Grow Your Own – Time To Start Digging!
by John Weckerle
Well, it’s past time to start digging, at least for some of us, and digging we have done – largely sponge pits for new and existing trees and shrubs, but we’ve also taken some time to start prepping the beds for this year’s crop. With luck and time, we’ll be adding new beds this year, and maybe even experimenting with some new varieties and soil mixtures.
As we approach the season, we thought we’d share a few resources that might be useful to our readers in getting (and keeping) the ball rolling:
- Home Vegetable Gardening in New Mexico – Circular 457 by George Dickerson, Extension Horticulture Specialist, NMSU College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. This publication has good information on general New Mexico vegetable gardening topics as well as hints on planting, growing, watering, and harvesting.
- Growing Zones, Recommended Crop Varieties, and Planting and Harvesting Information for Home Vegetable Gardens in New Mexico – Circular 457-B. This has some good, detailed information on varieties and planting times for the three areas recognized by the Cooperative Extension Service. New Mexico Central headquarters, located in the dreaded Area 3, is faced with challenges associated with short growing seasons, and no doubt so are some of our readers. Others may be located in the slightly more forgiving Area 2.
- The Mother Earth News Vegetable Garden Planner – Walking past a magazine rack, we noticed a copy of Mother Earth News with the title “40 Tips To Maximize Garden Harvests” in big letters on the cover, as well as the moniker “Giant Gardening Issue!” Well, there was no way we were just walking past that. There’s some good information in there, including an announcement associated with their online garden planner. It’s free for 30 days, and $25 for a year or $40 for two years after the first 30 days. We haven’t done much with it yet, but it looks as if some of our readers may find it useful; it has tools for layout, plant spacing, and much more.
Happy tilling!
191 Responses “Grow Your Own – Time To Start Digging!”
Thank you for the good reference material. I grow a small garden every year and I sent this info to my daughter in Albuquerque who is growing her first garden this year. This is a challenging zone to grow veggies in but I learn that I can be successful with new crops each year.
It can be challenging, especially out here where the growing season is shorter than Albuquerque’s and the wind dries things so enthusiastically – but the challenge is part of the fun. We’ve had great success with kale, chard, and the other cool season veggies, as well as summer squashes and herbs like parsley, sage, thyme, and oregano. The rosemary bushes took a big hit this winter, and it’s not clear whether they’ll make it – a shame, as they’re ten years old and capable of producing literally bushels of it every year. Tomatoes and peppers are sometimes more difficult. We’re always seeking out new ways to increase the yield.