Broken Ground Blog

Five Tips to Get Your Garden Started - Soil and Seeds

2/19/2015

It seems like it's already spring in Montana...although we know better! But this milder weather is certainly inspiring me to start ordering seeds and planning my garden. My spring workshop line-up is out so if you haven't taken one of my workshops, check them out here. I would love to help you get started on your first garden or give you fresh ideas and concrete advice on improving your yields and making it one of your most successful growing seasons yet!

My video this week covers two of the most important aspects of gardening - soil and seeds. Click below to learn more about my strategies for increasing soil fertility in your garden, the three seed companies I would recommend and the one place I wouldn't recommend you go to get your seeds or transplants.

Lastly, what burning questions would you like to have answered before the growing season begins? Please leave those in the comments below. I will either answer them directly or make a video to respond!

Thanks again for watching,

Kareen

P.S. If you didn't receive my Five Tips to Get Your Garden Started, you can click here to download that resource. Be sure to tell your friends!

2 Comments

Emily

2/19/2015 01:44:40 am

These are great, practical suggestions for growing in our climate. I really like FedCo seed company. They also support sustainable agriculture and have a good selection of cold-hardy and quicker producing vegetable seeds for a short, cooler growing season.

One mistake I see around here is people buying tomato seedlings from generic greenhouses like Walmart or Home Depot. The tomatoes sold at these stores are usually varieties that take longer to mature and grow better in warmer climates with a longer growing season. If you want success with tomatoes in Montana, its important to grow or buy tomato seedlings that mature quicker and are better for this climate. The locally grown tomatoes at Planet Natural are a good place to get these. Even at the Farmer's Market, be sure to ask if your seedlings are meant for this climate rather than assuming that they'll work.

Kareen Erbe

2/19/2015 02:06:50 am

Great advice Emily, thanks for following up with your insights. I absolutely agree on not buying transplants from garden centers at big box stores. In addition, they are often selling tomato seedlings long before they are meant to go in the ground! This is another example of leaning on local resources and people who have experience growing in this climate. They will know best what works here! I tried some great cold climate varieties of tomatoes last year - Polar Baby and Beliy and feel like I am improving the ability of my Purple Cherokee heirloom tomatoes to yield in this cold climate by saving their seed. Thanks again!

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Five Tips to Get Your Garden Started - Soil and Seeds

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