By Amanda Moon.
Vegetable gardening has seen such a resurgence in popularity over the last few years. With so many new gardeners out there, and with spring finally in the air, it seems this is the perfect time for a refresher course on the basics of vegetable gardening.
To begin with, site selection is one of the most important decisions that you’ll make. Most vegetables need at least 6-8 hours of direct sun each day. Whether grown in beds or pots, the absence of sun will result in leggy, unproductive plants.
Keep in mind how the sun shifts throughout the year, and the leafing in of the deciduous tree canopy in the late spring and summer. Also, the flatter the garden the easier it is to uniformly water everything. Create terraces if your only sunny choice is on a slope.
The next decision is what to grow your veggies in: a raised bed, or plant them straight into tilled ground. Take into consideration the type of soil in your yard, drainage, how much you want to grow, and how much time you have to spend in the garden.
Gardening on flat soil, tilling up the original ground, is the quickest way to get started if you have some depth to your soil. Raised beds are a necessity for many in the Austin area because of our shallow soil. You can easily build one out of anything that will hold dirt, from rock and lumber to galvanized tin or cinder blocks. (Avoid treated railroad ties or telephone poles.)
Another thought is ease of harvesting. If bending over is taxing, then raised beds or containers may be the best option.
Soil is the next important consideration. If you’re tilling up the ground, you may be able to just work in lots of compost and get planting.
For those of us without that luxury, the choices can be daunting. For smaller raised beds or containers a combination of a good quality potting soil, garden mix and compost from bags is probably the easiest way to go. (I am a Metro Mix fan.) If you’re planning a larger scale raised bed system, then the most economical approach is to buy soil in bulk.
Look for a high quality garden blend - something that is not mostly topsoil and sand. The way to calculate how much soil you need is to multiply L (feet) x W (feet) x D (inches) / 324 to get the cubic yards required to fill your new beds.
Vegetables need more water than flowerbeds and during the summer may need to be watered every day. A mulch of pine straw, weed-free hay and or newspaper will help to conserve moisture and keep down weeds.
Fertilizing is also critical for good production as many vegetables require lots of “juice” to reach their potential. I always start with a round of manure compost and granulated organic fertilizer in the planting holes and then foliar feed with an organic spray (like seaweed or Hasta Grow) every few weeks throughout the season.
Compost alone is not always enough, especially in raised beds or containers where the soil can be depleted of nutrients faster than in the ground.
A few final tips to get you started:
Deer, rabbits and birds (and dogs) love gardens. Physical barriers are the best prevention.
Stay on top of the weeds; they can get out of control in a hurry.
If you have the space, crop rotation is important for keeping plant specific soil diseases and pests from gaining a foothold in the garden.
Lastly, don’t forget to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Gardening is hard work, but the rewards can be amazing. Nothing tastes better than a home grown tomato, or fresh corn straight off the plant! Even okra is great raw when eaten straight out of the garden.
Have fun, try new varieties and even an exotic recipe or two. The sky’s the limit when you get to choose what you grow.
Happy Gardening Everyone!
If you have a gardening question, send it to Chris or Amanda at [email protected], or mail your letter or postcard to: It’s About Thyme: 11726 Manchaca Road, Austin, TX 78748
