It’s hard not to be enticed by vegetable seedlings if you stroll
through the garden section of your local garden center. But even if
you’ve never grown your own vegetables before, it’s not too late to
get started.
It’s hard not to be enticed by vegetable seedlings if you stroll through the garden section of your local garden center. But even if you’ve never grown your own vegetables before, it’s not too late to get started. In fact, with our long summer growing season, you can start vegetable transplants anytime from now until the end of June.
Yet, don’t make the beginning gardener’s biggest mistakes when starting your own vegetable garden. Here are a few tips to avoid common pitfalls:
No. 1. Make your garden the right size. If you don’t know the difference between a tomato seedling and a pepper transplant, you don’t want to start too big. In fact, you may want to grow your vegetables in containers. Containers take the amending out of the soil. Specifically, you don’t have to haul organic compost, peat moss, soil conditioners, etc., into your yard to improve your soil. No back-breaking digging adobe-hard ground. Instead, buy a few containers (or use any large containers you already have), fill them with commercial potting soil and plant your transplants.
Practically any vegetable that can be grown in the ground can also be grown in a container. The exceptions are things like corn, which should be planted in rows with lots of plants for needed pollination. Just make sure to start with a good sized container – I would say it should be at least 16 inches across and 16 inches deep.
If you do want to plant in the ground, amend your soil. As mentioned, dig in almost any organic supplement – from organic compost to steer manure to mushroom compost to, you get the idea. It’s also advisable to plot your future garden on graph paper to at least have an idea of what you want to grow and where. Which brings us to:
No. 2. Chose a sunny location. Most vegetables need six to eight hours of direct sun a day for best results. Leafy greens like lettuce and spinach can thrive with less. It’s easy with containers because you can simply locate your container on a sunny patio or place it in the hottest part of the garden.
No. 3. Easiest to grow. The most popular home-grown vegetables by far are tomatoes. Any first-time gardener’s garden has to contain at least one variety of tomato. Cherry type or larger varieties like Early Girl, Ace and Big Boy are among the most popular. Peppers, cucumbers, squash and green beans are also among the most popular vegetables to grow on your own. If you want to grow your own salad, don’t forget the lettuce. Lettuce can even be grown in shallow window boxes since they don’t require a lot of room for their roots. Speaking of room, you might want to avoid corn, squash or pumpkins unless you have a lot of room for these space hogs.
No. 4. Actual care. Water, fertilizer and pest control. These are the big three when it comes to growing anything successfully. Don’t let plants completely dry out, but don’t keep them too wet either. Once vegetable plants are established, watering twice a week is usually enough. Container-grown vegetables may need additional water, such as every other day. Container vegetables also require more fertilizer than ground plantings. Almost any type of fertilizer will do, including granular, timed-release or liquid. Timed-release fertilizer includes products like Osmocote. These pelleted granules will slowly release fertilizer all season long. However, you can also supplement timed-release fertilizers with liquid fertilizer like Miracle-Gro.
Keep any eye out for pests, particularly snails. Bait or hand pick as needed. Fungus diseases should also be guarded against. Spray if necessary for diseases like powdery mildew or rust.
