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Alexandru Flore helps food distribution to the poor.

Vegetable garden planting

497871110 58f4584b3a m Vegetable Garden Planting Secrets

Vegetable garden planting involves more than putting seeds in the ground. Preparing the planting bed, selecting seeds, and deciding when to plant come first.

Will you sow seeds—and then thin them—or will you try transplants? This decision, among others, is up to the gardener.

Preparing the planting bed

Before planting any vegetables, prepare the soil. This includes cultivating properly, adding organic matter, and maintaining soil fertility.

Remove sticks, stones, and other trash. Also remove plant debris that may harbor insects and diseases. Pest-free plant debris can be tilled into the soil.

When breaking ground in the spring, do not spade or till when the soil is wet. If worked when too moist, heavy soils become hard, compacted, and will limit growth for the entire season. And,

If a handful of the soil can be pressed into a ball, delay tilling or spading until it is drier.

Using vertical space

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Vegetable gardening is a relaxing hobby that produces real benefits. You can grow a vegetable garden right in your own backyard. Corn, peas, carrots and lettuce are only some of the plants that will blossom in your care. However, there are secrets to producing a long, healthy vegetable crop.

Spacing
To maximize your vegetable garden's potential, limit the space between plants. This gardening secret from Better Homes and Gardens suggests creating a box that is 3 to 4 feet wide. Use a grid pattern to keep the plants organized and in a controlled growing area. This also allows the soil to stay in place and not fall. With a gardening box you can also add vertical supports easily when the vegetables begin to grow.

Vertical Crops
An untold secret of vegetable gardening is that some plants grow better with vertical support. Using a fence or any other vertical structure allows plants to produce more vegetables per square foot. Also, when vegetables grow above ground they tend to catch fewer plant diseases. Tomatoes grow well above ground. Likewise, vine-type cucumbers grow well with fence support. Sugar snap peas are also vining varieties and grow easily on tall supports up to 6 feet tall.

Succession Planting
The secret to extend your vegetable growing season is by succession planting. You should plant vegetables that only produce for a short time. However, the secret is to plant fewer seeds each week for a longer time. Corn is an ideal vegetable to try this method because it usually produces all at one time. So instead of planting all of your corn seeds at once, plant 10 seeds each week for 4 weeks. This extends your corn harvesting because you will have ripe corn every week for a month. This secret also works for heading lettuce, radishes, and carrots.

Companion Planting
Companion planting, also known as the "buddy system," allows plants to benefit from each other. This gardening secret from organicauthority.com suggests planting different vegetable varieties near each other. The right combination of plants can help limit plant diseases and keep harmful insects away. A great idea to use this secret is planting sun-loving crops near those plants that like shade. Planting spinach between peppers works because the peppers love sun. The peppers will shade the spinach from the sun. This will also extend your spinach-growing season. This idea also works for celery and leeks, and corn and potatoes.

Encourage Bugs
This gardening secret from Cornell University reveals that some insects can actually help vegetables grow. Encourage insect eating bugs into your garden like lady beetles and predatory flies. Some other "beneficial" insects are spiders, predatory mites, and ground beetles. These insects will kill garden pests, and keep your plants healthy.

19 months ago

nice

19 months ago

Very beautiful blog, loved to read

thanks for sharing

19 months ago