What’s
Blooming: Plans for Vegetable Gardening
by
Mary Miller, Community Garden and Outreach Coordinator, Gardens on Spring Creek
Each growing
season brings new opportunities to one’s garden. Whether your garden space is
quite small or is large, spring affords the chance to try a new tomato or add
beets and chiles to the list of what to grow.
As a nearly-lifelong
gardener, I have explored growing a bajillion different varieties of
vegetables. Some are abandoned after the
first year. Others remain as favorites
forever (or at least as long the seed remains available). Sometimes treasured varieties are dropped
from the trade. At times, it feels easier to go with what I know and plant many
of the same crop varieties season over season.
Responsibilities
for me include managing the Gardens on Spring Creek’s Garden of Eatin’. It is a three-quarter acre site wholly
dedicated to edible crops and the plants that support those crops. Think pollinators. It is a living classroom, a demonstration
garden and a fully productive garden supporting our food-insecure community and
The Gardens’ programming. Produce grown
is donated to the Food Bank for Larimer County and used in our educational
offerings, special events, fundraising efforts and as a discovery moment for
the multitudes of young people through school tours. Yes, little ones, the
carrots are in the ground, growing in the soil.
After a year in
which the Garden of Eatin’ was closed to the public during The Gardens
construction, followed by two quite altered years of pandemic, and a wildfire
thrown in, this year feels hopeful with fresh opportunities. New vegetable varieties, new ideas for the
themed garden beds, and well, a new tilling option for the garden, all add up
to a renewed sense of this growing space.
This season I
am excited to showcase “Staff Favorites” in one of the large beds. Many staff members are home gardeners. Like most, they grow what they love. And gardeners love to share their knowledge
and personal outlook on taste and flavor.
It is my hope that our guests to The Gardens will peruse these vegetable
varieties and find inspiration and ideas for their own growing or search for
these at local farmers’ markets.
Individual favorites were submitted by just one staff person, others
were loved by numerous folks. All were
limited to tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers and summer squash from which
to choose, in order to keep the bed planted for the season and produce crops
that are high value to the Food Bank. It
will also serve as a testing ground for possible new varieties to continue
growing for the Garden of Eatin’ and our annual Spring Plant Sale. Thanks to my work colleagues for this idea!
The Continental
United States themed garden has undergone physical changes in the past couple
of years. It grew from being five
distinct geographic areas of garden spaces to one large, encompassing
space. Highlighting regional crops from
across the country, this year’s theme is the American Quilt. It will utilize different textures, crops,
colors, shapes and space. It is the hope
these regional food crops may reflect the attributes of a quilt all coming
together in a whole pattern of beauty and imagination. And function, as a good quilt provides. In this, quality and useful produce. All the while showing some crops are now
grown throughout the country. Carrots overlap all regions. Onions are universal. Tomatoes are grown from
north to south, east to west.
There are also
new varieties to add to the mix this season for the plant sale. For example, ‘Valley Girl’ tomato was not “totally
awesome” in its availability this year.
Fortunately, the highly-regarded ‘Galahad’ bravely stepped in to replace
‘Valley Girl.’ Finally! A tomato for those with very limited space
have an option for flavor. ‘Patio Choice
Yellow’ cherry tomato is also here. No
patio? It is sized for a balcony
too. Broccoli varieties ‘Covina’ and ‘Millennium’
are weather durable and keep going through the unpredictable temperature swings
of June. And ‘Ace’ bell pepper has won
out over ‘Cal-Wonder’ this year. Seed
was unavailable and ‘Ace’ promises the high card in productivity.
While every
growing season is different and often with challenge, always there is learning
and reward. This is the time of year
when opportunity steps to our garden entrance and invites us to adventure forth
together.