Vegetables 101:
As you drive past the many roadside stands this summer, you may be
thinking it’s time to start a garden of
your own. Now is actually a good time
to start planning because you can talk
to other gardeners to gather advice on
how to get going on your own.
First, you’ll have to think about
location. If you have an acre of open
yard surrounding your home, you can
probably choose any location as long
as it gets at least six hours of sunlight
a day. If your lawn is only slightly bigger than a postage stamp, you may
need to consider container gardening.
Raised bed gardens generally produce
bigger yields in a smaller space.
Then consider the soil at the location you chose. Vegetables need a
rich, loamy soil. They fare poorly in
clay or rocky soils.
Choose a small space to start with.
Most first-time gardeners get carried
away in their zeal to produce crops,
plant too much and soon become
overwhelmed with the task of caring
for the garden.
Summer is a perfect time of year to
take your family for a vegetable “test
drive.” Buy a variety of vegetables at
farmers markets and produce stands.
Turning
up the
There’s no point in devoting a large
section of garden to cucumbers if no
one likes them. And if everyone really likes the tomatoes you brought
home, it’s a good idea to find out what
kind they were (tomatoes come in
hundreds of varieties) and how many
plants you’ll need to produce for your
family’s needs.
Some plants are easier to grow than
others and are ideal for beginners.
However, some that are easy to
grow may not be highly desirable.
Zucchini, for example, is realtively
easy to grow but how much will your
family crave that?
One of the most desirable vegetables, though, isn’t a good choice for
beginners. Fresh sweet corn tastes delicious, but requires a lot of space for
best results.
Many local garden centers can dispense good advice on growing vegetables, based on personal experience
and the results of their customers’
gardens. But remember that if you ask
for advice at a small country garden
center to also buy from them. They’re
often small family-run businesses who
have to earn a living, too, and free advice doesn’t pay any bills.
HEAT!
Bell.................................................................0
Hot cherry........................................ 50-500
Ancho....................................... 1,000-2,000
Chipotle................................... 5,000-8,000
Jalapeno.................................... 2,500-9,000
Some basics to get
your garden started
Here are some basic vegetables that are easy
to grow for newbies in the gardening world.
Salad greens - A salad is a great, healthy addition to any meal. Because it grows quickly,
a second crop can usually be planted in
mid-summer. Head lettuce, though, can be
susceptible to pests.
Green beans - Choose bush beans that will
grow without the need of a trellis.
Peas - They ripen early in the garden, which
means you can replant in mid-summer.
Tomatoes - There are many varieties. You
may want to plant some slicing tomatoes and
some cherry tomatoes for salads.
Cucumbers - Although the long, green variety
pops to mind, there are other varieties. They
are great for pickling a ???????????????)!?????!????????????????????????????)??????????????????????????????????????)A??????????????????????????????????)?????????????????????????M?????????????)??????????????????????????????????????)A???????????????????????????????????????) ???????????????????????????????????????)???????????????????????????????)M??????????????????????????????)???????????????????Q???????????????)??????????????????????????????????????)?????????????????????????)A?????????????????????????????)??????????????Q????e??????????????????????????????????????????????????)M??????????????????????????????????)????????????????????????????????)????????????????????????????(($?M??????????????????????????????????????????????????)Q????????????????????????????????????????????????($? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????($?A???????????????????M?????????????????????????????)?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????($?A?????????????????????????????????????M?????????????????)5?????M??????????????????????????????????????M???????????)Q???????????????Q???????M????????????9????)???????? ????A?????????????5?????M??????????????????????????M???????($?]??????????????????????5?????????????????????????)???????????????????????????????????????????????????)?????????????????M?????????????%????????????????????(??????M???????????????????????????????????????????)????????????($? ???????????????????????????????????????????????)??????????M????????????()Q???????????????????????????????????????????????????)M????? ???????????????????????????????????)
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