What Should I Plant?
Welcome back to the Red Dog Ranch! Sorry for the delay in getting this post up! This time of years is always extremely busy.
This post is going to be geared toward those who are just starting a garden or are looking to learn more about a garden they inherited or started last year. This post is going to focus mostly on the basic things you need to consider when planning your garden, including your climate, what plants you want, and how much time you have to devote to your garden.
Let's jump into it!
What you plant depends on your region, or planting zone. This will help you understand your growing season and the amount of days your plants have to grow. Depending on your zone, some plants may not be able to finish maturing because it gets cold too quickly, or others might die because it gets far too hot and they become scorched. Knowing your zone can save you the frustration of planting things and not getting the results you want.
For example, we are tomato lovers out here on the Red Dog Ranch, and we would love to plant heirloom tomatoes, but being in Zone 7, the season is just not long enough for them to come to full maturity before it becomes too cold. Therefore, we focus on planting tomatoes we know do not have as long of a season so we can yield as much crop as possible.
If you want to plant something but are not in the correct zone, not to fret, there are options! If you are in a zone where it gets too cold too quickly, a small greenhouse can extend your growing season and allow you to plant things that you could not normally plant outside. I'm hoping to get to the point where I can plant dwarf lemon tree in our up-and-coming green house. And if you are in an area where it gets far too hot, shade cloth can help you control the temperature around your plants.
If you want to plant something in particular, but do not know what options would be best for the plants you want, going to a local nursery and ask them what would be best for your area.
However, if you are running a little behind on planting, you can also plant started plants. You can buy larger plants one at a time, or in pony packs, which are six smaller plants. There are some plants that are easier to plant from starters, such as strawberries and asparagus. However, most plants do not take long to sprout once planted in the ground (I will talk about protecting young sprouts in another post).
The most important thing about planting in your garden is that you plant what you want and what you enjoy. Most plants will not come back the following year. If you want to plant things like grapes, asparagus, rhubarb, or berries, more preparation and planning will be needed, as those take a few years to become established enough for harvest. However, you can experiment with all other plants through the years, cycling what you want to try to plant as you get more comfortable in your garden.
If you have any questions about the plants I mentioned above that take more time to become established, leave a comment below or tweet/message me on social media (links below) and I will do my best to answer your questions. I will be touching on these plants individually soon, but if you're wanting to plant now, reach out to me and I'll answer any questions you have!
Again, if you have little shade in your planting space, not to worry. Shade cloth is an easy solution to create some shade to keep plants from becoming burned in prolonged sun exposure.
Knowing your sun exposure is very important when determining how much water to give your plants as well. If there is little shade and the plants are under direct, beating sun, you want to be sure to give your plants enough water to keep the ground damp and keep the plants from drying out. A way to test this is to water the ground even if there is nothing planted in it yet. If you water it constantly for about a week, it should allow you to see how well your soil will retain/drain water when the sun is beating down on your plants. You want the soil to be lightly damp after prolonged sun exposure (even if the top of the soil is completely dry, you want the under layer to be lightly damp). On the other hand, you do not want it soaked and puddling near your plant as it is possible to drown them with too much water.
Always remember that gardening is something you learn as you go as well. You may think that you're plants are getting enough water only to have them get scorched and die. It's alright if this happens as long as you make note of it so that the following year you can try another method. If you kill a few plants in your garden, it does not mean that you don't know what you're doing. It means you are learning your soil and your garden.
It is important to understand the yield of your garden, and sometimes it's impossible to do that without experimenting first. One plant will produce more than one crop in most cases. You will get multiple zucchinis for a few months from one plant.
The reason it is important to know this is because, not only do you not want to waste food, but if you want to preserve your food, such as making pickles, jams, jellies, preserves, or freezing, you need to understand the volume of food you will produce that needs to be processed--and processing extra food is time consuming! I will be covering that in later posts as the garden becomes more established this year.
Therefore, when planning how many plants you want, think about how many people you are going to feed with your garden. Are you planning on giving some away to friends and neighbors? Are you going to host a lot of parties and want to show off your organic produce? Or is it just you or maybe you and your partner enjoying the fruits of your labor?
If you do have extra food as your garden begins to boom, please consider reaching out to local shelters and food kitchens. They are always eager to get fresh food, and it makes sure that the food does not go to waste.
Here is what is planted at the Red Dog Ranch in 2019:
We also have our orchard with various fruits and our berry patch with blackberries and raspberries. The orchard has trees varying from ages 2-8 years of age and the berry patch is about 5 years old now.
Everything is waking up and growing, and I will be sure to keep you all updated on the progress at my little growing patch as I continue these posts. Every post, I will add a little section at the end like this that will talk about what is happening on our 5-acre plot and share pictures and video of what is going on over here as everything grows.
Feel free to ask any questions in the comments, or tweet @RedDogRanch_NV, or message me on Facebook at RedDogRanchNV, and follow me on Instagram @reddogranch.nv
Happy Growing!
This post is going to be geared toward those who are just starting a garden or are looking to learn more about a garden they inherited or started last year. This post is going to focus mostly on the basic things you need to consider when planning your garden, including your climate, what plants you want, and how much time you have to devote to your garden.
Let's jump into it!
Zones/Regions
 |
| Click the link below for more detailed information, including your hardiness zone based on your ZIP code |
What you plant depends on your region, or planting zone. This will help you understand your growing season and the amount of days your plants have to grow. Depending on your zone, some plants may not be able to finish maturing because it gets cold too quickly, or others might die because it gets far too hot and they become scorched. Knowing your zone can save you the frustration of planting things and not getting the results you want.
For example, we are tomato lovers out here on the Red Dog Ranch, and we would love to plant heirloom tomatoes, but being in Zone 7, the season is just not long enough for them to come to full maturity before it becomes too cold. Therefore, we focus on planting tomatoes we know do not have as long of a season so we can yield as much crop as possible.
| 2018: A few of our very happy tomato plants growing together! |
If you want to plant something but are not in the correct zone, not to fret, there are options! If you are in a zone where it gets too cold too quickly, a small greenhouse can extend your growing season and allow you to plant things that you could not normally plant outside. I'm hoping to get to the point where I can plant dwarf lemon tree in our up-and-coming green house. And if you are in an area where it gets far too hot, shade cloth can help you control the temperature around your plants.
If you want to plant something in particular, but do not know what options would be best for the plants you want, going to a local nursery and ask them what would be best for your area.
What do you want to plant?
Once you've figured out your region, it becomes a matter of what you would like to plant. Depending on what you want to plant, you may want to plant seeds as early as the beginning of May, but could plant a little later if you have a longer growing season. When you go to pick out your seeds to plant, the packages will tell you the amount of days needed for the plant to grow, which will help you determine when to plant.| 2019: Wisteria beginning to wake up in the garden |
However, if you are running a little behind on planting, you can also plant started plants. You can buy larger plants one at a time, or in pony packs, which are six smaller plants. There are some plants that are easier to plant from starters, such as strawberries and asparagus. However, most plants do not take long to sprout once planted in the ground (I will talk about protecting young sprouts in another post).
The most important thing about planting in your garden is that you plant what you want and what you enjoy. Most plants will not come back the following year. If you want to plant things like grapes, asparagus, rhubarb, or berries, more preparation and planning will be needed, as those take a few years to become established enough for harvest. However, you can experiment with all other plants through the years, cycling what you want to try to plant as you get more comfortable in your garden.
If you have any questions about the plants I mentioned above that take more time to become established, leave a comment below or tweet/message me on social media (links below) and I will do my best to answer your questions. I will be touching on these plants individually soon, but if you're wanting to plant now, reach out to me and I'll answer any questions you have!
Sun Exposure/Water
Determining the plants you would like to sow then leads you to look at the space you have for your garden. You must take into account how you will control weeds, pests, water, and how much sun the area gets. There are three things your plants need--good soil, water, and sunlight. Soil and water irrigation will have their own posts soon, but sun exposure is something that must be considered when planning. Most seed packages and pony packs of plants will detail how much sun a plant thrives in. For instance, grapes do well in a lot of sunlight, while lettuce does better partially shaded against a building.| Some lightly-shaded areas in the garden. The ground in the planter boxes had been watered about an hour previous as we reopened our irrigation lines. The difference in soil color in the box versus the ground shows you the water retention. |
Again, if you have little shade in your planting space, not to worry. Shade cloth is an easy solution to create some shade to keep plants from becoming burned in prolonged sun exposure.
Knowing your sun exposure is very important when determining how much water to give your plants as well. If there is little shade and the plants are under direct, beating sun, you want to be sure to give your plants enough water to keep the ground damp and keep the plants from drying out. A way to test this is to water the ground even if there is nothing planted in it yet. If you water it constantly for about a week, it should allow you to see how well your soil will retain/drain water when the sun is beating down on your plants. You want the soil to be lightly damp after prolonged sun exposure (even if the top of the soil is completely dry, you want the under layer to be lightly damp). On the other hand, you do not want it soaked and puddling near your plant as it is possible to drown them with too much water.
Always remember that gardening is something you learn as you go as well. You may think that you're plants are getting enough water only to have them get scorched and die. It's alright if this happens as long as you make note of it so that the following year you can try another method. If you kill a few plants in your garden, it does not mean that you don't know what you're doing. It means you are learning your soil and your garden.
How much do you need?
Knowing all the factors above will help you in starting your garden. However, before you plant anything, you should take into account how much you actually need from your garden. For instance, if you really like zucchini, you might think planting 3-5 plants will be good for you. However, if you plant that many zucchini and have only 2-3 people eating the zucchini, you will have more zucchini than you know what to do with.It is important to understand the yield of your garden, and sometimes it's impossible to do that without experimenting first. One plant will produce more than one crop in most cases. You will get multiple zucchinis for a few months from one plant.
The reason it is important to know this is because, not only do you not want to waste food, but if you want to preserve your food, such as making pickles, jams, jellies, preserves, or freezing, you need to understand the volume of food you will produce that needs to be processed--and processing extra food is time consuming! I will be covering that in later posts as the garden becomes more established this year.
| 2018: This was approximately our crop every other day of yellow squash and zucchini from 2 plants of each variety. |
Therefore, when planning how many plants you want, think about how many people you are going to feed with your garden. Are you planning on giving some away to friends and neighbors? Are you going to host a lot of parties and want to show off your organic produce? Or is it just you or maybe you and your partner enjoying the fruits of your labor?
If you do have extra food as your garden begins to boom, please consider reaching out to local shelters and food kitchens. They are always eager to get fresh food, and it makes sure that the food does not go to waste.
The Red Dog Ranch
Time to get to plating! I've just finished sowing my own seeds. The ranch is located in Zone 7, and I have a relatively short growing season here in Northern Nevada. Due to the short season, as well food preferences, some of the plants I am growing here will not be the same as what you may decide to plant. However, I hope by sharing what I am working on at the homestead it will feel more realistic and help you get excited about your own garden.Here is what is planted at the Red Dog Ranch in 2019:
- Assorted Herbs & Flowers
- Strawberries
- Rhubarb (5 years old)
- Potatoes
- Basil
- Peppers (Bell, Jalapeno)
- Beans
- Cucumbers
- Celery
- Carrots
- Beets
- Asparagus (2 years old)
- Zucchini
- Summer Squash
- Pumpkin
- Melon
- Watermelon
- Lettuce
- Sweet Corn
- Flint Corn
- Grapes (Concord, Zinfandel, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon)
We also have our orchard with various fruits and our berry patch with blackberries and raspberries. The orchard has trees varying from ages 2-8 years of age and the berry patch is about 5 years old now.
Everything is waking up and growing, and I will be sure to keep you all updated on the progress at my little growing patch as I continue these posts. Every post, I will add a little section at the end like this that will talk about what is happening on our 5-acre plot and share pictures and video of what is going on over here as everything grows.
Feel free to ask any questions in the comments, or tweet @RedDogRanch_NV, or message me on Facebook at RedDogRanchNV, and follow me on Instagram @reddogranch.nv
Happy Growing!
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