5 Steps For Veggie Garden Success All Season Long

The season for fresh fruit and veggies is finally here!  Having a vegetable garden is something anyone can do.  Yes, that includes you!  If you feel like you have a black thumb, no backyard or even a limited budget, it's still possible.  I became interested in growing food when I met someone who shined the light on just how easy it is.  I had the most common question on the tip of my tongue.  "How did you do that?"  The answer was simple, just like washing dishes or running laundry.  It's something that can be done a little at a time every day.  Although much more enjoyable than your mundane household chore, it is just as straightforward and can be added into your daily routine.  

If you don't have a yard, you can still grow on your kitchen window ledge or even your front steps.  Growing tomatoes on a balcony, porch or deck can be a very rewarding experience.  If you have a limited budget, you can start out small and then learn how to collect and save seeds.  I truly believe that the black thumb is a myth.  We all have plants that peter out during the season and end up succumbing to pests or disease, but this is perfectly normal!  Some of us find growing from seed extremely difficult at first, but that's okay!  Never give up, and you will eventually get the hang of it.  When embarking into the wonderful world of growing edibles, there are a couple basics that can help ensure veggies all season long.  Although some elements are out of your control like the weather, you can sway nature's hand to point in the direction of success.  I'm here to share with you the steps I take every year to enjoy healthy harvests.  Each gardener has different tactics, but these basics can help you reach your yearly growing goals.  

It may not be the most enjoyable part of gardening, but soil health is something you can't ignore or skip.  This is the fundamental step of garden success.  In order to grow healthy plants, your soil needs to include organic matter like phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium.  It may sound difficult, but it's actually very simple.  Adding compost can immediately add these nutrients to your soil.  You can purchase it in a bagged soil form to add immediately.  I enjoy using the Coast of Maine product line that includes Schoodic Blend Cow Manure Compost.  It is perfect for helping you build healthy soil with ingredients including sphagnum peat moss.  Peat moss helps retain water as well as nutrients.  You can also condition your soil and keep your plants healthy using a liquid form like Authentic Haven Brand Manure Tea.  Adding this when you water your plants can help them grow a healthy root system while naturally adding nutrients.  Both of these options are excellent and easy to use.  When you begin to grow your crops, like greens they will grow strong in the rich soil and will be less stressed and prone to disease.  

Succession planting is easily done by sowing seeds every couple of weeks.  Veggies that do very well with this method include beans, peas and greens.  One of the first mistakes I made as a gardener was planting all of my lettuce at the same time.  When it was ready to be harvested, I had enough leafy goodness to make 10 salads.  Although this sounds great in theory, my refrigerator isn't big enough to hold this amount of salads nor do I need that much frozen spinach for smoothies.  It is much less overwhelming when your greens mature a little at a time.  That way you can enjoy a fresh salad every single week during the summer.  Greens must be harvested frequently during the hottest months, and if you get behind in picking, the high temperatures will take that fresh lettuce of yours and cause it to bolt.  Once this happens, your greens become inedible.  It is much easier to plan your schedule out in advance.  Planting peas and bush beans every two weeks is another great idea to keep your delicious crops coming all season long.  Bush beans grow fast, and if you want to harvest these tasty treats, just remember to keep sowing those seeds.   Try it with sugar snap peas as well!  That way you can continue to graze and munch those tasty morsels as you work in the garden. 

As shown in the photo above, I like to add companion plants to my vegetable garden.  Companion planting can be done with flowers, herbs and even other veggies.  This will benefit your garden and help with growth, flavor and pest control.  Some companion plants act as a deterrent for bad bugs and help lure in those beneficial bugs you want around.  A few companion flowers that work wonders for me are marigolds, petunias and nasturtiums.  Marigolds attract those good bugs, repel unwanted bugs and mask your crops from intruders with their strong scent. I always make a ring of marigolds around my tomato plants.  Petunias make a great companion for my beans.  They work as a trap crop and keep leafhoppers and Japanese beetles from taking over.  Nasturtiums prevent cucumber beetles from attacking my crops along with white flies.  Some of my favorite herbs to use as companions include basil, chives and catnip.  Basil is thought to improve the flavor of tomatoes along with keeping away tomato hornworms.  Planting chives with carrots is known to help with growth as well as flavor.  Catnip will keep those flea beetles at bay and prevent them from making tiny little holes in leaves that can stress out your plants.  Don't forget that adding these plants will take up space, so that means less weeding!  Adding companion plants is a fun and easy way to protect, all while supplying a gorgeous pop of color.  Over time, you will find out what works the best for the plants in your garden. 

The best way to combat garden pests is to control it organically with live beneficial insects.  Adding in ladybugs can stop bad bugs from causing damage and destruction to your crops.  They annihilate aphids, leaf hoppers and mealy bugs.  Every year, I purchase 500 Orcon lady bugs from my local garden center.  They come in a small plastic container.  As soon as I get home, I put them right in my refrigerator.  This puts them  into a relaxed state until they are released.  Right around dusk, I lightly mist my garden with water and then release them.  This way, they can get a nice drink and find a safe new spot among my edibles.  They don't fly at night, so releasing them when the sun is setting allows them to hunker down and make a home.  The lady bugs that stay in your garden will lay eggs, continuing the life cycle and guaranteeing you assistance all season long.  Another great live insect to add to your garden is the praying mantis.  They come in the form of an egg casing.  You attach this egg casing to a twig and wait for it to hatch.  Once the egg hatches 8 weeks later, you will have tiny predatory warriors running around protecting your plants like an army.  Both bugs are wonderful options for fighting off pests organically.  

Soaker hoses allow you to add moisture directly to the root systems of your plants.  It cuts down on water waste and eliminates the need to stand over your garden for an hour with the hose.  When installing, you connect your soaker hose up to a regular hose and lay it down around your plants setting it down with wire pins. Another good idea that you may want to consider is adding in a timer.  I have my soaker hose turn on early in the morning hours and late at night after the sun goes down.  It really does helps you take control over your garden and regulate how much water it gets daily.  Something else to keep in mind is vegetables like tomato plants do not do well with overhead watering.  Allowing the foliage to get to soggy promotes disease.  Other then the rain, which you cannot control, it severely reduces the risk of this from occurring. 

Diane | Homemade Food Junkie

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