1. Fertilize
Gardening expert Gordon Wells recommends the below fertilizer mixture for the Mountain West area. For a garden area that’s approximately 6 by 30 feet use one quart of the following fertilizer prior to planting each year: 3 cups of 16-16-8 fertilizer and 1 cup Ironite® with trace minerals. In addition, add two quarts of elemental sulfur the first year and one quart each year after. Just sprinkle the fertilizer over your garden like you are salting it — not too thick.
2. Prepare ground
Rototill the fertilizer into your soil, or use a shovel and turn over the soil to loosen the soil and to mix in the fertilizer. Level and smooth out the dirt. Make furrows — Use a pointed hoe to make furrows or ditches along the sides of your planting area. Gardening expert Gordon Wells recommends planting most vegetables such as carrots and beets with 2 or 3 rows between furrows. You will use a distance of 24-30 inches from the middle of one furrow to the middle of the next. For larger crops such as corn, cucumbers and string beans use 36-inch rows.
3. Plant
Follow detailed planting guidelines on plants or seeds.
4. Water
After you plant, set up a sprinkler on a platform on each corner of garden to saturate. Sprinkle for 1 and 1/2 hours the first day then for 5 minutes every morning until the plants are up. Spring gardens do not require this “sprinkling” step. After the plants are up water two times a week.