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Lesson 1
Fresh vegetables are the best vegetables in my opinion. Granted it's only January, but the warmer weather will spring up faster than you think.
If you plan to plant either directly in your yard or in containers, use whatever daylight you can now to observe the parts of your property that get at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight.
I'm lucky enough to have a little bit of a front yard and back yard to dig up and plant with some vegetables. But I also grow some vegetables in containers. Containers are convenient. If you arrange them properly they can take up little space and provide you with a good variety of leafy vegetables.
There's plenty of vegetables to choose from on the foods list. The lettuces and spinach are some of the easiest ones to grow in containers. They also have a short growing time, so you'll be able to eat them faster. If you plant them successively (plant a row in week one, then plant another row on week 2 or 3), you'll be able to enjoy them for a longer period of time.
If you're new to container planting or to planting in general, start with a leafy lettuce or a spinach.
Herbs are dead easy to grow too. Most of them are "wastrel" plants, meaning they can survive harsh conditions like poor soil, dry soil, etc. In fact, once your herbs are established, you can affect their potency by the amount of water you give them. More water "waters" down their flavor. Less water makes the flavor stronger. If you do this just remember they do need water every so often.
Should you use seeds or buy seedlings? I use seeds for some plants, like the leaf lettuces, spinach, collards, kale, etc. I use seedlings for other plants, like peppers, tomatoes, eggplant because they take longer to grow and using seedlings gives me a head start.
If you use seedlings, you'll still have to transplant them to a larger container.
Choosing your container depends on the amount of space you have and the type of veggie you want to grow. I find that leafy veggies like spinach and the leaf lettuces do better in long rectangular boxes. Tomatoes and other bushy type veggies do better in round or square containers, one plant per pot. Herbs can be planted in just about any container.
When choosing a container, I've found that depth of the container is important. You don't want a shallow or small container because the plant roots will get cramped. So what do I do? On a packet of seeds, you'll find the "height" of the plant. Say the full grown height is 6 inches. I take that number and add 4. So I try to find a pot that's at least 10 inches deep. If you use seedlings, the plant tag will list its full grown height, try to get a pot that is about as deep as the plant is high. Granted this won't work for plants like cucumbers or some beans which have a tendency to spread, in those cases ask the garden manager at the store to help you out or if you're in doubt about the proper size container.
Containers are mostly made from clay or plastic. Clay is heavy and pretty. BUT, being a natural material, water can evaporate from the clay pot, so you might have to water more frequently in hotter weather. Plastic will keep water in. BUT this means that you have to ensure good drainage so the water won't accumulate in the pot and drown your plants.
Your soil options include using the soil in your yard or using potting soil mixes. Using the stuff in your yard is the least expensive option, but the major drawbacks are the quality of the soil and plant parasites. Some plants are picky. They prefer just the right amount of acidity in a soil, just the right amount of decayed material, and hardly any of them want soil parasites specific to plants.
Potting soil mixes are usually sterile and pH balanced. You can "pump up" the potting soil by adding additional nutrients like hummus and slow release fertilizer. You can increase the drainage of the soil by adding playground sand. When planting in containers, you need good drainage, so I add playground sand in a proportion of 1:10 (sand to potting soil).
Again the choice is yours.
Okay, so you have your vegetables, your container, and your soil. You know what part of your property gets at least 6-8 hours of full sun. What do you do now?
First of all, you have to prepare your container.
Materials:
container
soil
gravel
If you are using a plastic container, knock out the drainage holes in the bottom of the container. This is VERY important.
Layer in about an inch of gravel into the bottom of the container, trying not to completely cover the drainage holes.
Add enough soil until it is level with the top of the container. Lightly press the spoil down. Water to moisten it.
For seeds:
Check the planting depth guide on the package. For the seeds that need a "light covering" to 1/4 inch covering of soil, sprinkle the seeds on top of the soil. Take a handful of the soil in your bag and sprinkle it over the seeds until you get the recommended depth. Lightly press down with your hands. Water.
For seedings:
Dig a hole in your container approximately the width and depth of the seedling's pot.
Remove the seedling from it's container by putting your hand over the mouth of the container, gentley tapping the bottom of the container and turning it upside down. The plant should loosen and slip out.
Hold the seedling by the mainstem as close to the soil level as possible. Lower it into the hole you dug. Push soil around it making sure you don't pile spoil above your finger holding the mainstem. Gently press the soil down around the seedling and water.
For seeds or seedlings, water daily for the first two weeks. Then every other day for the third week. Then every third day or if the soil looks dry thereafter.
Next:
Thinning your containers.
Making your leafy vegetables last.
How much should you plant?
Planting in a strawberry pot.
Editing to add, I'm posting this in Food and Chat because we're growing food in our low carb garden!
Fresh vegetables are the best vegetables in my opinion. Granted it's only January, but the warmer weather will spring up faster than you think.
If you plan to plant either directly in your yard or in containers, use whatever daylight you can now to observe the parts of your property that get at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight.
I'm lucky enough to have a little bit of a front yard and back yard to dig up and plant with some vegetables. But I also grow some vegetables in containers. Containers are convenient. If you arrange them properly they can take up little space and provide you with a good variety of leafy vegetables.
There's plenty of vegetables to choose from on the foods list. The lettuces and spinach are some of the easiest ones to grow in containers. They also have a short growing time, so you'll be able to eat them faster. If you plant them successively (plant a row in week one, then plant another row on week 2 or 3), you'll be able to enjoy them for a longer period of time.
If you're new to container planting or to planting in general, start with a leafy lettuce or a spinach.
Herbs are dead easy to grow too. Most of them are "wastrel" plants, meaning they can survive harsh conditions like poor soil, dry soil, etc. In fact, once your herbs are established, you can affect their potency by the amount of water you give them. More water "waters" down their flavor. Less water makes the flavor stronger. If you do this just remember they do need water every so often.
Should you use seeds or buy seedlings? I use seeds for some plants, like the leaf lettuces, spinach, collards, kale, etc. I use seedlings for other plants, like peppers, tomatoes, eggplant because they take longer to grow and using seedlings gives me a head start.
If you use seedlings, you'll still have to transplant them to a larger container.
Choosing your container depends on the amount of space you have and the type of veggie you want to grow. I find that leafy veggies like spinach and the leaf lettuces do better in long rectangular boxes. Tomatoes and other bushy type veggies do better in round or square containers, one plant per pot. Herbs can be planted in just about any container.
When choosing a container, I've found that depth of the container is important. You don't want a shallow or small container because the plant roots will get cramped. So what do I do? On a packet of seeds, you'll find the "height" of the plant. Say the full grown height is 6 inches. I take that number and add 4. So I try to find a pot that's at least 10 inches deep. If you use seedlings, the plant tag will list its full grown height, try to get a pot that is about as deep as the plant is high. Granted this won't work for plants like cucumbers or some beans which have a tendency to spread, in those cases ask the garden manager at the store to help you out or if you're in doubt about the proper size container.
Containers are mostly made from clay or plastic. Clay is heavy and pretty. BUT, being a natural material, water can evaporate from the clay pot, so you might have to water more frequently in hotter weather. Plastic will keep water in. BUT this means that you have to ensure good drainage so the water won't accumulate in the pot and drown your plants.
Your soil options include using the soil in your yard or using potting soil mixes. Using the stuff in your yard is the least expensive option, but the major drawbacks are the quality of the soil and plant parasites. Some plants are picky. They prefer just the right amount of acidity in a soil, just the right amount of decayed material, and hardly any of them want soil parasites specific to plants.
Potting soil mixes are usually sterile and pH balanced. You can "pump up" the potting soil by adding additional nutrients like hummus and slow release fertilizer. You can increase the drainage of the soil by adding playground sand. When planting in containers, you need good drainage, so I add playground sand in a proportion of 1:10 (sand to potting soil).
Again the choice is yours.
Okay, so you have your vegetables, your container, and your soil. You know what part of your property gets at least 6-8 hours of full sun. What do you do now?
First of all, you have to prepare your container.
Materials:
container
soil
gravel
If you are using a plastic container, knock out the drainage holes in the bottom of the container. This is VERY important.
Layer in about an inch of gravel into the bottom of the container, trying not to completely cover the drainage holes.
Add enough soil until it is level with the top of the container. Lightly press the spoil down. Water to moisten it.
For seeds:
Check the planting depth guide on the package. For the seeds that need a "light covering" to 1/4 inch covering of soil, sprinkle the seeds on top of the soil. Take a handful of the soil in your bag and sprinkle it over the seeds until you get the recommended depth. Lightly press down with your hands. Water.
For seedings:
Dig a hole in your container approximately the width and depth of the seedling's pot.
Remove the seedling from it's container by putting your hand over the mouth of the container, gentley tapping the bottom of the container and turning it upside down. The plant should loosen and slip out.
Hold the seedling by the mainstem as close to the soil level as possible. Lower it into the hole you dug. Push soil around it making sure you don't pile spoil above your finger holding the mainstem. Gently press the soil down around the seedling and water.
For seeds or seedlings, water daily for the first two weeks. Then every other day for the third week. Then every third day or if the soil looks dry thereafter.
Next:
Thinning your containers.
Making your leafy vegetables last.
How much should you plant?
Planting in a strawberry pot.
Editing to add, I'm posting this in Food and Chat because we're growing food in our low carb garden!
)
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