Planting With Purpose: How to Choose Plants That Actually Work for You
Planting with a purpose means choosing plants to feed your family‚ attract pollinators‚ provide privacy to your back yard‚ amend your soil‚ and other reasons․ It's not always easy to grow plants suited to USDA zones 6b through 7b (where most of the state lies) in land where clay is abundant‚ with high humidity in the summer and rainfall with moderate winters․ Get that match right‚ and a garden stops being maintenance and starts being a return on investment: dinner on the table‚ a thriving pollinator community‚ a landscape that earns its keep․
Start With Berries If You Want Fast‚ Reliable Payoff
Berry plants are some of the first crops you could consider transitioning to an intentional design․ Blueberries are particularly easy to grow in Tennessee as our naturally acidic soil‚ generally between 5․0-6․0 pH‚ often requires little to no amendment․ Blueberry bushes are usually planted bare-rooted or in pots in spring or fall‚ at least 4-5 feet (1․2-1․5 m) apart‚ and a major crop of berries should arrive by the third year․ The Rabbiteye varieties (Climax and Premier) are bred for the hot‚ humid Southern climate‚ and therefore grow better in our summer climate than Northern highbush varieties․
Faster crops include blackberries and raspberries․ Most thornless blackberries fruit in their second year and produce 10-20 lb․ (4․5-9 kg) per plant․ Strawberries are marketed as the impatient gardener's crop; June-bearing strawberries planted in the autumn can be fully productive in the next spring․
In addition to the fruit‚ berry plants have other ecological value: The flowers are a spring food source for native bees‚ one of the earliest and most important of the flowering times․ The canes provide nesting habitat for songbirds․ If you are trying to attract pollinators‚ a patch of mixed berries will do more for you than any flower bed․
Herb Gardens Solve More Problems Than You'd Think
Herbs are probably the most underutilized purposeful plants․ Rosemary and thyme‚ both native to the Mediterranean‚ prefer the dry stretches that Tennessee offers․ They do not prefer rich dirt; more herb plants die from overwatering than from drought․ If planted in raised beds or pots with aerated drainage‚ they'll outlive almost everything else in your garden․
Mint is worth growing, but it shouldn't be planted in the ground as the roots travel a long distance and will take over the bed in two seasons․ Keep it in pots until it is ready to be transplanted into the ground․
Plant basil among your tomatoes to repel hornworms and aphids․ Plant dill or fennel in with your rows of crops to attract the predatory wasps and ladybugs to your garden․ It's planting with a purpose․ This is not just an herb‚ but a pest control system‚ a natural protection plan for your crops․
Most culinary herbs are perennial or self-seeding in our climate zone․ You can keep returning to the same herb bed for fresh rosemary in January and fresh basil in July for years with minimal replanting․
Vegetable Gardens: Plan the Season‚ Not Just the Plot
A formal vegetable garden in Tennessee is planted twice a year‚ generally after the last average frost date which is mid-April in Middle Tennessee‚ early April in West Tennessee‚ and late April in the higher mountains of East Tennessee‚ and then again during the late summer months for some fall crops․ Tomatoes‚ peppers and squash are most commonly planted in the spring months․ For cool-season crops such as lettuce and spinach‚ sowing six to eight weeks ahead of the frost date‚ and another planting in September‚ will yield a fall crop‚ which may be even better due to reduced pest pressure․
Raised beds solve a problem here in Tennessee too․ Our native clay soil packs easily and is slow to drain․ Raised beds filled with the right soil mix give roots a better chance to breathe, and the soil heats faster in the spring․
If you're really interested in food security and self-reliance‚ then you shouldn't just plant everything all at once‚ you should be planting things in succession‚ i․e․ sowing a short row of lettuce or beans every two weeks‚ rather than a huge one-off planting that's going to give you a glut of produce․
Fruit Trees Are a Long Game‚ but the Payoff Compounds
The longest wait of all is for fruit trees․ Apple and pear trees take three to five years for a reasonable crop‚ although dwarf and semi-dwarf trees are worth trying because they can be produced in one or two fewer years and can be planted in a home landscape․ Because of the lower maturity time (2-3 years) and better adaptability to humid Tennessee weather (if disease-resistant types are chosen)‚ peach and plum trees are often recommended over others․ Grow peaches resistant to the bacterial spot (common in Tennessee) and brown rot․
Location is particularly important for trees that we will be growing for decades․ Adequate air circulation can prevent fungal infections․ Morning sun and afternoon shade is recommended in the hottest part of the state․ Planting is best accomplished in fall‚ if possible‚ to give the tree's root system a head start through our mild winters so that it can hit the ground running in spring rather than struggle through the summer heat․
But mature trees do much more than bear fruit: they sequester carbon‚ they cool the local environment by several degrees‚ they provide food and shelter for birds and small mammals‚ and an apple tree in its 20-year lifespan sequesters more carbon dioxide than many people realize when they plant a tree․
Stacked Plantings: Plants Grouped Vertically Rather Than Horizontally
Tremendously productive, purposeful gardens do not segregate fruiting plants․ Underplant young fruit trees with strawberries; interplant herbs and vegetables with other crops‚ trees, and shrubs․ Plant rosemary and marigolds to form a border to a vegetable garden‚ as they repel certain pests․ Use blueberry bushes for a fence or hedge‚ which attract pollinators and provide privacy․
The TN Nursery is therefore in the business of providing such plants: Southern-highbush blueberry and thornless blackberry bushes‚ perennial herb starts‚ and varieties of fruit trees that resist disease and humidity․ The right plants for the right place growing in the right ways‚ not just whatever happens to be looking nice for sale at the garden center‚ are what create a working landscape rather than a decorative one․
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