The trees are budding, the grass is growing, and you’re thinking of all those wonderful garden plans you never got around to last year. This year, get a head start on the season with a few tips to help save time and avoid disappointment. And don’t forget to involve the kids—this is one of the few times you can give them permission to play in the dirt!

photo credit: GardenFocus

Its time to start thinking about a vegetable garden! Don’t ignore the plot of land you’ve always pictured as the ideal spot for a vegetable garden. Your dreams of a summer bounty full of vine-ripe tomatoes, fresh zucchini, crisp snap peas, and succulent green peppers can be realized. With a few simple guidelines for planning the perfect vegetable garden, you can enjoy a delicious harvest in summer and beyond! Don’t make your first veggie garden too far from your house or water source. Don’t make it too big. A small garden, planted correctly and maintained will give you plenty of produce.

Pick a Plot

The first step in successful gardening, and arguably the most important, is picking a spot. Make sure the area is large enough to accommodate the vegetables you want to plant, has good air circulation, and receives both sun and rainfall. Here are some tips to keep in mind when choosing your garden plot:

• Try not to plant too close to any large trees or hedges, as they can shade your garden and take the moisture and nutrients from the soil that your plants will need.

• With stakes and strings, mark off the areas where you will walk in your garden, and where you will plant your vegetables. You want to make sure you have enough room to move around without hurting your plants. It can also help to draw a rough diagram, and indicate where you want to plant certain vegetables.

• Allow enough growing space for your larger vegetables.

• Remember—it helps to provide stakes or trellises for vine plants.

Choosing Your Crop

Once you’ve selected your garden spot, you can start choosing the vegetables you want to grow. However, your local climate will determine when you can plant your seeds. You can find the information you need regarding when to plant on the back of your seed packets, and on many agricultural websites. Remember that some vegetables need to be started inside before they can be transplanted outdoors.

Cool versus Warm

Planting periods are determined by your choice of cool-season vegetables and warm-season vegetables. Cool-season vegetables are generally not harmed by light frost, but won’t do well with extended periods of warm temperatures. They can usually be planted earlier in spring. These include cabbage, mustard, lettuce, celery, carrots, kale, onions, peas and spinach. Warm-season vegetables generally need a soil temperature of at least 50°F and can be killed by frost, so they need to be planted a little later in the season when there is no more danger of frost. These include cucumbers, sweet potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, squash and sweet corn.

If you are starting seedlings in vermiculite to get a jump on the season, great! But be sure to transplant them as soon as the second pair of true leaves form, or they’ll starve.

Preparing the Soil

The soil must be the right temperature and consistency for planting. Soil that’s too wet, too cold, or too warm (depending on your plants or seeds) won’t produce a good crop. Before you plant, use a shovel to remove grass, weeds, and rocks from your garden plot. In addition, turn over the soil to break up any big lumps.

Get Your Vegetables in a Row

You can plant however you wish, but to get the best results, consider planting in rows or raised beds. Planting in rows is the more traditional method, and rows are easy to organize, maintain, and plant. Raised beds use space more efficiently, and you might not have to weed as much. However, raised beds take more initial time and money to prepare. Whichever route you take, make sure when you’re planting to walk around the perimeter of your garden or in the pre-made walkways to avoid damaging your plants.

Hoe, Hoe, and more Hoe:

Your vegetable garden will need regular upkeep and removal of weeds to thrive. Weeds reduce the available nutrients, sunlight, soil, and space your plants need. There are many different ways to control weeds in your garden—including pulling, and hoeing.

You can also try to stop the weeds before they start. A nice trick is to plant vegetables that suppress or shade weeds, which prevent further growth. You could try cucumbers, tomatoes, and squash. For this to work properly, it’s best to make sure your suppression (or shading) vegetables have become established in the garden before weeds start to arrive.

Pests

Try to keep your garden organic. There are many ways to foil pests. Herbs are nature’s insecticides. Basil planted near tomatoes, for example, will repel worms and flies. Nothing beats the fragrance of fresh herbs, and they’re decorative as well. Some people like to use straw or mulch. However, mulches can keep the soil from warming up. So wait to apply organic mulches after plants are 3 to 4 inches tall and the soil is warm.

Watering

In addition to weeding, make sure your garden is properly watered. On average, plants need approximately one inch of water a week. If a plant starts to droop, revive it by watering right away.

There you have it—the simple basics you need to start the vegetable garden you always dreamed of having. With just a little time and effort, you can enjoy the fruits (and veggies!) of your labor.

Author Arlene Wright Correll Resource: Resources: Excerpted from “Food For Thought Series” by Arlene Wright-Correll

For more gardening or cooking information click http://www.learn-america.com/ and click on Arlene’s Books you can download or buy my gardening & cook books. All my royalties from the sale of my books go to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and we thank you for your attention to this site.

Article Source: Planting a Vegetable Garden

Article From: Organic Gardening Articles

By Patricia Wainwright

How to store cantaloupe seeds

photo credit: apple_pathways

Cantaloupe prefers a rich soil and to be planted in full sun. They like warm weather, and you need to water them regularly so that the soil is moist. The easiest source of cantaloupe seeds is from a cantaloupe you have already grown yourself or one a neighbor has grown or that you have bought from a farmers’ market. You do not want a supermarket cantaloupe as they will be hybrids and you will not know what will grow, unless you are up for a surprise. Having eaten your delicious melon and decided you want to grow more that taste like that chosen variety, you scoop out the seeds from the inside of the melon and put them in a jar with some warm water. Leave them in the jar for two days as this will kill any melon viruses and separate the pulp from the seeds; stir the water occasionally. Any seeds that float to the top of the water can be discarded because they will not germinate. Dry your seeds on kitchen towel, and leave them to dry out for a day, turning them over once, then pop them in a plastic bag and put them in the freezer for two days. You now have sterilized dormant cantaloupe seeds ready for planting next year. Store them in an envelope, plastic bag or jar out of light and away from the heat or they will start to germinate.

Types of cantaloupe seeds and edible seeds

You can buy cantaloupe seeds growing them in your garden but for the first time it may be best with named varieties and helpful instructions on a seed packet. There are varieties of giant cantaloupe seeds that produce monster cantaloupes, such as Gurneys which are popular in fruit and vegetable growing contests. Another very popular variety is ambrosia cantaloupe seeds which grow a red fleshed very sweet and juicy melon with very few seeds and as it is a hybrid it will not grow true from its own seeds. Are cantaloupe seeds edible? Most people scoop out the middle and throw it away, but some varieties of cantaloupe seeds can be dried and eaten, they are used on naan bread in India and cantaloupe seeds nutrition value is high in minerals and vitamins, so if not growing them, dry them and eat them

Planting cantaloupe seeds

You should start sowing your seeds after the frosts have passed and expect germination in 2 to 3 weeks. You could start the seedlings indoors, or in a greenhouse, they are tender annuals so if frost is predicted, cover them up. Cantaloupe seeds need space to grow, are often planted in hills six seeds together or 2 or 3 seeds a few inches apart in rows. They will need to be watched for signs of disease and the vines trained or else you will have a mass tangle of greenery.

Author Patricia Wainwright Resource: Get all the facts about seeds and organic gardening at GreenThumbArticles.com!

Article Source: Eating and Growing Cantaloupe Seeds

Article From: Organic Gardening Articles

photo credit: frankenstoen

Bergamot. While this plant is not one you’ll want to eat, per se, it is great for making tea, and you can use the entire plant for brewing. Bergamot helps to reduce fevers, relieve colds and treat insomnia. You can also drink some of the tea if you have a stomach ache. This is a great plant to add to your container garden as well, since it is an edible plant you can use often.

photo credit: jjspirko

Wild ginger. This warm, sweet and spicy plant root is used for tea and flavoring food and is great for the respiratory system. It is used as an expectorant, and you may want to try planting these in your garden wall planter as well, so that you will have the root available whenever you feel yourself coming down with the flu.

photo credit: turtlemom4bacon

Wood sorrel. You can eat the green leaves of this plant for a great boost of iron and other nutrients, or you can steep the leaves for drink that is cool and slightly sour. Sorrel is also rich in vitamin C and can be used to treat canker sores, nausea and a sore throat.

photo credit: blumenbiene

Growing these plants yourself in your backyard garden could be rewarding and truly organic.

edited for Functional Gardens

Imagine enjoying a meal with vegetables picked from your own yard

Have you ever thought how nice it would be to go out into your garden, pick some organic vegetables, and then make a meal? Are you considering planting a vegetable garden for the very first time? Here are some tips to help get you started planting a vegetable garden.

Preparing Soil for Your Vegetable Garden

The first thing to know about gardening is soil preparation. This is one of the most basic things that any new gardener needs to learn. Whether you plan to use a plot of land in your backyard or start a container vegetable garden on your balcony, soil preparation plays an important role in whether or not your vegetable garden will survive. There are three types of soil that you need to be familiar with: sand, clay, and silt. Sandy soil is loose and helps the roots of plants breathe because it lets the air pass through easily. Clay soil absorbs water faster and keeps it inside longer.  A soil composition that has more clay particles in it would be ideal for places that are too hot and the soil dries up quickly. Silt is a fine mixture of sand and clay particles.

When preparing the soil for your vegetable garden, dig up the soil and break off the lumps. Take out any rocks, roots, and weeds while you’re at it. Check if you have just the right mixture of sand, silt, and clay before you begin planting vegetable gardens. Ideally, silt and sand should both be 40%, and clay should just be 20%. This is to make sure that the water isn’t trapped inside too much that the roots will choke. Also, if the water is trapped too long inside the soil, the roots will rot. One good way to test whether the composition of your soil is good is by scooping out a handful and forming a ball with it. The soil should hold the shape of a ball without too much difficulty. If the soil cannot hold the shape, you might have too much silt or sand in the mixture. If the soil holds the shape but does not crumble easily when you poke it, it might have too much clay in it, which you need to balance out with a little silt or sand.

Choosing Vegetables for Your Vegetable Garden

Once you have finished cultivating the soil where you want to plant your vegetables, pick what kind of vegetable you want to grow there. Keep in mind that some vegetables don’t grow well when you plant them too close to certain types of other vegetables. Potatoes, for example, shouldn’t be planted too close to squash or tomatoes because it inhibits their growth. They can be planted in the same garden; just don’t plant them beside each other.

Some vegetables to consider growing together:

• tomatoes, peppers, and basil
• carrots, lettuce, and radishes
• celery, onion, and spinach
• cucumber, corn, and peas

(You’ll find some specific information about growing different types of vegetables throughout our website.)

You can choose to begin with seeds or container plants. Seeds will be more economical but also require more patience. If you choose seeds, follow the directions on the package—as seeds should be planted at different depths depending on their type.

Watering Your Vegetable Garden

After you have decided on the kind of vegetables you want and have planted them into the cultivated soil, you’ll have to learn about watering them properly. Vegetables need to be watered consistently. When planting vegetable gardens in a big space, you might want to consider using a soaker hose. A soaker hose has many holes along its body that waters your garden by letting the water seep through its holes.

Maintaining Your Vegetable Garden

In addition to watering your vegetable garden, you’ll need to pull weeds and check to see that everything is going well. Some obstacles you may encounter are bugs and furry creatures who want to eat your garden before you get a chance to.

You’ll learn some things along the way, one of them being patience. But try to remember the rewards of having a functional garden in your outdoor space.

By Shannon Mendez

Types of lettuce plants

There are several varieties of lettuce plants that will grow well in a home vegetable garden. The standard iceberg lettuce is actually a member of the crisphead family of lettuce, known for its crunchy leaves. Looseleaf types of lettuce do not form a traditional head, but grow their leaves in bunches instead. This permits a more continuous harvest because individual leaves can be cut off without killing the entire plant. Butterhead lettuce has small, round heads with frilly-looking leaves. Romaine lettuce plants form oblong heads with longer leaves than the other headed types of lettuce.

Lettuce seed

The shelf life of lettuce seed is shorter than most vegetables, so try to plant your seeds in the same year you purchased them. Using seeds obtained from other gardeners or through a seed exchange may not be a good option for growing lettuce because of this short viable lifespan. Commercial lettuce seeds are the best because you can see right there on the package how old the seeds are. Most varieties of lettuce seed are now available from the bigger commercial seed vendors.

Climate

Lettuce prefers cooler weather, generally spring and autumn in most climates. Home vegetable gardens in warmer climates may also be able to grow lettuce in winter or the early part of spring. As long as the weather remains suitable, you can continuously plant new seeds as you harvest the mature lettuce plants. You will know when the temperature is too warm to grow lettuce because the plants will flower. Lettuce plants that have flowered will have a bitter taste and are unsuitable for eating. Most salad greens grow in a similar manner, so the tips given here for growing lettuce can also be applied to growing cabbage, spinach, or other leafy vegetables.

Planting

Plant lettuce seeds about one-half inch deep in damp soil. You can plant the seeds in a rather dense pattern to start off with and then thin out the plants as they sprout. This maximizes your chances of covering your entire garden area even if some of your seeds do not germinate. Once the lettuce plants are growing, be sure to keep them adequately watered and pull out any weeds from your garden. Lettuce plants are rather low-maintenance as long as they are kept moist and weeds are not allowed to choke out the lettuce.

– edited for FunctionalGardens

By: Mary Hanna

In any recipe calling for herbs, use fresh herbs. Preparing the herbs for your dish is easy. The more tender herbs like mint, parsley, basil and cilantro can be gathered in a bowl and snipped with scissors. This is the fastest and safest way to chop the herbs. If your recipe calls for the more hardy herbs like oregano, rosemary, or thyme you should use the stripping method. Hold a branch of the herb upright in your fingers and run the fingers of your other hand down the stalk stripping the tiny leaves free. The flavor will be more intense if you have gathered the herbs from your herb gardens or container gardens because they will be absolutely the freshest herbs available.

The best way to have fresh herbs is to plant and grow them yourself. No longer is there a designated “herb garden”. They can be found in your flower beds, along walkways or in pots on your porch. Many ambitious gardeners are finding new ways to incorporate herbs into their garden beds and their container gardens.

Many gardeners are unaware of the beauty of flowering herbs and never consider planting them within their flower beds. Some herbs that have beautiful flowers are purple coneflower, catmint, bee balm, yarrow, pinks, lavender, pot marigold, borage, feverfew, and nasturtium which is particularly lovely in fresh salads.. Many other herbs, such as parsley are excellent next to flowers of all sorts because of their spectacular foliage. When planting red or blue flowers, place purple basil around them for an artful arrangement.

Another area to consider is to use herbs as ground cover. The herbs that are suitable to this are the low growing oregano, chamomile, woolly and other creeping thyme, mint, and rosemary. Not only will it look pretty but it will be absolutely fragrant. Just be careful of the mint family, they tend to take over everything.

One of the best ways I have grown herbs is in containers. In fact, I like container gardening so much I wrote my eBook “Container Gardening Secrets” (available at ContainerGardeningSecrets.com), so everyone could enjoy this type of gardening. The beauty of a container garden is that it is portable and can be changed at a moment’s whim. When there is no more room in your garden, start a container garden which you can place on your door step or patio. Use them to fill in bare spots that come up during the gardening season or put them on a sunny window sill in your home for easy harvesting. Best of all you can bring your herb containers inside over the winter months and continue to harvest for months to add to your tasty meals or to be used for medicinal purposes.

Another way to employ pots in your garden is to plant invasive herbs such as mint into a pot and then plant pot and all into the ground. This is an easy trick to keep those “creepers” from taking over your garden beds.

Plant a container garden near your door with the cherry pie scented blue flower heliotrope and other fragrant herbs such as rosemary, thyme and basil. Every time you walk by you will be greeted with there delicious scent.

Some herbs that have grown on rocky hillsides over the centuries such as thyme, oregano and lavender are perfect for cracks in flag stone paths or walls and rock gardens. They thrive in hot dry areas with good drainage. Some believe that those herbs grown in these conditions produce much better flavor.

Now is the time to plant your herbs, whether it is in a garden bed, a cracked wall or a container garden. Use your imagination. Consider color height and texture when planting your gardens. Not only will it be visually pleasing but your cooking will improve too!

Happy Gardening!

About the Author

Mary Hanna is an aspiring herbalist who lives in Central Florida. This allows her to grow gardens inside and outside year round. She has published other articles on Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Visit her websites at http://www.CruiseTravelDirectory.com, http://www.ContainerGardeningSecrets.com, and http://www.GardeningHerb.com

(ArticlesBase SC #39223)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – How To Grow And Handle Fresh Herbs From Your Garden Beds Or Your Container Garden

Tomatoes are easy to grow from seed, can be grown in any size garden that has a warm sheltered area, and are extremely rewarding.

Most tomatoes in the UK though are grown in greenhouses or polytunnels, mainly due to our fantastically reliable weather! That said, outdoor ripening fruit are well worth the wait. There are varieties of Tomato seed that are suitable for indoor or outdoor, and even some bred for growing in hanging baskets or pots.

One thing is true though, and that is no matter which type or variety you decide on,  they will all need fertile soil, sun, heat, water and food, if they are to produce a nice juicy fruit come harvest time.

Sowing the seeds

Ideally label and fill a 3 inch pot with lightly firmed compost, and water. Scatter the seeds thinly as most of them will germinate be careful not to over sow at this stage. Place the pot on a windowsill or warm light shelf to germinate, and within 2 weeks, you should see seedlings, and they will be big enough in around 8 weeks to move on to individual pots.

Move on by gently holding the seedlings by their leaves and carefully moving them out with the help of a dibber or such like. Make a hole in the new pot already filled with firm and watered compost and gently lower him in.  Firm around the plant making sure the roots are covered, then add some more water, just for luck!

When the roots start coming through the drainage holes, pot on to a 5 inch pot before the final move to the growing bag.

Moving into Growing Bags

Once the first  branch of flowers have come, then it is time to move your tomatoes to a growing bag.  Make sure first that the compost in the bag is broken up enough, so give it a good kicking and punch it, finally knead it nicely to ensure it is broken up. This is strangely satisfying in a caveman sort of way.

Punch some holes in the bas of the bag to allow drainage, and cut out the planting square (these should be already marked for you). Scoop out enough compost so that the top of the root ball is beneath the top of the bag, cover it with compost, firm it and water it. Did I mention that Tomatoes love water? Put a growing bag frame over the bag, and place a cane next to each plant, and with it secured, tie the plant to the cane every 100mm or so.

Ideally tomato plants grow on a single stem (unless you are growing a bush tomato so snap out any shoots that grown in leaf joints, and once your plant has produced four or five trusses of flowers, pinch out the growing tip. Doing this will ensure that all the growing energy is put into producing fruit rather than plant growth. You also need to feed once a week with fertiliser, and water daily, did I mention tomatoes love water?

The key to all of this though is in choosing the right tomato plant for your growing conditions, oh, AND plenty of water (did I mention that?)

About the Author

Seedparade is a Seed store

Based in the UK they are able to supply a large range of seeds for flower, fruit or vegetables, including flower seedsto produce stunning flowers.

(ArticlesBase SC #1960674)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – Growing Tomatoes

There are three main types of strawberries plants and many varieties of each type.  Which you choose depends on whether you want to eat fresh berries all summer or have a large crop within a short period of time for freezing or canning.

June bearing strawberry varieties will produce one large single crop in the late spring over a period of two to three weeks.  The largest berries will be from June-bearing plants.  These varieties make many runners that create “daughter” plants where they touch the soil. 

Plant individual berry plants in an alternating pattern 18 inches apart with four and a half feet between the rows.  This gives the runners room to spread as they wish, but if you give them half a chance they will take over the yard too!  Train the runners toward empty spots between the plants and secure the ends  to the soil with a small rock so they will root and make daughter plants. Before long, the plants will form a lovely green mat.

In a spaced row system, plants should be placed 18″ apart in rows that are three to four feet apart. Spaced rows produce a higher yield and larger berries with fewer disease problems.  Guide the daughter plants to spaces between the mother plants so they are about six inches apart and make rows about two feet wide.  Cut off any extra runners.

Pinch off any blossoms that appear the first year that you plant June-bearers.  This will encourage the plants to grow vigorously and produce more runners.  Your payoff comes the next summer when they will be bursting with wonderful strawberries!

Everbearing varieties will produce two or three harvests of fruit throughout the growing season and will produce a full crop the first season.  They do not make many runners.  Day neutral strawberries will produce throughout the growing season and also offer few runners.  Both varieties are good for gardens with limited space or container gardening and produce small flavorful berries.  Everbearing and day neutral berries are best planted in groups of two or three plants on hills that are eight inches high and two feet wide.  Stagger the hills twelve inches apart. If space is tight, consider planting them in strawberry pots (containers with pockets around the sides), hanging baskets, containers, or a raised bed. Remove any runners to allow more crowns and flower stalks to develop and pinch off any blossoms that appear until the first of July.  Pinching off some of the blossoms after they begin to form tiny berries will allow the remaining berries to grow larger.

Whichever variety of strawberry you choose, the garden preparation, fertilization, sunlight and watering requirements are the same.

Buy strawberry plants that are not potted to save money and for ease of planting.  Check online or mail order catalogs to choose varieties.  You may also be able to get free starter plants from a friend or neighbor who has a patch.  If they grow June-bearing strawberries they should have plenty of daughter plants to spare!   

Strawberries require full sun, no less than six hours a day, and well-drained, sandy soil.  More sunlight means more and better quality berries.  They will not tolerate drought or standing water.  Plant them in the spring as soon as the soil is dry enough to work.

Till and cultivate sod the year before you plant strawberries to eliminate competition from grass.  Work in one or two inches of compost or well-rotted manure.  Pick a spot that is free from  grubs, perennial weeds and disease.  Avoid planting strawberries where tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants or peppers have been planted within the last three years.  These plants may have infested the soil with verticillium rot which is especially hazardous to strawberry plants.  Place  your strawberry patch beyond the root zone of large trees so they won’t compete for water and nutrients.

Plant on a cloudy day or in the late afternoon so the sun doesn’t stress the plants.  Make a hole large enough that you can spread the roots out.  Make a hill in the center of the hole so that the crown of the plant will be at soil level.  Spread the roots over the hill and bury them.

Strawberry plants require cool soil to produce the best harvest.  Mulch between the rows to keep the soil cool, discourage weeds, and keep the fruit from laying on the soil.  Don’t use black plastic as mulch because it will raise the soil temperature.  Give the garden and inch or two of water if it hasn’t rained much the previous week.

Once your garden has begun to set fruit, you will need to put a mesh net over the crop to keep birds from helping themselves to your tempting berries, and they always go for the biggest, juiciest ones! As the berries grow, watch for any showing signs of disease or rot and remove them from the garden.

Harvest your strawberries when they turn bright red all over.  If you’re not sure if they’re ripe, taste one.  It won’t hurt to leave them on the plant an extra day or two; they’ll become more flavorful. Don’t pull them off the stem; strawberries bruise very easily and need gentle handling.  Break the stem off above the berry and place (don’t throw!) it into a bowl or basket.  They like to hide under the leaves so look carefully to be sure you get them all!   Pick berries shortly before you plan to use them and don’t leave them at room temperature for more than a few hours.   If you can’t use them right away put the unwashed berries in a bowl loosely covered with plastic wrap in the coldest part of the refrigerator. 

After your crop is harvested renovate your strawberry garden to prepare it for the next season.  Carefully mow the crowns down to two or three inches.  Till or hoe between the rows, mulch and all,  and reduce the width of the rows to six to 12 inches wide, thinning plants to six inches apart.  Fertilize the plants with a balanced fertilizer (10-10-10) at five pounds per 100 feet of row.  

In colder climates, before the temperature drops to 20 degrees, cover the crowns of the plants with several inches of straw or pine needles to protect the leaves from frost.  In the spring when the leaves begin to turn yellow gently rakes off the mulch into the space between the rows and fertilize and maintain the plants as in the previous season.  A well-maintained strawberry patch may last  five years, but if after three or four years the plants or berries begin to diminish in quality or quantity start a new strawberry patch in a new location.

By J. E. Davidson