Master Gardener Diane Brown picks up seeds to begin planting.
Written By Donna Engle
How and Where to Start Growing Things
Spring arrives, and a gardener’s heart beats faster in anticipation of plump, juicy tomatoes and succulent green beans, roses and butterfly bushes. Oh, and emerald lawns where no dandelion would dare raise its head, or perhaps a pond with water trickling gently over stones.
People with an urge to grow fruit, vegetables and flowers have been planning their gardens since January, when seed catalogs sprouted in their mailboxes. Gradually warming soil and lengthening days mean it’s time to get planting. Time to check the lawn for problems and consider landscape designs.
New to the world of gardening, lawns and landscaping? Help is just a phone call or a mouse click away. Free technical advice is available from the University of Maryland Extension Service as well as from local master gardeners, volunteer horticultural educators who have completed 40 to 50 hours of training in subjects such as botany, composting, lawn care, vegetable and flower gardening.
Landscape architects can recommend and install designs based on your needs and goals. For lawns, trees and landscapes, services are available to prune, trim, mulch, aerate, seed, fertilize, mow and treat to control weeds and insect pests. Many local businesses that sell seeds and plants have staff members with expertise about where, when and what to plant.
“I tell people to start small. Whatever your plan is, cut it in half, so you’ll have success the first year,” said Steve Allgeier, horticulture consultant with the University of Maryland Extension Service. For commuters, time constraints make it hard to keep up extensive vegetable gardens, he said.
Master Gardener Paul Hawkins of Finksburg began gardening 30 years ago for stress relief from his career as a Baltimore City police officer. He likes to see families garden together, starting with a family trip to the seed store.
“Let the children help pick out the seeds and dig in the soil and plant them,” he said. “They will not only have contributed, but it’s a lesson about their abilities and what comes out of the soil.”
Your planting plans will vary according to where you live and how much space you have. Apartment dwellers can raise pots of herbs on the windowsill. Homeowners may make separate projects of gardening, lawns and landscaping.
Start with a soil analysis, Allgeier recommended: “Some people can pick up soil and smell it and say, ÔIt would be perfect for that plant.’” Those without the sniffing gift can have a laboratory test for soil acidity and a variety of minerals to see whether the soil is deficient in phosphorus, potassium or other nutrients that plants need. Soil should be tested every three years.
A laboratory may offer advice based on your gardening preferences. If you want to grow blueberries, for example, the laboratory may suggest adding iron sulfate to increase soil acidity.
In general, it is easier to let the results guide what you want to grow rather than trying to change the soil to fit a preconceived plan.
“Doing battle with your soil is like fighting with kids. They have unlimited energy,” Allgeier said.
Master Gardener Diane Brown faced challenging soil when she and her husband bought five acres near Westminster three years ago.
“It was 90 percent rock and 10 percent clay,” she said. The land was all in grass, which to a master gardener is “the worst monoculture you can grow,” she said.
Today, thanks to composting and fertilizer contributed by the emus she raises, Brown’s beds yield nearly all the vegetables and many of the fruits the couple eat. She plants in elevated growing areas and sells the surplus at farm markets. “With raised beds, you can garden intensively,” she said. “You get a lot in a small space.”
Brown recommended raising flowers and vegetables together because flowers attract the pollinators that vegetables need. To fend off deer, she plants her garden inside the fenced field where the emus graze.
Master gardener Hawkins begins planning his garden early each year, discarding plants that did not work and substituting new ones. As a sideline, he traces local history through heirloom plants. For flowers, he prefers perennials. “For cost savings,” he said, “I like to plant something once and not have to buy it each year.”
Lawn owners don’t need to fertilize each spring, said the UM’s Allgeier. The Extension Service has fact sheets on lawn care that may help owners diagnose problem areas.
Owners can expect to spend about $6 per 1,000 square feet for lawn care services and nearly twice as much for such specific problems as grub control.
Lawn care from David W. Richards Jr. of Manchester, owner of Green Fields AGGrand Organic Fertilizing, begins with a soil analysis and review to determine whether a lawn requires seeding, aerating or rolling.
Richards sells organic fertilizer, which he says is more readily absorbed by soil than chemical fertilizers. Ninety-two percent of chemical fertilizers run off into wells, streams and the Chesapeake Bay, he said.
Common lawn problems that he sees in the area include the application of too much fertilizer, using the wrong seed for lawns and mowing the grass too short.
“If you mow too low, weeds will grow, said Richards. “If you mow the lawn higher, weeds will die.”
Gary Crutchfield, owner of Lawn Aide Plus lawn and tree care service in Mount Airy, starts with a soil test and finds that lime deficiency is a common local problem.
“Old farmers would lime about every four years,” he said. “In lawn care, we prefer to put a maintenance application on every year.”
Landscaping with water means building a pond and its main waterfall so that they are oriented for the best viewing area, said Neil Britton, manager of Living Waters Ornamental Ponds and Streams in Westminster. Even small yards, such as a townhouse yard, can incorporate a small pond.
Expect to spend about $2,000 for fountains and bubbling rocks, $5,000 to $6,000 for water in a gravel basin.
Gardener’s Sources
Garden
- A Garden Planner Month-by-month guide to when, where and how to prune, prepare soil, plant, harvest and prepare for next year’s garden. Published by the Carroll County Master Gardeners. $20; proceeds benefit Master Gardener Scholarship Fund. Information: Linda Broadfoot 410-491-3057
- Bowman’s Home and Garden, Westminster Garden, landscaping and lawn care products, seeds and plants. Gardening tips on website, staff members can give advice. Information: 410-751-7290 or www.bowmansfeedandpet.com/homegarden.htm
- Cowlick Gardens, Taneytown Bedding plants, hanging baskets. Information: 410-756-2552
- Home Depot, Westminster Garden, landscaping and lawn care products, seeds and plants. Information: 410-857-4719
- Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse, Westminster Garden, landscaping and lawn care products, seeds and plants. Information: 410-857-7445
- Southern States Cooperative, Hampstead, Mount Airy, Sykesville, Taneytown Lawn and garden products, seeds. Information: Hampstead, 410-239-3166; Mount Airy, 310-831-7600; Sykesville, 410-795-1234; Taneytown, 410-751-1518
- University of Maryland Extension Service, Westminster Horticultural Consultant and Master Gardener Coordinator Steve Allgeier has information about gardens, landscape, lawns, turf and insects. Can refer you to local master gardeners for advice. Information: 410-386-2760 or hortman@umd.edu
Landscaping
- A Perfect Cut Landscaping, Westminster Landscape architects 410-876-2504
- All Aspects Landscaping, Sykesville Brush Clearing & Tree Removal, Landscape, Design/Installation and maintenance. Information: 410-795-1000
- Living Waters Ornamental Ponds & Streams, Westminster Landscape and aquascape planning, building and maintaining water features from fountains to ponds and surrounding greenery. Information: 410-833-2010
- M&W Nursery, New Windsor Landscape design and installation, specializing in rare conifers. Information: 410-635-6305
- Wakefield Valley Nursery, New Windsor Design and plant. Has native trees, shrubs, perennials. Garden maintenance. Information: 410-635-2169 or www.wakefieldvalleynursery.com
Lawn Care
- American Lawn Specialists, Westminster Lawn care, fertilizing, aeration. Information: 410-751-7751 or www.americanlawnspecialists.com
- Arrowhead Lawn Services, Westminster Lawn maintenance. Information: 410-386-0455
- Green Fields AGGrand Organic Fertilizing, Manchester Lawn care, organic fertilizer sales. Information: 410-948-1119 or via email at rtallyho36@comcast.net
- Lawn Aide Plus, Mount Airy Lawn service and tree care. Information: 410-795-0736 or www.lawnaideplus.com
- Lawn Tech, Westminster Lawn maintenance. Information: 410-871-9999
- Liqua-Grow Turf, Sykesville Lawn care, fertilizing, aeration. Information: 410-795-7900
- RCE Lawn Care, Taneytown Lawn maintenance, trimming, insect and disease control. Information: 410-756-5752
Soil Testing
- Maryland Extension Service Home and Garden Information Center Information on labs, how to take and mail soil samples and interpret results. 1-800-342-2507 or www.hgic.umd.edu
