Vegetable Gardening

Planning a Garden

There is a lot of time, effort, and organization that must go into planning a garden in order for it to be a success and what one wants it to be, but with hard work and the proper procedures it will pay off once everything grows in well.

One important factor is where to put the garden. This could be somewhere that has enough room for the plants to grow and get the shade and sunlight requirements needed. This usually takes some time, and thoughtful consideration.

In planning a garden one must decide what plants are to be planted. A great time to figure out what to plant is in the winter so there is plenty of time to order the seeds and get ready to start the garden before the growing season begins.

Another important factor to keep in mind in deciding where to put a garden is the soil type. Some soil is like clay, some sandy, some silt, or a combination of these. This is important because it will determine how the water drainage is in soil and the water requirements. This can be determined by taking a soil test and feeling a sample taken from the area.  

When planting the seeds, they should be organized in a certain and simple fashion. They should be planted in rows and each kind should be kept together in their own row, so not to get confused with other plants.

Before starting the garden, one should draw a layout on the computer or a piece of paper. On this drawing of should be included the measurements of the garden. This will leave less room for error in gardening. All this taken into consideration should give one an idea of the amount of fertilizer needed and requirements to make this a great and flourishing garden that will have much success in yielding the plants and desired crops.

Why Grow Your Own Food?

 

Growing your own garden provides many benefits to yourself and to your well being, as well as environmental benefits, it promotes food safety, and will most importantly, save money.

 

Freshness

I'm sure you've heard it before, "fresh is better", "You can taste the difference."  But what's all the hype about?  There are several reasons for this.  First, there's no travel time, from your garden to the dinner table.  Vegetables are allowed to ripen on the vine, not in the back of a freight truck.  This also means, the vegetables will have better nutrients.  As soon as plants/vegetables are picked or cut, the nutrient value decreases.  The longer the wait, the lower the nutrient value, which brings us to the most important reason for growing your own garden.  Taste.  Because vegetables have a higher nutrient value, fresh vegetables are better for you, and really do taste better.

Food Safety

Some of the most common concerns about food safety with vegetables, are concerning chemical uses on plants.  However, by growing your own food in a garden, you, the homeowner, decide whether or not to use pesticides.  Even if a pesticide or herbicide is needed, you have the chance to research products, and decides which is beneficial, and what chemicals will be the safest.  That peace of mind in knowing what has been used, and how it's been used.

 

Environmental Benefits

When you grow your own vegetables, you're reducing the carbon footprint on the world, as well as reducing air and water pollution.  The ecological footprint is rated on how carbon emissions compare to, and interact with human demand. (The pressure on food sources) Since 1961, the worlds carbon footprint has increased 11-fold.  However, by providing your own food resource, you are reducing the use of fossil fuels used in transportation, as well as chemical uses, overall reducing water and air pollution.

 

Personal Benefits 

Starting, and tending to a garden can take time, and a little bit of work.  One of the greatest personal benefits from starting a garden is the learning experience.  You learn about growing cycles, different types of plants, and even problem solving.  In doing this, you get plenty of exercise, which is always beneficial to a persons health.  This activity and time spent working the garden, will cause you to eat healthier.

 

Economical Benefits

According to researches at Burpee Seed Company, a home garden can result in a 1:25 cost saving ratio.  In a practical situation, that's $50 of seed and fertilizer, that produces $1,250 worth of vegetables.  Starting a garden is easy, and seeds are inexpensive.  On top of that, gardens require little maintenance, usually 3-5 hours for a small garden. (1,500 sq. ft.)  Also, by having a garden, you're overall making less trips to the grocery store, saving money on fuel.  And in order to continue the savings throughout the growing season, and even out of season, canning and freezing produces is another option that will provide you with cheaper, and better tasting food, even after the growing season is over.  Combining all of these factors will save tons of money, and provide you with lots of fresh vegetables, and a healthier lifestyle.

When to start planting?

  Below is a chart, for 18 of the most common vegetables grown by homeowners.  This chart below identifies the crop, the days to maturity, both fall and spring planting dates, as well as planting depths and distances.

Crop	Days to Maturity	Spring Planting Dates	Fall Planting Dates	Seed/Plants 100 ft.	Distance Between Rows	Distance Between Plants	Depth to Plant
Asparagus	2nd season	Jan. 15-Mar. 15	Nov. & Dec.	50 roots	3 to 5 ft.	1½ to 2 ft.	6 in.
Bean, bush	50-60	Apr. 1 - May 1	July 15-Aug. 20	½ lb.	3 ft.	2 to 4 in.	1-1½ in.
Bean, pole	65-75	Apr. 1-May 1	July 15-Aug. 10	½ lb.	3 ft.	6 to 12 in.	1-1½ in.
Bean, lima	65-75	Apr. 1 - June 1	July 1-Aug. 1	1 lb.	2 to 2½ ft.	3 to 4 in.	1-1½ in.
Broccoli	60-80	Feb. 15-Mar. 15	Aug. 1-Sept. 1	100 plants	2½ ft.	14 to 18 in.	-
Cabbage	65-80	Jan. 15-Mar. 15	Aug. 15-Oct. 1	100 plants	2½ ft.	12 in.	-
Cantaloupe	80-90	Mar. 25-Apr. 20	Not recommended	1 oz.	4 to 6 ft.	3½ to 4 ft.	1½ in.
Carrot	70-80	Jan. 15-Mar. 20	Aug. 20-Sept. 15	½ oz.	2 ft.	2 to 3 in.	½ in.
Corn	80-100	Mar. 15-June 1	June 1-July 20	¼ lb.	3 to 3½ ft.	12 to 18 in.	2 in.
Cucumber	60-65	Apr. 1-May 15	Aug. 20-Sept. 1	1 oz.	3½ to 5 ft.	3 to 4 ft.	1½ in.
Eggplant	75-90	Apr. 1-May 15	July 10-15	50 plants	3 ft.	2½ to 3 ft.	-
Lettuce	60-85	Jan. 15-Mar. 1	Sept. 1-Oct. 1	½ oz.	2 to 2½ ft.	10 to 12 in.	½ in.
Onion (mature)	100-120	Jan. 1-Mar. 15	Sept. 1-Dec. 31	300 plants or ½ gal. sets	1 to 2 ft.	3 to 4 in.	¾ in.
Peas	60-80	Jan. 15-Feb. 15	Not recommended	1 lb.	2½ ft.	1 in.	1½-2 in.
Peas, southern	60-70	Apr. 1-Aug. 1	-	½ lb.	3 ft.	4 to 6 in.	1½-2 in.
Pepper	65-80	Apr. 1-June 1	-	50 plants	2½ ft.	1½ to 2 ft.	-
Potato	70-90	Jan. 15-Mar. 1	Aug. 1-Aug. 15	1 peck	2½ to 3 ft.	10 to 14 in.	5 in.
Potato, sweet	90-150	Apr. 15-June 15	-	100 plants	3½ ft.	12 in.	-
Squash	50-55	Apr. 1-May 15	Aug. 1-20	1 oz.	3 to 4 ft.	2 ft.	1½-2 in.
squash, winter	85-90	Apr. 1-Aug. 1	-	½ oz.	5 ft.	3 ft.	1½-2 in.
Tomato	70-85	Mar. 25-May 1	June 1-Aug. 10	50 plants	3 to 4 ft.	2½ to 3 ft.	-
Watermelon	80-90	Mar. 20-May 1	Do not plant	1 oz.	10 ft.	8 to 10 ft.	1½ in.