(by 3 people)
An Introduction to Veggie Gardening
I grew up helping my father grow veggies in south-central Pennsylvania and have never forgotten the thrill of digging up a potato or serving someone a beautiful red pepper right from my own backyard.
Vegetable gardening is a rewarding and educational activity the whole family can share.
Here's some helpful info to get you started growing YOUR own produce!
The Plot Thickens
Next, prepare the soil. Veggies tend to like soil which is neither too sandy nor too clay-heavy. You can amend soil by adding in various forms of compost. What you need to add will depend on where you live, so ask at your local garden center.
Piccies of Veggies
A random sampler of vegetables and other garden delights featured on flickr.
Clagett Farm CSA 200...
Clagett Farm CSA 200...
Clagett Farm CSA 200...
Clagett Farm CSA 200...
Clagett Farm CSA 200...
Clagett Farm CSA 200...
Clagett Farm CSA 200...
Week 4 share
Week 3 share
Cornucopia of Green...
But what should I grow?
Cold season crops are those which can or even should be planted before last frost. Examples include radish, cabbages, brussels sprouts, and leaf lettuces.
Warm season crops must not be planted outdoors until after last frost. A rule of thumb often used where I grew up was to plant out 2 weeks after Mother's Day. Personally, I monitored local weather closely and usually had all my transplants in the ground ahead of my neighbors.
Warm season crops include tomatoes, peppers, corn, and all squash varieties.
Crop of the Month
Each month I'll select a different crop to feature photos of. Hopefully they'll inspire you to get growing!
The crop for July is peppers, since many kinds are beginning to produce fruit this month.
This module is set to refresh daily, so each time you come back, there should be new images to get your mouth watering.
June marks the beginning of the summer months, when warm weather crops begin maturing. I like the short growing season required for bush beans and chose them as this month's feature crop.
Habanero
IMG_0042
IMG_0033
sizzling tuscan chic...
IMG_0013.JPG
Shish Taouk (Chicken...
blissful vegetarian...
vegetables to grill...
Bell Peppers
Dried Hot Peppers
Caring for Your Crops
Tomatoes and bell peppers can be staked or placed in a wire cage to help keep stalks and leaves off the ground (an invitation to pests).
[another tomato tip: when transplanting from pots, it's okay to remove a few lower leaf stems and bury the main stalk up to this level; this helps suport the plant}
"Pinch Me"... you can remove buds from various flowering veggies to decrease number of "fruits". This also directs more energy into the ones which do grow, so they get BIGGER!
Water Woes... Veggie soil should be kept neither boggy wet nor bone dry. I usually watered every four days or so if there was no significant rainfall. It is best to water late at night or early in the morning when the roots can absorb more beneficial moisture. You should NEVER water in full sun! This encourages "sun burn", not to mention much of the water simply evaporates away before it can be used by the plant.
Vegetable Garden Primers
More Info for a Great Garden
Cheap Seeds!
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
Vegetable Garden Links
- USDA Hardiness Zone Map
- find out your zone!
- Burpee Seeds
- Funny name, great products! I relied on them for seeds for years.
- Backyard Gardener
- Portal for all kinds of info on gardening, vegetable and other.
- Gardeners.com
- More useful advice.
- A Beginner's Guide
- from "HowStuffWorks", this site is a good resource for beginners.
Gardeners Guestbook
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clefty
Great lens! A valuable resource. Great pics too :) I'll send a link this way from my vegetable gardening page... Posted June 23, 2008 |
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clefty
Great lens! A valuable resource. Great pics too :) I'll send a link this way from my vegetable gardening page... Posted June 23, 2008 |
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boodidyajump
I love growing vegetables, and have been a non-meat eater for about 10 years now. Posted May 16, 2008 |
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GreenChickens
Great lens. I love the gardening info combined with the recipes. Posted April 24, 2008 |
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CreativeArtist
Great info. I lensrolled you to My favorite recipes. Posted April 14, 2008 |
