Many of us buy our vegetables from supermarkets. With a little planning and some forethought it is possible to grow your very own vegetables. There are many vegetables that you can use, and there are some vegetable gardening tips that can help you to make the most out of your garden.
First off you need to decide where you will plant your vegetable plot. This section of the garden should receive at least 6 hours of sunlight. The more sunlight that your plants receive, they healthier and more fertile they will be.
For the best growth to be made, a good vegetable gardening tip is to see that your soil is a rich, sandy loam type of soil. If the plot requires more nutrients, then the addition of compost or manure will satisfy the problem. You will need to place the compost underneath and around your vegetables as well.
The best way to grow good vegetables and herbs is by planting your vegetables in rows that face a north to south direction so that they can take full advantage of the sunlight. Another vegetable gardening tip suggests that your vegetable garden should be on level ground with wide spacing between the rows. This spacing will help not only with the harvesting but also when you need to do some much needed weeding.
New and fresh seeds should be sown into the soil. The reason for this is that the older seeds will not germinate fully and your first crop will most likely fail or be malformed. Besides planting seeds in the garden, you can plant transplants as well. While the seedlings are growing, the transplants will give you some fresh vegetables early.
With a clear idea of the plants that you want, go to a gardening center and select your baby plants and fresh seeds from the center. As a first time vegetable gardener it is a good idea to get some vegetable gardening tips from experts. They will advise you how to plant your new vegetables in the garden.
Try planting your vegetable in some raised beds as well. Another way to maximize your vegetable crop is to plant different yet complementary plants next to each other. This way you have lots of different vegetables to harvest for your table.
Have one plot near your home so you can always grab a handful of your favorite vegetables quickly. Plant another bigger vegetable plot a little further away. This is a handy vegetable gardening tip that allows you to have lots of vegetables to choose from for your table, and also allows you the luxury of fresh vegetables even on a rainy day.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Monday, January 15, 2007
Growing Your Own Vegetables: Beans & Peas
Beans: Both pole and bush beans can be grown in most gardens. They grow well in almost any good garden soil and adapt to a wide range of climatic conditions.
Pole Beans begin to bear later than bush beans, but yield more heavily over a longer period of time. They grow best if the vines, which grow to heights of 8 ft., are supported. Rough poles placed in a tripod form are generally used, but the beans also produce well when they climb a fence, trellis, or a string arrangement. One pound of seed is enough for about 100 pole arrangements or 280 ft. of trellis or fence.
Bush beans have been a longtime garden favorite. They are easy to grow in almost any soil, mature early, and produce well. Beans can be harvested in less than 2 months and bear through a long season if kept picked. One pound will produce a row about 150 ft. long.
Plant seed when danger of frost is past in rows 20 to 30 in. apart for hand cultivation and a little further apart for field cultivation. Furrow the earth to a 2-in. depth and space the beans 2 1/2 in. apart. Cover the seed with fine soil and firm the soil over the seed with your foot. When the plants are 2 to 3 in. in height, they should be thinned out so they are about 5 in. apart in the row.
Peas: Peas are an easy-to-grow vegetable and will thrive in almost any average good soil, growing best during cool weather. Seeds should be planted as early as the soil can be worked. In order to maintain a continuous supply during the growing season, sow an early variety several times at 10 or 12-day intervals. In late summer, make another sowing for a fall crop.
Peas are often planted in double rows 3 in. apart, with spacings of seeds 2 in. apart. Seeds are placed in furrows and covered with 1 to 2 in. of soil. Space double rows a minimum of 24 in. apart. For the tall-growing type, a support must be provided for the vines. Supports may be netting, wire, or string.
There are many varieties of peas including the Sweet Early Green type. Of this variety an average packet of seed will sow 20 ft. of single row and 1 lb. will seed 100 ft. The main crop green pea, which matures from seed in about 80 days, is excellent for the home garden. The large pods grow 5 to 5 1/2 in. long, are almost round, and generally have eight to ten peas in each pod. They are excellent for eating, canning, and freezing. Vines grow to a height of about 26 in.
Pole Beans begin to bear later than bush beans, but yield more heavily over a longer period of time. They grow best if the vines, which grow to heights of 8 ft., are supported. Rough poles placed in a tripod form are generally used, but the beans also produce well when they climb a fence, trellis, or a string arrangement. One pound of seed is enough for about 100 pole arrangements or 280 ft. of trellis or fence.
Bush beans have been a longtime garden favorite. They are easy to grow in almost any soil, mature early, and produce well. Beans can be harvested in less than 2 months and bear through a long season if kept picked. One pound will produce a row about 150 ft. long.
Plant seed when danger of frost is past in rows 20 to 30 in. apart for hand cultivation and a little further apart for field cultivation. Furrow the earth to a 2-in. depth and space the beans 2 1/2 in. apart. Cover the seed with fine soil and firm the soil over the seed with your foot. When the plants are 2 to 3 in. in height, they should be thinned out so they are about 5 in. apart in the row.
Peas: Peas are an easy-to-grow vegetable and will thrive in almost any average good soil, growing best during cool weather. Seeds should be planted as early as the soil can be worked. In order to maintain a continuous supply during the growing season, sow an early variety several times at 10 or 12-day intervals. In late summer, make another sowing for a fall crop.
Peas are often planted in double rows 3 in. apart, with spacings of seeds 2 in. apart. Seeds are placed in furrows and covered with 1 to 2 in. of soil. Space double rows a minimum of 24 in. apart. For the tall-growing type, a support must be provided for the vines. Supports may be netting, wire, or string.
There are many varieties of peas including the Sweet Early Green type. Of this variety an average packet of seed will sow 20 ft. of single row and 1 lb. will seed 100 ft. The main crop green pea, which matures from seed in about 80 days, is excellent for the home garden. The large pods grow 5 to 5 1/2 in. long, are almost round, and generally have eight to ten peas in each pod. They are excellent for eating, canning, and freezing. Vines grow to a height of about 26 in.
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Growing Your Own Vegetables: Asparagus, Cabbage, & Sweet Corn
Asparagus: Asparagus grows best in fertile well-drained soil and, although it can be grown from seed, the general practice is to start the plants from purchased roots. Dig a trench at least 12 in. deep, fill the first 2 in. of the trench depth with well rotted manure, and then cover with 4 in. of regular rich soil. Place the plants 20 in. apart on top of this soil, with 24 in. between rows. Spread the plant roots flat, point the crowns up, and cover with soil to 3 in. below the ground level. Cultivate very lightly as the roots grow, and gradually fill the trench with soil to ground level.
Asparagus can also be planted in a 6-in. deep trench using the above method, filling the trench with a mixture of manure and soil. Do not cut asparagus until after the second season so the plants can store vitality for good continued growth. The plants are perennial, maintaining good production for a minimum of 15 years. They grow best in the central and northern sections of the country in locations where there is some soil freezing. Fertilize annually after cutting begins with a complete fertilizer (10-10-5 type) at the rate of 3 Ib. to a 40-ft. row. When starting plants from seed, use only the healthiest plants for transplanting. A light cutting may be made after the third year of transplanting and regular cuttings each year thereafter.
Cabbage: Cabbage is easily grown and all gardens except the very smallest should have a few cabbage plants. This vegetable may be eaten raw as coleslaw or cooked in many different ways. Cabbage requires a fertile soil or heavy applications of fertilizer high in nitrogen content for good growth. Some midseason and most late-season varieties make excellent kraut. All of the late varieties are good for fall use and winter storing.
For an early crop of cabbage, start the seed in a hotbed or greenhouse. For medium early cabbage, seed may be started in a coldframe or open-ground seed bed in the very early spring. Sow late cabbage for winter use in seed beds outdoors when the soil becomes warm. Be sure to give the cabbage plants plenty of water, especially during dry weather.
Sweet Corn: The home gardener should plant only hybrid sweet corn varieties - kept seeds do not always come true to the original hybrid seed. Do not keep corn seed for the following year plantings. Sweet corn is sweetest and best just as the silk blackens. Pick the ears in the late afternoon and cook them immediately. Harvest sweet corn immediately upon its reaching maturity as the sugar in the kernels rapidly turns to starch and the sweetness is lost. Corn does well in almost any good garden soil and can be grown in almost all parts of the country. Plant the seed after danger of frost is past in rows 30 in. apart, spacing the seeds 4 to 6 in. apart in the row. Cover the seeds with at least 1 in. of soil and later thin the plants to stand about 10 in. apart. Plant corn in blocks of at least four rows side by side, rather than in a single row, to insure pollination and full development of the ear kernels.
Asparagus can also be planted in a 6-in. deep trench using the above method, filling the trench with a mixture of manure and soil. Do not cut asparagus until after the second season so the plants can store vitality for good continued growth. The plants are perennial, maintaining good production for a minimum of 15 years. They grow best in the central and northern sections of the country in locations where there is some soil freezing. Fertilize annually after cutting begins with a complete fertilizer (10-10-5 type) at the rate of 3 Ib. to a 40-ft. row. When starting plants from seed, use only the healthiest plants for transplanting. A light cutting may be made after the third year of transplanting and regular cuttings each year thereafter.
Cabbage: Cabbage is easily grown and all gardens except the very smallest should have a few cabbage plants. This vegetable may be eaten raw as coleslaw or cooked in many different ways. Cabbage requires a fertile soil or heavy applications of fertilizer high in nitrogen content for good growth. Some midseason and most late-season varieties make excellent kraut. All of the late varieties are good for fall use and winter storing.
For an early crop of cabbage, start the seed in a hotbed or greenhouse. For medium early cabbage, seed may be started in a coldframe or open-ground seed bed in the very early spring. Sow late cabbage for winter use in seed beds outdoors when the soil becomes warm. Be sure to give the cabbage plants plenty of water, especially during dry weather.
Sweet Corn: The home gardener should plant only hybrid sweet corn varieties - kept seeds do not always come true to the original hybrid seed. Do not keep corn seed for the following year plantings. Sweet corn is sweetest and best just as the silk blackens. Pick the ears in the late afternoon and cook them immediately. Harvest sweet corn immediately upon its reaching maturity as the sugar in the kernels rapidly turns to starch and the sweetness is lost. Corn does well in almost any good garden soil and can be grown in almost all parts of the country. Plant the seed after danger of frost is past in rows 30 in. apart, spacing the seeds 4 to 6 in. apart in the row. Cover the seeds with at least 1 in. of soil and later thin the plants to stand about 10 in. apart. Plant corn in blocks of at least four rows side by side, rather than in a single row, to insure pollination and full development of the ear kernels.
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