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Herbs & Vegetables
Herbs and vegetables that you grow in your
own garden are fresher and cost less than
those you purchase. These gardens can be
planted in a single container, in a small
plot next to a doorway or patio, or in a
small to large garden in your yard. You can
grow only what your own family plans to eat,
or you can plant enough to share with the
neighborhood. If you want home grown vegetables
all year, plan ahead for canning and freezing.
Most herb and vegetable gardeners grow their
crops from seeds they either start ahead
indoors or sow directly into the ground.
Seeds allow you to choose from a wide range
of varieties that are often not locally available.
It is best to buy fresh seeds each year so
that you know the seeds are clean, disease
free, and viable. Seeds can be purchased
from garden centers, seed catalogs, or online
sites. Seed packets are inexpensive and easy
to ship.
Locate your garden on a site that is well
drained and gets 8 to 10 hours of sunlight
a day. You want a loose fertile soil, so
add organic matter to lighten heavy clay
soils. Raised beds make the best herb and
vegetable gardens. Depending on what you
are growing, you may want to add lime, compost,
and/or fertilizer.
Time the planting of your seeds depending
on what you are growing. Very hardy crops
such as spinach or lettuce can be planted
as soon as the ground can be worked. Frost
tolerant vegetables usually like the cooler
temperatures of early spring and fall. They
can be planted 2 to 3 weeks before the average
date of the last frost. These cool season
vegetables include carrots, radishes, beets,
and many herbs. Vegetables that need warmer
weather and soil temperatures are beans,
melons, corn, tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers.
Plant the seeds in either straight rows or
small mounds of earth. Space the seeds evenly,
and make sure you plant them at the proper
depth. Gently water them in. When the seeds
have germinated and produced small seedlings,
thin the plants so that they do not crowd
each other out. Give the vegetable plants
adequate water. It is best to thoroughly
soak the soil down to about 6 inches rather
than lightly sprinkling them. Watch out for
harmful insects. Apply pesticides only when necessary, and be sure to read
the accompanying directions carefully so
you know you are using them correctly.
It is important to weed your garden because
the weeds will compete with your plants for
nutrients and water. Mulching between your
plants will help reduce weed growth and moisture
loss. Although some gardeners used black
or clear plastic to mulch, organic materials
such as compost, straw, hay, leaves, grass
clippings, peat, wood chips or manures are
often more beneficial to the soil.
Remember that it is best to rotate
the positions
of various vegetables in your
garden from
year to year to prevent them
from getting
soil born diseases.
To learn more, see:
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