June 10, 2006
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Choosing Your CropOnce you've selected your garden spot, you can start choosing the vegetables you want to grow. However, your local climate will determine when you can plant your seeds. You can find the information you need regarding when to plant on the back of your seed packets, and on many agricultural websites. Remember that some vegetables need to be started inside before they can be transplanted outdoors. Cool Versus Warm Planting periods are determined by your choice of cool-season vegetables and warm-season vegetables. Cool-season vegetables are generally not harmed by light frost, but won't do well with extended periods of warm temperatures. They can usually be planted earlier in spring. Warm-season vegetables generally need a soil temperature of at least 50°F and can be killed by frost, so they need to be planted a little later in the season when there is no more danger of frost.
Preparing the SoilYour soil must be the right temperature and consistency for planting. Soil that's too wet, too cold, or too warm (depending on your plants or seeds) won't produce a good crop. Before you plant, use a shovel to remove grass, weeds, and rocks from your garden plot. In addition, turn over the soil to break up any big lumps.
Get Your Vegetables in a RowYou can plant however you wish, but to get the best results, consider planting in rows or raised beds. Planting in rows is the more traditional method, and rows are easy to organize, maintain, and plant. Raised beds use space more efficiently, and you might not have to weed as much. However, raised beds take more initial time and money to prepare. Whichever route you take, make sure when you're planting to walk around the perimeter of your garden or in the pre-made walkways to avoid damaging your plants.
Hoe, Hoe, Hoe: Your vegetable garden will need regular upkeep and removal of weeds to thrive. Weeds reduce the available nutrients, sunlight, soil, and space your plants need. There are many different ways to control weeds in your garden—including pulling, hoeing, and herbicides. You can also try to stop the weeds before they start. A nice trick is to plant vegetables that suppress or shade weeds, which prevent further growth. You could try cucumbers, tomatoes, and squash. For this to work properly, it's best to make sure your suppression (or shading) vegetables have become established in the garden before weeds start to arrive.
Steer clear of those expensive seed starter pots and use egg cartons. The carton, paper or foam, can be used to start seeds. The wells aren’t very deep, so you have to keep that in mind when starting your seeds, but they work really well with small sunflowers, herbs, tomato seeds, etc. When you are ready to transplant your seedlings into the garden, it is easy to just peel away the carton, protecting the delicate seedlings from being yanked from a regular pot. You can also cut the paper egg carton into separate cups and just plant the seedling, paper cup and all.
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