Starting Vegetable Gardening

Cool season vegetables are those that can thrive during shorter days and cooler temperature of spring and fall. Some vegetables like kohlrabi and kale actually develop better flavor when nipped by frost. Some examples of cool season vegetables are lettuce, collards, snow peas, cabbage and broccoli. Summer vegetables like tomatoes and squash require long, hot days to grow.

The first thing we should do when we still have snow is to place the seed order. When the order arrives, it may still be too early to plant the seeds outdoors, but many cool season vegetables can be started from seed indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the frost free date in our area. The frost free date in Michigan according to last year is April 21st to April 30th. This determines when the spring growing season begins. On the other side, gardeners in extreme north have such a short growing season that they will plant their cool and warm season vegetables practically side by side.

Even though many of the vegetables are regarded cold tolerant, they can all be wiped out by a sudden, severe drop in temperature. Therefore, its important to be prepared with something to drape over the crops if an overnight cool snap is expected. We can simply cover crops with newspaper, old sheets or frost blankets. Just remember to remove the covering the next morning. Here are some of the common cool season vegetables to help produce a bountiful spring garden:

English Peas - We should direct sow it in the garden 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost date. They will germinate in soil temperatures as low as 40 degrees F. Seedlings will survive a late snow and short periods of temperature down to 25 degrees F.

Carrots - We should sow seeds in spring about two weeks before the last frost date. Carrots need deep, loose soil to form a robust root. When the seedlings are about two inches tall, we should thin them so that there is about 1 to 4 inches between them. We should cover the shoulders with mulch or soil to keep them from turning green and bitter.

Broccoli - Broccoli seeds can be sown directly in the garden 4 weeks before the last frosst date. The ideal day time temperature for broccoli is between 65 to 80 degrees.

Radish - We should sow radish seeds in the garden about 4 weeks before the frost date. No feeding is necessary, but soil should be fertile and well drained. They are quick to mature, so we should check them reguarly. They are ready to harvest as soon as they are of edible size.

Preparing for Vegetable Garden

The joys of vegetable gardening range from planning in winter to harvesting in the summer or fall. Vegetable gardens are unlike any other gardens on our property. So, it is very important to know how to prepare the garden before we start vegetable gardening.

The most imporatnt requirements for vegetables to grow are sunshine and water. Other requirements are loosened soil, some fertilizer, and a little bit of weeding. If we have an area in our yard that gets sunshine most of the day, which is 6 to 8 hours in summer; then, we can have a vegetable garden. It requires a little extra amount of work to start, but once we start, it is not hard at all. The ground where the plants will grow needs to be loosened up to allow the air in the soil. The roots are the only way the plants take up water and nutrients, so the plants should be able to do that by itself. Therefore, soft soil is very important. But, the soil in most yards is very hard because we don't use it, so it's compacted over the years. Therefore, it is easy to dig in early spring as the soil is moist enough to dig easily but not so wet that the soil is muddy and heavy. We have to make sure that there are no trees and shrubs around it with roots that will spread in our garden.

After that, we have to remove grass and create some type of border around the garden to keep it neat and weed free. We must dig the soil to loosen it up, to allow the air in which will alow the roots to breathe. The depth that is recommended is at least 12". Then, 2" of compost must be added to the soil and mix it well with the soil. Adding too much compost to the soil thinking that it will make the garden healthy is wrong because it will over-fertilize the garden.

When it looks like a good place, then, we are ready to plant vegetables. But planning before planting vegetables is always good. We need to plan to make sure that it has enough room for the plants to grow. Plants generally get very lage and we need to give them enough space to grow out healthy. Most of the plants we purchase will have the information on how much room they will need when fully grown, so it should not be hard to figure that out. And lastly, we should always put the tallest ones in the back because sun is very important for all plants. So, we should make sure that they do not shade the shorter ones.

Container Gardening!!

Container gardening is the practice of growing plants in containers instead of planting them in the ground.  This dates back to thousands of years to ancient cultures like Greek and Rome. Container gardening is also known as pot gardening, gardening in pots, container garden, box gardens, balcony gardening, etc.
Some positive aspects of container gardening are:

• Container gardening makes it easier to save seeds used to create future plants or share with other gardening enthusiasts.
• Container garden are great for beginners. If things do not work out or the plants die, no one has to patch and re-seed the lawn.
• A lawn is not needed. So, lots of extra work is avoided.
• It is much easier to treat plants in a container garden for pests because it is less likely to all other plants in the garden.
• Neighborhood pets off the leash are less likely to trample through a container garden. Deer, rabbits and other wildlife are less likely to dine on plants in the container garden.

Here are few tips for container gardening:

• Fun Container:

This vintage wheelbarrow held annual flowers during the summer. When temperatures fall, it gets a wintry update with branches of noble fir, Port Orford cedar, dried eucalyptus and winterberry holly.

Though howling winds, ice and snow are formidable enemies, many arrangements can last all winter. To be safe, we have to insert plastic liner pots that are one inch smaller than the container to prevent the chance of it cracking as temperature fluctuate.

• Bursts of color:

 

The multihued arrangement sings with gold and orange accents. Rose hips, yellow dogwood branches, dried astilbe, goldenrod and bittersweet combine with Fraser fir, juniper and 'Stoneham gold' cedar branches.

Mist berries before hand with a commercially available wax spray to lock in moisture and keep them on their branches throughout the season. To keep the stems hydrated, we should use water-soaked floral foam.

• Bountiful bowl:

 

 

Layer pinecones, rose hips, dried pomegranates, sweetgum podes and moss for this easy look.
For this, we have to use materials from our garden first, and then, for the others shown in the picture, it is available at the craft stores or from the florist.

• Welcoming wall:

 

 

A wire wall container, lined with moss and filled with florist foam, showcases Fraser fir, burgundy died eucalyptus, purple caspia, winterberry holly and poppy pods.
This consists of the mixing of live and dried materials, because they are fragrant and tactile.We should snip late-season flowers, such as hydrangea, allium and astilbe, and preserve them by drying in a warm place. At the end of September, we should stop deadheading roses, spurring them to produce colorful rose hips, which can be used in winter containers.

However, despite of all the above tips, we can make it our own way too. Everyone has different ideas and different ways to decorate their garden. So, don't be afraid to reflect your unique personality when making your own container garden.

 

 

 

Gardening in winter

Many of us would be surprised to know that there are some flowering plants that not only bloom in summer and fall, but also bloom in late winter and give beauty to the garden. Sunflower comes in the top list to thrive the cold weather in Michigan. It is one of those hardy plants that are capable of fast growing even in cold weather. Sunflowers require a very little care. Talking about great fragrances Peonies are gorgeous. Lilies can also thrive the cold weather. Lilies are actually sustainable for all types of climate.

Lets talk a little more about sunflower this time. Sunflower is a flowering plant which is an inefficient user of water, as measured by the amount of water transpired per gram of plant above-ground dry matter. Sunflower is not highly drought tolearnt, but most of the time when grown with other crops, it is the only one surviving.
Here are some of the steps given to grow a sunflower:

• Sow the seeds directlly into soil. Usually, the temperature should be around 50s. If there's no sunflower seed at home, then we can buy it from stores.
• Plant the seed to a depth of 5cm/2" and should be well dug. We should also make sure that it should face the sun.
• If there is not much room, it is always better to plant fewer sunflowers because they are forced to compete with nutrients.
• Fertilizer mixed in at planting time will encourage strong root growth which protects them from blowing over in the wind.
• Watering is necessary but not too much because the plant will die.
• Keeping the seeding area weed free will help sunflower to pop out easily in couple weeks. Once the sunflower reaches 3 feet, weeds are not really a problem.
• It is better to spread netting over the planted area till the seeds germinate, to avoid birds and animals.
• Once the sunflower grows, it doesn't really need a lot of care.
• We can harvest sunflower seeds if we want, so that we don't have to buy the seeds next time we plant it. The seeds will fall from the flower head and we have to gently wipe it across a clean cloth.

I don't think that this is very hard. We just need to know few basic concepts about sunflower like it needs more space, we should not over water it, etc. Therefore, if following those few steps will help increase the beauty of our garden, then, why not start doing it?