Archive for the ‘vegetable gardening’ Category

You know things are changing when gardening is highlighted in the New York Times Dining And Wine section. People are discovering they can garden and grow their own vegetables, even organic ones, for just pennies.

Marian Burros the author of the article says the major seed companies and garden centers have seen a 30-40% increase in the amount of vegetable seeds and plants sold this year. With the cost of gas affecting grocery costs it’s no surprise.

One interesting point was many of the people gardening this year were first timers.

Well, if you happen to fit in the first time gardener category welcome aboard. There’s all sorts of ways to grow vegetables no matter the size of your yard or balcony or patio

Read more here

Technorati Tags: gardening, vegetable gardening, first time gardeners

Getting Your seed to sprout, is only the first step in the game; they must be provided with the means of immediately beginning to grow.

This means that they should not be left to germinate in loosely packed soil, full of air spaces, ready to dry out at the first opportunity, and to let the tiny seed roots be shriveled up.

The soil should touch the seed – be pressed close about it on all sides, so that the first tiny tap root will issue immediately into ideal surroundings where it can instantly take hold.

Such conditions can be found only in a seed-bed fine but light enough to pack, reasonably rich and sufficiently moist, and where, in addition to this, the seed has been properly planted.

Try to never let the soil become crusted, even if there is not a weed in sight. Keep the soil loosened up, for that will keep your garden growing very nicely.

You should sow from the end of March to the beginning of May, or when plum and peach trees bloom, the following:

Beet, Cabbage, Carrot, Cauliflower

Celery, Endive, Kale, Kohlrabi

Lettuce, Onions, Parsley, Parsnip

Peas, Radish, Spinach, Turnip

Water-cress

Sow from the beginning of May to the middle of June, or when apple trees bloom, the following:

Beans, Corn, Cucumber, Squash

(Melon, water), (Melon, musk), Pumpkin

Tomato, Okra

The planting depths and spacing is critical when it comes to planting your garden… Every veggie has a different depth and space needed to grow as big as possible. You will find that some like to be crowed and others need plenty of space. You want to make sure that you give them the appropriate amount of space so they all get food and water.

You want to be able to get to the vegetables without walking on the plants. You also do not want to walk on the soil that you plan to use to plant.

Some plants also tend to take an abundance of water and feed from the soil, so you will want to have them isolated from the other plants.

Remember that a majority of your seeds will not bloom; so seeding heavy is okay when it comes to things like lettuce, where the seeds are very small. You may want to sprinkle some food on top lightly so that the seeds have a better chance of making it.

However, if you have already fertilized the land, you do not need to add the food!

1. While planning your vegetable garden, consider what and how much you will plant. In selecting a site or plot, consider the exposure to sunlight. It is important to consider also the different sunlight requirement for different vegetables. Leafy vegetables can be grown n partial shades but vegetables with fruits must be grown in direct sunlight.

2. Proper soil preparation provides the basis for good seed germination of garden crops. The ideal vegetable garden soil is deep, well-drained, moisture retentive and has high organic matter content. Soil should not be worked or plowed while it is very wet. Different types of vegetables would require varying degrees of soil acidity and this is measured by pH and must be adjusted accordingly.

2. In buying vegetable seeds, be mindful of the germination qualities, tendencies towards insects , vigour of plants etc. This provides useful benchmarks as you can determine whether the varieties are suitable or not for your gardening style or your area, or whether a particular seed company is not meeting your needs. You will be better prepared for the next planting season.

3. In sowing your seeds , you may want to plant extra seeds in each row in case of failed germination and thinning. It is important to keep soil moist until the seedlings are up. Thin them only after the seedlings have emerged and developed their second or third set of true leaves. The best time to thin is when the seedlings are still small as this will not disturb the roots of the plants.

4. The amount of fertilizer to use depends on the natural fertility of the soil, the type of fertilizer, the crop and the amount of organic matter present. The best way to determine fertilizer needs is to have the soil tested.

5. To manage pest control in your garden, start with ensuring that plants are healthy and growing well. Use plenty of compost, practise crop rotation and ensure adequate drainage. Remove vegetable refuse from the garden. Increase bio-diversity by planting only small quantities of the same vegetable in any one place. Encourage natural controls such as birds, toads and parasitic insects.

6. To ensure success in growing vegetables is to plant or transplant each crop at the best times for each locality. Vegetable crops may be grouped roughly and sown according to their hardiness and temperature requirements.

7. Weed control is essential in successful vegetable gardening as weeds can rob cultivated plants of water, nutrients and light. It is important that the soil is hoed or cultivated after each rain or irrigation to kill the weeds that have sprouted.

8. Regular watering is essential to maintain a healthy garden. Gardens in most areas would require a moisture supply equivalent to about an inch of rain a week during the growing season. An inch of rain is about 28,000 gallons on an acre or 900 gallons on a 30 x 50 feet garden.

Raised beds make gardening easier in many ways. They help you solve difficult issues with your soil, they aid in controlling pests, they improve the amount of produce you can harvest in an area, they’re great at reducing weeds, and they help conserve water.

Any plants that love well-drained soil can benefit from being grown in raised beds. You don’t have to raise just vegetables. You can also easily grow herbs, fruits, and flowers in raised beds and make your job easier.

Read all Here–>

Technorati Tags: raised garden beds

March in the Garden
Regional Gardening Tips

Right
about now, many of us are wondering if spring will ever come. I can
smell the first whiffs of springtime mud and I’m fighting the urge to
shovel the remaining snow off my vegetable garden and plant some peas.
A regional gardening calender for the month of March can give you
general tips on what to plant and what to wait for, but spring in the
garden is unpredictable and won’t be hurried. Gardeners will have to
use some common sense. Take advantage of warm days, but don’t trust
your coddled seedlings to a weather report. And try not to do too much
walking on wet soil. That will only compact it and make it harder for
plant roots to breathe and grow. Here are some reminders of what you
can be doing in the garden in March, now that winter is on its last legs.

Read more on March in the Garden here

Technorati Tags: vegetable gardening, spring gardening

This is a good tip, and will work for many other pests in your vegie garden. Don’t know about you but before I started my vegie garden there wasn’t a pest in sight, they were all lurking over the fence I think. Hope this tip helps you out too. I found it here

Japanese beetles on beans

Q: Japanese beetles are eating my climbing green-bean vines. What would you suggest I use to get rid of them?

A: If you have time and patience, pick them off and smash them or drop them in a can of soapy water.

An organic-spray option is to treat the plants with neem oil or with the new VeggiePharm, which has a variety of mint oils that beetles don’t like. Garden centers should have one or both, and they’re both labeled for use on edibles.

A third option is temporarily covering the plants with floating row cover. These light-weight blankets let air and sun through but exclude flying bugs like Japanese beetles. Smack the plants around a little before draping on the row covers to make sure the plants are beetle-free. The cover won’t do much good if you’ve trapped feasting beetles inside. A few garden centers sell these, and they’re also available through a variety of garden-supply catalogs (www.gardeners.com, www.gardensalive.com, www.planetnatural.com) and even some seed catalogs

Technorati Tags: garden pests, pests in the vegetable garden, vegetable gardening