As the weather gets warmer and the buds start to appear, everyone from birds to Bozemanites recognizes it’s time to plan for more sunshine. For many people in the valley, that means browsing for seeds, designing garden beds and tilling soil for the upcoming growing season.

“Although it can be challenging, I feel that gardening here can be really rewarding,” says Abi Saeed, Montana State Extension horticulture specialist. “Gardening connects us to our plants, to our ecosystems, to our food, and it’s a great way to tie all of those concepts together.”

Montana’s cold climate may make starting a garden feel like a daunting task, but Bozeman is rich with experienced gardeners and educational resources to help home gardeners get going.

Planning a garden

Kareen Erbe, owner of Broken Ground Permaculture, helps people in cold climates grow their own food so they can live more sustainably and be more self-reliant. “Gardening allows you to produce something in a culture and an overarching society where we are consumers all the time. We are being sold to all the time,” she says. “To become a producer again is very empowering. Through my own physical capabilities and through my hands and my body, I can produce food for myself.”

Erbe has five things she advises beginners to consider when planning their garden: sun, soil, seeds, starting small, and staying close. Determining how much light a property gets is the first step. Most annual garden beds need anywhere from six to ten hours of sunlight a day, so a garden’s location will be determined by where it will get sufficient sun. Getting a good soil mixture is the next step.

“Plant health starts from the roots up, and a lot of it has to do with the soil,” Saeed explains. Garden soil mix should consist of half soil, half compost. Compost is decomposed organic matter made by mixing materials high in carbon, like moist kitchen scraps with materials high in nitrogen, like straw, leaves, and woody trimmings.

“Compost is a critical component, because what it introduces into your soil are those living microorganisms that make nutrients available to plants,” says Erbe. Compost can be purchased at local garden centers, but it can also be made at home with the right space and materials. After planning a garden’s location and sourcing its soil, it’s time to consider what plants to grow.

“The fun thing about growing for yourself is you can grow exactly what you want,” says Nina Zideck, former director of the MSU Seed Potato Certification Program. “At home, we have cucumbers, corn, squash, tomatoes, salad greens, a lot of different herbs, onions, and garlic. I’m actually converting about a third of my garden this year to perennial flowers.”

According to Erbe, a  garden will be more rewarding and incentivising when someone grows what they enjoy. “Depending on the year, I will bypass the produce section at the grocery store for four to six months,” she says. “That feels really good, because then you’re not reliant.”

As plants are selected, it’s also important to consider what can be realistically kept and committed to, because spending time in a garden is the first step to maintaining it. “A garden is meant to be a relationship. It’s meant to be interacted with, and so it takes your time and attention,” says Erbe.

“The more you can give that attention, the more you are likely to catch any issues early on.”

Things to keep an eye out for include weeds, evidence of pests and indicators of poor plant health. “The plants are going to tell you if they’re too dry, the plants are going to tell you if they don’t have enough nutrients, and you can see that in the way they grow,” says Zidack.

Local resources

Bozeman has abundant resources to help local gardeners succeed. For example, the Montana State University Extension is a free program dedicated to giving Montanans unbiased, research-based information they can use for everyday problems. By reaching out to county offices, community members can connect with specialized agents who can educate and address issues in topics like financial literacy, food safety and agriculture. A specialized agent in horticulture, Saeed has served in several states, and has connected with many people passionate about making the things around them better, more beautiful and more sustainable. “In all of those states, one thing that I saw was that gardening builds community, and that was one of the most wonderful things for me,” she says.

“For example, if you’re a home gardener and you’re not sure where to start, you can go to your county extension agent and say, ‘Hey, I’m new to gardening,’ or ‘I’m new to Montana, I’m not sure where to begin,’” Saeed explains. “They’ll pull out resources that are going to be more specific to that county, the climate of that community, and the plants that do better there.”

Help with soil tests and plant or pest diagnoses can also be found through the Gallatin County Extension Office. Free fact sheet publications called MontGuides are also available through the Extension. These guides range in topics from lawn care and vegetable gardening to growing herbs and caring for houseplants, and are available online to download. The Extension also offers a Master Gardener Program that certifies volunteers in horticulture education, but the curriculum is also available to those interested in learning without earning certification.

“We have these resources that are science-based, that are put out to be read and utilized by the general public,” says Saeed. “They don’t contain technical jargon, and they’re made for people to be able to use that information to help improve their gardening.”

Gallatin Valley is also home to gardening groups like the Belgrade Blooming Gardening Club and the Gallatin Gardeners Club, aimed at providing educational gathering places for those interested in gardening. “[The Gallatin Gardener’s Club has] been an amazing experience, because you get to work with people that have similar interests and passions for growing things, and then also you learn a lot within the club,” says Zidack, who joined the club after retiring.

Over the summer, the club maintains a half-acre plot on the Montana State Horticulture Farm. It uses this plot to grow vegetables and flowers and encourages volunteers to reach out if they’re interested in helping in the garden. Then, the club sells its vegetables and flowers at farmers’ markets and uses the profits for local grants. “If you’re at all interested, contact us at the Gallatin Gardeners Club and come to meetings in the winter, just come and volunteer, and you can learn an incredible amount just working side by side with the people in the field,” invites Zidack.

Lots of local businesses in Bozeman also provide resources to help the average gardener achieve success. The Phoenix Garden Center has a lending library, free monthly workshops, and complimentary gardening guides in the spring. Cashman Nursery also hosts workshops and free presentations, and runs a blog with gardening tips on its website.

For other ways to test a green thumb, the Gallatin Valley Food Bank offers volunteer opportunities in its garden. The Gallatin Conservation District also has an Education and Outreach Center in Manhattan, where those interested can find workshops, events, demonstration gardens and gathering spaces in addition to volunteer opportunities.

Supporting local growers

“Local food, relocating our economies, just learning how to grow more of our own food, has a lot of intangible and tangible benefits,” Erbe says. For example, by growing food at home, someone might reduce how often they go to the grocery store and the transportation emissions those trips create. Or, by buying from a local farmer, a customer isn’t only supporting a local business but purchasing produce that was transported over just a few miles, not hundreds.

“I think what gardening does is give you a deep appreciation for where our food comes from and how much time and energy it takes for you, and then, by extension, for all of the farmers that feed us in this valley,” Erbe explains.

Erbe also describes how sourcing gardening supplies or produce from local businesses as often as possible can help further contribute to local economies and community development. She recommends local businesses like Happy Trash Can Composting, a finalist for Bozeman’s Choice for Green Products and Services, and YES Compost for sourcing compost, and emphasized buying seeds from local garden centers, which often stock native plants.

“In a farmer’s market, that’s what you see all the time. You are constantly interacting with everyone that you buy from,” says Erbe. “I know that when I give you that $10 for whatever I bought, that’s going directly to you. I know your family. I know that you have kids. I know that you’re supporting them with this.”