Gardeners, start your engines

It’s time to talk about gardening.

With the mild winter we’ve had, I am certain many area residents have been dreaming of getting outside and playing in the dirt. While it’s a bit early for that, it’s never too early to do some serious planning and organizing for this year’s garden.

Each Sunday during the growing season, this column will address all manner of gardening topics: growing vegetables, tree fruits, dahlias, flowering vines, container gardening and much more.

If you are new to gardening, there are many educational opportunities to take advantage of this spring (see accompanying information box).

There has been a huge resurgence in vegetable gardening over the past few years. In a national survey conducted last year, the Garden Writers Association Foundation learned that more than 41 million households grew a vegetable garden.

This is exciting news. More Americans understand that eating fresh vegetables is part of a healthy lifestyle, they want to know how their food has been grown and they know that growing vegetables is economical.

The information contained in these columns will help you be successful at growing your own veggies and fruits.

You need to know that the Inland Northwest is in USDA zone 5 before choosing plants and seeds to grow in your landscape. This means our winter temperatures can go as low as minus 20 degrees.

There are about 120 frost-free days in our growing season, occurring between mid-May and mid-September.

If this will be your first garden, you need to choose a nice sunny site. Vegetable plants need a minimum of six hours of full sun daily in order to thrive and produce.

The soil should be well-drained because plant roots don’t like to be waterlogged. Conversely, make sure there is a watering source close by so it is easy to water the garden regularly.

Once you’ve selected your garden spot, make a list of the vegetables you would like to grow. Because of our relatively short growing season, it is important to choose varieties that will mature quickly. This means tomatoes, pumpkins and winter squash that need less than 100 days to grow before they can be harvested.

Next week, I’ll discuss how to start your own plants from seed. I’ve included a list of what we’re growing this year with this column to give you some ideas.

In the meantime, start your planning and cultivate your enthusiasm for an awesome gardening season.