Gardens Bring Peace and Bounty: Here’s How To Start Your Own

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At R.V. Juliano Farms in Colts Neck, a wholesale plant nursery, they are getting ready for the bounty of vegetables and flowers that come with the onset of spring. Vita Duva

By Vita Duva 

COLTS NECK – For gardening aficionados, there is no place like the Garden State. But for beginners, mastering the artful techniques of gardening may be no easy feat. Like life, gardening is a constant work-in-progress, but it is the exuberant bounty of Mother Nature that makes this pastime – riddled in trial and error – worth all the sweat and toil. 

For longtime Colts Neck resident Margaret Greco, her backyard garden is her sanctuary.

“It is where I sit to be peaceful and observe nature, uninterrupted by COVID-19 and the outside world,” Greco said. “Every sprout makes me smile. And when I harvest and cook with what I have grown, the cycle is complete.” 

But according to Greco, gardening is not just a solitary hobby. She says there is a deeper connection than just with nature – one that also brings together the gardens of family and friends. 

Greco has been gardening since she bought her own house in 1984 and has been enjoying the rewarding pastime for most of her adult life. Gardening solidified ownership for Greco and was a means to personalize her outdoor space. 

“I preferred gardening over indoor chores and it was something that my husband and I did together, eventually getting our kids involved,” she said. 

“At a young age, they knew the names of plants and we had different gardens for sun and shade specimens. We even experimented growing wheat in a small area and had a bountiful crop of tomatoes in our hilly backyard.”

The avid grower said her favorite plants to cultivate are those that attract butterflies. If this idea piques an interest, Greco recommends adding flowering perennials to your gardening space, which may include milkweed and cleomes (spider flowers). 

Starting vegetable plants indoors can give you a jump on the growing season and ensure seedlings are ready to go after the last frost hits. Vita Duva

“I am limited by the wildlife here, which is why my garden is fenced in,” Greco explained, noting the gardening troubles she has faced in previous seasons. In the past, wild animals such as deer, rabbits and even raccoons have been culprits, entering her garden patch and causing damage to the plots, more often than not destroying her aggregated plants altogether. 

“You have to think about having some kind of protection around your garden,” Richard Juliano of R.V. Juliano Farms, a wholesale plant nursery in Colts Neck said. “Fencing is definitely one way to start.”

A Colts Neck lifer, Juliano has been propagating and growing plants since he was little. “I have been on my own now in this business since 1988, but I worked for my father when I was young. We used to rent other farms, but we own this one,” he said of the nursery located in town at 27 Water St. “Delicious Orchards buys most of my stuff, and then some restaurants and private people also come here.”

For those who don’t have the option of a gardening in their own backyard, community gardens are a popular alternative.

Middletown Township Community Garden sells plots – approximately 8 feet by 16 feet – for $50 per plot; $30 per plot for seniors. There is a two-plot maximum.

Community gardeners are required to put in a minimum of three volunteer hours per year. According to the municipality’s website, this can include weeding garden pathways, teaching classes or caring for chickens, just to name a few options.

While most plots are in high-demand and sell out in late-winter – generally, early-to-mid February – seeking out a community garden as a town resident as early as possible is most likely to land you a spot on the grounds. Other community gardens in the Two River area include ones in Holmdel, Tinton Falls, Shrewsbury and Little Silver. 

Setting Up Your Plot 

Breaking ground is the first step in activating your garden for the season. Once you have your designated plot, turn the soil over with a spade, garden fork or rototiller. From there, mix in an even layer of cow manure. 

“If the ground is hard to turn over, add in some peat moss,” Juliano said. “Just mix it right in the soil and soften it up a little bit. You are still going to need a little fertilizer to get the plants moving.” 

Juliano recommends using a well-balanced 5-10-10 fertilizer (5 percent nitrogen, 10 percent phosphorus and 10 percent potassium). 

Seedlings are just starting to peek through the earth and will be ready for transplanting to home gardens as the temperatures rise. Vita Duva

Planting in Your Garden 

Even if your plot is small in size, you can still find room for the plants you want in your garden. Once you have decided what you are going to plant, Juliano recommends paying attention to the weather and crop season before doing anything else. “If you plant too early and you get a frost overnight, you are screwed,” he said.

Flowers, leafy greens, and root and tuber vegetables are best planted early to mid-spring, after the last frost. Remember, these plants are cold-tolerant. According to “The Old Farmer’s Almanac,” the last frost in New Jersey is April 8, so aim to begin planting around April 15. Easy-to-grow choices include zinnias, geraniums, lettuce, cabbage, spring onions and radishes.

Warm-season vegetables are best planted in late spring to early summer, so begin planting around May 15. Common vegetables in the Garden State include tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and eggplants.

Seeds can also be planted in small pots inside before the outdoor growing season begins and will be ready for transplanting when the time comes.

Tending to Your Plants 

When plants are well looked after, they grow better and yield a heartier crop. During the growing season, most plants need regular feeding. Make it a point to fertilize your plants throughout the season. Juliano recommends every four to six weeks.

In order to minimize evaporation, early evening is the best time to water your garden. But if a plant begins wilting, water it right away. Irregular watering is a common cause of crop failure.

And remember to weed your garden regularly. Weeds are known to compete with plants for water, nutrients and light.

The article originally appeared in the March 17 – 23, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.