Hey everyone,
Newbie gardener here, just trying to make my little garden survive this year. I am just starting off with the basics, I hope to plant tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, and maybe strawberries. I went to Home Depot & am completely overwhelmed with all the different gardening products they sell.
I planted a garden last year & failed miserably. Out of 10 strawberry bushels; only 2 produced strawberries & they were so small you could barely taste them. My watermelon took off...but I have no clue what I did wrong...they grew extremely deformed...lol, they actually looked like squash...I am still puzzeled as to why this happened.
I am determined to have a thriving garden this year. Can you give me any tips as far as preparation? Last year I did put fertilizer before I planted, but I am not sure that did anything at all. Also is it better to buy little plants that are already maturing, or start off with seeds? Any tips are appreciated. :)
- Prepare your soil really well. Break it up at least 6 inches down and enrich with fertilizer or compost. Does your soil drain quickly or retain lots of water? There are different steps to help the soil drain better or retain more water, depending on your needs.
- I find planting seedlings works the best. We usually start the seeds indoors, which gives them a little bit of extra growth compared to starting them outside in the cold. If you do that, it doesn't hurt to shock the seedlings slightly by leaving them outside overnight in their containers before you put them in the ground. You can definitely start any plant from seed, but right now (mid-April) is kinda late to be trying that unless your growing season will last through, maybe, October.
- Mulch after you plant. It helps protect the plants, minimize erosion, and keep the soil nicely damp.
- Expect homegrown produce to have a funky look to it. You're usually not growing the same varieties as large commercial producers, so don't expect them to look the same.
Good luck!
Agree with Lysistrata... also - plant your garden where is will get plenty of sun.... keep the ground weeded and cultivated around the plants so that water does not go to weeds or run off during the summer months....mulch mulch mulch....
Plant watermelons on a hill...
For a newbie, it's easier to buy seedlings, tomatoes are easily transplanted. Work in plenty of organic matter (manure, compost) into the garden before planting and you shouldn't need to add artificial fertilizer.
Another very important thing to know is what gardening zone you are in. Home Depot and other such stores sell all kinds of plants, but not necessarily suited to the local growing conditions. I always laugh when I go to Home Depot and see blacberry plants....they need a minimum of zone 4 to survive and I live in a zone 2!!
Depending on the type of strawberry, they won't produce the first year which is probably what happened to yours, another thing to note is if they were June bearing or everbearing......June bearing only produce berries in the spring. Either way, you should see more strawberries this year, assuming of course you didn't dig them out last year as they are perennials.
Cucumbers are best planted from seed into warm soil in the garden after all danger of frost is past. Cucumbers are extremely sensitive to transplanting as they do not like their roots being disturbed...so if you buy plants and put them in the garden and die, this is probably why. Once they start blooming you need to keep them watered otherwise you'll end up with bitter tasting cucumbers that won't fully grow.
Watermelon is difficult to grow as it has a very long growing season and requires a lot of attention. Like cucumbers, it needs even watering for fruit production...let it dry out too much and it won't produce as well.
Depending on the size of your garden, other very easy vegetables to grow is lettuce and spinach. These are also planted from seed directly into the garden....as well as all root vegetables, carrots, beets, etc. They don't require a lot of room to grow.
Good luck!
Some things that I've found ar every easy to grow: onions (buy "onion sets" which are tiny little onions and plant them), peas (netting against a sunny wall), beans (netting against a sunny wall for climbing beans), and lettuce (started from seed).
I don't have anyplace for a garden, so I do container gardening. It's mostly baskets and planters hanging all around my deck. Less kneeling and weeding!
Depending on where you are, you may need to be careful to keep your tomato plants dry. In the Lower Mainland (British Columbia), tomato plants that get wet from rain or watering often get blight.
Cherry tomatoes are easier to grow than full size, especially if you have a shorter growing season.
My dad used to set up kind of upside down "U" frames. He'd grow radishes and carrots underneath the frame, and train his cucumbers plants over top of it. The cucumbers would hang down under the frame, so they were nicely shaped and easy to pick.
Good luck!
Good advice from all the above. Plant tomatoes deeper than the container they come in - this gives them better rooting systems. Be sure you give vining plants plenty of room. Mulch! Check watering requirements for each type of vegetable, as they may have different needs.
Your not suppose to get strawberries the first year. You should have pinched off the flowers last year and not let the plants produce. You may get berries this year but I would pinch off the flowers or plant new roots altogether to get a decent crop in the next few years.
Plants can be expensive, but I would encourage you to do plants for tomatoes, peppers/broccoli etc. Squash varieties grow pretty good and can be started with seed easily, this is true for beans, potatoes, beets, onions, carrots to name a few. Also make sure you don't need to plant seedlings indoors first. Some you do, like some herbs and eggplant as examples. I just potted those on Sunday.
You can over fertilize your soil and your seeds will burn and won't grown. What type of fertilizer are you using and how are you placing it? You must keep weeds pulled completely away until the plant takes over. Weeds will steal nutrients from your plants.
btw plant potatoes in hills.
What you eat can have a direct effect on your skin if you're struggling with psoriasis. See what to shop for.
