GARDENING 101 - University of Texas at Austin · Permaculture • In gardening this means designing and planting gardens that operate well with the environment and do not require

GARDENING101

SomeThingstoStartOffWith

WorkWithTheEnvironment

SetAchievableGoals

HaveFun!

PlanningYourGarden

ChoosingYourLocation•  Wherewillyourgardenbe?Home,communitygarden?

Ifyouareputtinginahomegarden,consider:•  Howmuchspacedoyouhave?•  Doyouwantadedicatedgardenspace?Areyoutryingtointegrateinto

yourexistinglandscaping?Willyoubecontainergardening?•  Willyoubeusingflatgardenbedsorraisedbeds?•  Doyouhaveenoughsuninyourchosenlocation?•  Whatwillyouneedtodotopreparethisareaforyourgarden?•  Whattoolswillyouneedtobeginyourgardenandmaintainit?•  ConsiderPermaculture!

Permaculture

•  Ingardeningthismeansdesigningandplantinggardensthatoperatewellwiththeenvironmentanddonotrequirealotofenergy,timeorresourcestothrive

• Simplewaysyoucanhelpincorporatepermaculture

-Designyourgardenwiththeareaandclimateinmind-Makeuseofnativeplantsandinsectsinyourspace-Chooseyourplantswisely,considerperennialplants

PlanningYourGarden

Onceyou’vechosenyourspace:1.  Decideonyourgardenssizeandboarders2.  Clearthearea3.  Breakintheareaforyourflatbed,installyourraisedbedsor

placeyourcontainers4.  Ifyouareusinganypermaculturetechniquesthatrequire

installationbeforeplanting,puttheseinnow5.  Placeanyboardersorlargeinstallationsyou’dlikeinyourgarden

PlantingYourGardenWhatcanyouplant?Youcanroughlydividetheyearintotwogrowingseasons:•  CoolWeather•  Warm(Hot!)WeatherWarmWeatherPlants:WillbeplantedafterthelastfrostoncethegroundhaswarmedforbestresultsandcanpotentiallybeharvestuntilfirstfrostCoolWeatherPlants:Willbeplantedassoonasthesummerheatbeginstobreak,andinlatewinterandcanpotentiallybeharvesteduntilthesummertemperaturesstart

PlantingCalendars&FrostDatesToknowwhenandwhattoplant,useaVegetablePlantingGuide,knowyourfrostdatesandknowyourzone• Austin,TXPlantingZone=8b*

• FirstFrost~Dec1-10*• LastFrost~Feb21-28*

• SeveralPlantingGuidesareavailableonlineatAustinOrganicGardner’ssite:http://www.austinorganicgardeners.org/plantcal.htm

*USDAsource

Plant seed unless otherwise noted

JUL AUG NOV DEC Artichoke (crowns/transplants)

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN -------crowns--------

Asian greens (seeds or transplants) Asparagus (crowns) Beans, snap and lima Beets Broccoli (transplants) Brussels sprouts (transplants) Cabbage (transplants) Cantaloupe (muskmelon) Carrots Cauliflower (transplants) Chard, Swiss (seeds or transplants) Collards (seeds or transplants) Corn Cucumber Eggplant (transplants) Fava beans Garlic Greens, cool season Greens, warm season Kale (seeds or transplants) Kohlrabi (seeds or transplants)

Leeks (seeds/transplants) ---seed---

Lettuce (seeds or transplants) Mustard (seeds or transplants) Okra Onion, bulbing (transplants) Onion, bunching/multiplying Peas, English, snap and snow Peas, Southern Pepper (transplants) Potato, Irish Potato, sweet (slips) Pumpkin Radish Shallots Spinach (seeds or transplants) Squash, summer Squash, winter Tomatoes (transplants) Turnip Watermelon

Plants grown in winter will benefit from protection during freezing weather

Compiled by Patty G Leander, Master Gardener Vegetable Specialist

January 2012 Plants grown in late summer will benefit from shade cover during establishment

[email protected]

SEP OCT ---transplants---

AveragefirstfrostN

ovem

ber2

7

AveragelastfreezeM

arch

8

DaphneRichards,CountyExtensionAgent-HorHcultureTexasAgriLifeExtensionService,TravisCounty,1600-BSmithRoad,AusHn,TX78721512-854-9600

Educational programs of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service are open to all people without regard to race, color, sex, disability, religion, age or national origin. The Texas A&M System, USDA and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas cooperating.

ChoosingYourPlants

•  Chooseplanttypesfortheseason&whenyouwillbeplanting•  Someplantsareeasiertogrowthanothers

•  Chooseplantsyouliketoeatandknowyouwilluse•  Beawareofhowmuchyourplantwillproduce.Someplantsrequirealotofeffortforalittleyield,whileotherswillproducebountifullywithlittlework

Easy Moderate Hard

MostHerbs,Radishes,LeafyGreens,Garlic,Beans,Peas,Okra,Peppers(exceptSweetmildclimateones)

Carrots,Beets,Turnips,HeadingLettuce,Broccoli,Tomatoes,Cucumbers,Squash,Eggplant,BunchingOnions

Cabbages,Cauliflower,Brusselssprouts,Celery,Corn,Melons,HeadingOnions,Potatoes

ChoosingYourPlants

•  Whatdoyouhavespacefor?•  Willyoubeplantingyourplantsinrows,companionplanting,squarefoot

techniqueplanting?-RowsorBlocks:Typicallayoutoflargecropmonoculture,typesofplantslaidinrowsandblocksofeachkindofplant-CompanionPlanting:Plantstypesaremixedtogethertoofferbenefitsforpestcontrol,spaceuse,productivityandmore-SquareFootPlanting:Favoredforsmallgardensandraisedbeds.Bedisdividedinto1footsquaresandplantsarespacedinthesesquaresbasedonhowmanycanfitinasquareorforlargerplants,howmanysquarestheyneed

•  PlantSpacingCharts:Rows:http://home.howstuffworks.com/vegetable-spacing-guide.htmCompanionPlanting:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Companion_plantingSquareFoot:http://www.mysquarefootgarden.net/plant-spacing/

Drawoutaplanforyourgarden!

• Diagramingyourgardencanhelpyoudeterminewhatyoucanplantandhowmanyplantsandseedsyouneedbeforeplanting

-Especiallyimportantforcompanionandsquarefootgardening

Example:

BuyingYourPlantsandSeeds

• Determineifyouwillbegettingtransplantsorseedsorboth• Chosevarietiesthatarewellsuitedtothisareaandclimate,whereyouareplantingthemandofferresistancetodisease/pestconcerns

• Getplantsandseedsfromreputablesources•  Ifbuyingtransplants,chooseonesthatlookhealthyandaren’ttoosmallorhavegrowverylargeintheirpotsandarerootboundorleggy.

Recommendations

ForTransplants ForSeeds

•  NaturalGardner•  Johnson'sBackyardGarden•  SunshineCommunityGardenPlantSale

•  BakersCreek•  SeedSavers•  SeedsNow

BuyingYourPlantsandSeedsRecommendations

ForTransplants ForSeeds

•  NaturalGardner•  Johnson'sBackyardGarden•  SunshineCommunityGardenPlantSale

•  BakersCreek•  SeedSavers•  SeedsNow

PlantingYourGarden

Preppingyourgardenforplanting•  Turnandloosenyoursoil•  Theidealsoilisrich,lightandcrumbly•  Amendyoursoilwithlotsofrichorganicmattersuchascompost,

compostedmanure,leaves,ormulchAddingtransplantsandseeds•  Fortransplants:Diganappropriatedepthhole,carefullyremovefrom

theircontainers,gentlyloosenrootballandpackdirttightlyaround•  Forseeds:Sowattherecommendedspacinganddepth,youmayalso

choosetospreadseedsonthesurfaceandcoverwithsoil•  Thoroughlywatertransplantsandseedsonceplanted

RootSystems

CaringForYourGardenWhenFirstPlanted•  Waterregularly.Plantswillnothaveestablishedrootsystemsandwillneedtobe

keptwellwatered•  Becarefulwithfertilizeratthispoint.Youngplantsandseedlingscanbeeasily

“burnt”byfertilizers

OncePlantsareSettled•  Waterlessfrequently,onlyasneeded•  Fertilizewithcompostorotherrichorganicmatter;lessormoreoftendependingon

theplantandtherichnessofyoursoil•  Addmulchorleavesaroundthebaseofyourplants•  Youmayneedtoadjustspacingbyremovingorthinningplants•  Watchforsignsofpestsanddiseases

•  AsProductionOccurs•  Someplantswillneedtobekeptwellharvestedtoencourageproductionortoavoid

theplantgoingtoseed•  Plantcropsinsuccessionforacontinuousharvestthroughouttheseason•  Youmayneedtoadjustwatering

CaringForYourGardenAtEndofSeason•  Preparefornextplanting•  Clearoutorturnunderplants•  Coverexposedsoilwithcompost,leavesormulch

OtherAdvice•  Payattentiontotheweather•  Youmaywanttocoverorshadeplantstoprotectthemfromcoldorintensesun•  Keepnotesofwhatworksandwhatdoesn’t•  Keeplearning!

Troubleshooting•  Pests

-Mammals-Birds-Insects

•  Diseases

-Fungus-Bacteria-Viruses

•  OtherPossibleProblems

-Wateringtoomuchortolittle-Deficiencies

TroubleshootingWebsite:http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/diagnose/plant/

ResourcesTexasA&MAgriLifeExtension•  http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/vegetable/AustinOrganicGardeners•  http://www.austinorganicgardeners.org/index.htmlTexasMasterGardeners•  http://www.tcmastergardeners.org/SustainableFoodCenter•  http://sustainablefoodcenter.org/