Planning a Vegetable Garden
It is important when you start to plan a garden, to know what you want the garden to do.
For instance, if you are hoping to feed a family of four all year round, you will need to plan a garden that is approximately 100 square meters of space (not including
walking paths) that produces more than once. If you live in a cold climate, you will not be able to grow year round. So asking yourself a few basic questions is a good way to start. Where do you Live? Climate can be broken down into three basic categories when planning a garden. Cold, temperate and tropical/sub-tropical.
Of course there are many shades of climate in these categories and only you can determine exactly how where you live, fits into the mix. What will grow Where? Different plants have different requirements so take that into consideration when doing your vegetable garden planning. Plants like beans, broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, cauliflower, turnips, onions and peas grow best at temperatures between 10-20C. These plants prefer a cooler time of the year to grow
and will usually tolerate frost. Vegetables like cabbage, carrots, radish, parsnip, leek, lettuce and celery have intermediate temperature requirements. They will grow best in temperatures between 15-25C and they can be fussy. Grow them out of season and they may run to seed without producing anything for your
kitchen table. Warm season vegetables grow best in temperatures above 20C and will die if exposed to frost. These include corn, capsicum, potato, tomato, eggplant and beans and all the vine crops. So
make sure the majority of their growing season is in the warmer months. To help with your planning, I've developed a range of sowing guides (www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com/sowing-guides.html).
The guides indicate which months are the best for sowing popular vegetables and how many weeks growing you
have before harvest. A few other considerations... - Protect your plants from harsh winds. Cold winds will stunt growth, hot winds will dry the soil and harm the plants, strong winds will make them break. If you don't have a natural sunny
protected corner in your garden, prepare a windbreak of garden lattice or slatted timber.
- Make sure your vegetable garden gets plenty of sunshine...at least 5 hours a day of direct sunlight.
- Make sure your taller plants don't block the sunlight for the smaller plants. Consider planting your garden rows in a north to south aspect so all rows receive equal amounts of sun during the day.
- If you are planning to plant successive crops, rotate where you plant what. Different plants take different things out of the garden soil. This will also reduce the potential for a particular type of pest or disease to take hold in your garden. Keep replenishing your compost and mulch!
- Water, water, water, water, water! Vegetables need water to grow and lots of it. A drip water system is best to give the plants a good, deep soaking and to discourage leaf fungus. This will encourage root growth. Do NOT let your garden bed dry out. Your no dig garden will have good drainage anyway, so keep it wet and top it up with mulch to keep the moisture in.
- Vegetable plants should grow quickly to produce well. Water, sunshine and fertilizer all have a role. If your plants aren't sprinting ahead, then they are lacking something and your results will be disappointing. Find out what it is and fix it.
By following these simple vegetable gardening tips, your no dig garden will be off to a flying start. Spend some time to work out what you will grow over the growing season that you have available to you. Then back time the weeks you will need to grow your seedling before planting. Judy Williams (http://www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com) splits her time between being an executive and an earth mother goddess. No Dig Vegetable Gardens represents a clean, green way to grow your own food. The site covers all aspects of growing, cooking and preserving your harvest.
Related News
Garden diary: Gardeners, Get your tetanus shots - The Star-Ledger - NJ.com
Garden diary: Gardeners, Get your tetanus shotsThe Star-Ledger - NJ.com, NJ -21 hours agoThe classic tetanus-inducing mishap is stepping on a rusty nail, but landscaping and yard work actually account for about a third of the cases reported in ... |
Bay and beyond Clear your head. Gape at the view. Get some ... - San Francisco Chronicle
Homeowners mix vegetables and flowers to save money - Laconia Citizen
ROTARY ANNS’ OPEN GARDENS CULMINATING AT THE EXCEPTIONAL LE DOMAINE! - My Pressportal (press release)
Reaping the rewards - Lake Oswego Review
Lake Oswego Review |
Reaping the rewardsLake Oswego Review, OR -5 hours agoDennis’ Seven Dees Landscaping and Garden Center in Lake Oswego is alive with color, and ideas. Assistant Manager Nicole Forbes encourages locals to enjoy ... |
Leaving green: Saving water starts with innovative landscaping - Salt Lake Tribune
A Sustainability That Aims to Seduce - New York Times
A Sustainability That Aims to SeduceNew York Times, United States -21 hours ago... from strict conservationism — the Hillan-Robertson project is typical of an emerging movement in environmentally conscious landscape and garden design. ... |
Price back in the saddle as agricultural extension agent - Palestine Herald Press
Western Trade Days lengthens schedule - Denton Record Chronicle
Western Trade Days lengthens scheduleDenton Record Chronicle, TX -11 hours ago... clothing, furniture, jewelry, gardening and landscaping products, kitchen items and food vendors. The location also features the Tioga Heritage Museum, ... |
August beautification award winners announced - Emporia Gazette
August beautification award winners announcedEmporia Gazette, KS -6 hours agoThe garden shed is used for many gardening projects. A snowball bush, a lavender chrysanthemum and perennial hibiscus planted around the shed bloom ... |
|
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How to Grow Cooking Herbs
Grow your own cooking herbs to add fresh zest and flavor to your menus year-round!
Gardening Tips for Early - Mid July
Now we are fast approaching the hottest time of the year, there are still some things that can be done in the garden. Below are a few gardening tips for those that love the summer warmth. For you who aren't particularly appreciative of the hot hot, then do your gardening chores early in the morning.
Orchid Care - What The Leaves Tell Us
Orchid Care Leaves Tell Us About Orchid Health
Teak Garden Furniture: A Natural Extension of the Home
In the past, the garden has traditionally been a separate entity, with wrought iron or plastic furniture dotting the landscape in no particular design pattern. Seen as simply a place to have a picnic or, perhaps, read a book on a nice day, attention wasn't given to the fact that the garden is a natural extension of the home.
Fountains of Refreshment
When hot, sticky days hit, try to use all your senses to keep cool. Sight and sound have amazing psychological effects, even when the thermometer soars.
About Window Ledge Gardening
The growing of flowering or foliage plants on window ledges is a form of gardening in which most people can indulge. Those who live in flats, and others who have no gardens, and especially invalids who are confined to their rooms, derive an enormous amount of pleasure from this form of gardening.
Release Some Tension...Spend Some Time In Your Garden
Gardening can be one of the most rewarding and relaxing hobbies that you can engage in. Picture a beautiful spring day, the sweet smell of grass in the air and you get to go out and work the soil and prepare your garden.
Pond Filter
A pond filter is one of the most important components for your pond, without one your pond water would get really mucky. The kind you need depends on its size and whether or not you have any fish.
Choosing Garden Furniture
No matter how pleasant a garden is, it is not being enjoyed to its full extent if there is no where for visitors to sit and admire the beauty of the garden. Luckily, few gardeners are willing to sacrifice design for comfort and with the wide choice of garden furniture available today, it is rare to find gardens bereft of furniture. Garden furniture will if anything look great with just about any style of garden.
Tuberous Begonias
If you appreciate plants that have no hesitation in boldly stating their presence with huge, almost artificially perfect flowers, then tuberous begonias are for you. While some may find them rather too overstated, downright brazen even, if you like colour, and plenty of it, with subtlety an option rather than compulsory, then look no further.
5 Things To Consider Before Purchasing a Push Reel Mower
Push Reel Mowers are making a "comeback" of sorts, though, in reality they've never really left; they've just gotten better. There are a number of reasons why purchasing a reel mower would make sense such as: better for the environment; more exercise; lighter; and, better for the grass, to name a few. However, a push reel mower is not for everyone nor for every lawn situation.
The Care of Cattleya Orchids
Cattleya Care: a bit more in-depth.
A Few Simple Facts About Purple Martins
Purple Martins are the largest member of the swallow family.
However, in flight their wings are more triangular than other swallows.
Parsley: A Cooks Best Friend
A cook's best friend, Petroselinum crispum, commonly known as curly parsley, is used in myriad ways in the kitchen. Often discarded by diners as 'just a garnish,' parsley has many valuable nutrients including bet-carotene, calcium, iron, and Vitamins A and C in easily assimilated form. Parsley has a pleasant flavour and is often used as a breath freshener particularly after eating raw garlic and onions.
Spurce Up Your Garden With Decorative Birdhouses
Decorative Birdhouses are active garden ornamentation --the presence and movement of birds creates a fluid focal point for your garden. As such, placement is critical for you to earn maximum benefit from your birdhouses. Cavity nesting birds will not be attracted to your garden without the appropriate environment. Each bird has a particular way they want to live and specific needs.
Granite Flexible Preformed Rock Ponds
More than just a Preformed Pond
Ten Considerations Before You Buy A Bird House
When you decide to buy one bird house or more -- be aware that there are many designs being sold that are unsuitable for the birds. These houses may not attract any birds or the types of birds you wish, or they may actually be harmful.
Many are very cute and look like little decorated houses. There is nothing wrong with these, but they are usually more appropriate as indoor decoration than as good safe homes for wild birds.
Below is a checklist of the ten most important features of a good working bird house. Before you put a house out for wild birds, be sure it has these ten features. If it is decorative and still has these features, then it is fine to put it out.
Pruning the Backyard Grapevine
Proper pruning of your backyard grapevines is essential to maintain vine size, shape, and yield of the grapes. If you don't prune your vines, they will become unruly, tangled messes. Fruit ripeness will suffer. Overproduction of the vine may lead to premature death. It is also one of the harder things to visualize but one of the easier things to accomplish for the home gardener.
The Advantages of Silk Flowers
The silk flower is growing in popularity among young couples and families for many different reasons. Many event hosts or planners struggle over whether to choose fresh flowers or artificial flowers. Silk flowers are non-allergenic, will never wilt and can be maintained as keepsakes for years. There are many more positive effects in ordering or owning silk flowers.
Winterizing Your Pond
For many parts of the country, it's getting to be that time of year again. Time to start thinking about getting your fish and plants ready for old man winter...
|