Basics of gardening

 Basics of Gardening

Garden Planning : 

Before starting seeds, you need a plan. When planning a garden, you need to ask yourself, "What will I grow, where will I grow, how much will I grow, and when should I grow?"

What should you grow? That depends on what you like. If you're wanting to grow produce, you should only grow fruits & veggies you'll actually eat. Okra is fast growing and produces an abundance, but that's a problem if you don't do anything with it. You also need to consider your growing zone. For example, you won't have much luck if you want to grow jalapeños in Zone 1. Even zones 2-4 may have problems due to their need of 5-6 months of full sun. We'll touch on some companion plants later on that you should consider growing that will benefit the produce you choose for your home garden.

When planning your garden, you need to select a location that gets at least 6 hours of full sun. That doesn't necessarily mean 8 continuous hours each day. You could have 3 hours of morning sun, shade in the afternoon, and 3 hours in the early evening. Choosing an area that has access to south-facing sun in the northern hemisphere or north-facing sun in the southern hemisphere will be best. Having in-ground soil beds, raised beds, containers, or hydroponics makes no difference when picking the location unless you're supplementing with grow lights. 

Now that you know what to grow, where your garden will be located, and how many plants you want to have, you need to know when to grow. Most seed packets will tell you the days to maturity or harvest, so you can anticipate when you should plant based on that. 

When to start seeds : 

When determining the best time to sow your seeds, you need to know your growing zone. Most seed packets will give you a rough guideline of which months to grow based on your location.

Frost dates are another thing to consider when planning your seeds. If you're in an area that drops below freezing at any time, even if for just an hour in the early morning a few times a year, this can be devastating to several plants. We're in north Georgia, so our last frost date of the year is typically in early April. With that said, we often get a surprise day as late as mid-May with mornings that dip into the low-30s or high-20s. Don't worry if you've started plants outside that aren't colder hardy and see a frost in the forecast; you can cover them with frost cloth or bring them inside if in a small container. 

Several types of produce, such as lettuces & delicate herbs, have a short shelf life and can't be stored easily once harvested. For this reason, it's best to succession plant these crops every 2-3 weeks. This will allow you to enjoy fresh salad greens from the garden all season long without trying to figure out what you're going to do with 20 heads of romaine that won't last more than a week or so in the fridge.

Another factor to keep in mind when sowing seeds is the time it takes to get from seed to harvest. Some plants need to be sown directly into the garden bed to avoid damaging the delicate roots while others can be started indoors and transplanted when they are larger & more mature.

Soil mix : 

We're going to talk about two types of soil mixes: seed starting mix and garden soil.

The seed starting mix doesn't contain any soil at all. It's a mixture of coconut coir, vermiculite, and perlite. You can use the less expensive peat moss instead of coconut coir, but it's less sustainable, breaks down quickly, compresses the mix, and reduces air for the seeds & roots. Vermiculite is an organic mineral that helps retain moisture in the mix. Perlite is an amorphous volcanic glass that provides proper drainage for your plants. We like to use 60% coconut coir, 20% vermiculite, and 20% perlite in our mix.

Sometimes you'll end up with clay and/or sand in the soil on your property. Clay is great at retaining moisture but often becomes so compact that roots can grow properly, stunting growth or even killing your plants. Sand will provide drainage, but sometimes high levels of sand in your soil will require you to water more frequently due to the lack of moisture retention. If you have a high concentration of clay in your soil, adding sand from the hardware store will actually have the opposite effect and turn your clay into concrete. Add good-quality topsoil to get the proper drainage you need.