Vegetable Gardening: A Beginner’s Guide

Gardening is not as easy as simply planting a seed or transplant and watching the plant grow. Once a site is selected, there will be several other questions to consider in the planning phase.

What type of garden?

Container gardens, raised beds, traditional rows, and intensive plantings are all possibilities.

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Container gardens. Many vegetables can be grown in containers that are deep enough to support their root systems. Containers may range from as small as a 12-inch flowerpot to a half whisky barrel. The bigger the container, the easier it is to be successful. The larger the mature plant, the larger the container needs to be. Vegetables that do well in containers include beans, beets, carrots, collards, cucumbers, eggplants, garlic, kale, leeks, lettuces, mustard greens, peas, peppers, potatoes, spinach, squash, Swiss chard, and tomatoes. Mix and match vegetables in one container for extended beauty and harvest. Containers require more frequent irrigation than gardens, especially as the plants grow and require more water. A drip irrigation system connected to a timer is a great addition to a container garden.

Raised beds. A variety of materials can be used to construct raised beds, but do not use materials that might leach chemicals into the soil, such as old railroad ties. Soil in raised beds will heat up more quickly in the spring and stay warm longer into the fall. Vegetables in raised beds will require more frequent irrigation than those in an in-ground garden.

When planned and planted properly, one 4-foot by 8-foot raised bed may supply a good portion of the produce for one or two people. The addition of trellises provides vertical gardening and increases the space available to vining plants like cucumbers and beans.

Use intensive gardening techniques to optimize use of the space. Succession planting will also aid in maximizing the harvests from a raised bed in a small area.

In-ground gardens. Larger areas allow gardeners to choose traditional row gardening or gardening in beds. While a row garden is easier to manage with a tractor for planting, harvesting, and other garden chores, planting in a bed makes better use of available space. Using beds allows for several rows to be planted closer together, shading weed seeds and preventing them from growing later in the season. Beds may require a bit more labor to plant initially. But when planted correctly, beds can reduce the need for weeding later in the season. You can also incorporate vegetables in your ornamental beds.

If you want more land, explore opportunities at a community garden. Visit the NC Community Gardens Directory for a list of active community gardens.

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Whichever garden style is chosen, start small. Only plant the amount of space that you can manage joyfully. The garden should be fun and fascinating, not a chore to be dreaded and avoided. Start small, improve the soil, manage the weeds, and expand the garden as your skills and interests grow.

What to plant?

Grow what you like to eat. If space is limited, concentrate on vegetables that yield the greatest return for the effort, such as pole beans, tomatoes, root crops, and leafy greens. If you like to cook unusual foods, try vegetables that are difficult to find or expensive in the market—such as specialty lettuces or broccolini.

In North Carolina most vegetables are grown as annuals, but some biennials and perennials are also grown. Vegetables are grouped by when they grow:

• Cool-season annuals. Plant these crops in early spring and early fall. They are cold-hardy and thrive in spring and fall when temperatures are below 70°F: Beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, collards, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard, onions, peas, potatoes, radishes, rutabagas, spinach, Swiss chard, and turnips.
• Warm-season annuals. Plant these crops after the last spring frost when soils have warmed up. They are frost sensitive and thrive in summer when temperatures are above 70°F: beans, cantaloupes, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, okra, peppers, pumpkins, southern peas, squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and watermelons.
• Biennial cropssuch as artichokes grow the first year, and flower, fruit and die the second year.
• Perennial cropssuch as asparagus and rhubarblive for many years once established.

To find recommended varieties for your garden based on citizen science reports, visit Cornell University’s Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners.

When to plant?

Plan for year-round production through succession planting.

Spring. Plant cool-season crops early and warm-season crops in late spring. Use a cold frame or frost cloth to begin earlier in the season.

Summer. Cool-season crops will bolt as the days lengthen and temperatures rise. Use shade cloth to protect plants and extend the season. Warm-season crops planted in late spring will grow until the first fall frosts. In late summer, plant cool-season crops for fall.

Fall. Cool-season crops established in late summer will continue to grow through moderate to freezing temperatures.

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Winter. Cold hardy crops (such as kale, collards, and turnip greens) planted in fall may live through the winter. In colder areas, use a cold frame or frost cloth to extend the season.

For specific planting dates, consult your local Extension center. You can also use the North Carolina Planting Calendar for Annual Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs for your region: Eastern AG-756-02 , Central, AG-756-01, Western, AG-756-03.

Scheduling when to plant and when to harvest can be done in several effective ways. Writing the planting dates and projected harvest dates on a calendar is a method used by many gardeners and farmers. Another method is drawing a diagram of the garden and writing projected planting and harvesting dates on the garden diagram. Knowing when an area will be harvested helps with planning when to plant another crop in that space. Using this method of planning allows for a small space to be managed to its fullest potential.

How to organize the garden?

If planting in rows, run them across the slope of the land to reduce erosion. If there is little or no slope, north to south orientation makes the best use of sunlight. When planting, group tall crops (corn, okra, and sunflowers) and trellised vines (peas and beans) together on the north side of the garden so they won’t shade shorter plants.

Do not foster the buildup of insect and disease pests by growing the same types of plants in the same spot year after year. Instead, plan a three- to four-year crop rotation for each bed or garden area to prevent crops in the same plant family from being planted in the same space in succession (Table 1).

Table 1. Common Vegetables Divided into Plant Families Plant Family Vegetables & Cover Crops Carrot (Apiaceae) carrot, celery, parsley, parsnip Goosefoot (Chenopodiaceae) beet, spinach, Swiss chard Grass (Poaceae) barley, corn, oat, rye, sorghum, wheat Mallow (Malvaceae) okra Mustard (Brassicaceae) Bok choi, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, collards, kale, kohlrabi, mustard greens, pak chio, radish, rape, rutabaga, turnip Nightshade (Solanaceae) eggplant, pepper, potato, tomatillo, tomato Onion (Alliaceae) chive, garlic, leek, onion, shallot Pea (Fabaceae) alfalfa, bean, clover, lentil, pea, peanut, vetch Squash (Cucurbitaceae) cucumber, melon, pumpkin, gourd, squash Sunflower (Asteraceae) artichoke, endive, Jerusalem artichoke, lettuce, sunflower

Crop rotation reduces the likelihood of nematode, insect or disease buildup in the soil. This method of planning works well when the garden consists of three or more raised beds or is large enough to be divided into three or more plots. Table 2 depicts a sample four-year crop rotation plan for a garden with four plots growing vegetables from four plant families.

Table 2. Crop Rotation Plan Plot 1 Plot 2 Plot 3 Plot 4 Year 1 A B C D Year 2 B C D A Year 3 C D A B Year 4 D A B C

Having a garden plan makes it easier to decide what seeds or transplants to purchase, how many will be needed, and when they will be needed. Keeping a garden journal with previous garden plans is a good way to record what worked and what didn’t. Part of garden planning is going over what has worked in the past and what hasn’t, so past mistakes can be avoided in the future. Things to record in the garden journal would include a list and map of what was planted, planting dates, varieties, source of plants, air and soil temperatures during the growing season, soil test results, fertilizers and pesticides applied, rainfall received, and amount and dates of harvest. Include photographs throughout the season.

Source: https://gardencourte.com
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