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Growing a vegetable garden is fun and rewarding. The following guide contains a few simple rules that will help you grow a bountiful garden.
(1) Prepare your soil: Amend your soil by adding compost or other organic materials. Apply an all-purpose fertilizer a few days before planting your garden. Make your garden loose and fertile, this will provide the most favorable conditions for your vegetables to grow.
(2) Divide your garden into planting units:
Divide your garden into 3 feet wide and 6 feet or longer planting units. Leave a 2 feet wide pathway between the units. This will allow you to manage your garden with ease. Group vegetables with similar needs in the same planting unit. See other side for details.
(3) Sow/transplant your vegetables at the proper time:
Vegetables grow best under their optimum growing climate. It is important to sow or transplant your vegetables at the right time. If you would like to extend your harvest by planting early or keep the vegetables in the ground beyond the season permits, take proper measures to protect your plants.
(4) Allow ample space for each plant to grow: The amount of space each type of vegetable need is determined by the size of the plant, the extent of its root structure and its nutrient requirements. Thinning is necessary to produce high quality vegetables. Think “less is more”. Over crowding will result in inferior vegetables and may reduce yield.
(5) Grow your garden vertically: Trellis vine plants will allow efficient use of garden space. It will also yield higher quality vegetables and make harvesting easier. Construct trellis with 20' long re-bars. Bend the re-bars into a “U” shape with the dimensions 7'-6'-7'. Place the bent re-bar in the soil 10 inch deep. Run a heavy horizontal string 6 inch above ground, then vertical strings up and down to cover the entire length of the re-bar. The re-bars can support a variety of crops such as peas, pole beans, cucumbers and melons etc..
(6) Keep your garden clean and the weeds under control: Remove thick leaves on the bottom of the plants as the season progresses. This will allow airflow and reduce the occurrence of pest and disease. Remove weeds when they are small and easy to get rid of. Keep a watchful eye on pest and disease; take measures when the first signs of problem appear. If you choose to use pesticides, follow the labels carefully.
(7) Water and Fertilize as the vegetables grow: Watering is important. Use deep and infrequent watering technique rather than daily shallow watering. Apply fertilizer as the plants grow. Nitrogen (N) is for leafy growth, phosphate (P) is for strong stem growth, and potassium (K) is for improving quality of the fruit.
(8) Harvest your vegetables in time: Harvest vegetables at the proper stage of maturity will give you the best tasting vegetables. Store your vegetables properly if not used immediately. For more information on how to prepare and preserve vegetables, please visit our website at www.newdimensionseed.com.
(9) Extend your garden season: Plant succession crops when appropriate. Many vegetables mature quickly and should be planted in succession. Baby bok choys, radishes and lettuce are good candidates for successive planting. In many areas, planting a fall garden can extend the garden season even longer.
(10) Plan ahead for a fall garden: Many vegetables can be planted for fall harvesting. Get your fall vegetable seedlings started ahead of time and timely removal of the spent spring crops is the key to have a successful fall garden. Please visit our website for more information on growing a fall garden.
After preparing the soil and dividing your garden into planting units, use the
following information to plan your garden. Plant one or more vegetables in each planting unit.
Unit 1. Cold tolerant vegetables: Sow Peas, radish and spinach as soon as the ground it workable. You may start seeds indoors and transplant them to the garden for an earlier harvest. Plant or transplant baby bok choys and lettuce as soon as the spring frost ends. Vegetables in this group include: Early Tender Snow Pea, Sweet Xing Snap Pea, Crimson Lady Finger Radish, China Jade Baby Bok Choy, Polar Ice Lettuce and Red Flamingo Lettuce.
Unit 2. Semi-Cold tolerant vegetables: These vegetables can be sown or transplant to garden at around the time when the spring frost ends. Vegetables in this group include: Candle Stick Gai Lan, White Globe Kohlrabi, Green Queen Kohlrabi and Spring Queen Chinese Cabbage.
Unit 3. Cucurbits: Cucurbits includes squashes, cucumbers and melons. They are frost tender. Be sure to plant/transplant them in your garden after all danger of spring frost ends. Sow directly when temperature reaches 60-65° F. You can sow the seeds earlier if you provide additional protection by using floating row covers or plastic sheets. Seeds can also be started indoors 3-4 weeks before transplanting to the garden. Vegetables in this group include: Speedy Silver Zucchini, Green Sword Cucumber, Cypress Cucumber, Stallion White Cucumber, C-C Cucumber, Lofty Luffa, GJ Watermelon and YJ Watermelon. Luffa should always be started indoors if you want to grow the matured fruit for sponge instead of the young fruit for eating.
Unit 4. Legumes (Beans/Soybeans): Beans and soybeans need warm temperature to germinate and grow. Sow directly when temperature reaches 60-65° F. For soybean, keep the soil moist but not wet, to avoid seed rot. Vegetables in this group include: Greenway Asparagus Bean, Red Orr Asparagus Bean, Ruby Crest Pole Beans, Xupar No String Green Bean, Purple Cardinal String Bean and Sweet Sansei Soy Bean. Among these selections, Ruby Crest Pole Beans is more cold tolerant than others.
Unit 5. Solanaceae: Solanaceae includes tomatoes, peppers and eggplants: This group of vegetables are heat loving plants. They must be started indoors and transplanted to garden when the weather is warmed up. New Dimension Seed selects early maturing varieties so that they will produce in season. Vegetables in this group include: Black Dragon Eggplant, Opus Eggplant, Estella Chile Pepper, Super Bullhorn Chile Pepper, Dwarf Red Bell Cherry Tomato and Dwarf Yellow Bell Cherry Tomato.
Unit 6. Carrots: Plant carrots when temperature has warmed up significantly in spring or early summer. Do not add too much nitrogen fertilizer where carrots will be planted.
Others: Plant Flagpole Giant Green Onion in between the lettuce or other vegetables, it can work as a divider and discourage weed growth. Plant Stocky Winner Garlic Chive in a large container, with the bottom cut off. This will limit the spread of the garlic chive.
For more information on growing a successful garden and easy delicious recipes, please visit our website. Good luck and happy gardening!
Starting vegetable plants from seeds is not difficult, yet for beginners it can be intimidating. Try to under stand the basic needs of seeds, and then use common sense and follow a few simple rules; you too will be growing them like pros.
Understanding what seeds need to germinate:
(1) Moisture: Keep the soil moist, not soaking wet after sowing the seeds.
(2) Air:When seeds germinate and root start to develop, they need air to breath and grow. The right kind of soil provides good drainage, which will allow the roots to develop properly.
(3) Proper temperature: condition provided by you. The optimum germination temperature is between 75-80 F. Seeds will germinate outside of this range, but it may take longer.
(4) Light: When seedling emerges, provide ample light will ensure healthy growth.
Keys for growing healthy seedlings:
(1) Use clean soil: Use store bought potting soil. They have the right kind of structure that will provide good drainage. They are sterile. Some even have fertilizer added to the soil mix (if not you can add your own). It will make your job much easier. Sometimes it is tempting to use old soil, but it will just cause trouble later on. Old soil is not sterile and can introduce diseases to the plants and cause them to die (damping off).
(2) Use fresh seeds: Starting with good fresh seeds are important . Chose varieties that are adaptable for local growing condition. The vitality of seeds means the capacity to live, grow and develop. Vital seeds germinate faster and reduce the chances for mishaps to occur.
(3) Direct sow or start from seeds? Certain seeds must be started in pots. This include the heat loving plants such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. Others should be direct sowed. This include root crops-radishes, carrots, greens like spinach. The rest it is up to you. You will usually get the plants to produce earlier if you start them as seedlings first.
(4) The keep one rule: When starting seeds in pots, place several seeds in each seed pot. When the seedlings emerge, remove all but one strong and healthy seedling in each pot. This will ensure the proper development of the seedling and give your plant the best chance to survive.
(5) Using heat mats: Heat mats raise the temperature about 10 F above the ambient temperature. Heat mats provide bottom heat and that is just what young seedlings love. Used properly you can grow some of the best looking, healthy seedlings. Temperature control unit: Used together with a heat mat, the temperature control unit allows you to set the heat mat at a constant temperature.
(6) Mulching: Mulching the seedlings: add a layer of mulch such as chicken grits (fine rocks) can have many benefits to young seedlings: (a) it keeps the moisture in the soil (b) it prevents soil being splattered when watering (c) It reduces the chances of moss or fungus forming on the surface.
(7) Direct sow guide: If you decided you are going to direct sow your seeds, do the following:
(a) Prepare your garden by turning it over and make the soil fluffy. Add soil amendments if you need to. Soil amendments can be garden compost, manures, coconut fibers, peat moss or sand.
(b) Make a furrow, place potting soil in the furrow. Sprinkle some slow release fertilizer in the furrow.
(c) Sow at the appropriate spacing, and cover the seeds with a light layer of soil and water the seeds well.
(d) If weather is still cold and wet, consider covering the site with a plastic sheet.
(8) Transplanting to garden: When seedlings grow to certain size, you will need to transplant them to bigger pots or to the garden. Mix some slow release fertilizers (such as 16-16-16) in the soil whether when you transplant.
Prepare your plants for transplanting: Set the plants you started indoors or in your greenhouse out during the day and bring them in at night for a few days just before you transplant them. This process is call hardening off.
Be sure to space the plants properly. They may look small and have too much space at first; soon you will be glad you give each plant enough room to grow.
Many vegetables can be planted for fall harvesting. New Dimension Seed has a great selection of fall vegetable seeds that will help extend your gardening season and enjoy fresh vegetables into the fall and beyond. The following is a brief guide for planning and growing a fall garden.
Preparing for a fall garden
1. Clean out summer garden, compost plant debris. Be sure to through away diseased plant remains to prevent the diseases from re-entering the garden.
2. Apply an all purpose fertilizer; mix it thoroughly into the soil. Some compost can be incorporated in the soil at this time
3. Plant vegetables according to their growing habit, maturity dates, and amount of time you will spend on taking care of them when frost arrives.
4. Group short-term vegetables such as radishes, lettuce, baby bok choy and cilantro together. These vegetables are frost tolerant and can be grown into the fall and early winter with proper care. Selections of short-term vegetables are: Snowman Baby Bok Choy, Lulan Baby Bok Choy, Arctic Circle Tah Choy, White Tux Radish, Crimson Lady Finger Radish and Big Leaf Cilantro.
5. Group mid-term vegetables such as fall cucumbers, beans and zucchini. These vegetables are more susceptible to frost damage. Be sure there is about 70-80 days remain before the frost arrives to get a fall harvest. Selections of mid-term vegetables are: Stallion White Cucumber, C-C Cucumber, Speedy Silver Zucchini, Purple Cardinal Bean and Ruby Crest Flat Bean.
6. Group long-term vegetables together, these include peas, carrots, spinach, cabbage, gai lan (Chinese broccoli) green onions, turnip and daikon radish. Carrots and spinach can be covered with straw when winter arrives and kept through the winter and next spring. Selections of long-term vegetables are: Yellow Sub Carrot, Kara Fall Carrot, Red Trooper Spinach, Flag Pole Giant Green Onion, snow peas and snap peas, Winter Elf Chinese Cabbage, kohlrabi, Ivory Daikon Radish and Silver Bell Sweet Turnip.
7. To help accelerate fall gardening, seeds can be started before the fall soil preparation is under way. So by the time the soil is prepared, the seedlings will be ready to go into the ground.