By Courtney Pankrat
Fall is officially here. This used to mean that it was time for me to go to the store, buy a pumpkin and stick it on my front stoop. This year though, Fall has an entirely new meaning. Harvest time!
Fall is officially here. This used to mean that it was time for me to go to the store, buy a pumpkin and stick it on my front stoop. This year though, Fall has an entirely new meaning. Harvest time!
My first growing season has been somewhat successful. Some of my vegetables were complete misses while others grew more than I could have guessed. Pumpkins, zucchini, tomatoes and carrots were a hit. My strawberries died almost immediately and I never saw a sprout from my cucumber plants. And as for beans, every time something grew, bunnies would come eat them up.
I learned a few things over the course of this summer and I want to share my new found wisdom:
1. Don't stress about it! Weed as much as you can but don't worry if you don't get every weed. Water your garden as consistently as possible but don't worry if you are going on vacation for a few days. This should be fun and it turns out that most plants are pretty resilient.
2. Don't overdo it. I realized pretty quickly that if I spent an entire day weeding my garden, I would never want to come back. Instead, I would spend 20 minutes per day, a few times per week weeding, planting and watering. I would always leave after 20 minutes (give or take), even if I wasn't done. With this method, I never got burned out. In the long run, my garden did much better with this slow and steady approach!
3. A little research goes a long way. I must say I learned this the hard way. I bought a bunch of strawberry plants in the dead middle of summer and then left town for a few days right after I planted them. Denver in the summer is HOT! A little research would have told me that these plants would die. They needed shade and more water than I was able to give them in their first few days.
4. Have fun with it! Try something new. It may work. It may not. Experiment!!
I learned a few things over the course of this summer and I want to share my new found wisdom:
1. Don't stress about it! Weed as much as you can but don't worry if you don't get every weed. Water your garden as consistently as possible but don't worry if you are going on vacation for a few days. This should be fun and it turns out that most plants are pretty resilient.
2. Don't overdo it. I realized pretty quickly that if I spent an entire day weeding my garden, I would never want to come back. Instead, I would spend 20 minutes per day, a few times per week weeding, planting and watering. I would always leave after 20 minutes (give or take), even if I wasn't done. With this method, I never got burned out. In the long run, my garden did much better with this slow and steady approach!
3. A little research goes a long way. I must say I learned this the hard way. I bought a bunch of strawberry plants in the dead middle of summer and then left town for a few days right after I planted them. Denver in the summer is HOT! A little research would have told me that these plants would die. They needed shade and more water than I was able to give them in their first few days.
4. Have fun with it! Try something new. It may work. It may not. Experiment!!