Waiting for Spring and the Right Time to Plant Vegetables

As a fellow gardener, it is easy to understand how impatient the long winter days can make a person. The waiting for warmer weather can be made tolerable with drawing your garden plan. A garden plan can keep you from a lot of problems when it is time to plant. Here is a simple guide to getting ready to plant and steps to take to get those veggies growing.

Map out an area that receives at least six to eight hours of sunlight daily. Vegetables have various light requirements, but it is a standard rule of thumb that all of the vegetables grown in our hemisphere need six to eight hour s of sunlight a day. Your garden spot needs a few other essentials as well.

Good drainage is needed in order to prevent plants from getting root rot. Rich soil is great if you have it, if not, compost and manure should be added to the garden site about six to eight weeks prior to planting. This can even be placed on top of snow. In fact, the snow will help push the nutrients down into the soil to make it ready for the seeds you will be planting. Once you have amended your soil if it needs it, place a sheet of black plastic over the entire area you will be using to grow vegetables in. This plastic should sit for a minimum of six weeks in order to kill any weeds that are there and any grasses.

Starting seeds in trays is a good idea to get a jump on spring. Most seeds need to be started about six to eight weeks before the last chance of frost in your area. Check seed packets for information regarding how well each type of vegetable will transplant. Leaf lettuce and peas are early start vegetables and can be started sooner than other vegetables that require the 68°F weather. Peppers, tomatoes and vining plants require the warm weather before planting. Starting tomatoes early will give you less time to wait for harvest, so on a day when you just cannot stand the wait any longer, start your early seeds.

For areas with heavy soil, you should wait until the weather warms up to temperatures around 68°F before planting. Raised beds will eliminate the wait because they drain much better and will stay warmer. Once you are able to pick up a small ball of soil, compress it and not have water leak out, you can start planting.

Once your garden is planted, regular weeding is put on a schedule in order to ensure a healthy garden. Mulching in between rows helps keep the weeds down, but as most gardeners know, there are still the ones you have to pull out. Be sure to run a cultivator through the garden to keep the soil aerated and the weeds from sending down long roots.

Watering the garden when nature does not provide enough is done when ever you do not have rain for more than two days. Young plants will suck up a lot of water, so make sure to provide plenty. Sprinklers help make this job much easier. Soon you will be harvesting nutritious vegetables to delight your family and friends at your table.

Herb likes to write about gardening topics. Please check out his website that contains nylon hammock information as well as hanging chair hammock information.