5 Ways To Save Money In The Vegetable Garden

vegetable garden in Salt Lake City

Vegetable gardening has some costs.  There are things you need to buy in order to experience the magic of growing your own food.  Hopefully you will harvest enough food from the garden to offset the monetary inputs.  Most certainly, you will reap the immeasurable benefits of joy and satisfaction when you sit down to a plate of food that came from the garden you nurtured.

Here are 5 ways you can save money in your vegetable garden:

1 - plant things from seeds when you can.  Plants are relatively expensive and seeds will produce plants at a fraction of the cost.
2 - be efficient with water.  Drip systems are perfect for the vegetable garden.
3 - be efficient with the harvest.  Money and time (and your blood, sweat and tears) have gone into this garden.  What a terrible waste if you don't utilize the fruits of the harvest.  If there is too much for you and your family, share it with friends and neighbors.  Or do some canning and preserving.  Your local food pantry will welcome any fresh produce you have to offer.
4 - compost.  Make your own compost to feed the soil and plants in your garden.  It's much cheaper than buying it.
5 - go organic.  Use organic methods to feed your soil and plants and to control pests and weeds.  Pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers and plant foods are expensive and can damage your soil in the long run.

Ephedra viridis - Green Mormon Tea - Excellent Utah Native Plant For Xeriscape!

This Utah native shrub is a great choice for a water wise landscape - it requires no water other than what falls from the sky!  Green Mormon Tea, or Brigham Tea (Ephedra viridis) is a smallish green shrub found in the wild all over the West and Southwest.  The common name comes from the fact that the Mormon settlers of Utah used it to make tea.  Ephedra plants are available at local nurseries that carry native plants.  Plant in a hot sunny area of the xeric garden and please don't give it extra water or soil amendments or fertilizers.  Like many Utah native plants, Ephedra thrives in harsh conditions and will not survive if given too many nutrients or water.

Ephedra viridis - Green Mormon Tea - excellent xeriscape plant

Ephedra viridis - Green Mormon Tea;  Utah Native Plant

Utah Drought - Update - April 2015

Some interesting reports have come out this week about the drought situation.  Randy Julander of the Natural Resource Conservation Service said that the snowpack in Utah is the lowest it has been in three decades.  Some farmers in Southern Utah are facing water restrictions and several communities in Central and Eastern Utah are under restrictions already.  Governor Jerry Brown of California has ordered mandatory restrictions on water use in that state;  the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountain range is 5% of normal.

What does this mean for gardeners in Utah?  We might be restricted in our landscape water use.  In the past, this has resulted in limiting outdoor watering to certain days of the week and certain hours of the day.  We can still grow beautiful gardens and landscapes.  We just need to be ready to do things a little bit differently in order to conserve water.   We can be prepared by taking these steps:
 - amend the soil in the vegetable garden to increase the moisture holding capacity:  compost
 - mulch the top of the soil in the vegetable garden to keep the moisture from evaporating:  wood chips, straw, etc.
 - install a drip system in the vegetable garden to efficiently deliver water to the roots of the plants;  no sprinklers - they spray water everywhere and waste it.
 - water deeply and less often
 - remove some of the turf grass from the hottest, driest parts of the yard and replace with waterwise perennials and ground covers.  Some of these plants will only need water every 10 days or 2 weeks, and only during the hottest parts of summer!

low snowpack in Utah - April 2015

Utah Drought Map - March 2015

Are We In A Drought In Utah?

It's a good question!  The snow pack in the Wasatch is low and it's been an unusually warm and dry winter.  According to the National Integrated Drought Information System, most of Utah is experiencing moderate to extreme drought conditions.
This makes gardeners worry about the vegetable beds - what if our water is restricted?  It could happen.  One of the best ways to prepare for the possibility of limited water availability is to amend the soil in the vegetable beds to increase the moisture holding capacity.  Digging some compost deep into the garden will add organic matter to the soil.  This organic matter will absorb water and keep the soil moist in between waterings during the hot times of summer.  Also, after you have planted your vegetable garden, a thin layer of mulch (1/2 to 1 inch deep) on the surface of the soil will keep it from drying out.

digging compost into the soil and spreading a little mulch on top will increase moisture holding capacity

Is Landscape Fabric Or Weed Barrier A Good Idea?

Many people put down a layer of landscape fabric or weed barrier and then cover it with rocks or mulch when they are planting a new garden.  I'm not a fan of this method.  For a year or two, it looks great.  Then weeds start growing on top of it.  Usually the roots of the weeds grow down through the fabric making it impossible to pull them out.  This creates a frustrating nightmare resulting in the necessary removal of the rocks or mulch and the fabric, potentially damaging the desirable plants that have become established.  No, I'm not a fan.

Here are some better ideas:

 - cardboard or newspapers topped with 6 inches of wood chip mulch will smother weeds and break down over time.

 - it is easy to pull weeds out of 6 inches of mulch.

 - you can continue to add more desirable plants to a garden with thick mulch over time without needing to cut holes in landscape fabric (which can be another nightmare).

 - the soil (and the roots of the desirable plants) can receive water, air and light without landscape fabric smothering it.

 - earthworms and other soil creatures can move to the surface of the soil when they need to if there is no landscape fabric.  The Robins will thank you for this!

lancscape fabric with rocks will be difficult to weed in a few years.  rock or woodchip mulch without the fabric is better for the long term.

Warming Up The Soil In February For March Planting

I've been reading about using black plastic over the garden soil for a few weeks in February to warm it up for planting seeds in March.  So, I thought I'd give it a try.   I used a large garbage bag, cut it down the side and across the bottom and spread it out.  Several landscape fabric pins will hold it in place.  I will be planting pea seeds and other cold crops in March.  I will do a test by planting in plastic-warmed soil and non-plastic-warmed soil.  We'll see if there is a difference!

landscape fabric pins 

black garbage bags

black garbage bags, cut open and placed on garden in February to warm the soil

Soil For Utah Native Plants

If you are considering planting Utah native plants (or any plants native to the Intermountain West) then you will want to think twice before you add amendments to your soil.  You will definitely not want to add any fertilizer.  The soil in many parts of Utah and the West is not what we would call "rich" - meaning, it doesn't have very much organic material in it.  It has a lot of sand, gravel and clay; not the dark fertile topsoil you think of when you think of the Midwest (or the soil you are trying to create in your vegetable garden).   Generally speaking, Utah native plants don't like soil with too many nutrients.   They have evolved in poor soils and that is what they like!  Rich soil can kill natives plants (although some can tolerate rich soil better than others so do a little research).  To be successful with native plants, start by using the soil you have.  If it is already too rich, you may have to amend with sand and gravel.  Your sagebrush will thank you!

Sagebrush - Artemisia tridentata

When Should I Turn Or Till My Soil?

Wait until the soil has had a chance to dry out a little before you turn it, till it or dig amendments into it.  In Utah, that means sometime in April or early May.  So, what if you want to plant something before then?  Like peas or lettuce?  Plant it anyway and you will have to "top dress" with your amendments.  That means you will just put the compost or manure on the surface of the soil around the plants and let the rain and the worms do the rest.
*If you work the soil when it is very wet from snow or rain, you will create big clods that will be difficult to break up for the rest of the season.
*If you take a handful of soil and squeeze it and water runs out, it is too wet to work.  If it is damp like a sponge that has been wrung out, it is ready to be worked.
Also, check out the blog post on tilling.

This is my friend, Alison, tilling her garden plot in the Fall.

Is It Necessary To Plants Squashes and Melons in Mounds or Hills?

My friend asked me why we are supposed to plant squashes and melons in mounds.  The answer is - it is not necessary here in Utah unless we are planting in clay soil.  Here's why:
 - cucurbits (all plants in the gourd, pumpkin, squash, melon, cucumber family) don't like "wet feet"!  They need plenty of water, but they want it to drain away.  They don't want their roots water-logged.
 - in areas of the world where there is a lot of rain, it is necessary to plant these plants in raised mounds  so the water will drain away from the roots.
 - Here in Utah, we don't get a lot of extra rain in the summer so it is not a huge issue.
 - To be efficient with water, you can even plant cucurbits in slight depressions in the soil, so that the water runs toward the plant, soaking into the soil and going to the roots - not running off the mound and away from the plant.
**HOWEVER, if you have clay soil, which drains very slowly, you might not have fast enough drainage and your cucurbits could get wet feet.  In that case, go ahead and plant them in mounds.

Here is my friend Jenny planting the seeds in the pumpkin patch at the community garden - not in mounds.

Here are the pumpkins and squashes we grew in the pumpkin patch at the community garden last year.

Worms! Our Best Garden Friends!

If you have earth worms in your garden then your soil is healthy and on the right track.  Feed these creatures compost, leaves, manure, moisture and mulch and they will aerate and fertilize your soil.  Take care of them and they will take care of you!

To Till or Not To Till?

This is something that gardeners ask all the time.  There are pros and cons to tilling and NOT tilling. Sometimes this causes controversy among gardeners.

Benefits of Tilling:
 - breaks up hard soil and clay and is an easy way to add soil amendments like compost
 - turns in weeds so you don't have to pull them out
 - aerates soil

Benefits of NOT Tilling:
 - allows the worms and microorganisms to live at their levels in the soil without disruption.  They are what make your soil alive.  They provide fertilizer and aeration naturally.  Tilling is bad for them.
 - weed seeds that may exist at deep levels are not brought to the surface and allowed opportunity to germinate.  Tilling can create a bad weed problem in the long run.

** The only time tilling is a great idea is when you are first starting a garden and you want to add a lot of soil amendment and break up the soil that's there.  After that, add layers of compost, leaves and manure to the surface on a regular basis and let the worms do the work!  They will move the nutrients in the soil to the root zones of your plants.  If you are learning to use organic gardening methods, the "no till" method is a big one, as it promotes the health of your soil.

What Does "Organic Gardening" Mean?

Good Question.  Organic gardening is about working with, not against, the natural ecosystems of your garden.  The main foundation of that ecosystem is your soil.

Some Basic Ideas of Organic Gardening:

- Building the soil with materials that come from living things and that wont damage, but instead feed, the ecosystem within the soil:  leaves, manure, compost made from food scraps and straw, etc.

- Preventing pests, diseases and weeds with methods that have little impact on the ecosystem of the garden.  Chemical pesticides can kill beneficial insects that are keeping things in balance in the garden, causing potentially destructive infestations in the long run.  Chemical herbicides can harm the soil and desirable plants.

- Fertilizing the plants with materials that come from living things that won’t damage the soil;  fish emulsion, manure tea and compost will feed your plants during the growing season along with the nutrients provided by the living things in your healthy soil.  Chemical fertilizers are harsh and toxic to the soil and will damage it in the long run.

- Very importantly, chemical pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers can be toxic to humans and pets.

FYI - In 1980, the U.S. Department of Agriculture defined “organic farming” this way:  “A production system which avoids or largely excludes the use of synthetically compounded fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators, and live-stock feed additives.  To the maximum extent feasible, organic farming systems rely upon crop rotations, crop residues, animal manures, legumes, green manures, off-farm organic wastes, mechanical cultivation, mineral-bearing rocks, and aspects of biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and tilth, to supply plant nutrients and to control insects, weeds, and other pests.”

Manure! My Favorite!

If you want to quickly and cheaply add nutrients to your soil, try some steer manure!  This is great stuff -  perfect for the vegetable garden and it is available in bags at any local garden center.   Put about 2 or 3 inches of steer manure on your garden and then till it in or just turn it in by hand with a shovel.  If it's hot (you can tell if it's hot if it smells stinky, like really fresh cow poop) let it rest for a few days in the garden after you turn it in to the soil.  Then you are ready to plant.  If you have already planted, you can carefully spread some manure on the surface around your plants and let the rain and the worms do the rest.  The manure is rich in nitrogen and your plants will love it!!

Locally Produced Steer Manure!