Planting and Gardening Tips For Northern Nevada Growers
Northern Nevada: desert, snow-capped mountains, blazing temperatures, and frost. This beautiful place we call home has a climate unlike any other, which makes for quite the diversity of adventures and fun and quite the rollercoaster for our plants and gardens.
Gardening in northern Nevada can be a little tricky, there’s no question, but when you have the know-how to grow, garden, and choose the right plants for our area, you can (and hopefully will) have a garden that thrives!
Seeds To Seedlings
If you started your own seedlings this year, you’re quite the gardening guru! It’s an exciting thing to see your seeds sprout, grow, and blossom.
After weeks of nursing your seeds to seedlings, there are bound to be a few seeds that didn’t make it, and that’s ok! While the loss may be a “kick in the plants,” buying plants from a nursery is a completely reasonable method to get your garden off to a good start this season.
There are plenty of wonderful nursery options all across northern Nevada, many of which are our partners in distribution and carry our plant-loving Full Circle products. Here are all the places you can find Full Circle Compost products–BOOST, KICK, SOAR, PROTECT, and PUNCH–and many of them also have wonderful plant starts to choose from!
What Plants Grow Best In Northern Nevada?
Like we said, northern Nevada gardening can be tricky, but when you know what plants do best in our desert and oftentimes cold climate, you’re going to win … and so will your plants!
Here are some of Best Medicine News by Renown Health and our favorite things to grow here in northern Nevada.
Cool Weather Veggies
- Carrots
- Beets
- Celery
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Lettuce
- Radishes
- Onions
- Potatoes
- Snow peas
- Strawberries
- Kale
- Cilantro
Warm Weather Veggies
- Tomatoes
- Peppers
- Squash
- Green beans
- Cucumbers
- Pumpkin
- Tarragon
- Basil
- Parsley
- Rosemary
- Thyme
- Oregano
How To Choose The Best Plants From Your Local Northern Nevada Nursery
Selecting store-bought plants comes with its own pros and cons, so when you’re browsing the aisle, keep a few things in mind:
Check Their Vitals!
Remove the plant from the pot and take a look at the roots, making sure to not damage the plant. Do the roots look like a tangled, strangled mess? Opt for a plant with roots proportionate to the amount of soil.
Also, (and this might go without saying) avoid discolored, wilted or slimy leaves, as these may be signs of disease.
Variety
Buying plants from a nursery limits the plant varieties to choose from. While nurseries typically carry the most common two or three types of tomatoes, they most likely won’t have anything else. Look to local farmers or fellow gardeners to trade for exotic plants.
Speaking of variety, Full Circle’s gardening pals over at Bonsai Blue Garden Market have tons of varieties of tomatoes! If your tomato seeds didn’t sprout, or you’re looking for a little more flavor, come on down to the Bonsai Blue Garden Market events to adopt some heirloom tomatoes for your garden.
Misleading Abundance
When a plant feels “threatened,” it produces fruit in a last-ditch effort at carrying on its family name. It’s tempting to grab up the most abundant looking plants, but they’re not always your best bet. Store-bought plants with bunches of fruit are likely just feeling threatened because:
- They aren’t getting watered enough
- They have outgrown their container
- They have zapped the soil of all nutrients
- Look for healthy, lively, happy plants (regardless of amount of fruit).
Now It’s Time To Transplant
Whether you’re transplanting your own plant starts or you’re using ones you’ve picked up at a local nursery, getting your plants into your garden is easy when you have the know-how necessary!
Hungry for more gardening goodness? Download our Northern Nevada Grower’s Guide for tons of gardening and composting tips!
