ALWAYS ROOM TO GROW FLAVORFUL & NUTRITIOUS VEGETABLES WITH MELINDA MYERS
Melinda Myers has written over twenty gardening books , including Small Space Gardening . She hosts The Great Courses How to Grow Anything DVD Series , including Food Gardening For Everyone ( thegreatcourses . com / courses / how-to-grow-anything-foodgardening-for-everyone . html ), and the nationally syndicated Melinda ’ s Garden Moment TV and radio program . Melinda is also a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms Magazine . Visit melindamyers . com for more of her tips on gardening and landscaping .
Nothing beats fresh-from-the-garden flavour , and growing your own vegetables is easier than you think . Whether gardening on a large lot or small balcony , you can enjoy better-tasting , nutritious vegetables grown in a container , a vegetable garden , or a flower garden with flowers and other ornamental plants .
• Take a look at your favorite recipes and start planning ways to include some of the ingredients into your landscape . Look for planting opportunities . Maybe it is time to turn part of your lawn into a garden or switch out a few annual flowers for your favorite edibles .
• Include a few containers filled with herbs and vegetables on your balcony and patio garden . Not only can these edibles — mixed with flowers — look good , they also bring the garden right to your back door .
• Growing fresh ingredients near the space where you cook and entertain makes it convenient for you and fun for your guests . Just think what fun your guests will have picking a few fresh vegetables to place on the grill or garnish their burger . Or , imagine plucking a few sprigs of mint to add to an iced tea or a mojito .
• Grow any of your favorite vegetables in a flowerpot . Lettuce and other greens grow great in a window box while a single tomato will flourish in an eighteen- to twenty-four-inch flowerpot . Add a couple of herbs or flowers to your planters for additional color and flavour .
• Look for compact vegetables suited to growing in containers and small space gardens . Astia zucchini is a bush zucchini with attractive , silvery-green , deeply lobed leaves . French Mascotte is a fast-growing , compact plant with purple blooms and delicious , green snap beans . Patio Choice Yellow is just one of many compact tomatoes suited to container growing .
• Use a quality potting mix and containers with drainage holes . Get creative and turn a colander lined with sphagnum ( peat moss ) into a container of greens , or fill an old washtub with your favorite herbs . Incorporate a slow-release , lownitrogen , organic fertilizer into the potting mix at planting . Make a second application midseason as needed .
• Check your planters daily and water thoroughly whenever the top few inches of soil are starting to dry . Extend the time between watering with the help of self-watering pots . These containers have a reservoir that provides a constant flow of water for several days . Or invest in a drip irrigation system designed for container gardens .
• Those with a bit more room may want to add a few edibles to your mixed borders . Bright Lights Swiss chard ’ s colorful stems can add color and interest to the garden . Bold and colorful red cabbage leaves create a nice focal point in a container or garden . And tomatoes , eggplants , and peppers can easily be mixed with annual and perennial flowers .
• Don ’ t overlook edible flowers such as nasturtiums , daylilies , pansies , and pot marigolds ( Calendula ). Only eat flowers you know are edible and free of pesticides . Use these to dress up a bed of greens . Or stuff daylilies and nasturtiums with cream cheese for an appetizer . Freeze a few pansy flowers in ice and add them to a glass of sparkling water .
• Think function as well as flavour and beauty when planning your edible additions . A decorative trellis covered with climbing spinach , scarlet runner beans , or cucumbers saves planting space , decreases disease problems , and creates edible and decorative screening .
• Use vegetables and herbs to help fill in the voids in new or renovated gardens . By properly spacing your trees , shrubs , and perennials , you can save money on your landscape . But proper spacing of these young plants can leave lots of empty space in the garden . Fill in those voids the first couple of years with a few ornamental edibles . Include eggplant , peppers , and compact tomatoes in the middle or back of the bed . Use curled parsley and Freckles Romaine lettuce as an edging .
• Or add a bit of fun by growing a themed garden or container . Try a salsa garden filled with tomatoes , a few hot peppers , onions , and , of course , cilantro . Maybe it ’ s a pizza garden with Roma tomatoes , garlic , basil , and oregano for the sauce . Include a few peppers , onions , and slicing tomatoes for topping . Young gardeners may like to plant these ingredients in the shape of a whole pizza pie or a slice . And though we can ’ t grow cheese in the garden , a ring of marigolds will add color .
• Find the right place for your edibles to flourish . All vegetables produce best in full sun , but some — like lettuce , spinach , and other leafy vegetables — can grow in as little as four hours of sun . Radishes , carrots , and other root crops need at least four to six hours of sunlight . Tomatoes , broccoli , squash , fruit , and vegetables with edible flowers need at least eight ( preferably more ) hours of direct sun .
• Increase productivity with proper soil preparation . Adding several inches of organic matter to the top eight to twelve inches of soil prior to planting will improve drainage in clay soils and increase waterholding ability in sandy soils . Incorporate a slow-release , low-nitrogen , organic fertilizer for season-long benefits . Check plants midseason and make a second application if plants need a nutrient boost .
• Water new plantings thoroughly and often enough to keep the soil slightly moist . Gradually reduce the watering frequency to encourage the plants to form deep , drought-tolerant roots . On established plants , apply an inch of water once a week to clay soils and half an inch twice a week to fast draining soils . Adjust your schedule as needed , watering thoroughly whenever the top few inches of soil begin to dry out .
• Mulch the soil with shredded leaves , evergreen needles , or another organic mulch . A layer of mulch conserves moisture , suppresses weeds , and improves the soil as it breaks down . That means you will be watering less often , pulling fewer weeds , and improving the garden soil for next year .
• Harvest regularly for the best-tasting , most nutritious vegetables . This also keeps your gardens and containers producing and looking their best . Cut the outer leaves of leaf lettuce to keep the plants producing . Cut the main head of broccoli when the flower buds are blue-green and tight ; then wait and harvest the smaller side shoots throughout the summer . Pick zucchini when it is six to eight inches in length to maximise its tenderness for steaming , stir-frying , or being eaten raw . Regularly picking zucchini will keep it — as well as eggplants , peppers , and other vegetables — producing .
So get busy planning , planting , and tending your best garden yet !