Planting Tips and Tricks for Starting Your Garden

Garden kick-off at HCG (May 10, 2025).

This past Saturday, more than 30 gardeners attended the 2025 garden kick-off celebration at HCG, planting their raised beds and cultivating community with fellow gardeners. Thanks to generous donations from the USU Teaching Greenhouse and Greenleaf Greenhouse, we were able to provide free seeds and plant starts for all gardeners! There are still some plant starts remaining, so if you haven't yet started your plot, now is the perfect time! Please take what you can use from the east side of the blue shed.

We want everyone to have a successful growing season, so here are some great tips and tricks we've learned from our first few years gardening at HCG, as well as some wonderful workshops taught by community members, Ben and Elana.

Take-aways from the Water-Wise Gardening Workshop

• All the vegetable types people usually try growing here are non-native plants. It is a challenge for non-native plants to grow in our valley. The challenge is not only the lack of rain in summer, but also the soil conditions and the intensity of the sun. Especially when your plants are just starting out, anything you can do to improve the soil and mitigate the effects of drought and harsh sunshine will help.

• Before you plant anything, clear your plot of weeds (they will steal water from your plants) and amend the soil with organic matter such as compost or manure. We offer compost on-site in the bins along the east fence. Even a bag of high-quality topsoil will help. After you plant, add a layer of mulching material to slow evaporation. Various things could serve as mulching material: wood chips, straw or hay, dry leaves from last year, shredded cardboard, etc. Based on past experience, we've had great success with 3 cubic feet (two standard bags) of brown mulch per plot. We recommend placing the mulch over the irrigation tubing in your plot to maximize water retention. Seeds will sprout through the mulch, so no need to leave bare soil in seeded areas.

• Drip irrigation, especially if it runs at night, is the most water-efficient way to water plants. This is what we do at HCG. The drip lines will be turned on May 11.

• Drip irrigation does not spray / sprinkle the entire plot. Water drips down from the tiny holes in the tubes, penetrating deeper than a sprinkler system. This is why you should weave your irrigation tubes around your plants and/or plant your seeds close to drip lines.

• Drip irrigation is not sufficient to meet the water needs of most plants at HCG. The drip irrigation is set up to meet the water needs of plants that tolerate dry environments. We don't automatically water more to ensure we are not overwatering plants. We recommend additional surface watering of plants several times a week, particularly right after planting.

• Read the back of your seed packet / the plastic stick inserted in the plant pot / online information to learn how deep to plant, and how far apart. Shallow planting causes withering. Too many plants spaced too close together causes them to compete for water. Not much can thrive when you overcrowd your plot.

• Your best guide to how to garden in Cache Valley is the USU Extension website, which offers free, reader-friendly information rooted in local scientific research.

A young gardener practicing water-wise gardening at HCG.

Take-aways from the Starting Plants From Seed Workshop

• Choose seed varieties that are suitable for your growing area, reaching maturity before frost, and thrive in the full sun and hot summer temperatures we often see at HCG. We often use Survival Garden Seeds which are non-GMO, heirloom seeds produced locally in Providence, Utah.

• Extra seeds can be stored from year to year, in sealed containers in a cool, dry location. However, the percentage of seeds that germinate will decline with age, so you may need to use more seeds to produce the same number of starts if the seeds are older.

• Read the seed packet for growing instructions. Seed packets typically have information about the timing of planting, how far apart to space seeds within a row, the depth to sow seeds, days to germination, and instructions for thinning seedlings. The seed packet provides the best guidance to care for your seeds.

• Direct Seeding: Some varieties of plants grow best if the seeds are directly planted in your garden, a practice known as direct seeding. Kale, lettuce, beans, carrots, corn, pumpkins, squash, cucumbers, beets and potatoes are the most common directly-seeded crops at HCG. Most root crops, leafy plants, plants with large seeds should be directly seeded.

• Transplanting: Some plants will struggle to complete a full growth cycle outdoors when planted from seed. Starting these plants indoors, and then transplanting them outdoors when the soil has warmed and the threat of frost has passed is the best way to guarantee a bountiful harvest. Commonly transplanted plants include tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, broccoli and ornamental flowers. Generally, sow the seeds of transplanted plants 6-8 weeks before transplanting.

• Hardening Plants: Prior to transplanting seedlings into your garden, gradually transition them to an outdoor environment. Place them in the shade, exposed to outdoor temperatures and humidity levels for a few hours each day, for a period of a few days prior to transplanting outdoors. Hardening plants helps to thicken plant cell walls and acclimate seedlings to their new growing environment, minimizing seedling loss.

• Seed germination is controlled by 4 environmental factors: water, oxygen, light and temperature. Generally, it is best to keep seeds in warm, moist environments, ensuring soil is well-drained to provide sufficient oxygen for germination. Some seeds need light to germinate, while others only sprout in the dark, so check your seed packet for further guidance.

• The USU Extension provides excellent advice for starting plants from seed in Cache Valley: Linked Extension Resources