Springtime growing tips from 9NEWS Kitchen Garden

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KUSA – This is the fourth of growing the 9News Kitchen Garden. Every year we want to do something new and different and this year, we are adding a grape arbor.

No matter what you grow on them, arbors and trellises are great for backyard gardens. They add interest with their height and they are both functional and artistic. 

Many vines love to grow on arbors and include hops, wisteria, trumpet vine, Dutchman’s Pipe-and even grapes, which is what we’re growing this year in the 9News garden. Since grapes won’t produce fruit when the vines are on the ground, they do need a trellis or an arbor.

Typically, when we think of grapes in Colorado we think of the Western slope. But there are varieties that are suited to the Front Range. 

For the 9NEWS garden, we have a Plant Select variety that has been developed for our growing conditions. Be sure to build the trellis before you plant and make sure it has good drainage.

Garden planning tips from the 9News Kitchen Garden:

 

• Plan your garden each year before you plant and know which crops need to be rotated to prevent insect and disease problems that linger in the soil. Tomatoes and squashes, for example, should find a new place in the garden each year.
• Make sure you have enough tomato and pepper cages for this year’s crop.
• If you are planting tomatoes or other tender plants now, be ready to protect them from frost with a wall of water or other insulating material as the threat of frost goes through mid-May.
• If you haven’t yet planted seeds, you can still plant carrots, radish and beets.

What to plant now:

 

• Hardier plants, if they have been hardened off, can be planted outside now.
• Plant fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and fruit trees.
• Plant perennial herbs such as oregano, thyme, lavender, sage.
• Buy starter plants of lettuce (if you haven’t planted seed), broccoli, cabbage, kale and onions.

Be water-wise from the start:

 

• Make this the year to install drip irrigation for your garden to give plants what they need without wasting even a drop of water.
• If you hand water, soak the bases of plants well and avoid getting too much water on the foliage.

Information courtesy Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado-sponsors of the 9News Kitchen Garden and the 9News Water Wise Garden. For help with your landscape needs, go to www.alcc.com and click on Find a Pro.

(KUSA-TV © 2012 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)