{"id":79,"date":"2011-05-29T23:50:14","date_gmt":"2011-05-30T04:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/northtexasvegetablegardeners.com\/blog\/?p=79"},"modified":"2019-01-09T11:47:30","modified_gmt":"2019-01-09T17:47:30","slug":"vegetable-gardening-101","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northtexasvegetablegardeners.com\/blog\/2011\/05\/29\/vegetable-gardening-101\/","title":{"rendered":"Vegetable Gardening 101"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a> The most common questions about gardening come from people just starting out: What do I do? \u00a0How do I start? \u00a0Most any experienced gardener will tell you they never stop learning, so don’t wait until you think you ‘know it all’ to get started; try following some common guidelines, get started NOW, and learn as you go.<\/p>\n

The Deal<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first thing is to understand ‘the deal’. \u00a0You want plants to produce food. \u00a0These plants have special needs because they are bred to produce tasty food, but usually aren’t so good at survival against all the other types of plants. \u00a0There are certain things they need, and in return for their food, you need to provide them a certain level of\u00a0comfort,\u00a0security, food, water, and a nice environment. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Start Small<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thinking big in the beginning is good, but understand that nature is complicated, and most beginning vegetable gardeners run into all kinds of issues in the first few years. \u00a0It is easy to become overwhelmed and\u00a0frustrated. \u00a0Try starting with one or two beds to begin with, build up your skill level and knowledge base as you expand.<\/p>\n

Raised Beds<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most of our soils in the DFW area are hard to deal with. \u00a0It is possible to\u00a0amend\u00a0the soil, but it generally takes a good deal of time and effort (and maybe money) to do this. \u00a0The quick and easy solution is to build a raised bed<\/a>. \u00a0Some books say 6″ of soil will be enough, but I think we need at least 9″ of good soil to hold enough moisture to get plants through our hot days. \u00a0Raised beds can be made with lumber, stone, concrete blocks, or most any other material, or the simplest of all is just create a raised pile of soil. \u00a0Raising the bed gets the plants up away from the native soil to promote good drainage.<\/p>\n

Choose a Good Location<\/strong><\/p>\n

Full Sun: \u00a0One of the most important ingredients for a vegetable garden is sun. \u00a0We need at least 6 hours of full-strength sun for most vegetable plants. \u00a0If the area doesn’t get enough sunlight, vegetables won’t grow there, it is simple, but some people want it all: \u00a0a piece of land fully shaded with 200 year old trees AND a vegetable garden. \u00a0Sometimes you can’t have it all! \u00a0Find or create a good sunny location.<\/p>\n

Ideally, your garden will be somewhere that you will walk through every day and will have easy access to a source of water. \u00a0If the vegetable garden is located along the pathway between where you park your vehicle and your home, then you will likely notice possible issues very early.<\/p>\n

Also consider the drainage of the area your garden will be in. \u00a0A low-lying swampy area will always be a problem, so pick somewhere else. \u00a0The ideal location will also have protection from violent winds, but will offer a gentle breeze most of the time.<\/p>\n

Good Soil<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chances are excellent that the native soil at your home is not ‘good soil’. \u00a0Fortunately, there are some excellent sources for blended soils that will almost guarantee vegetable plants will grow well. \u00a0If you are going to spend money on something for your garden, it should be good soil<\/a>. \u00a0Ideal soil is a mixture of minerals, sand, clay, and organic matter, and should be full of life. \u00a0Adding quality compost is almost always a good idea.<\/p>\n

Water<\/strong><\/p>\n

Having a source of water near your garden makes life much easier. \u00a0Storing rainwater is the best choice, but a faucet nearby works also. \u00a0I’ve hauled water in 5 gallon buckets for a season, which encouraged me to add some underground pipes to bring in water the next year.<\/p>\n

Fertilizer \/ Food<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rarely will the soil have enough nutrients by itself to encourage the kind of growth we want to see. \u00a0Extra fertilizer<\/a> will provide for our plants. \u00a0Avoid highly concentrated (NPK numbers above 10), fertilizers. \u00a0Slow-release is best. \u00a0(organic fertilizers are slow-release) \u00a0Balanced\u00a0and complete fertilizers are ideal. \u00a0A vegetable plant is generally fertilized once when it is planted, and then again when it starts to set fruit. \u00a0Finished plant-based compost (humus) is a good fertilizer. \u00a0You can also make your own fertilizer from natural ingredients<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mulch<\/strong><\/p>\n

Avoid bare soil! \u00a0The hot sun bakes the soil, which isn’t good for much of anything. \u00a0Mulch helps retain moisture and promotes more even soil temperatures. \u00a0Mulch made from shredded native trees is considered the best, but many other types can be used, such as hay, grass clippings, leaf litter, or unfinished compost. \u00a0Don’t let the mulch touch the stem of your plants and don’t let the mulch mix in with your garden soil (especially\u00a0wood mulch). \u00a0Most all plants need to have their stems exposed to the air.<\/p>\n

Unintended\u00a0Consequences (A plea to go organic)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our need for instant\u00a0gratification\u00a0has a few downsides. \u00a0If you see a bug eating your plant, your instinct might be go to the store to buy something to kill it. \u00a0 (and there are plenty of stores that are very eager to sell you something to kill it)<\/em> Realize that spraying a chemical will almost always have unintended\u00a0consequences. \u00a0That action will likely do something that will further harm the cycles of nature. \u00a0Take the time to understand why that bug is there in the first place. \u00a0Are your plants weak or diseased? \u00a0Home gardeners can easily overpower and upset the delicate balances of nature. \u00a0It is best to understand what is happening through observation and education. \u00a0Usually, the best action is the absolute minimum necessary. \u00a0Sometimes the best action is to do nothing. \u00a0Focus on plant health, soil health, diversity, and co-operation.<\/p>\n

Plant the Right Variety of Plant<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most plants were developed to grow in climates different than Dallas, Texas. \u00a0If you are going to the trouble of growing a garden, you should make sure the plants you are using are adapted to the climate and conditions. \u00a0Big-Box stores do not excel in\u00a0expertise\u00a0in this area, local nurseries do. \u00a0There are plenty of online resources<\/a> to help decide what to plant in the DFW area.<\/p>\n

Plant at the Right Time<\/strong><\/p>\n

We have 3 general growing seasons in the north Texas region: \u00a01) cool weather, 2) warm weather, and 3) way too hot weather. \u00a0The good news is that we can grow food all year round, and we get two chances at growing the warm weather crops. \u00a0The bad news is that the timing is critical for growing certain plants that like it warm, but not too hot. \u00a0Be sure and consult a local planting calendar<\/a> to figure out what will grow at a certain time of year.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Square Foot Gardening<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is an excellent book<\/a> for new vegetable gardeners. \u00a0Mel has created a simple, all-inclusive method for getting good results. \u00a0This book covers all the topics needed to be successful.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

If anyone is considering starting their own garden, I hope the tips here will be helpful. \u00a0Remember to Observe,\u00a0Experiment, Use Your Noodle, and Take Responsibility<\/a>. \u00a0Growing your own food is very rewarding. \u00a0There is no question about the quality of food that was grown in your own backyard, and the nutritional content and taste are much better than most things you can buy in a store. \u00a0Working with plants and soil also provides happiness. \u00a0I don’t know any sad gardeners. \u00a0Someone said that if everyone gardened, we wouldn’t need psychologists or mind-altering drugs!<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Education<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since this article was written, the Citizen Gardener<\/a> education program has become available in the DFW area. \u00a0This program aims to package the main concepts discussed here in one easy to understand method and teach the method in a learning-intensive hands-on workshop format. \u00a0Please visit the\u00a0Citizen Gardener<\/a>\u00a0website for more\u00a0information.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The most common questions about gardening come from people just starting out: What do I do? \u00a0How do I start? \u00a0Most any experienced gardener will tell you they never stop learning, so don’t wait until you think you ‘know it all’ to get started; try following some common guidelines, get started NOW, and learn as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_glsr_average":0,"_glsr_ranking":0,"_glsr_reviews":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[20,19,18],"class_list":["post-79","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-how-to","tag-beginner","tag-getting-started","tag-tips"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1jPFc-1h","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/northtexasvegetablegardeners.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/northtexasvegetablegardeners.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/northtexasvegetablegardeners.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northtexasvegetablegardeners.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northtexasvegetablegardeners.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/northtexasvegetablegardeners.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":861,"href":"https:\/\/northtexasvegetablegardeners.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79\/revisions\/861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/northtexasvegetablegardeners.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northtexasvegetablegardeners.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northtexasvegetablegardeners.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}