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@looch: we have quite a few deers that roam around our neighborhood. Last year they didn't bother our garden. I thought for sure we would have some issues. We also have a family of bunnies and they seemed to leave the plants alone as well for the most part. We'll see how this year goes.
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@winniebee: My advice is to dive right into it and experiment. Don't feel too intimidated by all your options and don't expect to create the perfect growing conditions on your first try - it takes a lot of trial and error to figure out what works best for you (especially with a new home and garden). I wish someone told me that when I first started gardening!
With that in mind, start with a sunny spot and a few bags of compost and organic fertilizer. My advice is to buy a cheap (or DIY) a raised bed. It's best to keep it simple (and movable) when you start because you will likely change it up along the way. The easiest and fastest way to start off is with plants from your local garden center.
A great starter plant are tomatoes - they're easy to grow and highly rewarding! Dig a deep hole, add compost and fertilizer and dig down your tomato plants (they grow roots as far up as you plant them). Cut the leaves off the stalk that you bury, making sure no leaves touch the ground, while leaving a few leaves on top. Support them with a tomato cage or just a stake. Water them infrequently yet thoroughly to establish strong roots (as opposed to shallow frequent watering). Do not water the leaves, just the soil to avoid any pests, mold or mildew. Good luck!
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@looch: Our local deer apparently avoids walking on gravel. All our walkways are gravel and it somehow saves our veggies. Last year, a succulent that I planted in a new raised area suddenly disappeared - nothing else was missing and there was no trace of it left. It took me forever to realize it was the deer since all our veggies in the area beside it weren't touched. However, the succulent was surrounded by grass, while the veggies are close to a gravel path. They also seem to love our tulips also planted around grass. It all makes sense now and I don't know why it took me so long to realize it
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Halp! My strawberry plant came today and I wasn't expecting it to come like this??
What do I do???
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@regberadaisy: it looks like a bare root plant. From the picture, I'm not sure if it's surrounded in packing material or if that's the actual root. Feel around if there's anything to "unpack". Then submerge the plant into a big bowl of water for a good 30 minutes (or more) before planting it in a nice and sunny location.
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Looking at your picture again, I realize that it's upside down. It's not packing material, it's the root. Just soak it into some water before planting and you're good to go. Soon you'll be enjoying some yummy strawberries!
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I agree with just diving in. It's amazing how much nature takes care of on its own (assuming there's some soil and water and sunshine involved)!
I grew up with large family gardens. Except for a brief stint in with a 10x10 veggie plot, I've only had container gardens in adulthood...until now. We bought our first house a couple of months ago and it has been "gardened" for the past 60 years. Every week new surprises are popping up all over! Our main goal this year is to observe and thin and reduce and figure out what we have. We are in the south and our 1-acre property was once part of a large farm. So we have an old fig tree, a half dozen pecan trees and too many azaleas and camellias to count. Plus lumpy pasture land that is a mix of clover, weeds and a little grass. The most recent owner started a random "Mediterranean" xeriscape with succulents, Russian sage, lilies, the odd perennial and maybe a Meyer lemon tree. For veggies, we started tomatoes, basil and rosemary -- all in pots still until we can figure out where they go! That might be good enough for this year. We'll also get an opportunity for fall planting because we are so far south.
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@Amorini: omgosh - I'm so jealous!!! We are starting brand new which is a little sad because we had established soil we worked hard for at our last house.
Oh well, we plan to be here for a very long time so we will be spending some money amending the soil and making sure we start off our garden the right way!
Getting about 4 cu yards of compost + soil delivered this week for our raised beds and filling in areas in the lawn.
Oh well, we plan to be here for a very long time so we will be spending some money amending the soil and making sure we start off our garden the right way!
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