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The First-Time Vegetable Gardener -- Some Pathways to Success

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Did I hear you correctly? You're just "starting out" in the rewarding (and often exhausting) hobby of gardening? Think you'd like to grow your own vegetables, instead of limiting your choices to that natural-looking, neatly-arranged assortment of mostly foreign grown produce in the supermarket? Are you concerned that, in all likelihood, most supermarket vegetable offerings may contain substances (additives, pesticides, and other chemicals used in their production) over which you have absolutely no control, and that you'd prefer not to serve to your family?

Then you're among a growing number of consumers with a yearning to take control over the quality and content of at least some of the food consumed, and have made a firm decision to grow their own. Below are some helpful tips for the health-conscious neophyte veggie gardener. . .tips not cast in stone, but ones that will improve your chances of success and satisfaction.

First, your new garden's location. Most vegetables grow and mature best in full, uninterrupted sunlight. You've probably noticed that the big, profitable market-growers don't have too many trees in and around their production fields. Eight to ten mid-summer hours is preferable, but that may be a bit difficult for many home-gardeners. Try for an absolute minimum of six full hours of direct sunshine during the brightest part of the day. Save the shady spot in your yard for the hammock. For the beginning vegetable grower, 650 to 1,000 square feet of space is manageable. Be careful not to bite off more than you can comfortably chew! If you find you need more space, you can always expand the following year.

If your new garden space is currently lawn or weeds, here's a word or two of caution: tilled into the soil, crabgrass, Bermuda grass, dandelions, and many other aggressive weed species will re-grow from the tiniest fragment and quickly return to haunt any gardener. Take the time to remove all weeds -- leaf, stem and root -- before starting the garden. Most experts correctly recommend that you "peel" off the top two or three inches of turf before you begin preparing the soil to receive valuable seeds or transplants. And you should know that rototilling a patch of lawn is probably the most common and tragic mistake made by overly-enthusiastic novice gardeners.

Soil preparation is next. Don't begin until the ground is drained well enough that a handful of soil squeezed into a lump breaks apart when dropped from about chin-high. Resist the temptation to disturb soil that's gooey and sticks together. I've always preferred to prepare a new garden soil with a spade. . .and I like to drive that spade completely to the "hilt" and turn my soil upside-down -- literally. That's ten to twelve inches deep. Homeowner-size rototillers rarely have the ability to cultivate any deeper than four to six inches. Not enough!

Having said that, I’ve never been a fan or proponent of “double-digging” to the oft-proclaimed depth of 16 to 24 inches. Realistically, root systems of the overwhelming majority of common vegetables perform admirably in improved soils cultivated to a depth of a foot or so. Exhausting -- and frequently discouraging -- double-digging is not for me!

Soil that's been lawn or field weeds, and hasn't been cultivated for several years, is probably dirt-poor, so to speak. As you turn your new food-growing plot upside-down, mix in organic material such as compost or sterilized cow or horse manure to make it rich, deep and loamy. Three or four inches worked in deeply would be great! Peat moss can be used to break up heavy clay soils but should not be relied upon to add nutrition or beneficial biology to your soil. Peat moss is quite literally nutritionally and biologically dead and adds nothing of any lasting benefit to the soil.

Now's the time for a soil test. A mailer and complete instructions are available at your local Cooperative Extension Service office. Cost for a test is in the range of about $12. . .good insurance for improving your chances of success right from the start! While at the Extension, ask about their selection of very helpful publications to help you get off on the right foot. Most are free.

Select your seeds, sets, transplants, and roots carefully and, based on your preferences, availability and quality. At nurseries or garden centers, never settle for tall, spindly vegetable transplants that are root bound, or appear to have been neglected in their tiny containers, or ones that have already begun to bloom or have set fruit. Those are "dead-end" -- and the furthest thing from a bargain. Make your purchases early enough in the season to ensure strong, stocky plants that have a solid, healthy appearance and color. Reject any transplants that have excessively curled leaves, and those showing signs of nutritional deficiency (bronzing or yellowing of lower leaves, for example). And never accept young veggie plants from displays infested with aphids or small, winged, "gnats" or moths.

Most nurseries and garden centers will carry one or more lines of acceptable quality packaged seeds. Personally, I get my seeds from well-known and reliable local sources when possible, and I always stay away from the bargain racks at markets and those high-volume, high-traffic big-box stores. I like my seed fresh, and I take comfort in the assurance of optimal, carefully controlled storage conditions. Johnny’s Selected Seeds of Winslow, Maine (http://www.johnnyseeds.com) is, in my opinion, a good place to start.

Fertilizer is, of course, an important consideration. I prefer to avoid use of bagged, granular, non-natural mixtures for use in soil intended for producing my food. Yes, you can use the recommended 10-10-10 (a "balanced" commercial plant food), but for me, the jury is still out on the long-term health consequences of non-natural fertilizers and plant food. In my mind, a safer choice would be an organic mixture of naturally-occurring plant nutritional elements available at most large farm-'n-gardens and garden centers. Always follow directions printed on the package and the recommendations included in the results of your soil test. You'll have a better grasp of just how much fertilizer and lime to apply once you have those results in-hand. Get the recommended fertilizer and any other suggested amendments thoroughly tilled-in a few days before you actually sow your seeds or plunk in your transplants.

There is actually more to achieving real success in the home vegetable patch. But now you have a basis from which to begin. You might like to read an 8-part series on vegetable gardening beginning at http://www.HillGardens.com/veggie-1.htm.

So, as soon as spring arrives, off you go! Enjoy your new garden -- and keep a stiff upper lip, a smile on your face and a song in your heart! One final thought: don't be afraid to ask questions. A successful neighborhood gardener is a tremendous resource. So also is the local library. And your state's Cooperative Extension Service can put you in touch with a Master Gardener or two for some first-rate and accurate local gardening assistance.

While you're at it, why not consider becoming a Master Gardener yourself? The Extension offers courses; the price is right; times are convenient; instruction is by top-notch professionals; and then you'll be the expert -- and successful! Hey!...what's wrong with that?

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