Vegetable Gardening Tips

Here are a few random garden tips from Mary Beth Musgrove, horticulture associate with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System:

• Plant rows in a raised bed so when soil becomes saturated, plants in these rows will be elevated above the water and won't be subject to overwatering.
• Use straw as organic mulch instead of hay because hay tends to have more weed seeds. Mulch keeps the soil moist so that earthworms, millipedes, centipedes and microbes can move freely through the soil and help distribute nutrients.
• Use black plastic to cover raised beds. Black plastic will warm the soil and speed maturity of plants. On watermelons, cantaloupes and cucumbers, black plastic can speed up maturity two weeks. For tomatoes, it can speed up maturity 1 to 1 1/2 weeks.
• Black plastic should be removed when soil temperatures reach 70 degrees or higher. To prevent heat stress to plants during hot weather, replace plastic with an organic mulch.
• When using black plastic, use a soaker hose for best irrigation. An inexpensive soaker hose is available at most garden centers.
• Control weeds in the vegetable garden. Use other means of weed control such as mulching or mechanical means instead of using chemicals. When all else fails, pull weeds by hand.
• Get rid of hard-to-kill weeds such as bermuda grass and vines with a product such as Roundup pro, Kleenup or Blot-Out. Treat the garden when it's not planted for a crop.