It's Not to Late to Plant Your Garden: Here's How

If you want to plant a garden it's not too late. Even though it is almost the middle of June its okay, you can still get your plants in and have fresh vegetables and fruits by the middle of August if not a little sooner. If you have never planted vegetables and fruits before this article is for you. Even a seasoned gardener can learn new tricks from other gardeners. I have been gardening for over 10 years, from fruits and vegetables to flowers and herbs.

Over the years I have tried different methods from the way you put your plants in the ground to which type of mulch that works the best so I didn't have to spend everyday all day weeding and watering.

Now if you are reading this with the thought of gardening is too much work, you are half right. Gardening isn't for everyone. The number one thing is that you have to enjoy being outdoors. It can get hot and you will get a little dirt in the beginning but what's a little heat and dirt under your nails to reap the rewards in the long run; when you can walk in the house with a basket full of juicy red ripe tomatoes, long fat cucumbers, sweet cantaloupes and fat peppers; these are just to name a few.

So what do you do to get started, first you should make a list of the basic fruits and vegetables your family likes. Don't try to include some new vegetable that you are not sure your family will eat; it could take up space for more of a crop yield of say, tomatoes that you know everyone will enjoy. Plus this is probably your first garden I know you will want to make the maintenance as easy and less time consuming as possible.

The next thing you have to do is to designate an area in your yard to put your garden. For your first garden I would not make it to big. The area needs to be just big enough for you to plant just what you would like to eat from your list.

Next is the time to make a visit to your local garden center so you can purchase your plants. Here's the tip on why it isn't too late to plant a garden. You are not going to buy seeds. At the garden center you are going to purchase plants that are all ready started, seeds just take to long to germinate so you will be cutting it to close to the first frost to get a good yield of crops. While you are at the garden center, looking at all those pretty green plants, remember plants like tomatoes just don't produce all at once then quit. They will keep producing and producing up until the first hard frost. So don't go crazy and buy 10 tomato plants. Talk to someone at your garden center they can help you determine how many plants you need for each type of fruit and/or vegetable you want to grow.

The next thing you need to purchase is bags of compost, for a small garden you won't need many, if you would like to wait on this you can until you have all your plants planted. Gardeners will tell you, you need to work compost in to the whole area of your garden, this got to expensive for me; I will tell you what I did later.

Now that you are home and have purchased your plants plus determined where you want to put your garden, its time to work the ground. Depending on the type of soil you have, you might have to rent a tiller. I have found that this was the best way to get my ground worked up, especially when there was grass planted in that spot. My husband would do this for me at every house we have lived in. That was his contribution to the garden besides eating what came from it. After tilling the first time I just turned the soil with a shovel.

Now you need to try to clear out any grass, weeds and big rocks that have worked there way to the surface. The more grass and weeds you can get out the less weeding will be involved. A steal rake comes in handy for this purpose. When that is all finished it's time to make your rows to plant. Don't worry about any soil treatment just yet we will get to that.

To make your rows you will need a hoe. Take the edge of the hoe or the pointed end and place in the dirt and pull as you walk backwards. Do this several times until the whole garden has rows that are about 12 to 16 inches apart. You want to have enough room between the rows for you to walk and to get on your knees for weeding, watering, and feeding. This is where the compost comes in, take your bag and just pour some down into each row, you can work it into the dirt with your hands each time you plant a plant. This will save you money plus time. You can also just put some in your hand, work it in in the spot you will be planting your plant.

Decide what plants you want to plant first and in what rows. If you don't have anything taller than tomatoes then plant the tomatoes to the back of your garden. This way the taller plants don't block the sun from the shorter plants like peppers.

To plant your plants there is a tip that I have used for years. Take your tomato plant out of the little plastic container, break off a little of the soil at the bottom of the plant; don't worry if you break off any of the roots, it won't hurt the plant. Now don't just stand the root ball straight up, lay it on it's side down in the row and slightly bend the plant stem up just a little, so the plant leaves are above the ground and cover with dirt from each side of the plant. This is the dirt that the hoe piled up on the sides of each the row. If the plant has any leaves that are down at the bottom of the plant, tear them off, it's okay, just do it.

The reason I'm tell you to lay the plant on its side is because the plant will get a good root development and this makes for a healthier plant with more yield. Do this to all your plants each time you plant one.

Now that you have all your plants planted, the next thing is to feed them. You can get several different types of vegetable and fruit food. I have always preferred the granules. If you purchase granules then what you do is to work the soil up a little around each plant. Not to deep so the granules won't get down to the roots and burn them. Sprinkle the granules around the plants diameter. Work the granules into the ground just a little. After you have done this it's time to water.

Watering has always been the biggest problem for lots of people. They either water too much or not enough plus they water the wrong way. Never set a sprinkler to water your plant, that's the number one rule for watering gardens. You never want to get the leaves wet. I know you are saying the leaves get wet when it rains, that's true and you can't do anything to prevent this but rainwater is different than the water that comes out of the hose. Watering the leaves will promote diseases and rot. The best way to water is to turn your hose on just a little and lay it next to each plant for a few minutes. Don't put it right up next to the stem; lay it out aways just a little. This helps the water to sink down into the ground to the roots and not wash away the dirt and the plant food you just fed them.

The best way of judging if your garden needs water is to set several empty and washed tuna cans around the garden. If you get enough rain to fill them completely per week then your garden is okay but who gets enough rain. If you water each plant deeply once a week your plants will have a deep root system and have a good yield.

Now to keep you from breaking your back everyday weeding, go to the garden center and purchase bails of straw. Make sure it is straw you are getting. If you have a farmer that you know you could ask him but straw is what you want. If you would happen to get a bail of hay, you are in-for- it, so many weeds you might as will give up; hay is full of seeds. This happened to me one year. I got several bails of straw from my cousin but somehow a bail of hay was mixed in with the bails of straw and I was weeding forever!

Take the bail of straw and cut the cord, pull apart. Lay the straw down the center of the rows after you have this done them get down by each individual plant and lay straw around them. You want the straw to be about 1 to 2 inches deep. This is a perfect depth for controlling weeds. If you do get a heavy storm you might have to add some more straw, remember, the more straw the less weeding for you!

Now all you have to do is feed each plant once a month, make sure your garden is getting enough water and pick your crops. Enjoy your fresh produce!