6 Things You Should Know About Starting Your Own Garden in Bozeman, Montana
Are you looking to start a garden in Bozeman? Here in Montana we have a relatively short growing season, but with a little planning and a lot of weeding, you can easily grow a successful crop! If you don’t have the option or the space to garden on your own property, there are several options for community gardens and CSA’s to get you in the dirt.
1. COMMUNITY GARDENS
Community gardens are a great way to take advantage of the growing season even if you don’t have outdoor space at home! Lucky for us, Bozeman has two community garden areas where the public can rent garden plots during the growing season. The Langohr Community Garden has 42 20’ x 30’ plots located on the South side of Main Street off of Galligator trail.
The Westlake Community Gardens are behind the BMX park on the North side of town near 5th and Tamarack. The garden plots at Westlake are 13’ x 45.5’ and there are 24 plots available.
To get your name on the wait list for Bozeman’s community gardens call the Beall Park Recreation Center at 406.582.2290.
2. CSA’S
Community Supported Agriculture or CSA’s are essentially a way for farmers to share their farms with the community. As a member, you pay the farmer a set price before the growing season begins and then you receive weekly deliveries of vegetables throughout the growing season. Some farms also offer options for working CSA’s which allow you to trade work in the garden for weekly produce. The work generally includes weeding, harvesting or packing CSA boxes. In Bozeman there are at least three farms that offer CSA’s.
Gallatin Valley Botanical offers June to January CSA seasons. You can learn more on their websitewww.gallatinvalleybotanical.com.
Strike Farms offers several different types of CSA’s – The Standard CSA offers 20 weeks of seasonal produce, The Market CSAallows you to pre-pay and then shop for produce weekly at Bozeman farmer’s markets. The Herb Garden CSA provides you with herb plants in the spring so you can cultivate an herb garden through the summer. They also offer a Flower CSA which offers a weekly delivery of a large seasonal bouquet for eight weeks from July 7-August 25th. Visit their website for more informationwww.strikefarms.com
GARDENING ON YOUR OWN
For those lucky enough to have a garden in their yard, there are plenty of tips to help you cultivate a successful crop this season. Growing in Montana can be tricky due to the short growing season and varying temperatures – here are a few of our favorite tips to get your garden growing!
3. FEED THE DIRT
You know all those kitchen scraps you throw out after cooking? That’s garden food right there! It’s always a great idea to feed your garden with plant material leftover from the kitchen (no meat, fat or oil) as your soil will digest it all, passing all those extra nutrients to your plants. Aside from kitchen scraps, you can also till manure into the soil in the fall to help enrich the soil. Mulching with leaves or grass clippings can also help to moderate soil temperatures, keep weeds down and conserve water.
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