Marble Rock Master Gardener provides tips for newbies

By Mary Pieper, Special to the Charles City Press

It’s not too late to plant a garden this spring, even if you’ve never done it before, according to Patty Staudt of Marble Rock, an Iowa State University Extension Master Gardener.

In fact, between now and the end of May “is the perfect time to start,” she said.

When it comes to vegetable gardening, “You want to have sun, you want to have water and you want to have your seeds for growing,” Staudt said.

Another essential ingredient is having the time to care for the garden, including hoeing and not letting the weeds take over, according to Staudt.

A vegetable garden should be in a location that gets lots of sun, she said.

Before planting can begin, the ground needs to be tilled. Staudt recommends using a tiller for a big garden, but said a garden fork can be used if it’s a small garden.

She also said any weeds need to be removed first.

Staudt recommends using a little bit of an all-purpose fertilizer in the beginning.

She said the best vegetables for rookie gardeners are potatoes, onions and green beans.

“Tomatoes are pretty easy if they don’t get blight,” she said.

Those who plant tomatoes might want to put stakes on them or put cages around them because “they do better if they are kind of off the ground,” Staudt said.

Other plants, such as climbing beans and edible pea pods, can also use similar support, according to Staudt.

“The whole process of growing (produce) is really incredible, growing them and then being able to eat it or share it with other people,” she said. “The taste is just great, that freshness is super.”

For those who want to try their hand at raising flowers, varieties that are easiest to grow in a garden are marigolds and zinnias, according to Staudt. She said they will bloom for most of the summer.

She said her favorites to grow in a planter are petunias, geraniums, and accent plants.

Placement is more complicated for flowers than for vegetables, according to Staudt. She said some flowers grown only in the shade, while others require constant exposure to the sun.

Whether they are raising vegetables or flowers, beginning gardeners should start out with packaged seeds because the packets have lots of information on them, according to Staudt.

She also said planting depth is very important. Generally speaking, the larger the seed is the deeper it should be planted in the ground, according to Staudt.

She recommends not planting seeds too close to each other, noting if plants don’t have enough space between them, they might not turn out the way you want.

Staudt uses stakes at the end of rows or whenever one variety of plants ends and the other one starts.

She also tries to keep a written record of what she plants each spring and notes how each variety turned out. This helps her make decisions on what to plant the following year.

“It’s fun to try things, but if it doesn’t work you just try something different.”

Staudt has been a Master Gardener for 36 years. She took the required classes in Cerro Gordo County in 1985.

Instructors from Iowa State University teach participants about weed control, soils, pests and all the other different aspects of gardening.

After Master Gardeners become certified, they are required to maintain their status by taking online classes or attending events such as gardening days at an Iowa State research farm, according to Staudt.

They also are expected to give back to the community through volunteer work.

Staudt fulfils her volunteer hours by doing landscaping at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Roseville, as well as around the Marble Rock entrance sign and the golf course in Greene.

Taking classes to become a Master Gardener is a good way for newbies to learn about gardening, according to Staudt.

“You can start from scratch,” she said.