My friend Ruth asked me how to plant edibles. My first response was “Plant them just like ornamentals starting with soil preparation.” Of course, there are many similarities between planting edible plants and planting ornamental plants. They are all plants. But are we talking about annual or perennial edible plants? What about fruit trees, berries or nuts that live for many years?
For any new plants to be successful there are some basic rules, which include selecting the right plant for the right place; prepping the soil; planting properly; irrigating and fertilizing appropriately; weeding and so on. Deciding on the right place requires knowing the correct amount of sunlight to meet the plants’ growing requirements. Do they need full sun, part sun, or full shade? What about soil? Do they need good drainage? Organic matter? Coarse or fine soil? What is the pH of your soil and what do the plants require in that regard?
Plant selection is always a key consideration. We live in an arid, windy, sunny environment that can severely stress plants unless they are hardy. This is one factor where annual edible plants may differ from perennial ornamentals. Perennials will grow back year after year, for quite a few years. With annual edible plants, such as tomatoes, peppers, and beans, to name just a few, you have to look at how quickly they go from seed or transplant to bearing something you can eat. Even though our season has definitely lengthened with global warming, this is still important or the anxiously awaited harvest may freeze in the fall. With fruit trees, we want those that bloom later, so that our untimely, often random, freezes don’t kill all the blossoms that will eventually become fruit.
After plant selection, a well-prepared soil with a good nutrient content, pH and drainage is essential. I had mentioned to Ruth to add compost and dig the soil 12 inches deep. She looked shocked, saying “I don’t think we can dig our soil that deep.” At that I mentioned that maybe raised beds would be the answer for her garden.
One thing I forgot to ask her was did she want a traditional garden with veggies in rows or did she want an edible landscape where she mixed edible plants in with her flowers and shrubs. I’m a big fan of edible landscaping because it uses water so productively and can be good for those short on space.
As you get ready to plant this year, consider edible landscaping.
— JoAnne Skelly is an Associate Professor and Extension Educator, Emerita, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. She can be reached at skellyj@unr.edu.
