UF/IFAS
Okeechobee County Extension Service
458 Highway 98 North
Okeechobee, FL 34972-2578
Phone: (863) 763-6469
E- mail: okeechobee@ifas.ufl.edu
September
25 , 2007
Feature Article - for release the week of October 1, 2007
Angela Sachson – Florida Yards & Neighborhoods Program
Fall
means garden time in South and
10.
Start Small
You may
fancy flowers or vegetables but start with a small garden
bed. Becoming
overwhelmed with garden chores will not advance your
gardening career! It
is hard for me to believe but you might not even like it.
If it turns out to be a breeze, enlarge
later. In
9.
Plan a Bit
Before you head to the nursery or garden store
think about what you want from this
new garden—beauty?...food?...both?
Then learn something about the size the plants will
be when they are mature and whether they will fit nicely
in the space you have reserved.
Moving full-grown plants around isn’t that much
fun. If you
want vegetables or sun-loving flowers, put the garden
where it gets 6-8 hours of sunlight each day.
8.
Put your new
garden near the house.
You need to see it every day—maybe twice a day.
That way you can see if it needs water; seedlings,
seeds and transplants almost always do need water.
A little later you will be observing whether weeds
need removing---some gardeners cannot pass a weed without
pulling it. If
you turn out to be that gardener be sure to start out
early. Your
boss may not accept “weed pulling” as an excuse for
being late. Eventually,
every morning and every evening, you want to see your
garden grow and produce beautiful flowers, or vegetables.
.
7. Over
prepare your planting bed. It’s pretty hard to
over-improve the soil.
Rare is the soil that has all the attributes to
grow healthy plants. Ours
is sandy and doesn’t hold water or nutrients well.
Add organic matter (composted manure is available
and very inexpensive), like peat moss or compost if you
can get it
6.
Learn a
little about watering.
New plants need lots of water at first but please
water carefully. Watering
at the root zone for small plants and just sprinkling
seeds and seedlings is the way to be certain the tiny
infants are not dislodged and washed to the far end of the
bed. There
goes garden symmetry.
When your plants are a little bigger and a lot
bigger water the roots rather than the foliage.
Place plants with similar water needs together
(that’s right plant-right place).
A soaker hose is an inexpensive way to deliver
water slowly and just where you want it.
5.
Don’t buy
a bunch of tools.
If you develop a love of gardening you will find
you have favorite tools.
Don’t acquire them now---you don’t know which
are going to be your favorites.
Borrow, or choose only one or two—a good hoe like
the push-pull which is especially good at weeding.
And—the best hose you can afford.
Kinky is not cute in the hose world and can dampen
a new gardener’s sprit.
Fast.
4.
Start Easy.
Easy vegetables are beans, lettuce, onions (grow
these from sets), tomatoes.
Plant your favorites—you may need to eat a lot!
Sandy Florida soil is great for root crops such as
radishes and carrots and you can plant them together since
radishes are ready when carrots are just coming up.
If
you are growing flowers or shrubs, look for
drought-tolerant selections at the plant supplier or easy
flower seeds like Zinnias and Marigold which germinate
quickly and grow fast too.
Kids love the fast growers!
3. Use Newspaper.
Read first and mulch last.
Never throw a newspaper away.
In your easy and small new garden you will place
newspaper next to your plants and some kind of mulch to
hold it in place. This
will help to reduce weeds and help hold moisture.
2.
Understand
Weeds and Expect Them.
When you create a beautiful, rich, attractive place
for plants to grow you can surely see how opportunistic
critters like weeds will want to live there.
In fact, weed seeds are probably lurking there
waiting to appear. That
is why building your bed early is a good thing.
You can spade up those first weeds that sprout
before you even plant the good stuff.
Once it is planted, scout your garden—that means
watch it closely. Get
those weeds before they get too big.
And
the first most important way to prevent discouragement in
the new garden………..
1.
Take some
time to sit and watch your garden grow. A
chair or bench needs to be installed here.
Remember, this is supposed to be enjoyable.
If
you have questions, be sure to call your county Extension
office or visit the Master Gardeners there.
Experienced gardeners love to help newbies. Also,
they will commiserate.
They have probably been there.
We’ve placed more information on our Okeechobee web page, http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu. If you need additional information on , please email us at okeechobee@ifas.ufl.edu or call us at 863-763-6469. Local residents can stop by our office at 458 Hwy 98 North in Okeechobee, and visit our Okeechobee County Master Gardeners from 1 to 3 PM on Tuesday afternoons. GO GATORS!
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