When you first set out to grow a vegetable garden, it can seem like a daunting task. But the editors of the popular series of for dummies books are here to help. Authors Charlie Nardozzi and the National Gardening Association (U.S.) guide you through your first vegetable garden with Vegetable Gardening for Dummies. Planning Your Garden Vegetable Gardening for Dummies starts out helping the first time gardener to plan his or her garden. Planning is the key in nearly every home-improvement project, and planting a garden is no exception. From selecting a location for your garden to deciding on which vegetables to plant, Vegetable Gardening for Dummies guides you through the planning stages with ease. It is easy to follow with practical advice (such as which plants need more sun, and which vegetables should not be grown next to each other). They also tackle pest prevention, garden design, and how to work with the climate you live in rather than against it. What Vegetables to Grow Vegetable Gardening for Dummies understands that even with the best plan, you might not have a garden that produces anything anyone would want to eat. (and isnt that the goal of the garden to begin with?) So the next section of Vegetable Gardening for Dummies guides you through the most popular and easy to grow vegetables for the new gardener. Tomatoes are first up, as they are often the most popular vegetable for backyard gardeners. Varieties, growing tips, pests, and recipes are all included. Vegetable Gardening for Dummies also covers growing other popular garden vegetables, such as peppers, eggplants, carrots, potatoes, peas, and beans. Vine vegetables, corn, herbs, and easy to grow fruits are also included. The Basics of Gardening Possibly the most helpful chapters of Vegetable Gardening for Dummies are in the final third, which covers the basics of gardening. There is a chapter which outlines how to actually plant your vegetables (whether they are seeds or seedlings) and care for them as they start to grow. Soil types and fertilizers are also covered, as is directions for making your own compost. Related Post: How to Handle and Apply Pesticides Safely 4 Ways To Reduce Traffic Noise In Your Yard The best tools for you garden and weed and pest control each have their own chapters as well. Finally, Vegetable Gardening for Dummies covers the basics of maintaining your garden so that you can enjoy the vegetables you have grown. Each section is easy to understand, and has tips that will help out anyone, whether they are starting their first garden or have been gardening for years. Vegetable Gardening for Dummies is a book that no backyard gardener should be without.
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So, you’re looking to get started in container gardening, but you don’t know what to grow? We can help! Here is a list of five edible plants that grow well in containers. 1. Herbs If you don’t have much experience with container gardening, herbs are hands-down the best place to start. With a little care and nurturing, you can keep a basil plant alive on your kitchen windowsill through a winter, and it is even easier to plant a container bed with several herbs at once to thrive through the summer months. I always start my herbs from seedlings. If you have an urn or windowbox, consider planting several varieties side-by-side. I keep basil, parsley, chives, tarragon, oregano, and thyme in mine. Find out what you use most! 2. Tomatoes Depending on how much space you have, you can opt for the right style of tomato plant for you. If you are limited in space, you can grow cherry tomatoes in baskets: they’re both decorative and tasty. Good varieties to try for that include Florida Basket Tomatoes and Anmore Dewdrop Tomatoes. If you have more space, you can upgrade to larger tomatoes in pots and planters of five gallons or more. Roma tomatoes grow very well in pots. Remember to stake and water well, and you can get a great harvest. Trellises in Container Gardens 3. Radishes Radishes can be a lot of fun to grow, especially with children, because they are very quick to grow and don’t need much space. You can plant them in a windowbox or a little planter and have a harvest in 3-4 weeks! Moisten the soil in a pot, plant radish seeds, and cover with 1/4 inch of soil. Cover the pot with plastic wrap until the seeds sprout. 3 weeks after that, your radishes will be ready to eat! 4. Lettuce Lettuce is a pretty plant, and works well as combination vegetable and ornamental container plant. I like to plant it in windowboxes, for a nice bit of greenery. They don’t need too much depth, but be sure to space the plants adequately. Following the instructions on the package should be fine. One advantage to lettuce is that you can find good partial shade varieties, which can help if you don’t get much direct sun. 5. Squash In my experience, summer squashes are a terrifically forgiving plant. You need a good-sized pot for container squash, but if you get a pot of around five gallons or more and try to keep them watered, you can get a fabulous crop from them. Keep in mind, squash plants (especially zucchini) like to spread out and fill space. You need to either prune them back or be prepared for crazy trailing leaves and vines. How to Handle and Apply Pesticides Safely Nearly any vegetable you can grow in the ground can be grown in a container, provided the container is big enough. These suggestions should help you get started, but feel free to experiment on your own and find what works best for you. Good luck! Managing small spaces for gardening always requires some ingenuity. When you are growing vegetables, and looking to fit large harvests into a smaller footprint, it becomes important to plan carefully and design your container garden to maximize your available space.
One way to get more from a small area is to grow vertically, rather than horizontally, by using poles and trellises in your container garden. Many vegetables are climbers by nature, and well suited to trellises or poles. Peas and beans fall into this category. You can buy bush varieties of peas or beans, but even the bush varieties will usually benefit from staking. The best yielding pea and bean plants tend to be the vining varieties, which can grow to 8-foot vines laden with pretty leaves and plump pods. Cucumbers and miniature pumpkins are other good vining plants that will appreciate a trellis. These heavier plants will often need a sturdier trellis than peas or beans, to support the weight of the vines and the vegetables themselves. You can also sometimes find vining varieties of other plants, such as eggplant and summer squashes. You can use some real creativity with trellising, especially in a container garden. If you wish to make effective use of a wall space, you can mount a simple inexpensive flat trellis on your wall and let beans or teas climb up it. The vines will climb to decorate your wall like ivy, with little flowers and bright leaves, and the produce will be easy to access. You can also buy freestanding trellises for placement around your patio. Bear in mind that if you plan to place a trellis in a container, the container must be large enough and have sufficient weight in the base to resist tipping over. Plan for a deep container, and be certain to place the trellis securely. Related Post: How to Handle and Apply Pesticides Safely One of the more dramatic trellises for placement in a container are pyramid trellises, which can be placed in the center of a large container. If you start with a container of 24 inches or more , you can plant a pyramid trellis in the center. By training beans up the plant and growing lower-profile plants such as herbs or salad greens around the trellis, you can maximize space for produce and make a dramatic statement. Note that trellises don’t need to be expensive. You can buy simple unframed trellises at your local lumberyard for well under $20, and you can build your own pyramid trellis by building a teepee of gardening stakes and winding rings of twine or fishing line around them. A little creativity and effort can turn raw materials into an attractive and functional trellis. Don’t be afraid to try unusual things in your container garden! An old ladder, leaned up against a wall, can make an attractive trellis. If you are using a shelf for your pots, try letting yoru peas climb the shelf itself. Old chairs, railings, or any piece of furniture can be used as a support for vining plants. The only limit is your creativity! |
AuthorI'm Kenneth Evans. I've been taking care of lawns since I was eight –that was over 40 years ago. Archives
August 2020
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