Gardening Pleasures

Posts Tagged ‘planting’

For as long as there have been gardens there has been some degree of garden envy. Whether the garden contains flowering or non-flowering plants or vegetables, there always seems to be one garden that is more beautiful, prolific, greener, more colorful, or yields more food.

If you find yourself looking over the garden fence and envious of others, chances are that if you take the time to learn about plants, their optimal growing conditions - preferred soil conditions, placement in sunlight or shade, the amount of water required - you, too, can create a summer garden that will rival the best in your neighbourhood.

Gardens require time, effort, energy and planning to become the absolute best. And, depending on your lifestyle, your efforts may be best put into making small improvements each year,  rather than a massive overhaul that may put you off forever.

That being said, there is some useful information below to help you to make your summer garden the best it can be.

As one of the first things to do, check whether there are any regulations that may affect what you do with your garden.  Once you know what you can and cannot do, test the pH of the soil to ascertain the soil acidity you currently have and if any adjustments need to be made to your planting plan.  Some plants do not like an acid soil while others do not get on well in an alkaline soil. For example roses like a somewhat acidic soil while hydrangeas will give you different colour blooms depending on the ph of the soil – somewhat acidic soil gives blue flowers, neutral to alkaline gives pink flowers and a high ph (very alkaline) will give you purple or a mixture of colours on the same plant.

You should also understand that every decision you make about your garden will affect the yield and output to some degree.  And, there are always events that are beyond your control, regardless of how carefully you plan. Some years we have record rainfalls in one part of the country while other parts experience drought. The next year it could be the other way around.  When planning what to put in your garden, think about what grows naturally in the area and include plants that will tolerate a certain amount of drought.

Each plant has its own needs that must be met for optimal growth and yield. If those needs are not met, your chances of having the best  flowers, the most vegetables or the greenest leaves can be vastly reduced. If having the very best is not part of your plan then your garden won’t require as much time or effort as it would take to grow ribbon-winning vegetables or flowers.

Avoid using pesticides as much as possible as they can be harmful to beneficial insects, animals and humans. Instead try to use pest control methods that are natural and humane, particularly if planting vegetables your family will be eating.

Grow a garden that makes sense for your lifestyle.  If you don’t have the time to weed, feed, water, etc. plant flowers that don’t need lots of care and attention.  Also plant within the constraints of the conditions and space you have for gardening. If you have only shady conditions, choose flowers, plants and vegetables that thrive in those conditions rather than choosing those that need lots of sunlit conditions you don’t have. Don’t forget however, you can have some very nice specimen plants that may not like your soil conditions but that will grow happily in a pot.

More importantly, bring into your garden those plants that you love. The pleasure you get will often determine how much effort you are willing to put into taking care of your garden.  The more you enjoy the results, the more likely you are to enjoy putting in the effort necessary to get those results.

In periods of financial difficulty, planting vegetable gardens becomes a viable option that achieves two things: it helps the family reduce expenses related to buying food, and it offers the opportunity to sell excess yield to friends and neighbours. Starting a vegetable garden is not particularly difficult, for so long as you put enough thought, time, and effort.

The first decision you have to make is the location of the vegetable garden. You must place this vegetable garden in an area where it is exposed to at least 6 hours of sunlight. The location must also be near where you will source the water you will use to water the plants. It must be near enough for you to make a short trip if you are carrying a pail of water, or it must be near enough to be easily accessible to the hose you will connect to a faucet inside your home. Also, check if the area has soil conducive for growing plants. It must have good drainage, and must be free of silt, stones, and other hard objects. Lastly, the location of your vegetable garden must be somewhere accessible, so that you can frequently check for pests and weeds when you walk by.

Included in your plans should be the sort of plants that you intend to plant, and how many of them you intend to grow. This will help determine the size of the plot you will need. Afterwards, make a list of all the plants you want to grow in your garden. This decision cannot be completely random, especially because the yield of the garden will be what you will consume as a family. Make sure to plant vegetables that your family would love to eat, or vegetables that you often use for cooking. This way, you are ensured of a direct benefit from growing your own vegetable garden.

Make a plan for the arrangement of the vegetable plants in the garden as well. The first consideration is the frequency of yield. Perennial plants, or those who yield vegetables for constantly throughout the year must be placed at the back of the garden, where it will be undisturbed by whatever gardening activities you may have in the rest of the garden. Put the crops that produce early yield together. These crops include radishes, spinach, carrots, beets, and the like. Make some space for replanting successively. Once these crops have seen their yield, you can plant in their place crops that produce yield later in the season.

The last consideration for arrangement is the reality that there are plants that cannot grow beside other plants. For instance, there are those plants that enhance the growth of another when planted together; there are those that inhibit the other. It is important to take into consideration which crops inhibit the growth of the other. For instance, potatoes are capable of inhibiting the growth of both squash and tomato plants. Broccoli also inhibits tomato growth. Beans, on the other hand, inhibit the growth of onions. Carrots also inhibit the growth of dill plants. This does not stop you from planting all these plants in the garden. This only acts as a reminder of which plants you should separate from the other when planting vegetable gardens.