Mastering the Vegetable Garden

Gardeners always pray for rain. So when the economic downturn met with the growing desire for local taste, it was like the perfect storm poured over the vegetable patch. People, many of them vegetable-growing virgins, turned to edible gardening in record numbers.

As a sort of gardening evangelist, you'd have thought I'd been ecstatic. Actually when I heard the news, I cringed.

Apparently these people had never heard of this book entitled: The $64 Tomato; How One Man Nearly Lost his Sanity, Spent a Fortune and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden.

I was worried about families, already strapped, investing in vegetable gardening without proper planning; starting too soon without good soil or adequate sunlight as well as reliable sources of information.

This year 2/3 of the people planning a garden, intend to grow vegetables. Of these people, 42% believe that the fruit of their labors will be cheaper than that found in the grocery store. That's a sweet sentiment, and in some cases, with a double dose of dumb luck combined with smart preparation and hard work, it will become a reality.

Don't get me wrong. Grow those vegetables, please! Grow them for the fabulous, fresh taste. Grow them to get the family out in the sunshine. Grow them find the connection between plate and nature. Grow them for goodness sake. But measure your expectations when it comes to cost.

Many times it is indeed cheaper to grow your own. Prolific tomato and zucchini plants will produce beyond your wildest dreams, but be prepared to put up your crops. Spinach may sprout until you can't stand the sight of it. Then your kids might not dig all that kohlrabi. I truly believe that the hardest part of it all is the harvest. Until you have a few years under your garden tool belt, it's difficult to judge how much, where and when to grow, than what to do with it.

Or you can take the shortcut. Look to your local extension offices for the best advice on growing vegetables or anything for that matter. The University of Minnesota Master Gardeners provide solid, science-based information on planning, growing and yes, even eating everything you want to grow.

You can contact their hotline (612-596-2118) for your most urgent questions, or peruse the many online and print resources before the season gets away. Master Gardener presentations on vegetable growing are happening throughout the community, check the website for dates, places and times.

After your vegetable garden is growing this summer, take a day off and visit the University of Minnesota Master Gardener Learning Garden Tour on July 10 from 9am to 4pm. This years tour focuses on gardens in the Plymouth and Wayzata area, with several featuring food growing. Compare growing styles and issues with Master Gardeners as they share their triumphs and a few tribulations using raised beds, square foot gardening and lots more.