Veggie Garden Crash Course

It has been a wild week of snow and cold, but the sun has come out today, spring is in the air, and I'm excited to announce the new service I'm offering to all of you would-be gardeners out there.  Below are the details:

You've had enough of winter and are ready to grow carrots, right?

PORTLAND VEGGIE GARDEN CRASH COURSE

For first-time gardeners (or busy folks that just want a helping hand with all those logistics)

Provides guidance through one full season of growing veggies on a 4x8-foot plot, featuring veggies that lend themselves to both fresh cooking and processing:

• tomatoes
• beets
• carrots
• green beans
• onions
• cilantro
• basil
• garlic *(if you're planning to roll over into next season)

The program will start (soon, in early April!) with all the seeds you need, plus instructions for building a raised bed (and where to go if you'd like one built for you) and tips on how to prepare the soil for planting. Harvests will begin around June 1^st and should continue through September and beyond. I will deliver tomato starts in June, when it's warm enough to plant them out. If you opt for rolling over into next season, I will deliver garlic in September.

This is an email-based service, so computer access is essential. You will get an email once a week throughout the growing season (April through October) outlining the garden task or tasks for that week. Once harvests are in full swing, emails will feature recipes to help you enjoy the fruits of your labor. You can contact me at any time via email to answer questions or troubleshoot problems. The course also includes one free half-hour visit to your garden during the season. I can help you choose a site for the garden, answer any questions you might have, or just take a look at how the garden is progressing and give you my thoughts. I would also be happy to make additional site visits at my regular rate of $50/hour, with free travel within the Portland metro area.

A few things you can expect to learn:

• how to maintain soil fertility organically
• how to time your planting so you can harvest a little bit each week
• how to build a trellis for beans and tomatoes to climb

• how to thin, train, and prune plants to maximize productivity and keep them under control
• how to know when veggies are ready for harvest
• what to do with all those fresh veggies
• how to use a cover crop to prepare for the next season
  

In late summer I plan to arrange a potluck gathering for all of you to meet each other, share your challenges and victories as rookie gardeners, and feast on the fruits of your labors. We have a great community of garden-lovers, and we would like to welcome you all into it!

Since this is my inaugural season, I will be offering the course at a discounted price of $170, which includes seeds and starts. In exchange for this discounted price, I will be asking for your feedback to help me shape future seasons of the course, so please share your thoughts and suggestions. My goal is to make this as useful and rewarding a service as possible to you and to my future clients. I want you all to end the season having enjoyed the process and feeling confident that you can do it again on your own!

*If you live outside of the Portland metro area and would like to participate, I offer a course that provides everything listed above minus the site visit and the starts. You will receive the seeds in the mail, and when the time comes to plant tomatoes, I will recommend what starts to buy and where to find them. The Remote Veggie Garden Crash Course costs $140, with the option of adding a site visit for the $50/hr travel fee.

Email me at courtney(dot)skybak(at)gmail(dot)com to sign up! Feel free to contact me through Facebook, too.  Registration deadline: April 4

Garlic scapes: you could have some of these delightful little curlicues in your garden!