Veggie Gardeners Need Know-How To Succeed
March 29, 2010 in Gardening
Vegetable crops are a burgeoning trend in home gardens. Whether the trend lasts, however, may depend on how fast and how well novice growers pick up the basics.
“For example, most vegetable and fruit plants need from six to eight hours of sunlight every day. That´s a simple, well-known rule of thumb. Yet, new gardeners often break it by not thinking ahead. As they prepare soil or plant peas and potatoes in March, they forget that their yard´s bare trees will be creating good shade by May. The angle of sun will be different then, too,” said Ward Upham, horticulturist, Kansas State University Research and Extension.
Other novice mistakes relate to early spring´s typical weather – damp and cool.
“The easiest way to destroy soil´s structure is to work a planting bed while it´s wet. Doing so creates big, hard clods that require seasons, not months, to break down again,” Upham said.
One way gardeners can “manage” spring´s wet weather is to spread a tarp over their early-season planting area whenever rain is in the forecast, he said. They must remove the tarp between rains, however, to allow the area to continue to dry. Tarps can trap, as well as repel water.
Peas are about the only seeds that will simply wait – without rotting – if planted too early, Upham added. That´s why many gardeners try to identify the best time to plant other vegetables, using the Old Farmer´s Almanac, phase of the moon, outdoor temperature, calendar date or the like.
But, a safer approach is to use an inexpensive soil thermometer and a research-based planting guide (e.g., the chart at www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1061/ANR-1061.pdf).
Another easy-to-make spring mistake is to assume cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower transplants at a local nursery or garden store are ready to go in the ground. If the store´s personnel are pros, Upham said, they´re probably still protecting those plants – including the ones displayed outside.
“You need to harden them off for about a week, gradually exposing them to actual garden conditions. Start them in a protected, shady location and then move them into increasingly more exposed, sunny locations as the week progresses. Water only when needed and then space your plantings as recommended, not closer,” he said.
