 |
Planning - Start planning your garden in January. |
|
Choose your location - Pick out a garden spot. |
|
Soil Testing - Have the soil tested to see what nutrients may need to be added. For tips on how to take a soil sample, see our soil testing information. |
|
Vegetables - Decide on what types of vegetables you want to plant and how much of each. Use our handy Gardening Grid to help detemine your needs. |
|
Purchase seeds - See our 2009 Vegetable Seed Catalog for more information |
|
Start seeds indoors so plants can be transplanted to the garden at appropriate times. See our article on Starting Seeds Indoors. You may also need to check the last frost dates for your area on the USDA Climate Hardiness Zones Map. Products you may need:
Jiffy Seed Starter Greenhouse (102-39069)
Jiffy-Strips (102-39043) & Jiffy Pots (102-39002 & 102-39006)
Jiffy Pot Pellet (102-39025)
Southern States Professional Potting Mix (102-00373) |
|
Till the garden – Till the garden when the soil is not frozen or too wet. Till in compost, fertilizer and lime if needed according to results of soil testing. Equipment you may consider:
Front Tine Tiller (103-01175)
Rear Tine Tiller (103-01176) |
|
Mark off the rows. Use string tied to small stakes place at the ends of each row as a guide to keep the rows straight. Make sure enough space is left between rows so that a tiller or hoe can be used to help control the weeds and grass between rows of vegetables.
People with larger gardens may want to put Garden Mulch Plastic (102-37166) down on rows for certain plants such as squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplants, watermelons, cantaloupes, pumpkins – this will help to control weeds and grass |
|
Plant the seeds. See our Planting Chart. We also recommend the Precision Garden Seeder (102-32014) – all vegetables being planted from seed can be planted with this.
Planting Times
| Garden Peas |
Beets, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Salad Greens, Lettuce, Onions
Irish Potatoes, Radishes |
Beans (Pole & Snaps), Broccoli, Cauliflower, Sweet Corn |
Blackeye Peas, Cantaloupe, Squash, Butterbeans, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Okra, Peppers, Tomatoes, Watermelons, Sweet Potatoes |
Pumpkins | |
|
Weeding and Thinning - You will need to weed your rows of vegetables to control weeds and grass frequently as the weed seeds sprout. You may also find you will need to thin some of your plants once they have 2 pairs of leaves if they were planted too closely together. If plants are to close together they will not grow to their proper sizes and will not produce the best quality vegetables. You may find a Garden Hoe (105-05518) helpful for weeding. |
|
Insect & Disease Control - Plants will need to be checked for insects during the entire gardening season/process. You may find you will need to spray or dust them to keep insects under control. These are few of the products available. Always read the label to determine if product can be used on the vegetable(s) you need to treat, what the reentry period is and the wait time before vegetables can be harvested. There are a variety of sprays and dusts from concentrate to ready to use to organic products available for the garden. Below is a sample. There are also chemicals to help with diseases such as tomato blossom end rot, powdery mildew, etc.
Eight Vegetable, Flower, & Fruit Spray (102-02830)
Captain Jack’s Deadbug Brew (102-09383)
5# 10% Sevin Dust (102-00922)
Sevin Concentrate 32 oz (102-00924)
1# Organic Garden Dust (102-02834) To apply chemicals needed for the garden you will need a sprayer(s) and safety equipment. The size of sprayer you will need depends on the size of your garden.
1 Gal Home & Garden Sprayer (102-11200)
2 Gal Pump Sprayer (102-40076)
15 Gal Spot Sprayer (107-00462)
Backpack Sprayer (066-07090)
Safety Goggles (066-13372)
Nitrile Gloves (067-00862) |
|
Apply fertilizer - Fertilizer will need to be applied to plants once they are above the soil. Fertilizer should not touch the plants directly as this will burn them. It is best to put fertilizer beside plants – this will have to be done by hand. You may need to fertilizer some plants more than one time during the growing season. We recommend:
Southern States Premium Vegetable Grower 10-10-10 Fertilizer (600-33156) |
|
Watering - If the weather turns dry, you will need to be able to water your garden. This should not be done during the hottest part of the day as this could possibly ruin the plants and vegetables. Do not enter the garden directly after watering it. Touching and moving the plants while they are still wet from watering can increase the chance of mildew. Products you may need:
5/8” x 50’ Garden Hose (102-01900)
Statesman Tripod Sprinkler (102-08872) (you will be able to cover a wide area at one time with a tripod sprinkler) |
|
Supports - Tomato plants do much better if they are supported by a tomato cage or if you stake and tie them. This will keep the tomatoes for touching the ground, which will help prevent rotting. Also the plants will last longer if they are supported and will not break under the weight of the tomatoes. Products to consider:
33in Galvanized Tomato Cage (081-02154)
54in Galvanized Standard Tomato Cage (081-02155)
Jute Twine (075-01118)
Stakes |
|
Harvesting Supplies - Do not harvest vegetables during the middle/hottest part of the day. The vegetables become soft then and anywhere you touch them you will bruise them. It is much better to harvest early morning and late afternoon/evening. You may find it helpful to have pruners to use to harvest such vegetables as eggplants and zucchini squash. For details on what to look for as each vegetable variety ripens, see our Harvest Times Chart provided by UGA Extension.
SSC 5 Gal Pail (100-01941)
Ames True Temper Anvil Pruner (105-12117) Harvest Times by Month
| Peas |
Beets, Carrots, Radish, Cabbage, Salad Greens, Lettuce, Broccoli, Cauliflower |
Sweet Corn, Snaps, Squash, Cucumbers, Peppers, Eggplants |
Tomatoes, Butterbeans, Watermelons, Cantaloupe, Irish Potatoes, Sweet Corn, Snaps, Squash, Cucumbers, Peppers, Eggplants |
| Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, Butterbeans, Watermelons, Cantaloupe, Irish Potatoes, Sweet Corn, Snaps, Squash, Cucumbers, Peppers, Eggplants |
Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, Butterbeans, Watermelons, Cantaloupe, Irish Potatoes, Sweet Corn, Snaps, Squash, Cucumbers, Peppers, Eggplants |
Pumpkins | |
|
Preserving - Once your vegetables are ready to harvest you can use them fresh. If you have too much to use at one time, you can preserve them for use in the fall/winter/early spring. Vegetables can be canned (pressure cooker or water bath) and frozen. Vegetables that freeze well are: broccoli, sweet corn, peppers, butterbeans, blackeye peas, garden peas. Vegetables that must preserved with a pressure cooker are snaps. Beets, squash, tomatoes, cucumbers (pickle) can be preserved with a water bath. See our article series on home canning for more information and a video demonstration of the water bath caning method.
Water Bath Canner Set (121-00071)
Ball Blue Book to Preserving (121-34716)
Waterbath Canner and Cooker (066-68413)
Home Canning Kit (066-68409)
Pint Regular Jars (121-34704)
Quart Regular Jars (121-34705)
Pint Wide Mouth Jars (121-34700)
Quart Wide Mouth Jars (121-34701)
Regular Lids w/ Bands (121-34711)
Wide Mouth Lids w/ Bands (121-34709)
Regular Lids (121-34712)
Wide Mouth Lids (121-34710) To have a garden that will provide produce all summer long it is best to continually plant small amounts of vegetables throughout the growing season. To find out the latest date a vegetable can be planted use the Maturity Date listed on seed pack and back up from that date to find the plant date.
If you live in an apartment, town house, or have a small yard you can still have a vegetable garden. Container gardening is very popular and can be done on a deck/patio or porch and you will still be able to enjoy fresh vegetables. The same above principals will apply just on a much smaller scale. |