This is the first in a series of posts about vegetable gardening in South Texas....
Seven Steps to a Great Garden
1. Find an area in your yard that gets 8 hours of sun. Outline it with a hose and watch the sun’s progression throughout the day. This step is crucial!
2. Determine what you’d like to grow by asking yourself: What varieties of fruits and vegetables will thrive in Texas? What will my family eat? What do I have time to preserve? Use this website to determine the best planting dates for each season.
3. Draw out your garden bed and make sure you’ve got room for all of your crops. Feel free to be creative...let your pole beans climb up your tomato cages or trellis your squash on the edge of your bed.
4. Build that raised bed at least 12 inches high. You can use railroad ties, 2x6’s, stone, anything durable. Fill it with Garden Soil containing compost. I like Garden-ville.
5. Select plants from a nursery or seeds from a catalog and get planting. For plants, use your fingers to comb through tightly-packed roots and water-in immediately after planting. Remember, it's the roots that need the most attention. The top of the plant may look a bit waterlogged but the roots are priority #1. For seeds, make sure your soil is moist and closely follow planting instructions on the packet.
6. Fertilize at least every 6 weeks. I like using a slow release fertilizer from Osmocote or Miracle Grow, other varieties are available. If you choose to go all organic you’ll need to increase amounts and frequency.
7. Check on your plants. Gardens are living so they need different things on different days...take a look each day and note water needs. If you stick your finger in the dirt and it's moist, it's probably ok. It's natural (and good!) to have bugs but if they're eating up entire plants or seem especially pesky, look up answers online or take leaves to a local nursery for problem diagnosis. Be careful about pesticides because there are a lot of good bugs that keep bad bugs in check. Good luck!
Lindsay
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