Vegetable Gardening

For all of you ladies that missed RaNae Foster's great demo on vegetable gardening, and those that have lost their notes, this is for YOU! These are notes I took so they might not be too organized but I'll try to make a method to my madness.

FERTILIZER

All fertilizer has 3 numbers (for the dummies like me out there). 1st : Nitrogen, 2nd : Pot Ash, and 3rd : Phosphorus.

:::Use Commercial fertilizer sparingly, it doesn't take much to get things going and you don't want to burn the veggie seeds before they even have a chance to germinate (or really burn them at any phase really)!

If you are transplanting (potted plants, spring starts from your green house or home) RaNae says Miracle Grow is a great starter. Sprinkle a little bit in each hole where a transplant is to go. 

Fertilizer by law carries a guaranteed 'N-P-K Analysis' -- a promise that inside the bag you'll get a certain percentage of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P), and Potash (K). All green plants need 13 minerals to grow. But three -- Nitrogen (for green leaves), Phosphorus (for strong roots) and Potash (also called Potassium, used for life processes and cell growth) -- are used a LOT. Since plants need so much of them, the theory goes, the plants will use all of them up. Your bag of fertilizer is supposed to replace used up N P K.

A plant with a lot of leaves is going to need a lot more Nitrogen than a plant with a few leaves. A plant that flowers will need more Phosphorous than a plant that is not producing flowers. So you can see that a bright green blade of grass is not going to need Phosphorous to make flowers or fruit.

If you are growing Vegetables -- Carrots, Tomatoes, Broccoli, maybe Basil or herbs -- you must separate these into the kind of plant you have. Chives and Basil are LEAVES, so a little Nitrogen is going to be great for them! BUT if you are thinking of using a bag of Scotts Lawn Fertilizer, make ABSOLUTELY SURE it does not have any weed killer mixed in. Because the weed killer will nix any chances of growing vegetables once you put it down.

SEED INFO

You can buy seeds anywhere. Park Seed Company, American Meadows...However you must plant the seeds the year they are purchased, there is an expiration date on the back usually. The reason for this is that there are micro-organisms that will eat up the inside of the seed leaving you with the shell and a useless seed if they are left at room temperature past the expiration date. If you wish to keep a storage of seeds beyond that year you may freeze them for up to 10 years, it's similar to yeast in that freezing them sort of de-activates them and keeps them from getting eaten out.

RaNae suggested storing regulars (that are in your garden year after year) in the freezer and rotating the oldest packs. 

If you are planting seed that have a longer gestation than our season it's best to start them about 8 weeks before the last frost in your home or greenhouse.

HOME STARTED PLANTS

If you are starting some plants early inside you'll want to give it enough room to grow for the next 8 weeks before they get out into the garden. RaNae suggested using peet moss plugs, or something equivalent. Park Seed sells a bio-dome kit that is supposed to be really good for plants started at home. When your spring plants start growing out of their peet plugs or the bio domes and there is a good stem, plant in a larger pot for growth. It's also great to plant in biodegradable pots as you can plant those straight into the garden when they are ready. 

Your plants are ready to set out to acclimate at about 50 degrees F outside. You'll want to pull them in at nights if it drops below 35 degrees. When the average night temperatures hit 50 then you are safe to plant (granted you don't think there will be any more frosts). 

When transplanting, put plant deep enough that dirt comes up to the  lowest leaves, this will excel the growth.

THE GARDEN

The first thing to do is plot out your garden on paper. Draw it out so you can visualize where everything will be going and catch any plants that might need to be moved before they go in the ground. See Below for the Veggie Companion Worksheet with tips on planting certain veggies. YOU WILL WANT THIS!

You'll want to prep the garden with compost and/or vegetable fertilizer so it has enough nutrients to sustain the vegetables and give off a good crop. If you are doing a raised bed you can put fabric down on the ground for weed control and then fill in with new dirt.

Once the bed is made, mark it out with stakes and string it so you have straight rows to follow for building your hills and planting the seed. Make all rows 24" apart with an exception for Squash, Pumpkins and Cucumbers. Once your seeds and transplants are in, label the plantings for your brain!

MAINTENANCE & HARVESTING

It is best to water in the morning as plants will wilt if you wait until the afternoon to water. When sowing seed directly, it is pertinent to keep the ground wet at all times during germination until plants are well established as the wind and sun will dry the seeds out quickly. Then you may cut back on the watering to once a day. For the most part, consider the package directions of the specific seed for germination and gestation time as well as for harvesting. On the chart above there are tips on some vegetables too. Good luck!