Planning your garden

The most important decision a gardener makes is figuring out exactly what to grow, and that answer is mainly determined by where you live and the amount of sun or shade your garden receives. Fortunately, in New Jersey, there is an abundance of scrumptious vegetables and beautiful flowers that grow extremely well. So when you visit your local garden center, you’ll certainly have a lot to choose from.

If it’s rows of flowers you’re looking to cultivate, Tiger suggests choosing annuals, which bloom for one season and then fade with the first heavy frost. Unlike a vegetable garden, annuals can be purchased as small blooms so you can enjoy your garden right away. Tiger suggests starting with what she calls “old-fashioned standbys,” like marigolds, geraniums, begonias, impatiens, petunias (ideal for July 4th in shades of red, white, and deep purple), sunflowers, and morning glory. If you prefer perennials (flowers that return from year to year at different times), you’ll need to plan your garden much more carefully. For example, if you plant black-eyed Susans (which bloom from early June to September), it will be important to have other flowers that bloom in early spring and late fall, or else you’ll spend months looking at a bare garden. “If you’re interested in perennials but are not a veteran gardener, the best thing to do is to get some guidance at a garden center to avoid costly and unsightly mistakes,” says Tiger. When planning a vegetable garden, stick with veggies that are easy to grow in abundance, such as those famous Jersey heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber, peas (which grow well in early spring), green beans, and lettuce (another early spring favorite). Looking to plant herbs? Basil, parsley, cilantro, and chives are ideal picks.

Ready, set, grow!

Once you’ve decided exactly what you’d like to grow, turn your attention to the location of your garden and its soil. Experts agree that it’s best to place your garden away from buildings and trees, which can compete for water or interfere with your flowers’ expanding roots. Depending on what type of soil you have, you may be able to simply loosen it, fertilize it, and drop in plants or seeds. But if your soil is clay-based, be sure to add compost or peat moss as you till to make it more nourishing to the plants.

When you’re ready to actually plant, use a digging fork, garden spade, shovel, or rototiller to break up and loosen the soil to a depth of 12 to 18 inches. Although this may seem like a lot of work (and it is), “planting in soil that is too tightly and densely packed won’t leave any room for the roots to grow,” explains Tiger. Next, work a fertilizer into the top 4 to 6 inches of soil so it will be available to the short feeder roots of new blooms. Finally (if you’re growing from seeds), smooth the surface of the soil with a rake to make a fine-textured bed. Your goal should be to have finer soil on the top and coarser earth down below to provide good water drainage.

Buying annuals already in bloom and transplanting them into your own garden is easiest because it makes judging the spacing of your flowers a cinch, but many gardeners like the challenge of growing from seed. “Regardless of how you start your garden, less is always more when it comes to spacing, since everything will grow and you don’t want the roots to become crowded,” says Tiger. “To be safe, always leave about six to eight inches between plants.” Vegetables are a different story however, and need to be spaced at least two feet apart for best results.

The care and feeding of your garden

Watering your garden regularly is a must, but sometimes inexperienced gardeners get too carried away with the hose, which can lead to destructive funguses. In the spring, Mother Nature generally provides everything a garden needs in the form of rain. But once the summer heat hits, you may need to water as often as twice a day, depending on what you’re growing. “That’s why it’s a good idea to check with your garden center to be sure you’re choosing the right plants for your lifestyle,” says Tiger. Flowers that need lots of attention, for example, aren’t great choices for gardeners who travel frequently.

Although there is no ideal time of day to water your garden, just be sure to do it early enough so that the leaves are dry when the sun goes down.

One of the biggest maintenance concerns Tiger fields from customers regards pests and how to minimize them. And while it’s natural to want to protect your hard work from pests, the obvious dangers of pesticides make this a tricky issue. Tiger takes a conservative approach: “If you don’t generally have a pest problem, then don’t use a pesticide,” she says. However, if you’ve been plagued by bugs in the past, Tiger suggests an environmental spray like hot pepper wax or neem oil, which are safe for the planet and safe for any children that may wander among your posies. In some cases you can even make your own pest solution. Tiger reveals that a homemade soap-and-water mixture often works wonders on such pests as aphids, which simply need to be washed away.

Unfortunately, for many New Jerseyans, bugs aren’t the only unwelcome visitors to their gardens; it’s not uncommon to have a deer problem as well. Although you can try using deer sprays to repel the animals, Tiger warns that they’re not always effective. “Deer sprays tend to get washed away after a good rain or regular watering, so you’ll need to constantly re-treat the area,” she says. Some gardeners become so frustrated with persistent deer, they end up planting flowers and vegetables that the deer don’t find appetizing. While this can minimize damage, Tiger is quick to point out that baby deer are endlessly curious and will nibble on almost anything.

Contain yourself

Even if you don’t have a sprawling lawn or backyard, you can still grow beautiful flowers, herbs, and even vegetables in containers on your windowsill, patio, terrace, or doorstep. What’s more, container gardens are not as vulnerable to climate changes and soil quality as traditional gardens. But the best part is that planting a container garden couldn’t be easier.
Here’s how:

Pick your pot. Here’s where you get to be as creative as you like with your garden, since you can use almost any vessel as a planter (just make sure there is a half-inch hole drilled in the bottom to release excess water, and set the pot on bricks or blocks to encourage drainage). Small pots are best for growing a single type of flower or herb, while large containers (14 to 18 inches wide) are better for growing a variety of flowers all together. Many container gardeners like terra cotta pots for their rustic beauty; just remember that they absorb water and dry out rapidly, so be sure to wet the pot thoroughly before planting to keep from robbing your new flowers of precious moisture.

Decide what to grow. Certain flowers and plants grow better than others in containers, so stick with options like ferns, tuberous begonias (which you can start indoors right now and later move outside), geraniums, marigolds, New Guinea impatiens, petunias, zinnias, and licorice plant. Tiger suggests mixing some herbs in with your flowers. Not only can they be very pretty (like thyme and purple leaf basil), but choosing herbs that deer find distasteful is a great way to protect your flowers. You can even use containers to grow small vegetables like pixie tomatoes, Dixie or senator squash, broccoli, and cabbage.

Buy only the best … Soil, that is. Although you can scour your attic or local flea markets for interesting containers, don’t cheap out on soil. Splurge on a soil-less mix, ideally one that is peat moss–based, which will allow flower roots to spread out (soil from the ground can actually stunt plant growth when used in containers). You can even buy container-specific soil-less mixes that contain slow-release fertilizers and wetting agents to hold water.

Before you fill ’er up … When working with large containers (12 inches or more in diameter), you don’t need to fill the entire container with soil. Instead, layer the bottom third of the pot with empty soda cans or inverted plastic pots (like the kind from the deli counter). In very large pots (16 to 18 inches wide), layer the bottom half with a filler material. Just be sure that whatever filler you choose doesn’t dissolve when it gets wet (like Styrofoam peanuts do). It’s also important to place a pot shard or rock over the drainage hole to stop soil from washing out every time you water your plants.

Create a planting plan. While they’re still in their nursery pots, arrange flowers or herbs on top of the soil to determine their placement. For example, low-growing or trailing plants work well at the edges of the pot while tall, upright growers look best in the center. Remember that most container gardens need five hours of direct sunlight each day, so bear this in mind when designing your porch or patio.

Plant away. With a narrow trowel or your fingers, make a hole for each plant. Place the plant in the hole and gently press the soil around the base, making sure to eliminate air pockets around the roots. Then water generously.

Water regularly. Generally one watering per day with a nutrient-rich solution is enough for a container garden (only one watering a week should be done with tap water). Just be sure your pot’s drainage is adequate, or the plants will become waterlogged and die from lack of oxygen. Use a narrow-spout watering can to place water directly on the soil, since wetting the leaves can encourage disease.