How To Make Vegetable Gardening

 

Vegetable Gardening

 

There seem to be 2 groups of gardeners out there. Those folks who just like to grow things, just for the sheer enjoyment of being in the soil and nurturing the plants along for the summer. And those folks who cook with, preserve, and give away the food produced by their gardens - enjoying the culinary side of vegetable gardening.

 

But, no matter which group you're more a part of there's no denying that vegetable gardening is a fun activity and very productive in more ways than one. There's tons of information on veggie gardening out there, but we hope to bring you some useful information here at Home Garden Journal.

 

Vegetable-Gardening.

kids in the garden for some people, having children in the garden is a horrifying thought. Young children will step on (or sit on), seedlings. They will plant seeds too deeply or not deep enough, drown the results; then quickly become bored, and finally get stung by a wasp or bee. Why then, involve kids in gardening? Because including them can teach them, (and you), valuable lessons that will last a lifetime.

 

Face it: Gardening with children has its own unique challenges. These situations can be handled by an impatient, grumpy adult who just wants to get the job done, (which isn't fun for anybody), or by someone who patiently sees beyond the mess to the humor of telling the tale in their old age.

 

Children are children. They are not miniature adults. They will be distracted by a butterfly and follow it across the garden, stomping on seedlings along the way. Gently remind them about the seedlings, but allow yourself to enjoy the enchantment in your child's face. Think about this: In the end, unless your family is on the verge of starvation, a few dead plants here and there aren't going to make that much of a difference. Allow for that when you plant your garden and you'll be more prepared for the eventual mishap.

 

Another challenge to consider is attention span. Depending on the child, you may have to introduce them to gardening in 15-minute increments. As they mature, you can increase the time they spend in the garden.

 

If your child gets bad sunburn on their first day of gardening, they may not look forward to their second day. If applicable, make sure your child is wearing sunscreen and a hat, even if the weather doesn't seem too hot. In addition, make sure that if the gardening session is going to be extended, cold drinks, snacks, and other needed items are nearby. By being prepared to keep the child comfortable, you can make gardening a more enjoyable experience, for both of you.

 

Give Them Their Own Tools

If you are using a shovel or hoe, your child will likely want to use it too. Make sure they have their own child-sized tools for digging, weeding, or other jobs. For very young children, you might want to let them use plastic tools instead of metal ones.

Give Each Child His or Her Own Space

 

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If possible, give each child aspace to call their own and let them plant whatever they want. Good plants for children include greens such as lettuce, spinach, and kale. Radishes sprout quickly, and children delight in finding the hidden food in the ground. Peas are a great crop for children, since they sprout quickly, can be harvested by early summer, and can be eaten directly from the garden. Sugar snap peas are one of my own son's favorites.

 

When including children in gardening tasks, remember that the main goal isn't necessarily getting the job done as efficiently as possible, but rather to give the child an experience that they can draw on in their future. If you keep these points in mind, gardening with children can be a success.

 

The memories you create by working outside in a lovely garden will be worth far more than any produce you get from it. Encouraging a child's sense of wonder in being part of the circle of life is a life lesson far more important than getting a few home-grown carrots or potatoes by the end of summer.

Not Sure What's Sprayed on the Veggies in the Supermarket? Grow You're Own!

 

 

Asian-vegetable-marketThe fruits, berries, and fresh vegetables on display at your local supermarket often come from large farms that use toxic pesticides, herbicides, and other harmful chemicals (unless you're buying certified organic). They look beautiful as a result of using chemicals to keep them abnormally "fresh". And large, agribusiness veggie processing can travel thousands of miles and go through many hands, so fresh produce that looks beautiful may actually be contaminated with dangerous bacteria. Although modern food safety practices are getting better all the time.

 

So what's the solution? The only way to truly know what is, and is not, on or in your food is to grow it yourself. Growing your own vegetables is not as daunting as it sounds if you take it one step at a time.

 

First Step: Planning and Preparing

Once you've decided you'd rather know where your food came from and how it was handled, you need to decide how much of your resources you want to dedicate to a garden. Resources include land (or space for containers), money, work, and time. If you've never had a garden before, start slowly, with only a few varieties of vegetables. If you begin too fast and plant too much, you may find that you don't have enough time or energy to care for what you've planted.

 

Start by digging up a small plot. Take a good look at the soil. Is it dry and sandy, or heavy with the orange tinge of iron compounds? Either way, you will likely want to enrich your garden by adding compost. This can consist of a mixture of shredded brown leaves, well-rotted horse manure, grass clippings, and finely chopped vegetable leftovers from the kitchen.

It can be tempting to skip this step, since digging can be hard work, and you don't see immediate results. However, keep in mind that preparing the soil properly before planting is an investment that can benefit you for years to come.

 

Second Step: Planting and Care

Once your soil is ready, plant a few different vegetables according to the directions on the seed packages and water accordingly. Leaf crops like lettuce, kale, and spinach are easy to care for and generally sprout within a week or so, giving you a quick return on your investment. Radishes sprout almost overnight and are a great choice for a beginning gardener.

Zucchini and other squash generally thrive in any sunny place, so soil conditions such as pH aren't a concern. On the other hand, tomatoes usually need staking and are susceptible to mildew, pests, and other concerns, and generally are more of a challenge for a beginning gardener. (Although if you love tomatoes; go ahead and try a couple of plants - even one good tomato for the summer is a great reward, especially knowing you grew it yourself.)

 

Third Step: Harvest and Enjoy

This is the reason you started digging in the first place: the harvest. Enjoy your fresh vegetables, grown by your own hand. Feel secure in the knowledge that you know exactly what was - and was not, sprayed on your food. Then start planning for next year.

Wilting Zucchini - Two Possible Causes

 

 

Over the summer so far I've lost a couple zucchini plants to pest attacks. Not knowing at first what was going on I did some searching for other gardeners that might have this problem.

 

Apparently, there are 2 possible causes for wilting zucchini (and other squash-related plants). One is the squash vine borer, Melitta cucurbitae, and the other is simply known as the squash bug, Anasa tristis. Both will cause the wilting and eventual death of the plant.

 

Initially, the plants look like they're seriously lacking water. Your first thought might be to water your garden extra well. I had even tried putting up a sunshade over a few of my zucchini plants - an old door suspended on sawhorses. Adding some shade for the plants in the 99+ degree heat did help a little at first. But, when the temperatures would drop at night the plants wouldn't rebound, even with a lot of watering.

 

Another sure sign you have a sick plant(s) is that there are other, healthy plants around it. Here you can see my wilting zucchini right next to healthy, vigorous plants. Something is definitely wrong:

 

After seeing that the stems were rotting I decided to just pull them out. Away from the garden I dissected them a little more and found the offending bug, a grub of the squash vine borer:

 

 

I skewered the grub and put the whole plant into the trash can. I generally like to compost all the leftover vegetation from the garden, but I didn't want any leftover eggs to get back into the garden. Sadly, I decided to landfill this plant material.

 

 

Vegetable-Gardening

If you can catch and treat your zucchini quick enough you might be able to save it. Usually, by the time most people notice the plant is wilting it's too far gone. The treatment for squash vine borer it to kill the grub, usually by carefully splitting the stem open lengthwise with a knife, and killing the insect. Dirt can then be mounded up around the stem to encourage new root growth. I did not try this myself as my plants were too far gone. But, next summer I'll definitely keep a closer eye on things and jump into action sooner.

 

As for squash bugs the U. of Minnesota advises to handpick the insects off as early as possible. Have a jar of slightly soapy water next to you to plunk them into. Boards can also be placed on the ground next to the plants. The bugs will shelter under the boards at night. Pick up the boards in the early morning and squash them. Then in the Fall make sure to remove all vegetation from the garden so they don't have a place to overwinter under.

 

If you're ok with using chemicals then Sevin might be an answer for you. Please do thorough research before applying poisons to the vegetables you and your family are going to eat. Personally, I'd rather forgo eating zucchini for a year than have any pesticide in my garden. If you're feeding these veggies to kids I would definitely not use any pesticide or herbicide in your garden.

 

Over the summer so far I've lost a couple zucchini plants to pest attacks. Not knowing at first what was going on I did some searching for other gardeners that might have this problem.

 

Apparently, there are 2 possible causes for wilting zucchini (and other squash-related plants). One is the squash vine borer, Melitta cucurbitae, and the other is simply known as the squash bug, Anasa tristis. Both will cause the wilting and eventual death of the plant.

 

Initially, the plants look like they're seriously lacking water. Your first thought might be to water your garden extra well. I had even tried putting up a sunshade over a few of my zucchini plants - an old door suspended on sawhorses. Adding some shade for the plants in the 99+ degree heat did help a little at first. But, when the temperatures would drop at night the plants wouldn't rebound, even with a lot of watering.

 

Another sure sign you have a sick plant(s) is that there are other, healthy plants around it. Here you can see my wilting zucchini right next to healthy, vigorous plants. Something is definitely wrong:

 

After seeing that the stems were rotting I decided to just pull them out. Away from the garden I dissected them a little more and found the offending bug, a grub of the squash vine borer:

 

I skewered the grub and put the whole plant into the trash can. I generally like to compost all the leftover vegetation from the garden, but I didn't want any leftover eggs to get back into the garden. Sadly, I decided to landfill this plant material.

 

Container gardening is a perfect solution for all those people who want to grow vegetables at home but they either lack the garden space for it or they believe that they don't have the enough sunlight exposure and soil conditions. Container herb gardens are actually growing more popular and if you can find a spot on the porch, patio or even a windowsill that gets a little bit of sunlight then you can easily find the best vegetables to grow in pots.

 

Another benefit of organic vegetable gardens is that even if the sunlight exposure or soil is poor, they can be changed. The vegetable plots can be moved to different locations and you can employ various self-irrigation and watering techniques. You can create container herb gardens for a number of vegetables like beans, lettuce, radishes, onions, squash, tomatoes, and peppers in addition to many others.

 

In addition to about 5-6 hours of sunlight and adequate water, your vegetables will also need some shade so that they don't dry up. Don't use direct garden soil because it will become compact in the container and it might have garden weeds as well. Instead, try to use organic potting soil since it is reported to have more phytochemicals and antioxidants that give vegetables a better taste. This soil will need to have organic fertilizer as well (if it does not already have some). You can also use compost tea or diluted liquid fish emulsion for extra nutrition.

 

All organic vegetable gardens need to have a drainage system as well so make sure that the pots you get for the purpose has a hole in the sides or at the bottom to allow excess water to get out and not drown the plant. Bigger containers are also better because they can hold more soil and moisture; anything under 12 inches is small while something around 18 inches is quite appropriate.

 

People with container herb gardens love to keep wooden pots because of their rustic look. In addition, self-watering containers are growing very popular as well especially for people who have problems keeping track of the watering schedule. However, some self-watering pots can be a problem too, especially when it rains a lot because the plants will get a lot of water and they can get soggy or drown.

 

Other possible materials for pots include plastic or glazed ceramic or even terracotta. If you really want something low-priced, then some of the best vegetables to grow in pots are done in plastic buckets bought from any hardware store. You can also choose from seeds or seedlings even though the former will be cheaper but harder to manage and grow. Nevertheless, organic vegetable gardens can be fruitful and a lot of fun so don’t be afraid to give it a shot and enjoy homegrown vegetables.

Make Your Own Containers.

If you can't find a container - make your own. Hypertufa has become very popular in the last few years as a material to make a garden pot and containers out of. Hypertufa is a mixture of cement, perlite, and peat moss (and water) to make a mix that can be molded into many different shapes. Making hypertufa containers is an art in itself. Papercrete is similar to the hypertufa idea, only shredded newspaper is used in place of the perlite and peat moss.

 

You can make your own EarthTainers and "earth boxes" out of Rubbermaid-type containers. Their designs are a little more involved than simply making a large pot, but you can grow some pretty impressive veggies in these sorts of containers. Here's the pdf version for making your own EarthTainers.

The Satisfaction of Growing Your Own.

A trip to the grocery store can leave the average city dweller dreaming, "If only I had a yard large enough for a vegetable garden." The enjoyment that accompanies picking a fresh tomato from a vine or snipping an herb grown by your own two hands is not one reserved only for those with ample yard space, however. Whether you have a patio, balcony, or simply a window ledge, vegetable container gardening can be a reasonable option for those with limited yard space.

 

vegetable container gardening there is no specific rule when deciding on the best vegetables for containers. All plants need enough room to grow: some more than others. It may help to figure out how much space you have before choosing your vegetables. Once you know what you have to work with, you can decide on something as simple as a flower pot for a cherry tomato plant, or something like a raised bed garden for cucumbers which like the room to spread out a bit.

 

There are also specifically bred "mini" varieties of vegetables that tend to not only thrive in small spaces but also look appealing. One example is a cherry tomato plant; fantastic for container gardening, needing a container about the size of a typical flower pot.

Anyone who has grown tomatoes at home knows that the taste is incomparable to those purchased at the grocery store. It is as if tasting a completely different vegetable. A container with a tomato cage or some sort of support for growing vines will guaranty a ripe supply of tomatoes with limited care. Just water daily, if possible, and provide ample sun.

 

Do not hassle yourself with what type of containers to use for your plants. They simply need to hold soil and have drainage holes at the bottom, which you can make yourself. The size will matter, so do not plant eggplant seeds in a soda can. Most seed packages come with detailed instructions as to how much room they will need to thrive. You can purchase regular flower pots or use something as simple as a 2-liter soda bottle, cut in half. Do not be afraid to experiment.

 

If your space is limited to a window sill, container herb gardens can be wonderful if you cook with herbs frequently. Parsley, basil, chives, and thyme are very popular grown in small pots and window boxes. Start looking at your empty containers differently. They may be home to an abundant vegetable crop next season!