Magic of Gardening

BY BETHANY O’REAR

February is here and you probably have a stockpile of well-thumbed seed catalogues and a mishmash of last year’s seed packets at the ready. If you’re like me, you’ve already calculated and recalculated, how many seeds or seedlings per row. Maybe you’ve optimistically decided when to pull your first sowing and replace with heat-loving summer tomato and pepper transplants. And you’re ahead of the game if you’ve remembered what crops need to be rotated where to suppress disease and promote great harvests. But what’s missing from this methodical approach: fun! Don’t get me wrong, there’s great pleasure in growing your own tasty vegetables and seeing bees and butterflies on colorful flowers but making gardening fun takes a little bit more effort and if you’re not careful to plan for it now, you may find you have neither garden space nor energy for creative projects later in the season. So, carve out a little area on your garden map and pull up your gardening calendar for one or more of the following projects to tickle your funny bone and share with others.

Start with a garden area of at least 10 feet by 10 feet (or an equivalent square area). You’ll need welldrained soil and at least six hours of full sunlight. If you haven’t had your soil tested recently, now is the time to do so. Contact your local county office of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System to pick up a kit and instructions. Vegetables appreciate generous fertilizing, consistent watering, and a pH in the range of 6.0 to 6.5. Suggested planting dates given for these projects are for Central Alabama so you can plant 10 days earlier in South Alabama and 10 days later in North Alabama. Check “The Alabama Vegetable Gardener ANR-0479” at www.aces. edu for a comprehensive guide to start dates.

A bean teepee serves as a decorative focus in the vegetable garden and a fun retreat for young children. You need six poles (bamboo, hardwood branches or garden supports) at least 6 feet long (8 feet is even better). They should be arranged in a circle with a wider gap between two poles to act as a front entrance. The poles should be bound at the top with twine or waxed cord and the poles placed firmly in the soil to a depth of several inches. Good-quality soil should be mounded at the base of the poles. Place additional plant supports or tie a web around the poles at approximately 12 inches off the ground and then again at 24 inches so that the beans have a growing structure. Plant pole beans such as “Kentucky Wonder,” “Rattlesnake” or “Blue Lake” in mounded hills of four beans when the soil has warmed up (April 10-30). Many folks like to interplant with morning glories for added color, but I prefer to interplant with Scarlet Runner beans – you get a nice contrasting color, and the beans are edible when picked at a small size.

This garden will attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds from June until frost. Plant it in a plot adjacent to your vegetable garden to maximize the impact of the pollinators on your flowering crops. You’ll be planting in six rows left to right— each row approximately 18 inches in front of its neighbor. In the back row, plant Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia) seeds every 12 inches. Once they’ve set true leaves, thin to plants two feet apart. These impressive plants set out vibrant orange blooms on sturdy stalks with candelabra stems. They’ll bloom from July until hard frost. In the next two rows, plant midsize sunflower varieties with red or burgundy coloring such as “Autumn Beauty” or “Red Wave.” Plants should be thinned to two feet apart as well. The sunflowers will stand out from July until late September. The front three rows should be planted with “Cut and Come Again” zinnia or a similar multicolor variety. These reliable bloomers will start the show in June and continue to October. Keep them trimmed for repeat bloom and remove any plants showing disease. Keep your camera close at hand – this little flower garden will give you plenty of opportunities to catch pollinators at work.

Seed companies offer a dizzying selection of varieties, including dwarf and miniature plants suitable for small spaces and containers. Not only are the plants economic on space – they’re just plain cute. Plant these varieties on the same schedule as their grown-up kin. Fertilization and water needs are similar too. “Tiny Tim” tomato transplants should be set out in April. These plants top out at 12 inches tall and can be set apart at the same distance. Harvest in 60 days. You can find lots of “mini” bell pepper varieties which grow on typical eighteen-inch plants but why not try “Mohawk,” a dwarf bell pepper that grows on vines? Set out transplants from April to mid-May. The cucumber world has lots to choose from; “Piccolino” grows to 4 inches long while the aptly named “Mini Munch” cucumber maxes out at 3 inches. Direct sow seed from mid-April to mid-May. To get the ball rolling, plant a row or two of “Cherry Belle” radishes for an early harvest for your diminutive but tasty garden!

As a final note, I want to thank Tony Glover, a valuable mentor and friend, for letting me take on “The Magic of Gardening” starting with this issue. After an enjoyable career in the commercial landscape industry, I stepped into the Regional Extension Agent position which Tony held as he moved upward in Extension. Ten years later, I’m still trying to live up to his talented example – and I’ll do my best in writing this column as well. Let me know what interests you, what you’d like to hear about, and we can all learn a little together with some fun along the way.