Community Garden Update: Planting Vegetable Garden Rows North to South - May 8, 2013

After some research, the decision was made to make our vegetable garden rows north to south; not necessarily because it's the best direction to plant, but because it offers a marginally better opportunity for the sun to reach all of our crops as it travels from east to west throughout the day. We didn't intend to plant any tall growing crops that would shade shorter ones, so the direction of the rows would make little difference. Even if we did choose to plant something tall like corn, for example, planting it on the north side of the plot would prevent the stalks from blocking sun exposure to the rest of the garden. Ultimately, which direction to make the rows seems to be a matter of preference. In our case, planting rows north to south seemed more natural. 

Mallory and Eileen hoe the rows in preparation for seeds and seedlings. 

Still somewhat in the decision making stage of which vegetables to plant, we knew that tomatoes and bell peppers would definitely be part of the garden. Growing these vegetables, in Montana, however, has been a kind of hit or miss endeavor. Tomatoes need warmth to produce abundantly, and although Montana summers can be as hot as blazes, they are sometimes too mild for the heat loving tomato. We've had years with poor results on tomatoes and also with bell peppers. But it wouldn't be a vegetable garden without these two favorites, we wouldn't dream of excluding them. 

Two red pepper plants were planted on the north side of the first row of the garden and two green pepper plants were planted on the south side of that same row. In between the pepper plants and two rows facing east, space was left for the Sugar Pie pumpkins (perfect for pies and canning, a good keeper). It would be our first experience growing pumpkins, but we knew that pumpkin vines would take up a considerable amount of space in our plot.

Green peppers in the foreground with space for the pumpkins.

Next to the pumpkin seeds, we planted a row of Provider bush beans (a high yielding, reliable and early market variety well adapted to northern conditions), then a row of Little Finger carrots (baby gourmet carrots with quickly developing color so you can pull early). Wooden stakes marked the rows.

This was getting exciting! We were on our way to providing free food for our table and it would be all organic. We felt very good about it.

We had purchased four Early Girl tomato plants from a local greenhouse. May 8th was a bit soon to put out tomato plants, but we took our chances. There was still snow on the Swan Mountains.

Marlene and Mallory planting tomatoes.

Thinking big, we took wire cages from the garden shed and staked our tomatoes for the growth we were anticipating. 

In order to keep the tomatoes warm, we used a cloth called Reemay to cover them. It's a protective covering used by commercial and residential gardeners alike. Made out of polyester, it's light enough to let in sunlight, but protects delicate plants in the event of frost. 

After giving everything a good watering, we left the garden with a sense of accomplishment.

Our garden was on its way, and so was the development of River's Edge Park.

Construction of the new entrance to River's Edge Park.