Thursday, April 09, 2015

An Arlington Friendly Garden Planning Checklist

With views like this one outside my office window, I can't help but feel that gardening itch coming on. Last year it was all about experimenting with seeds. This year, I might be able to convince Shira to go the raised bed route.

Regardless, I'm getting all my ducks in a row. Let's see...

  • Figure out my last frost date. Check.
  • Figure out my hardiness zone. Check.
  • Find the Virginia Cooperative Extension's Vegetable Planting Guide with Recommended Planting Dates. Check.
  • Find a list of easy to grow plants in North Virginia. Check.
  • Review Arlington VA's Soil Map (who knew this existed?). Check.
  • Find a YouTube user to follow, watching as many videos of his that I can, all while appreciating his quirky optimism: Check.
  • Find a plant that most people consider a weed, though is both easy to grow and a super food: Check.
  • Order seeds for said plant. Check.
  • Review Northern Virginia Native Plants to find out what I should be responsibly growing. Check.
  • Review the Master Gardener's of Norther Virginia's recommended plant list. Check.

Now all that's left is to actually start the garden...how hard that can that be?

Oh, and surely I'm missing about a 100 items on the above checklist. So please, set me straight in the comments.

2 comments:

  1. Start collecting kitchen waste for composting. Clay needs a lot of fertilizer. Get a compost bin from the country. think about what you will use for mulch. Happy weeding, and hag sameach.

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  2. Hey Hilary -

    I didn't realize the county would help you with the whole compost thing (http://recycling.arlingtonva.us/residential/yard-waste/composting/). Yeah, I'm not sure I'm there yet :-).

    Thanks for the tips!

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