Gardening In New England

With the recent scrutiny being placed on food quality in America, many people are looking to starting their own gardens. While there’s no denying that keeping a garden can be a lot of work, the benefits of growing your own produce are hard to ignore.
If you are thinking about trying out your green thumb, there are a few things to consider. What would you like to grow? Would you prefer a garden that you can keep indoors, or do you want an outdoor garden? How much time are you willing to dedicate to your new project?
Herb gardens are a good start for anyone interested in growing useful plants. You can grow any combination of herbs indoors. Many herb kits exist, and can be purchased from your local gardening store for relatively cheap. These kits take the guesswork out of picking a complementary combination of herbs, and come complete with full instructions on how to maximize your little garden’s potential.
If your ambitions are bigger, you can opt for an outdoor garden. Outdoor gardens give you much wider selection of plants to choose from. Living in New England, you can count on about 120 frost-free days, so pay attention to the plants that you choose for your garden. You’ll want to choose fruits and vegetables that can survive the occasional frost, and are considered relatively hardy. Here’s a few ideas to get you started.
Plants that do well in the climate of New England include tomatoes, asparagus, snow peas, zucchini, peppers, eggplant, and cucumbers. Tomatoes in particular offer a lot of variety, from the smaller cherry tomato, to more robust varieties like beefsteak. A newer variety of tomato called Glacier does fairly well in colder climates, and packs the same zest as the more fickle, hot-climate tomatoes. If you want to add a more unique fruit to your garden, you might also want to consider one of the heirloom tomato varieties. I’ve heard of a tomato called “White Wonder”, which is a nearly all-white tomato that packs a whallop of flavor.
Many types of berries do extremely well in New England summers. Why not try your hand at strawberries? Cavendish are a large, sweet variety of strawberries that do extremely well here, despite the harsh, unpredictable nature of our climate.
For more information on gardening in New England, please visit the following link.
http://www.gardeninginnewengland.com/index.asp
Good luck!