"Camp Kitchen" <fourusenet@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:jI2dnaaH9ISSWbbVnZ2dnUVZ_jqdnZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Greetings!
>
> I have always wanted a garden filled with fruits and veggies,
.....
> Thankfully, my situation has changed radically and now myself and my
> fiance are buying our first home.
....
> We want to plant ......... Our region is 4a. Will we still be able to
> plant if we don't move into our home until mid-June? That's the big
> question I have right now. I've never been in charge of my own garden
and
> I don't know how late you can put plants in the ground.
.....
> We also have a dog I would be very grateful if I could get answers to
> these questions. Research online seems to say how to grow, but not when
to
> plant, or what's dog safe.
I think you're really going to be more overwhelmed than you realize with
being a novice homeowner. My suggestion is to do very little with any of
your garden this year but to discover, clean, mow and maintain. Get to
really know what's there and take this time to educate yourselves. FIND
THE
LIBRARY!! You just may have more in your garden than you know. Long
neglected gardens often have all kinds of interesting things pop out of
the
ground in the most unexpected places as seasons unfold. Get a tablet of
graph paper and draw a master plan of your property with house, garage,
fences, plots and walks marked. As the year progresses mark in what you've
found, what goes, stays, or moves. Visit nurseries and public gardens in
your area, walk the neighborhood, make notes of what you like. Make
friends
with the neighbors who have gardens you like. Find the Farmer's Market
this
year instead of a veggie bed. Your first summer months, although pretty
late
to do major plantings will be an excellent time to start building the
bones
of your garden. Groom and/or reshape the beds, get the lawn up to snuff,
start your compost pile/bins, start to put in any patio or garden
structures
you decide you might want.
You'll find that your dog will also establish a garden pattern. They tend
to
always make the same beeline when you let them out the door, don't plant
there, resistance is futile. By fall you'll know Bowser's paths for 'gotta
go now', 'need to always sniff/dump/pee here' and 'this is where I run and
trample when somebody drives down the ally, mailman arrives, neighbor
slams
a door'.
This winter when the snow is deep you'll have your plan of the property
drawn out, heads full of ideas, some accrued knowledge of your domain and
a
more realistic idea of what it's going to take to create and maintain your
yard and gardens. You might even have some good reference books in your
home. Actually going to the library and perusing the garden books will
give
you an excellent idea of what will work best to help you, then you
purchase
your favorites to use for future reference when you're sitting in your new
living room wearing bunny slippers while the snow falls. The internet is
great but it still can't beat a good garden book in your lap or on the
kitchen table IMO. One of the best resources you can have is a face to
face
talk with other local gardeners. You need to get off your duff and make
gardening friends, the REAL kind. This computer is fantastic but it won't
do
for you what up close and personal contact will. There is a fantastic book
store in Minneapolis, http://www.terracehorticulturalbooks.com/index.cfm
.
Don't you live in that area? Check it out in person if you have a chance.
I
was in there once when I was visiting friends. The people who run this
place
are a font of helpful information. You will leave with all kinds of
knowledge and hopefully a few good books you'll be using for years to
come.
Gardening people first, then books, use the internet for back up.
Gardening
people love to pass on information just as we do in Wreck gardens, but
it's
even so much better in person.
It's understandable that you are enthused about your first home and garden
and want to do everything NOW but take a deep breath, slow down and step
back. Gardens are built over years, not months.
Val
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