Vegetable Gardening Basics

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Cherry tomatoes can be easily grown in gardens and containers. They are available in red and yellow varieties.

Light, Soil, Water and Spacing are Key to Getting Started

Starting a vegetable garden is only as intense and demanding as you decide. If you are new to growing vegetables there are a few key items to do to get started growing your own produce.

Location is paramount. Nearly all vegetables require at least 8 hours of sun a day. Whether grown in the ground, in raised beds or containers, your sunniest location will help produce the best quality and quantity of produce.

If you are digging up your yard to start a vegetable garden, your hardest level of effort and digging will be this year. After you have dug up the grass, killed the weeds, loosened existing soil and amended it with compost, your garden foundation is established for the next few years.

Lawns tend to become compacted over time. Though your grass is green and looks lush, the soil underneath can be very hard below the root zone of the grass. Keep in mind that grass roots may reach 3-4" in depth. For vegetables you'll need to loosen the soil 8-10" deep and 10-12" deep for tomatoes. It is important that young vegetable roots have loosened soil so their roots can easily and quickly grow and expand. Remember good root growth means good plant growth.

While you're digging up the soil, it is the perfect time to do a soil test. Soil test kits can be purchased to help you determine soil acidity levels. Most vegetables do well in soil pH ranges of 5.5-7. Your county Extension Service tests soil samples for acidity and to see if any major nutrients are missing. Call them for instructions on gathering the soil sample and testing costs.

Vegetable gardens need regularly watering. So locating your garden somewhat near a water outlet is advantageous to keep from hauling hoses long distances all summer. Soaker hoses work well or any watering at the base of the plants. Vegetables, similar to flowers do not benefit from wet foliage; they need the water at their roots. And wet foliage can lead to plant diseases.

An innovative idea we learned about from the Kalamazoo County Master Gardener group is to use rinsed and washed gallon milk containers to provide slow and steady water directly to your plants. Take gallon containers and punch 4-5 holes the size of a pencil in the bottom. Place the containers next to your tomato, pepper and eggplants and let the water slowly seep out. The slow release keep the roots moist never over saturated. Refill every couple of days depending on temperatures.

It is a good to read the tags on vegetable transplants regarding spacing requirements. Draw a plan of your garden noting how much space you need to set aside for each vegetable crop you'd like to grow. Keep the taller plants to the back and to the North end of your garden plot so their shadows don't shade shorter crops.

Vegetables do well with moderate fertilization. A starter fertilizer used when planting your vegetables will help them get off to a good start. Then work in a 12-12-12 or 10-10-10 fertilizer around the plant a couple weeks later. If growing a vegetable that produces a crop for a couple of months, you can reapply the either fertilizer again mid season. Remember that vegetables grown in containers will need slightly more fertilizer applications not increased amounts, due to the fertilizer and water draining from the containers.

Vegetable gardening is rewarding but it is not instant. It takes time for vegetables to mature. Start small and add new and/or different varieties every year.

The Papa Joe varieties we carry help you identify the varieties that are best for specific uses. This helps you choose the best variety for a specific need. The Papa Joe tag helps identify the best tomato variety for snacking, or varieties that produce early, large or small sized vegetables.

Stop in and view our wide variety of vegetables being offered this year and plan your garden. Most vegetables do not take frost well, so April is the perfect time to browse while we wait for the warmer soil temperatures of May.

See both the "Plants Add Happiness" and our Quick Classes articles for more ideas on growing vegetables.