.

Also, I think we have some stickies around here with more ideas. :think

[Pearl In Oyster]

So, DH and I scoped out the location. DH says he wants to build raised beds and try the square foot gardening method. I'm going to make my own compost bin out of a trashcan or other large plastic storage container this weekend.

I've already been in the habit of saving kitchen scraps because our garbage disposal doesn't work and our neighbors have goats that love a treat! So it's just a matter of taking my scrap bucket to a different location once I get the bin started.

I think I'll use the computer to sketch up some ideas of what I want to plant where to give DH an idea of how many/how big to make the raised beds.

My SIL who used to live out here pointed out that we have wild rabbits to contend with, so that's another factor to consider.

[Hermana Linda]

Oh yeah. You'll need some kind of fencing. :yes3

[Pearl In Oyster]

So I started!!

Last month I made a compost bin out of a plastic garbage can by drilling 2 inch holes all over it and covering them with window screening. I layered some kitchen scraps with dry leaves from the yard and purchased peat moss and manure until the bin is about half full. I've been rolling it, but haven't checked for moisture, but it's pretty damp here in the winter in general (foggy and lots of dew every morning).

On Monday I bought a bunch of seed packets and such from Walmart. I have:


a sack of sprouted Yukon Gold potatoes
a sack of yellow onion bulbs
a sack of strawberry runners
and seeds for green beans, sunflowers, red corn, carrots, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, spinach, squash, tomatoes, and a festival mix of colored bell peppers
Today I started the seeds in a 72-slot Jiffy greenhouse tray, one row of six peat pots for each variety and then extra green beans, broccoli, squash, tomatoes and peppers on the last row.

Not this weekend but next I think we'll be building our raised beds for square foot gardening.

I'm so excited!!

[Hermana Linda]

How exciting! :jump

My compost bin is in a plastic trash can with a cracked bottom. I hope that's ok. :nails I haven't been rolling it but I tried to stir it with a shovel a few times. :bag

[Pearl In Oyster]

From what I read, it will work either way, but the more aerated it is, the faster the process. I decided to add the holes and do the rolling since I kind of got a late start. :)

[Firebird Rising]

:heart

We are planting lettuce today and covering it with deli containers to protect from frost. I LOVE starting seeds :yes

BTW, I grew up in Exeter... :wink Not sure how close you are. You're in a great growing area, except for the hardpan a foot or so down...but raised beds should fix that :)

[Macky]

Congrats! :tu Love seeing new garden excitement!

I have some bad news, though... a lot of those vegetables you mentioned should not be started in Jiffy pots; many need to be planted directly outdoors.

Root crops usually cannot be transplanted (carrots, etc.)

Vegetables with taproots can be transplanted, but only if handled extremely gently and at a very young age... 3 to 4 weeks old MAX (corn, squash, sunflowers, etc.).

Brassicas (the cabbage family), if kept too long as seedlings in cells, do this thing called "buttoning" when they're finally put out in the garden. The plant looks great, but it only ever grows a tiny "button" of a head. Never let them get more than 4 weeks old before getting them into the garden (broccoli, cabbage, etc.).

Your green beans, lettuce and spinach should transplant fine, but it's good to note for the future that these vegetables grow so easily when direct seeded that gardeners rarely, if ever, start them in cells. The exception is getting a head start with super short growing seasons (for example, I have to start my pole beans indoors, but not my bush beans).

Tomatoes and peppers are almost always started indoors in cells unless you live where your season is long and hot.

I hope that doesn't put a wet blanket on anything. I just would rather you know sooner rather than later so you can still replant anything that may not work out.

All the best!

[Pearl In Oyster]

So we have the garden plot prepped and rabbit fencing ready to go. We decided to keep it simple and just plant directly in the ground this year.

I'm going to go ahead and put the sprouts started in the Jiffy pots that are ready (all but the tomatoes, peppers and green beans which probably need to be kept indoors a little longer) outside this afternoon. I only started about 6 for each type. I will also sow some seeds directly in the ground and see how it all goes. I hope that since the ones erroneously started in Jiffy pots were only there for 10 days that we won't have too many bad side effects. It's an interesting experiment and learning process!

[Hermana Linda]

Jiffy pots might be ok, since it doesn't require transplanting. If a frost is predicted, cover each plant with a bottomless bottle or milk jug.