Total discloser here: anyone who knows me knows I am not a gardener! I try...but I have no green thumb, no natural gift with plants. I like buying the already-blooming flowers that I just add to the planter for summer. You know, the super hearty, brightly colored annuals you can buy really cheaply just about anywhere-Wal-Mart, local green houses, wherever. I like many things about these: they're inexpensive, they are already blooming so there is zero wait time, they are super tough so the days they don't get waters (many!) they just keep on, and even when they start looking beyond droopy and brown, just add water and they come back to life! They're great. They do have a down side, you have to purchase each year; they don't come back. I realized a few years ago it would be nice to plant some bulbs and things that will come back year after year. I have yet to do that, for many reasons. The biggest was because of the goats, chickens and ducks we have roaming all over our property. Many plants are dangerous, even toxic to animals. Unfortunately, animals like goats and chickens will eat what they want, even if it's bad for them. I even watched one of our cats chews on some iris I bought one year and found out it was bad for them. Then I had to move the irises into our green house to keep the animals from eating them and getting sick!
The biggest things we want is to have a vegetable garden with enough verity to feed our family most of the year. We have had great success (I say 'we' because my husband had much or most to do with it most years) with a few staple veggies: contender green beans, snow peas, broccoli, tomatoes and bell peppers. We tried corn a few years but never get it started quick enough before winter hits. We've tried pumpkins and watermelon without luck. We also tried carrots a few years. One year they did ok, they were small but because they were planted outside and you can't see them underground, we just wanted to make sure we harvested before it was too late. Last year we had them in a raised garden bed. We had orange carrots and the rainbow variety. They were doing great, under eventually our goats figured out there was food growing in there and they broke down the wire fence we had around and over it and they ate them all! We will try again this year!
The contender green beans we plant are from seeds that an older couple gave us many years ago. It is neat to see that carry on year after year and tell our kids that story. My husband also bought a lot of heirloom seeds years ago of all kinds of varieties so we will have those to choose from over the years.
The country is divided into zones according to average yearly temperatures, so you know when the best time is to start planting for the best chance for them to grow before winter hits. It's like a cruel game gardening in Wyoming!
Most of Wyoming is zone 4-5. Here is a map from the USDA showing the different zones.
Scroll past the map on this link and you will see recommended times to plant according to what you're planting. I'm going to print and laminate this and post in our kitchen!
You can use all kinds of things to start seed indoors; plastic cups from fast food places, plastic containers from things like easy mac' n cheese, even egg cartons. These are great ways to recycle/reuse things often tossed after a single use. However, if you don't have these handy, or you just like to have everything all together and organized here's a great set from amazon that includes a few different types of planters and all the tools to get started!
Personally, I don't think you really need to purchase grow lights if you're just starting seeds to have them ready to transplant outside as long as you have some natural light and a warm place for the seeds to start.
If you've had other experiences, I'd love to hear them! Leave a comment below!
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