Vegetable Gardening – Tips for Success
Joyce Simendinger, Tuscaloosa County Agent Assistant
What is more satisfying than plucking a red-ripe juicy tomato from home grown vines or snapping and cooking your own green beans to add to a steak supper? Now that Jack Frost has left the area, we can begin to plant these and the other tender vegetables that we love to grow in our home gardens. With a few gardening tips, a successful vegetable garden can be accomplished by following the acronym — GARDENING...like this
G = Ground site selection
Sunlight and Soil — Your first concerns. Determine how many hours of sunlight your garden location receives. Eight hours or more is best. Then determine the nutrient quality of your soil by taking a soil sample. This tells soil pH, the regulator of nutrient availability. If the pH is not correct for your plants, the nutrients can't be taken up through the roots.
A = Amendments
Organic Materials such as compost, humus (leaf decay), ground pine bark, and composted manure offer several advantages for the soil. They improve soil structure, loosen heavy soils or compaction, allow water to flow and drain well, add air space and feed the soil. Till, or dig it in, to an eight inch depth.
R = Raised rows or beds
Raised rows/beds promote deep roots and good drainage and are easier to weed and work in if you construct them to arm’s length. They can even be attractive. The rows should run north to south.
D = Drip line irrigation
Drip lines give you control of irrigation, lessen the dependency on rainfall, direct the water to the roots, help seeds germinate quicker, prevent disease from forming on the leaves, and give you time to do something else besides watering.
E = Environmental control of weeds with weed block / row covers
These prevent weed seed germination and vegetative growth. They keep the soil warm and the plants cool and lean, and help retain moisture. Use weed block also to prevent insects and diseases from moving to your plants.
N= Nutrition as in N-P-K
Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are all important elements needed for healthy plant growth. On fertilizer bags N-P-K percentages are listed as three numbers. Most vegetables grow nicely with a complete fertilizer such as a 10-10-10, 13-13-13, or 15-15-15 applied once a month. If you know your soil has high phosphorus content (from soil test results), then use a fertilizer without phosphorus, such as a 15-0-15.
I = Insects
To control aphids, spider mites, whiteflies, and spittle bugs, use a homemade control remedy of soapy (dish soap) water spray or commercial insecticide soap sprays. For caterpillars use a biological control called Dipel. For flying, creeping, crawling, chewing, and hopping insects, the chemical control Sevin is still available.
N = Nuisance disease pest management
Sanitation! Sanitation! Sanitation! Rotation! Rotation! Rotation! These are the two best cultural practices to prevent plant diseases! Keep the garden area clean! Remove dead, diseased, damaged plant parts, and keep the area weed free. If your plants become diseased, there are commercial vegetable fungicide sprays available. Know the disease identity so you can purchase the proper control.
Crop rotation means that for at least three years you don’t plant plants of related family groups into the same spot they were last planted. For instance, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and Irish potatoes are in the same family group. Therefore, for three years, none of these plants should follow in the same spot that any of them were last planted.
G= Gather your vegetables when ripe and enjoy!
Following these few tips, you should have a very successful gardening. Great Gardening to you.
Posted by smithkp at May 23, 2005 09:26 AM