Vegetable7

Spin Bin compost tumbler

June 29, 2010 by Vegetable7 1 Comment

If you’ve been a vegetable gardener for very long, you’ve probably discovered the importance of compost for gardening. Compost improves any type of soil, whether it is clay or sandy. The rich organic materials from compost help increase soil fertility, and also give the soil a more sponge-like consistency that soaks up water, and releases it as plants need it.

What’s not to like about composting, right?

The Spin Bin is a compost tumbler that was introduced for the 2010 season.

Tumblers have both advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages:

Materials are off the ground and sealed away, keeping pests and rodents out.
Easy to keep your materials aerated and mixed — a key to successful composting
Don’t need tools for mixing.
Can be faster at composting, when used correctly.

Disadvantages:

Tumblers sometimes have a smaller capacity than regular compost bins, or piles.
Tumblers don’t always generate as much heat when composting, if the user isn’t skilled.

So although you’ll often see ads for “compost in 14 days!” with various tumblers, it’s unlikely that a regular person will get results like that. Typical results will be several months.

With that being said, I still like the convenience of using a tumbler — especially the pest proof part. I live in an urban area where rats and squirrels are both a reality, and I had trouble with them getting into my regular compost bin. There’s nothing creepier than running into a rat!

And FYI, the best way to avoid rodents if you are composting in a pile or unsealed bin is to make sure any kitchen scraps are buried way down in the pile. If you just throw them on top, it’s like sending a written invitation to every pest in the neighborhood for free dinner.

Window Farm? An urban, hydroponic garden in your window!

March 18, 2010 by Vegetable7 4 Comments

Window Farm hydroponic window garden

Just read this cool post about Window Farms on This Garden is Illegal.

As you can see from the photo (which comes courtesy of Windowfarms on Flickr, by the way), a window farm is a hydroponic window garden made from old plastic water bottles, or other various materials.

Here’s an excerpt from the Window Farms site that helps explain what it’s all about.

Researchers have argued that to grow some of his own food is the most effective action an individual can take for environment, not only because of the food industry’s heavy carbon footprint but also because participating in agricultural production cultivates a valuable skill set around sustainability issues.

Many neighborhoods (particularly low income ones) in cities aroun the world are considered food deserts, meaning little fresh food is easily accessible. Residents tend to consume processed, packaged, and canned food having depleated nutrients.

Few other projects provide opportunities for such direct personal involvement, make this productive use of existing construction, or so directly target urban dwellers estranged from agricultural issues.

Inner city dwellers can grow their own food in their apartment or office windows throughout the year by means of these elegant, inexpensive, vertical, hydroponic vegetable gardens made from recycled materials or items available at the local hardware store. The first system produced 25 plants and a salad a week in mid winter in a dimly lit 4’ x 6’ NYC window.

The site has a How To section with plans, if you want to grow your own window farm.

Here’s one of their YouTube videos:

Seed Starting: 5 Tips for Beginner Gardeners

March 10, 2010 by Vegetable7 1 Comment

Gardening can be the most satisfying hobby in the world, resulting in beauty, food, and a keen sense of satisfaction. Plug a seed in some dirt and nature performs a miracle. In the beginning, a gardener can feel overwhelmed by the complexities of gardening manuals, so it’s best to start simply and learn by trial and error.

A few simple tips for starting seeds indoors will boost the beginning gardener’s success rate and confidence.

1. Use a Seed Starting Mix.

Gardening on a budget might lead you to take some short cuts. So you fill your saved yogurt and margarine plastic containers and fill them with dirt you dug up from the back yard. Cost: $0.00 so far! The spendthrift in you is standing up and cheering.

Don’t get too excited yet, because while this experiment in frugality could work, you would be better off springing for a bag of artificial seed starting mix. Let’s explore what will happen if you go the “thrifty” route:

* The soil you dug up is denser than a bag of potting soil, making it more difficult for the seed to get the oxygen it needs. You could mix in some peat or sand to lighten it up, but…

* The soil has other seeds in it from past seasons, dormant and ready for the right conditions, which you are about to provide. As a beginner, how will you know that your seedling is really an eggplant and not a poke-berry? Even a seed packet’s identifying picture can be remarkably similar to weeds.

* Insect eggs that hatch and eat tender vegetation, fungi, and other soil-borne problems will only cause trouble.

A seed-starting mix is recommended for starting seeds indoors. Avoid potting soils with fertilizers – these are meant for older plants and may do more harm than good for your purposes. A seed starting mix has a small amount of fertilizer, enough to get you started.

2. Pass on old seeds.

Seeds lose their viability as they age; the older they become, the less viable (likely to sprout) they are. In general, you want fresh seeds, preferably from last summer, but no older than four years. For best results, buy seeds from a company who offers a guarantee.

Before you plant anything, test seed viability: Place at least ten of one kind on a slightly damp paper towel. Fold it over and seal in a Ziploc bag. Put the bag in a warm place away from direct sunlight, then check it every day to watch for germination and lightly spritz if it becomes too dry. Some types of seeds take longer to sprout than others, but once the first seeds of a batch sprout, others should follow within days. What you want is a good ratio of germination – at least 7 should sprout of the 10.

Don’t expect too much from saved seeds of produce you bought from the grocery store. Most produce sold in supermarkets are hybrid varieties whose seeds are infertile or will not reproduce the exact same fruit. If you save seeds from any “heirloom” produce, however, you can expect to grow the exact same specimen in your garden.

3. Don’t overwater.

Before you plant the seeds in the seed starting mix, moisten the mix with water to reach the right amount of moisture: damp, but not too soggy. That way you can plant the seeds exactly as the instructions say without disturbing them later with watering. Seeds need to be in contact with moisture in order to germinate, but too much water will kill your efforts.

To maintain the right level of moisture, cover the pots after planting with a sheet of clear plastic. The covering should not be sealed tight. You have many choices for containers – saved Styrofoam and yogurt cups work equally well as a seedling flat from the store, so long as you poke holes in the bottoms of the cups to give adequate drainage. You can even save fast-food salad containers with the clear plastic covering, but drill plenty of holes in the top and bottom, otherwise the seedlings will cook and drown.

Watering is only necessary when the soil is visibly dry and the seedlings are about to wilt. Some gardeners like to keep peat seedling pots in a tray for watering from the bottom up. They put the water in the tray, wait for the peat pots to soak up enough water so the top soil is moistened, then they drain the extra.

4. Avoid leggy situations.

Once the seedling puts its head above the earth, light is as important as warmth. The ideal temperature depends on what you are growing, but all plants need adequate light to grow. The new sprouts will grow quickly toward the light, and if it’s not bright enough, the stems will elongate in an unhealthy way. That leggy situation is best avoided by providing light. You could get by with placing plants near a south-facing window.

Other options are to build an outdoor cold frame, or rig up a shop-style fluorescent light fixture over the plants, positioned inches above the leaves of the plants. These last options aren’t easy, but will result in healthier seedlings.

For that reason, it’s best to strategize planting times so that the seedlings are just about adequate for transferring outdoors when the temperatures will support them. Starting seeds too early will require you to “pot up” – or transfer seedlings to larger pots to accommodate root systems and allow for growth. If your seedlings become leggier than they should, you can pot-up, planting the seedling to bury most of the stem as well. Or, start a second batch.

5. Don’t shock the seedlings.

“Hardening off” is the process of acclimating the seedlings to their new turf outdoors without shocking the young plants, which can either cause a setback, cessation of growth, or death. When the temperatures outside are mild enough for the plant you are growing, begin the transfer by putting the seedlings outside for increasing amounts of daylight hours, then bring them back inside at night. Seedlings begun indoors are accustomed to a sheltered environment, so to begin with they need just a few hours of outdoor conditions, protected from wind and direct sunlight.

Over the next few weeks, increase their exposure to direct sunlight, wind, and rain as you gradually decrease watering. If you’re using a cold frame, simply open the frame for increasing periods of time. This stage of gardening can be time-intensive, requiring attention to temperatures day and night to prevent frozen plants when the temperatures dip, but will ensure a better transition and a healthier start for your plants. When the plants have spent an entire day and night outdoors, they are ready to plant in prepared garden beds.

Of course, you don’t have to start your seeds indoors. You can wait until the weather is warmer, or purchase seedlings from a nursery. Still, this aspect of gardening gives you much more versatility in what you can grow and when it will bear fruit. If you’re new to gardening, don’t let the science scare you away. This is one hobby that allows a lot of flexibility and room for error. With these few tips, you can proceed with confidence, dig your hands in the dirt, and experience the miracles of nature.

Growing Vegetables from Seed

February 23, 2010 by Vegetable7 1 Comment

vegetable plant seedling

Whether you start off inside or out, growing your own vegetables from seed is an immensely satisfying process. While you can of course buy established plants and nurture them to full growth, some gardeners believe the only true way to grow vegetables is to start off at the very beginning. This takes a degree of dedication, but the rewards are huge.

So where do you to start if you’ve never attempted the process before? Below are some of the more common questions about growing vegetables from seed.

Q. Is it easier to grow vegetables if you sow the seeds indoors or outdoors?

A. It all depends on which vegetables you want to grow, when you want to start, and where in the world you live. Plants sown indoors will eventually have to be transplanted outdoors, and unless you sow your seeds in biodegradable plant pots, so that both pot and plant can be transplanted into the ground, the plant will suffer some degree of root disturbance.

Vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, eggplant, leeks, onions, peppers, and tomatoes tolerate root disturbance better than other vegetables and benefit from an early start in the growing season – which is another reason to start sowing seeds indoors.

In some parts of the world, the growing season is relatively short, so if you want to make the most of it, it’s best to sow seeds indoors. This way your vegetables will be well established and on their way to yielding when the growing season’s at its peak. Furthermore, with hard-to-germinate (sprout) seeds, sowing indoors gives you a better chance of providing the right environment for the seeds to germinate (e.g. temperature, light).

Q. What do I need to sow seeds indoors?

A. The size of the seeds will determine the size of the container you sow them in. Most gardeners sow their seeds in seed raising trays, but you can use a variety of containers including egg boxes and the bottom halves of juice cartons (pierce a hole in the bottom for drainage). Whatever you use, make sure it’s deep enough to enable the seedling to develop a good root system before being transplanted outside. Plant bigger seeds one to a cell, and smaller seeds two or three to a cell.

Once you’ve planted your seeds, sprinkle with a thin layer of soil, and give them a thorough watering, taking care not to wash them away. Place your seeds in a warm position with good light but out of direct sunlight. To minimize disturbance, you can water your seeds using a spray bottle with a mister attachment.

It’s important to keep your seeds well watered so they don’t dry out. Placing a sheet of cellophane over the seeds once they’ve been watered will help trap moisture. Once the seeds germinate remove the cellophane.

Remember that while you may be eager to start sowing, if you begin too soon the soil outside may not have warmed up sufficiently to accommodate your seedlings when it’s time for them to be transplanted out. If in doubt, refer to the instructions on the seed packet for general guidance as to when you should start sowing.

Q. What do I do when they’re ready to be moved outdoors?

A. When transplanting seedlings that have been grown indoors to the great outdoors, you have to acclimatize them to their new environment. This is called “hardening off.” With the seedlings still in their pots, place them in a protected area with indirect light for a few days. If frost is forecast, bring them indoors overnight. Shade-loving plants can be planted out after a few more days of being outside.

If your plants are destined for a spot that will receive full sun, give them a few more days in the shade, and then place them in the sun for an hour on the first day, gradually increasing their exposure to the sun each day for about a week, and then plant in the ground.

Q. And how do I transplant them into the ground?

A. If you’ve sown your seeds in biodegradable pots, you can transplant both pot and seedling: gently tear the pots down the sides to allow the roots to push through before placing in the ground. Also remove the top of the pot to prevent it sucking moisture from the soil.

If possible, transplant your seedlings on a cloudy day, or late in the afternoon. It can take them a little while to adjust after having been transplanted, so it’s best if they don’t also have to contend with the sun when it’s at its hottest.

Q. I’m not sure I can be bothered with starting my vegetables off indoors. Which ones are best for planting outdoors?

A. If you want to sow seeds directly in your garden or containers outside, then most root crops (beets, turnips, parsnips, and carrots) can be started off relatively early outdoors. In addition, crops such as beans, peas, and corn don’t like to be transplanted, so if you want to grow these vegetables, you’re better off planting them directly in the soil outside.

Q. How early in the year can I start sowing seeds directly outdoors in the ground?

A. This depends on where you live. While most seed packets give recommended sowing times, you should always check that the soil in your garden is ready. If the soil isn’t warm enough (above 65°F), the seeds are likely to rot in the ground before germinating.

You can use a soil thermometer, which you can buy at a garden store or online, to check the temperature of the soil. If the soil’s too cold and hard or water-logged, then you’ll either have to wait a while or consider sowing indoors. Once the soil’s ready, dig it over, breaking up any lumps with a garden fork, and rake it until it’s fine and crumbly.

Q. Where exactly do I put the seeds?

A. As a general rule of thumb, the larger the seed, the deeper it should be planted. Larger seeds, such as beans, can be planted individually, while smaller seeds (e.g. beets, cucumber) can be planted two to three seeds per hole. Refer to the instructions on the seed packet for information on how deep and how far apart from one another the seeds should be planted. Or check a seed planting chart.

Q. What do I need to do when the seeds start sprouting?

A. Regardless of whether you’ve sown your seeds indoors or outdoors, once the seedlings emerge and are an inch or so high, you will need to thin them out (if you’ve sown more than one seed per pot or position in the ground). Thinning out leaves enough room for those plants left behind to grow to their full potential.

There are generally two ways in which to thin out: For smaller, delicate seedlings, gently remove the weaker looking seedlings by cutting the stem at the point at which it meets the soil and then discard. For sturdier seedlings, very gently remove them all from the soil, separate them using a pencil, taking care not to touch their roots, and then re-plant in individual positions in the ground.

You may also need to “pinch back” (pinch off with your fingernails) the plant’s second set of true leaves. The first set of leaves a plant produces are called seed leaves, which are then followed by true leaves. Pinching back encourages bushy growth along the plant’s branches.

However, gardeners are divided as to whether it’s necessary to pinch back the leaves on vegetable seedlings, so you may need to find out what works for you. Remember that growing any plant from seed is a case of trial and error, so don’t expect to get it right first time.

Remember to lavish lots of tender loving care (including water) on your seedlings, and then look forward to harvesting a bumper crop of wonderful tasting vegetables in the months to come.

Want to learn more about growing vegetables from seed?

You Grow Girl has a great guide to starting vegetables from seed for beginner gardeners.

The University of Missouri Extension shows you how to start a vegetable garden from seed, in great detail. From choosing seeds to soil mixes and containers. It’s all there!

21 Easy Vegetables and How to Grow Them

February 9, 2010 by Vegetable7 12 Comments

Still trying to decide which vegetables to grow this spring?

Take a look at this list of 21 vegetables for some ideas.

1. Snap Beans

Snap beans take 40 to 65 days to mature. Plant seeds 1 inch deep, and thin them so that the plants are 6 inches apart. Learn more on our How to Grow Beans page.

2. Lima Beans

Lima beans take 90 to 100 days to mature. Plant them 1 1/2 inches deep, and thin them so that they are 6 yo 8 inches apart. Learn more about growing lima beans.

3. Beets

Beets take 60 to 85 days to mature. Plant the seeds about twice as deep as the seed diameter. Thin them so that they are 2 to 4 inches apart. Learn more about growing beets.

4. Carrots

Carrots take 55 to 80 days to mature. Plant the seeds twice as deep as the seed diameter. Thin them so that they are 3 inches apart. Learn more about growing carrots here.

5. Cabbage

Cabbage takes 65 to 100 days to mature. Plant the seeds twice as deep as the seed diameter. Thin them so that they are 24 to 30 inches apart. Learn more about growing cabbage here.

6. Corn

Corn takes 70 to 115 days to mature. Plant the seeds 1 inch deep. Thin them so that they are 10 to 12 inches apart. Learn more about growing corn here.

7. Cucumbers

Cucumbers take 60 to 75 days to mature. Plant the seeds 1/2 an inch deep. Thin them so that they are 10 inches apart on a wire or trellis, or about 4 feet apart if you are doing them on hills. Learn more on our How to Grow Cucumbers page.

8. Eggplant

Eggplant takes 70 days to mature. Plant the seeds twice as deep as the diameter of the seed. Thin them so that they are 36 inches apart. Learn more about growing eggplant here.

9. Kohlrabi

Kohlrabi takes 55 days to mature. Plant the seeds twice as deep as the diameter of the seed. Thin them so that they are 3 inches apart. Learn more about growing Kohlrabi at this site.

10. Lettuce

Lettuce takes 50 to 75 days to mature. Plant the seeds twice as deep as the diameter of the seed. Thin them so that they are 4 to 18 inches apart. Learn more about growing lettuce on our How to Grow Lettuce page.

11. Okra

Okra takes 60-75 days to mature. Plant the seeds twice as deep as the diameter of the seed. Thin them so that they are about 15 inches apart. Learn more about how to grow okra here.

12. Onions

Onions can take anywhere from 35-100 days to mature. You want to thin onion seeds so they are about 6 inches apart. Learn more about growing onions on our How to Grow Onions page.

13. Parsnip

Parsnips take 110 days to mature. Plant the seeds twice as deep as the diameter of the seed. Thin them so they are about 4 inches apart. Learn more about how to grow parsnips here.

14. Peas

Peas take 60-80 days to mature. Plant the seeds an inch deep into the soil. Thin them so they are 3-4 inches apart. Learn more on our How to Grow Peas page.

15. Peppers

Peppers take 75 days to mature. Plant the seeds twice as deep as the diameter of the seed. Thin them so they are about 30 inches apart. Learn more on our How to Grow Peppers page.

16. Potatoes

Potatoes take 75-100 days to mature. Plant the seeds 3 inches into the ground. Thin them so they are 12 inches apart. Learn more about growing potatoes at this website.

17. Radishes

Radishes take 30-45 days to mature. Plant the seeds twice as deep as the diameter of the seed. Thin them so they are 1 inch apart. Learn more about growing radishes on this website.

18. Spinach

Spinach takes 55 days to mature. Plant the seeds twice as deep as the diameter of the seed. Thin them so they are 4 inches apart. Learn more about growing spinach on this website.

19. Summer Squash

Summer squash takes 65 days to mature. Plant the seeds a half inch below the soil. Thin them so they are 48 inches apart in hills. Learn more about growing summer squash on our How to Grow Summer Squash page.

20. Tomatoes

Tomatoes take 65-80 days to mature. Plant the seeds twice as deep as the diameter for the seed. Thin them so they are in rows 30 inches apart, using four foot spacing in the rows. Learn more about growing tomatoes on our How to Grow Tomatoes page.

21. Turnips

Turnips take 60 days to mature. Plant the seeds twice as deep as the seed diameter. Thin them so they are three inches apart. Learn more about how to grow turnips on this website.

Conclusion

So there you go. 21 different vegetables. 21 quick summaries on how to grow them. And 21 links to sources for more in depth information.

What are you planting this season?

Railroad Ties and Vegetable Gardens. Ok to use?

February 4, 2010 by Vegetable7 Leave a Comment

A reader writes in with a question.

Is there any way to treat rail road ties to keep the creosote from leaching out? If so can you please give me some examples. Thank You Very Much!!!

With older railroad ties, the creosote has often already oozed out, so they won’t cause a major problem. The University of Missouri Extension says that it is okay.

Personally, I wouldn’t use them around my own vegetable garden, period.

I wouldn’t be afraid to use them around flowerbeds or something like that, though.

Organic Gardening magazine hates railroad ties, and considers them unsafe.

Creosote is composed of a mixture of chemicals, about 300 of which have been identified, but there could be up to 10,000 more present in the mixture. Some components of this chemical cocktail dissolve in water or seep from treated wood. They can contaminate soil and move into groundwater, and persist for many years.

Here’s a good GardenWeb message board thread, where they talk about what to do with railroad ties that are already installed.

Gardening Magazines: The Ultimate Resource List

February 1, 2010 by Vegetable7 8 Comments

One of the best ways to become a better gardener is to read a lot about it. You can only learn so much in a single season by experience, right? But you can learn by reading, year around.

One of my personal favorite gardening magazines is Organic Gardening. But that’s just one out of dozens of different gardening magazines out there.

I decided to compile a list of all the different gardening magazines, as the authoritative resource where you can find them in one place, without searching around.

Here it goes.

Organic Gardening. This is one of my personal favorites, with plenty of great resources related to gardening, organics, and organic living.

Fine Gardening. This magazine is really on their game as well. They cover many different forms of gardening, and have an excellent team of writers.

Horticulture. The name alone implies the subject matter. This magazine offers a lot of tips and suggestions, and really gets into the why and the how of gardening. If you’re serious about Gardening, this is definitely one of the best on the market.

Texas Gardener. Regional magazines are equally as important as national ones. If you live in the Lone Star state, this magazine can help you get the most out of your seasons.

Florida Gardening. Another regional magazine, this one dedicated to all of those in Florida. If you’re in Florida and want a great garden, make sure you pick this magazine up.

Gardening How-To Magazine. Gardening How-To is totally solid. It features tons of articles related to the how-to and DIY projects, and also gets really in depth about some of the crops, plants, and flowers you can grow.

BBC Gardener’s World. Yes, it’s a British magazine. However, there’s plenty of useful information to be found within the pages of this magazine, no matter where you like to garden.

Hortus: A Gardening Journal. Hortus prides itself as “The most intelligent gardening magazine in the world.” It gets pretty in-depth about gardening, and features essays, notes, and a wide variety of gardening topics. Also a nice feature: reviews on gardening books.

Garden Compass. This magazine is geared towards west coast gardeners. Since most gardening magazines don’t gear their gardening tips towards that of the west coast, it’s a must-have for anyone in this region.

Canadian Gardening Magazine. For our neighbors up North, eh?

Garden Gate Magazine. No advertisements in this magazine – just loads of pages with gardening how-to tips, pictures, and features. Garden Gate is reader supported and a great magazine to have around the home when it’s time to garden.

Garden Design Magazine. Okay, so garden design sometimes may feature gardens that are super innovative and costly, but it’s on this list for multiple reasons. First of all, you can learn a lot by keeping up with cutting edge trends in gardening, and second the photos of some of the gardens and places in which they inhabit are just stellar. It’s a great read.

Acres U.S.A. Magazine. This magazine is geared more towards commercial gardening, but if that’s your business, you definitely want to have it lying around. It’s the oldest and largest magazine covering sustainable farming and commercial gardening.

Mother Earth News. A staple in organic living and gardening, Mother Earth News features plenty of planting and gardening tips and FAQ. It can prove to be a vital resource when looking for gardening information as well. If you’re into sustainability, natural living, and organics, this magazine is definitely for you!

Herb Companion Magazine. As herb gardening becomes increasingly more popular, this magazine serves as a great guide. Herb gardening seems to be enjoyed by all members of gardening (from vegetable to flower even), and it’s a relaxing way to enjoy your day. Having this magazine around will provide tips and tricks to make sure you are growing the best possible herb garden one can grow and maintain.

Sukiya Living Magazine (The Journal of Japanese Gardening). This bi-monthly magazine is only 44 pages long, and is dedicated to Japanese gardens and architecture. Japan is well known for it’s unique culture of gardening. If you are into the Japanese way of the garden, you will be sure to enjoy this magazine.

Sunset Magazine. While the primary focus of Sunset is not 100% on gardening, they have produced a plethora of books on gardening, and will feature many great articles related to western gardening. It’s an entertaining read, and for fans of design and style (in addition to gardening), it makes a great coffee table mag!

Neil Sperry’s Gardens Magazine. Although this mag is geared a little more towards Texas horticulture, it’s got a lot of great resources and information on gardening. If you’re in Texas, you’ll love the growing tips and facts flowing from the pages of Gardens!

American Nurseryman. This magazine is dedicated to commercial horticulture, and has been around since 1904. If you’re in the nursery business, you might want to check this one out.

Birds & Blooms. If you’re a fan of nature and flower gardening, you’ll be sure to enjoy this magazine. Covering a variety of topics from nature/wildlife to flower gardening, it’s got a wide variety of resources and tips that can help make your garden a backyard haven!

Country Gardens. While it’s produced by Better Homes and Gardens, this magazine features stories from gardeners, and has all sorts of great information – from diagrams to different architectural ideas to make your garden really come to life! It’s a good read, and definitely encompasses the entire scope of the gardening experience.

Did I miss any gardening magazines? Let me know if I did.

Just leave a comment below, and I’ll continue to update the list to give you the most comprehensive list of gardening magazines available, ever. Period. In the history of the world! And that’s no exaggeration! (Okay, so maybe a little bit of one.)

PS Which gardening magazine is your favorite?

Vegetable Garden Plan: Why You Need One

January 25, 2010 by Vegetable7 3 Comments

Why you need a vegetable garden plan

Putting good plan into action for your vegetable garden will make the garden better suit your needs than if you just go out and throw some plants into the ground. You’ll get a far bigger harvest of vegetables from a given amount of space than you would ever imagine.

This post will help you find a suitable spot for your vegetable garden, and will help you take advantage of companion planting and succession planting techniques so that all of your garden space is most efficiently used.

Seed packets and starter plants usually have growing directions. If you don’t know the average last frost date of your local area, call your local nursery and ask, or search for your garden zone. Some plants grow better in the northern part of the country, and some in the southern part. For example, you aren’t going to have much luck with asparagus in hot weather climates like Florida.

Location, location, location

Your vegetable garden should be located in a sunny spot. Optimally, it should be close to your house and close to a water source for convenience in taking care of your garden.

Keep your garden away from shade trees that will block direct sunlight. Your garden will need 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight per day to thrive.

The best vegetable garden soil is a light, well-drained sandy loam with high organic content and fertility, and free from rocks and stones. If you are gardening in a small space, almost any kind of soil can easily be improved by adding compost and soil amendments.

If you have enough room, make your garden 1/3 bigger than you actually want to plant, so that you can plant a cover crop of clover on one third of the space of the garden each year, keeping your soil fertile.

You should be thorough when you prepare your garden soil. Dig at least 8 inches deep. You can dig with a spade, or use a garden tiller if you don’t want to do a lot of manual digging.

Different vegetables, different needs

Vegetables don’t all have the same requirements for soil, temperature and moisture levels. Vegetables like lettuce, spinach and peas do best in cool weather. You’d want to plant them very early in the spring, or in the fall. Plant them in part of the garden that gets early sun, and is shaded during the heat of the day.

Other vegetables like tomatoes, beans, peppers or eggplant require hot weather, and should be planted where they get the biggest amount of sunlight in the garden. The greatest amount of sunlight can be arranged by making your garden rows go north and south, and by allowing plenty of space between the rows of the garden.

Companion planting

Companion planting is when you plant certain types of vegetables next to each other at the same time that are harvested at different times. When you remove the early crop, it leaves room for the later crop to keep growing and fill in the space. There are combinations like cabbage and lettuce, radishes with beets, carrots or parsnips, or early beets in the rows between tomatoes.

Succession planting

Succession planting means that you grow one plant until it is harvested, and then you immediately replace it with a different plant that grows next, because it is better suited to that part of the season. You might start with cabbage, and then follow with squash. Other examples are spinach followed by sweet corn, peas followed by beans, or early carrots or beets followed by celery.

Some succession plantings might overlap, like when tomato plants are placed in between rows of early peas that still have a picking on the vines. Cabbage should never be followed one after another in the same soil, because it can pass on diseases that can remain in the soil.

A written plan?

An experienced gardener might not need a garden plan if he or she has been using the same plot for many years, because he or she will be familiar with the vegetables that he or she usually grows, and their space requirements.

But hey, if you were that experienced, you probably wouldn’t be reading this blog post, would you? So you’re probably going to want a vegetable garden plan on paper before you begin digging and planting your vegetable garden.

Draw your garden plan to a convenient scale — like 1/8th of an inch to a foot. Keep in mind that taller vegetable plants like tomatoes can shade shorter plants, so you’ll want to keep your rows far enough apart to account for that.

When possible, low vegetables like lettuce, beets, beans and carrots should be on the east side of the garden. Taller plants like tomatoes, peas and corn should be on the west side.

A good plan has enough room to walk through it, so that you can water effectively and look out for weeds and pests.

Your vegetable garden needs a plan

5 Tips on How to Grow Vegetables

May 11, 2009 by Vegetable7 1 Comment

Let’s face it: growing a vegetable garden rocks! So much, it could even become your hobby. Just think, every growing season you can harvest fresh vegetables. And remember, there are several growing seasons, depending on your climate. That’s almost growing your own food year round! Here are some simple tips that will help you on how to grow vegetables.

Tip #1: Rotate your crops.

Just change your plant’s growing location each year. Plants that come from same family like peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, and potatoes must be rotated in different locations in the garden. Rotating them will prevent your plants from pests and diseases.

Bugs are pretty smart. They lay their eggs at the bottom of the plant, so the hatching larvae will have food. But, the garden pest will not survive if it doesn’t have the right food source. Just rotate those crops every year. That way you don’t feed the larvae!

Tip #2: Plant your vegetables with proper spacing.

Don’t plant vegetable plants too close to each other. You don’t want their roots to compete for soil nutrients and water, and you want enough room for their hidth and width of a mature plant. It’s easier if you plant your vegetables according to their height and width.

Once you get use to growing vegetables, you can stray from the vegetable spacing recommendations just a little. Check out this page on intensive gardening, and this one on square foot gardening.

Tip #3: Water plants properly, meaning consistently.

We all know that water is very important in all growing plants, really to everything! It starts with the seeds. They must keep moist to generate properly. And make sure not to over water your plants, or else you will not achieve the desired outcome with your vegetable plants. Just water deeply and regularly. You don’t want to underwater, then overwater. Trust me, they won’t like that.

Tip #4: Stake your vegetable plants.

There are plants that cannot support themselves, like vine tomatoes, cucumbers, peas and pole beans. Provide a cage, stake, or trellis that will help keep them off the ground. Keeping vegetables off the ground, keeps them from getting dirty, rotting, or getting pests.

Tip #5: Mulching is a great tip, too.

Don’t forget to mulch. Mulch comes in many forms. It will serve as a protective covering that will also reduce evaporation, maintain the soil temperature, enrich the soil, and prevent it from weeds.

Vegetable gardening is a wonderful idea! Plus, at the end you can reward yourself for achieving the successful garden you’ve wanted. Aside from that, you’re also giving your family the best vegetables in the town! Sit back on that patio, slice that tomato, and enjoy looking over your vegetable garden!

Achieving Successful Vegetable Gardening

May 11, 2009 by Vegetable7 Leave a Comment

We all want to save even a single cent on buying foods at the market, right? Especially nowadays with the economic situation. One way to save more money, with the consideration of quality and nutrients your family must have, is to have your own vegetable garden.

Before you plant, think of the variety of vegetables your family enjoys eating. It would be a good start for choosing the right seed for the right season. Consider the following information on planning a vegetable garden.

Sun light is very important when growing plants. The usual required range per day of sunlight is about 6 hours, but there also some plants that need 8 hours. Also, maximize your vegetable garden space by planting quick growing plants, such as, radish and lettuce in between other vegetables, that take a while to mature (example: beet and corn).

During dry season, be sure to water your plants more often. Keep in mind that plants benefit from an inch of water every week, most especially during there stage of fruiting.

Watch out for pests and other insects that may destroy your vegetables. You have a better chance of saving your vegetable plants, if you found out about it earlier. Unless it is absolutely necessary, do not use pesticides or insecticides with chemicals. It will affect the quality of your vegetables. Since organic gardening uses environment friendly methods, use organic pesticides or insecticides. It’s safer for you, and your food.

Taking care of your vegetables, also, means protecting them from wandering animals. You can build a fence that will serve as protection for your garden from your pets like cats, dogs, rabbits and others. The damage done from those wandering animals could be equal to the amount it costs to build a fence. Especially, when you consider how much work you do in the garden. Plus, fences double as a great trellis or support for growing peas, beans, tomatoes and other crops.

To achieve the plentiful vegetable garden, protect your plants. After all, you want your hard work to be rewarded with a successful vegetable garden.