Local garden pro outlines steps for first-time growers

By Libby James
North Forty News

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Kelly Neal grew up with a passion for gardening. As a small child she spent hours digging in the dirt with her mother. As she grew older and moved around the country, before she decided on a home in a new place, she made sure there was a spot where she could create a garden.

"They're like my children," she said of what she grows. "They begin as tiny seeds and mature into vegetables and flowers that nurture the body and soul."

Neal has developed a strategy for ensuring a satisfying crop regardless of the soil she has to work with. She is careful to select a spot that receives eight hours of sun daily. Quality soil is so important that she always "starts over" by amending the soil and fertilizing regularly during the growing season.

She makes sure the plants and seeds she uses are suitable for the climate and elevation. She keeps on the lookout for the presence of harmful insects and plant diseases and treats them promptly rather than adopting a "wait and hope" attitude. She waters diligently, sometimes twice a day when conditions are dry and before plants are well established. And she's a weed zealot, attacking anything that she identifies as capable of stealing nutrients from her young charges.

All this may sound like common sense, and it is, but Neal insists on the importance of each step and the need to commit to tending a garden patch, however small, with loving care. In detail, here is what she does.

Colorado's soil is largely clay, which compacts easily and keeps many plants from thriving. As early in spring as the soil can be worked and is not too wet, Neal turns the soil to break it up and get rid of weeds, roots and grass. Then she mixes the top 6 to 8 inches of loosened soil with a 2-inch layer of a combination of sheep manure, peat moss and compost followed by a 2-inch layer of Soil Pep, a preparation which aids in aerating and conditioning the soil.

At planting time, she turns the soil in the row or area where she will place seeds or small plants and removes about a third of the soil. Neal uses this soil later to create hills for planting pumpkins or zucchini. She replaces the removed soil with an equal mixture of manure/peat/compost and Soil Pep. (All products mentioned are available at local nurseries.)

Then she adds a long-standing fertilizer such as Espoma Plant Tone, which contains live microbes and is a natural source of plant nutrients. For any plants that bloom or bear fruit, she uses a fertilizer with a high middle number such as Blooming and Rooting (9-59-8). A 3-inch layer of Soil Pep around each plant serves as a mulch to hold heat in the spring and insulate roots from summer heat.

What to plant? "Zucchini makes new gardeners feel really good," Neal said. She builds a mound with excess soil and inserts three seeds. When the plants have four leaves, she removes two plants leaving only the strongest. Powdery mildew, a white deposit that starts on the underside of squash plants, often due to overhead watering, is common and spreads easily to other plants. Treating it with a hose end sprayer or squirt bottle containing neem oil will get rid of it, according to Neal.

Cherry tomatoes grow easily and are a prolific and satisfying crop for the novice gardener. They thrive in pots and, like any plant that flowers and bears fruit, benefit from the calcium found in Espoma Plant Tone. Feeding every seven to 10 days with Blooming and Rooting will help as well. Neal mixes granules in water according to directions and douses the entire plant in the cool of the morning or evening.

Kale, a leafy green high in nutrients, comes in several varieties, can be planted in early spring, and will produce through summer and fall. Other easy-to-grow, early-season vegetables are Swiss chard, spinach, lettuce (red and green leaf lettuce are good choices), radishes, carrots and onions, best grown from "onion sets" rather than seeds.

For a small garden, Neal suggests buying plants from a nursery that sells locally grown stock. Using plants instead of seeds will eliminate the need for thinning plants, start things off more quickly and allow the gardener to place each plant strategically. She likes to intermix flowers and veggies, creating unusual aesthetic combinations. Marigolds, zinnias, petunias, echinacea, coreoposis and salvia are good choices. Herbs also have a quicker start when grown from plants. Parsley, rosemary, oregano, basil, thyme and mint will add fragrance to a garden and to the cook pot.

"Start small," Neal advised. "Choose veggies that you like to eat and are easy to grow, flowers that speak to you, and provide them all with lots of love and tender care."