Vegetables

For the most nutrient dense food you should use organic or natural fertilizer. Be careful on animal fertilizers that do not eat organic food. You will be may be adding roundup and chemicals to your food. Instead, you can follow the “Back to Eden” method of wood chips on top and let the soil break them down and worms pull the nutrients down as nature does. There are some good quality organic fertilizers such as Dr. Earth.

Coming soon Seed Saving presentation.

If you are going to save your seeds you will want to use open-pollinated cultivars so they stay true to your original seed. See the list below that work well in Zone 5-6 or Utah.

Open-pollinated Cultivars for Utah

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Asparagus (Mary Washington)
Beans (Blue Lake)
Beet (Detroit Dark Red, Detroit Supreme)
Broccoli (DiCicco, Waltham 29)
Carrot (Danvers Half Long, Scarlet Nantes, Thumbelina)
Celery (Utah 52S70)
Corn, Sweet (Golden Bantam)
Cucumber (Lemon, Marketmore 76, Wisconsin)
Garlic (Music)
Lettuce, Leaf (Black Seeded Simpson, Oak leaf, Red Sails)
Lettuce, Romaine (Barcarolle, Cimarron, Parris Island Cos)
Kale (Blue or any)
Melon (Hales Best Jumbo, Crenshaw, Honeydew)
Onions, Bunching (Evergreen White Bunching)
Onions (Utah Sweet Spanish)

Potatoes, any type
Peas (Little Marvel, Lincoln)
Peas, Edible Pod (Sugar Snap, Oregon Sugar Pod II)
Peppers (Yolo Wonder, Sweet Banana, Jalapeño Early)
Pumpkins (Big Max, Jack O’Lantern)
Radish (Champion)
Tomatoes, early (Oregon Spring, Glacier)
Tomatoes, beefsteak (Beefsteak, Brandywine)
Tomatoes, cherry (Cherry Red)
Tomatoes, paste (Amish Paste, San Marzano)
Watermelons (Crimson Sweet)
Spinach (Bloomsdale Longstanding, Nobel)
Squash (Crookneck Early Yellow Summer, Waltham Butternut)
Swiss Chard (Bloomsdale Long Standing)
Zucchini (Black Beauty)

If you are going to use a raised bed then use a mix of quality ingredients.

Take back the lawn or Back to Eden Method with wood chips

If you have grass you want to garden in, add compost or fresh wood chips (4 to 12 inches). Half of the new wood chips will shrink. You need to maintain at least 4 inches to keep weeds down. You can acquire from the green waste at the dump and garden right in the compost. Or you can call a tree company or arborist and have them deliver their wood chips. It is preferred to start this in the fall so all winter the worms can bring the compost down to the soil. No need to rototill ever. Every fall add 2-3 inches compost or arborist wood chips (any kind). You can add cardboard but there is less oxygen and microbial growth and is less desirable.

See Linda Chalker-Scott, a Washington state researcher, for many myths about gardening.

You can contact Chipdrop to find some wood chips.

Ingredients for raised bed growing medium:

1. 1/3 Kelp or Worm Compost (good quality) – compost is where all your nutrients come from.
2. 1/3 Vermiculite (or perlite) – these hold the moisture for you.
3. 1/3 Peat Moss or Coco Coir (sustainable) – this will add the pH balance.

In the future, just add compost to the top or wood chips. If you can make your own compost that is the best.

See more grow box details.

See more about high tunnels.