Starting A Vegetable Garden

Whether you like juicy tomatoes or leafy greens, most vegetables love full sun and well-drained soil. They also need regular care.

Keep the soil in your vegetable garden healthy by testing the soil pH and adding organic matter. Many university county coop extension agents can test your soil for free.

It’s common knowledge among gardeners that every plant has its own requirements, but there’s something about cauliflower that makes it seem a little more fussy than others. You need to give the plant enough water to grow that beautiful curd. “Enough” usually means 1-2 inches per week, but it likes its water all at once so it can soak deep into the ground. If more than two inches of soil aren’t wet, you need to keep watering.

It also needs a lot of nutrients to grow, so expect to fertilize your soil frequently. Compost or chemical fertilizers will work, but what you need depends on the soil. While many plants are forgiving of subpar soil, cauliflower isn’t; you should get a soil test done to see what nutrients your dirt is missing. You also need to monitor pH levels, which should be between 6.0 and 6.8.

Timing is also everything when it comes to cauliflower. If you plant them when the weather is too hot or cold, they won’t develop properly and could eventually die. You must plant them before the first fall frost, but you can’t until the weather dips below 75 degrees. Row covers will help them stay warm in cool weather, and shade covers will help them keep cool.

Source: housedigest.com