Ready to cultivate your green thumb and harvest a bounty of fresh veggies? Dive into the world of vegetable gardening with expert tips, tricks, and inspiration! Check out our Garden Center, and let’s grow together!
1. Solar Exposure/Site selection
Once you‘ve selected the perfect location for your veggie garden, getting the sunlight right is essential. Most vegetables require a minimum of 6 hours of direct sunlight daily, with 8–12 hours optimal. On the other hand, cool-season leafy greens thrive in 4+ hours of direct light and will even benefit from some afternoon shade. Consider sites that receive morning, mid–day, and afternoon sun. Before planting, look around and note any trees, buildings, or other structures that may cast a shadow. In the Spring, be mindful that some trees may not have leaves yet, which could cause more shade later on. In addition to sunlight, also think about the slope and soil type. Too steep a slope can be difficult to work, cause erosion, and dry out quicker.
2. Soil/Compost/Nutrients
Soil:
In Middle TN, our clay soil can be tricky to garden in. Roots often need help to maneuver through the dense soil and access necessary air. To help alleviate this difficulty, adding compost, leaves, manure, fertilizer, or even compost tea can be beneficial. All these amendments will help create an ideal environment for plants to thrive in.
Compost:
Composting is a controlled decomposition of organic matter by microorganisms in the presence of oxygen. Compost can feed, retain moisture, and inoculate the soil with microorganisms. 50 billion microorganisms and fungi are in a single tablespoon of healthy compost. So, in a handful, there are more microbes than stars in the Milky Way galaxy.
Nutrients:
Like all living things, plants require a combination of nutrients, carbs, and proteins to remain healthy and thrive. Macronutrients are key to plant growth. The primary building blocks of plants are Oxygen, Hydrogen, and Carbon, which are found in the air and soil. Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium, or NPK, are also essential and can be sourced from the earth. Nitrogen promotes foliar growth and shoots development; Phosphorus supports overall health, and Potassium is necessary for nutrient and water cycling, root growth, and drought resistance. Various commercial fertilizers are available to help meet plants’ nutritional needs, including slow-release and liquid, synthetic, and organic options. For the fertilizer to effectively transfer nutrients to the plant, it must be combined with water. Slow-release fertilizers are mixed in with the soil and break down gradually, while liquid fertilizers are mixed with water and last for 7-14 days.
In addition to the Macronutrients, plants benefit from the 13 primary Micronutrients, which include Magnesium (Mg), Calcium (Ca), Iron (Fe), and many more. Some research suggests that all 92 naturally-occurring elements play a role in plant health. For instance, Calcium is crucial for tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers. Without it, plants are more likely to experience blossom-end rot.
3. Primary considerations – (Cool vs. Warm Season, Heirloom vs. Hybrid, & Seed Starting vs. Purchased Starts)
Cool vs. Warm Season
Tennessee has two growing seasons: Cool Season and Warm Season. Middle Tennessee residents are fortunate to grow vegetables yearly with the proper tools/supplies. The cool season in TN is typically between July and May. Most gardeners think of cool season gardening as happening between September and March. Still, considering when many of the seeds for cool season veggies are planted and harvested, the season is almost year-round. Cool season veggies include asparagus, arugula, beets, broccolis, cauliflowers, carrots, lettuces, and most leafy greens. The warm season in TN is typically between April 15th and October 15th. These are the average last and first frost dates. This is why most people start planting tomatoes and peppers around tax day. Warm-season veggies are typically planted between February and early July. Veggies with long maturity times, like peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant, usually start indoors 6-12 weeks before the average last frost. Peppers take the longest to mature from seed. Examples include, but are not limited to, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, corn, okra, beans, and peanuts.
Heirloom vs. Hybrid
Heirlooms referred to often as heirloom plants, heirloom varieties, heritage fruit, or heirloom vegetables, are old cultivars of a plant used for food that is grown and maintained by gardeners and farmers, particularly in isolated or ethnic minority communities of the Western world. A hybrid vegetable is created when plant breeders intentionally cross-pollinate two different plant varieties, aiming to produce an offspring, or hybrid, that contains the best traits of each of the parents. Cross-pollination is a natural process within members of the same plant species.
Seed Starting vs. Purchased Starts
All veggies reproduce by seed. Whether to start from seed or buy pre-started plants is influenced by many factors. Some plants, like root vegetables, often don’t transplant well, so direct sowing is best. Time, experience, and indoor lighting conditions can influence whether it makes sense to start from seed. Starting from seed is often cheaper, and can afford more varieties, though it requires more time from the gardener. It can often be trickier than buying starts because seeds/seedlings need adequate light and temps to succeed. Starts are great because the gardener gets well-established plants from reputable growers. They require a lower labor investment (8-12 weeks less than seed starting). And most growers offer a great selection. The choice is yours!
4. Maintenance
Maintenance for vegetable plants includes weeding, pruning, and pest control.
Weeding best practices include:
- Mulching beds reduces weeds because it restricts light
- Pull weeds when soil is moist
- Pull weeds in the morning or evening to avoid midday heat
- Well-composted soil blends should be largely weed free
Pruning best practices include:
- Never prune off more than ⅓ of a plant at a time
- Always use clean pruners and sanitize in between plants
- Solanaceous crops like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants need more pruning than other crops like squash, zucchini, etc.
- Pruning peppers encourages lateral growth for stronger, more compact plants
- Pruning suckers from tomatoes reduces unwanted lateral growth pest control best practices include:
- Healthy soil and proper maintenance reduce issues
- Pick resistant varieties of veggies
- For fungal issues, use a Copper fungicide
- Avoid watering foliage
- Tomato tone for blossom end rot
- For sap-sucking and chewing insects, use insecticidal soap, thuricide, neem oil, and horticultural oil.
5. Water needs
Veggie gardens need about 1.5 inches of water per week. This means every sq. ft of bed needs ½ gallon of water weekly. For example, a 4×8 raised bed is 32 sq. ft. Therefore, it needs 32 * ½ gallon = 16 gallons of water weekly. If you can water in the morning, do so, and make sure to keep the foliage dry.
Additionally, mulch aids in keeping moisture levels in check. Deep watering is the order of the day, so go for a generous amount of water, but less often. It will help promote a stronger root system in the long run.
6. Harvesting
Cool Season: It’s time to gather the bounty – when the root veggies’ rounded tops break through the soil, the leafy greens reach a desired size, and the broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts reach their fullness. The best time to harvest is before the day warms up, and luckily, cool-season veggies can last in cool, moist conditions for two to four weeks. Please put them in reusable bags with water and leave one end open, or freeze them for even longer storage. Try canning or pickling carrots, beets, radishes, and turnips for a twist.
Warm Season: Beans, cucumbers, squash, okra need to be harvested regularly so the plant continues to produce fruit (if fruit is left too long, the seeds will begin to mature and the plant won’t set new fruit). Tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants are often harvested when the fruit changes color. These will continue to grow and produce fruit even without consistent harvesting. These items can be stored by drying, freezing, or canning.
