Plant A Vegetable Garden

With spring just around the corner, it’s time to think about whether you should plant a vegetable garden this year! If you’ve never had an opportunity to plant a vegetable garden before, or even if you’re an old pro, there are some things to consider before getting underway with your project. You’ll want to take into consideration several basic things such as your growing zone, the location of your garden, supplementation of the soil, and the kinds of vegetables best suited to your weather and climate.

Though it is possible to grow a fantastic garden in pots, hydroponically, or to wedge some vegetable plants into an existing flower bed, most people choose to designate a part of their yard in which to plant a vegetable garden. But before you break out your shovel and start moving dirt, you’ll need to take a few factors into account. Begin by looking up your USDA growing zone on an up to date map, and be sure to look at a recent version, as these maps are often updated. This will give you a general idea of when your last day of frost generally occurs in the spring, and when the first day of frost in the fall happens. Then talk to or visit families in your area that plant a vegetable garden on a regular basis. They will be able to give you a good idea of the general conditions you’ll be working with and some of the best varieties of vegetables to plant.

Next, you’ll want to pick out a spot on your property where you can best plant a vegetable garden. You’ll want to find a spot that receives a minimum of 6-8 hours of sunlight per day, is protected from harsh winds, does not get too hot or too cold, is not too near large trees or bushes which may shade the garden too much or may invade the garden with their roots, and which is easily accessible. Finding an ideal spot can be a challenge, and if your property is too shaded, too rocky, or otherwise unsuited for a garden, you can look into community garden options in your area or other gardening alternatives, such as indoor gardening or container gardening.

Once you’ve got a spot picked out, it’s time to prepare the soil. Depending on your location, you may have a lot or only a little work to do. Common soil problems include too much clay, too much sand, too much acidity or alkalinity, or not enough moisture. There is one soil amendment which will help all of these issues: compost. adding compost to the soil will help fertility, keeps the dirt from getting too loose or too compact, and provides good drainage as well as a place for beneficial insects to live and provides a nice layer of mulch to protect a plant’s roots from temperature extremes. There are many other kinds of soil amendments, and care should be taken to properly build your soil BEFORE you plant a vegetable garden.

Once you have your soil ready, it’s time to plant! You may choose to sow seeds directly into the ground, or you can kick start the growing season by growing or buying vegetable plant starts. Either way, be sure to research the best vegetables for your soil and growing season. A tomato that grows well in Wisconsin may do badly in Arizona! With the growing popularity of heirloom vegetables and the further refinement of hybrids, there are more and more varieties of vegetables available for the home gardener each year. Seed catalogs are a good place to discover new varieties and to get a feel for their requirements.

Gardening is a very rewarding activity that, if done properly, will provide your family with lots of healthy, tasty, and inexpensive food. The key to growing a vegetable garden that your friends and neighbors will envy lies in planning and careful consideration of your environment and climate as well as proper selection of plant varieties. Even a small four foot square garden can provide a lot of food, and can be a rewarding way to get some exercise. So before spring passes you by,  look up your growing zone, find a perfect garden spot, add lots of compost and other amendments to the soil, and start reading up on vegetable varieties, and by summer, you could have a lush and bountiful garden!

Plant A Vegetable Garden

Planting A Garden In Pots

Planting a garden in pots can bring out the farmer in you. You take care of the plants from the time you plant them and over time, you reap the rewards in the form of flowers, fruits and vegetables. If you have a space constraint or not lucky enough to have an outdoor garden of your own, you can still have greenery around you by planting a garden in pots in a sufficiently open area like a patio, a balcony or a doorstep as these would provide the required space for a productive mini-garden. Moreover, the limitations of maintaining an outdoor garden such as poor soil conditions, pests and soil borne diseases can be easily overcome by planting a garden in pots or containers. Management of your greens is easier this way and a ready access to the pots save your time and serve as a fun learning process for your children!

Pot/Container Selection: Planting a garden in pots can be started by choosing the right kind of pot for your plants. Every plant has a different requirement but on a whole, almost any type of container can be used for growing your greens. Generally, a pot must provide proper physical support and good drainage. It is also critical to choose the right size of pot based on the size of the plant. The bigger the plant’s root system, the wider and deeper the pot should be. Planting a garden in pots give a visual punch to the ambience of your home. Earthen pots, bushel baskets, tubs, wooden boxes, pots made of thick plastic or simple plastic trash containers are the most commonly used mediums of growing plants. However, it is important that the pot drains sufficiently. It is considered best to have the drain holes located along the side of the container, about half an inch from the base of the pot. Planting a garden in pots is low on maintenance and high on rewards!

Watering: Proper watering is vital for a healthy and successful pot garden. In hot climates one needs to water the plants more often but usually, one watering per day is usually sufficient. However, what needs attention here is the drainage. Poor drainage slowly kills the plants and steals away it’s nutrition quotient. If the pot becomes water logged the plants will die due to lack of oxygen. As a solution to this problem ‘Water-holding gels’ are becoming popular nowadays for use in pot gardens. These are known as ‘Hydrogels’ which are starch based. It is suggested to mix the hydrogels in the soil before planting your greens. Another way to water your plants is with drip irrigation operated by an automatic controller. However, the people who have just started planting a garden with pots can do without any complicated mechanisms and stick to hand-watering their plants.

Feeding: When it comes to feeding, fertilization is essential for your plants as they would be growing in containers and cannot absorb the minerals and other forms of nutrition naturally available in the soil outdoors. The fertilizers available in the market will either be time-release or water soluble. ‘Time release’ fertilizer is mixed with the soil at planting time. ‘Water soluble’ fertilizer is added to the water and used only when the plants begin to grow. Plants require less water and fertilizers during the period of slow growth hence, it is good to keep an eye on the speed of growth of your plants in order to feed them properly.

Pests: Plants grown in pots/containers are vulnerable to the same diseases and insects that are common to the plants grown in any outdoor garden. Hence, it is necessary to keep a check on your plants for diseases and pests. For example, if mites or white flies attack, spray them away with insecticidal soap or other anti-bacterial solutions such as EPA-approved fungicides and insecticides.

Light: It is but natural that almost all plants grow best in full sunlight than in shade. However, leafy crops such as spinach, parsley, cabbage etc., are more shade tolerant. One major advantage of planting a garden in pots is that you can keep the plants in the areas where they can receive the best possible growing environment.

Try growing flowers, shrubs, crops etc., in pots and it can be very rewarding visually and otherwise.

Planting A Garden In Pots