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Yes, you can grow veggies in small spaces

Two free workshops present ways to maximize production from limited garden area

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED MAR 2, 2021

Small squash plant in soil

Tiny vegetable plants can take up space quickly. Learn how to use
a small space effectively in two El Dorado County online
workshops. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)

It’s not yet officially spring, but it’s time to get serious about planning your summer garden.

Do you have big ideas, but little room? Or maybe you’re thinking of planting your first vegetable garden? Then these workshops are for you!

Learn how to “Develop a Vegetable Garden in a Small Backyard Space,” a new online class presented by the UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners of El Dorado County.

Set for 9 a.m. Wednesday, March 10, this free 90-minute workshop is open to anyone with an internet connection, but advance registration is required. The link to the online class will be sent once registration is complete.

“Master Gardener Mike Pavlick will cover site location, design, raised bed options, container gardening and other methods that will allow anyone to have a vegetable garden in a small backyard setting,” according to the master gardeners.

Pavlick will provide useful tips for newbie as well as experienced vegetable gardeners. Find out how to pack more into a patio garden or cramped backyard (or community garden plot) and what food plants work best in tight quarters. Also, discover ways to make the most of that limited soil by growing vines up via trellises and staking instead of allowing melons, squash, cucumbers and other summer favorites to sprawl.

The El Dorado County master gardeners follow up that workshop with another devoted to maximizing production: “Making the Most of Your Gardening Space.” Set for 9 a.m. Saturday, March 13, this free 90-minute workshop expands on the limited-space theme by focusing on one square foot at a time.

“Do you have limited gardening space? Are you frustrated trying to grow in clayey soil? Then this is the class for you!” say the master gardeners. “We’ll cover building and gardening in raised beds, discovering the fun of growing in containers and how to make a small space go a long way with square-foot gardening.”

Designed to increase production as well as diversity in your veggie-growing space, square-foot gardening divides growing space into 12-inch squares and encourages planting seeds and transplants in blocks instead of long, straight rows.

Advance registration is also needed for this workshop with the link sent after signing up.

For full details and to sign up for either workshop: http://mgeldorado.ucanr.edu/

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UCCE master gardeners gardening Sacramento online workshops vegetables vertical gardening El Dorado County small space gardening vegetable gardens spring planting

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Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series

FALL

Nov. 11: Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden

Nov. 4: Plant a pea patch for you and your garden

Oct. 27: As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers

Oct. 20: Change is in the autumn air

Oct. 13: We don't talk (enough) about beets

Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty

Sept. 30: Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?

Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest

SUMMER

Sept. 16: Time to shut it down?

Sept. 9: How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch

Sept. 2: Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning

Aug. 26: To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?

Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you

Aug. 12: Grow food while saving water

Aug. 5: Enhance your food with edible flowers

July 29: Why won't my tomatoes turn red?

July 22: A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty

July 15: Does this plant need water?

July 8: Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions

July 1: How to grow summer salad greens

June 24: Weird stuff that's perfectly normal

SPRING

June 17: Help pollinators help your garden

June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests

June 3: Make your own compost

May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?

May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days

May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can

May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success

April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?

April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)

April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers

April 8: When to plant summer vegetables

April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths

March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth

WINTER

March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds

March 4: Potatoes from the garden

Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later

Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space

Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants

Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting

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Garden checklist for week of Nov. 16

During breaks in the weather, tackle some garden tasks:

* Clear gutters and storm drains.

* Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* After the storm, seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Plant bulbs at two-week intervals to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting them. Do leave some (healthy) leaves in the planting beds for wildlife and beneficial insect habitat.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

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