Distinctly Montana Magazine

Drawings by Diane Elliot I believe plants do best when they can cozy up to each other. I achieve this by planting in beds with comfortable paths between. Bean beds consist of three rows, each spaced about a foot apart. For carrots I rake out a bed 18 to 24 inches wide and broadcast the seed using a 12-15 cc syringe (sans needle). Remove the plunger, fill the barrel with seed, replace plunger, and release seed by tapping on the barrel. Potatoes are planted a foot apart in each direction for three to four rows. Corn is planted in a double row with eight inches between and about a yard apart. I like to plant my squash in the wide spaces between. Diane Elliot Sondra Perrin (author of Organic Gardening for Cold Climates) and I have been gardening buddies since before she moved to Missoula in the 70���s. She says, ���Here in Missoula you can grow more than you think by extending the season. You can plant lettuces, spinach, shallots, onions and your starting sets of cold crops in April if you use a reusable Reemay cover. This product is designed to protect the plants from freezing yet let rain through to water them.��� In the Gallatin valley, I���ve made 2 �� inch deep trenches for planting and covered them as she did. Sondra also adds, ���At all times, even in summer and fall, be prepared to cover your plants.��� If you���re chomping at the bit to get started planting, March is the time. Short, high altitude summers can be extended either by potting indoors, using south windows or indoor grow lights. Another alternative is to re-purpose old windows into a hot bed or cold frame. We did this in the years before we turned an old garage into a greenhouse, complete with ventilation system and rainwater collectors. Jack Heaton, long-time gardener for the Tinsley Living History Farm at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, 40 recounted that some Native American tribes planted squash around the perimeter of their corn plots to deter deer. Apparently the critters don���t like to walk through it. They also planted pole beans around the corn hills to provide support for the bean plants. One might adapt similar practices to suit their situations. The Native garden at the Tinsley house was patterned after that of Buffalo Bird Woman. Back in the early 70s, when I wrote Sunshine Soil and Short Seasons, I hadn���t been able to harvest a crop of cucumbers, despite trying various varieties for years. As soon as the book came out, my fortune changed and I beheld a bumper crop. Last summer I planted one row, which spread over four feet of turf, the length of their allotted row, threatening the beans planted a yard away. We harvested a couple of bushels. The thing to remember is that each year and each crop is an adventure. Never get discouraged. Don���t be afraid to experiment and try new things. My Missoula friend Sondra���s favorite tomato is any that is not a hybrid. She wants to save the seeds. She recommends Fireball, Delicious, and Black Krim. I���ve been saving seeds from a yellow heirloom tomato that my daughter D I ST I N CT LY M ONTANA ��� SP RI NG 2013

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