Starting A Vegetable Garden

Whether you’re a novice or a veteran vegetable gardener, the first step to success is choosing a site that will work best. Find an area that gets at least six hours of sun a day and avoid shady areas.

Last month, we held the first of three classes on vegetable gardening. This series of classes are focused on the basics of starting a vegetable garden, with an emphasis on container gardening. In the last few years, container gardening has become more popular because it allows almost anyone to have a garden. They are on a much smaller scale, easier to maintain, and have the ability to move even after planting.

Unlike ornamental container gardening, vegetable container gardening generally requires larger containers because the end goal is food or produce production. Sizes can range from a 5-gallon bucket to a 55-gallon drum cut in half and laid horizontally. For our particular class, we utilized 5-gallon buckets. Participants were provided buckets that had pre-drilled holes for drainage and had the choice between planting tomatoes or two different varieties of lettuce. For container gardens, you want to use an artificial potting soil that is specifically used for containers. This allows the media to not compact the way traditional soil would. Potting soil will also allow the container to remain lighter, which is helpful when moving it. Another benefit to container gardening is being able to specifically choose and amend your media to fit your plants’ requirements.

https://eeo.okstate.edu.

Kennedy McCall is the OSU-Washington County Extension agriculture educator.

Source: examiner-enterprise.com