Just in time for the spring garden, Gardener’s Supply had created a Kitchen Garden Planner to help you figure out what to plant where and when.
Plant It & Forget It Garden. Illustration courtesy Gardener's Supply
You can plot a 3- by 6-foot garden using an interactive design tool to select from 30 different vegetables. Or, you can work with one of the six, pre-planned gardens: All American, Cook’s Choice, High Yield, Plant It & Forget It, Salad Bar and Salsa & Tomato Sauce. Each is free and downloadable.
Each version has step-by-step instructions, recommended plant selections, a calculator to figure out how much soil you need and complete details on how to plant and harvest.
With a $70 investment for seeds, plants, compost, water, natural fertilizers and other supplies, the average home garden will yield food valued at about $600, according to a recent surveyby the National Gardening Association.
“These numbers are based on a $2 per pound, in-season market price of produce grown in a national average garden size of 600 square feet with typical yields from the most popular vegetables,” said Bruce Butterfield, director of research for the NGA.
In 2009, the number of households growing some of their own vegetables, fruit, berries, or herbs could increase by 7 million households, or 19 percent, to 43 million, he said.
Perennial help
Walters Gardens of Zeeland, Mich., one of the country’s largest wholesale perennial growers, has launched PerennialResource.com, a Web site with information on more than 1,500 varieties of these popular plants.
You can search by common or botanical names and 40 plant characteristics, such as water, sun or soil requirements, bloom time, deer resistance, garden style, seasonal interest and more. The site also contains a “Design & Grow” segment, six steps to designing, creating and maintaining your own perennial garden.
Walters Gardens’ plants are grown by many growers and can be found by cultivar names in most garden centers.
