Last year, many of us got stuck at home and had plenty of time to spare due to pandemic orders. For a moment it felt like everyone and their mom were growing a sourdough starter and baking bread (and posting about it on social media). Many of us returned to our pre-school love for arts and crafts. And these people combined this urge to prepare food and get messy and started gardening.
It’s especially satisfying to dig through the ground, plant flowers or vegetables, and spend hours in the fresh air. But if you’ve been gardening for a year or more and you’ve overcome the thrill of watching your plants flourish, it may be time to step up – and we have some ideas on how to get the most out of your garden.
1. Germinate your own seedlings for transplanting
“If you want to save time and give plants a head start so they can establish themselves faster, use seedlings or root cuttings from a healthy plant,” he says Gladys Mbofung-Curtis, Plant Scientist for Garden Safe.
Start propagating the seedlings or roots indoors. Before transplanting, Mbofung-Curtis says the seedlings need to be accustomed to outdoor conditions, which means they are placed in full sunlight for two to three hours a day. Increase the number of hours each day until you are outside for a full day. Then they are ready to be transplanted.
Mbofung-Curtis recommends mapping your raised bed dream and deciding where to place each plant before transplanting it.
“After transplanting, water thoroughly and cover the soil surface with leaf mulch. This will choke out any weed seeds that germinate from the ground, ”she says. “Make sure you use leaf mulch that is not moldy to avoid spreading fungus on your plants.”
She says it’s a good idea to add some fertilizer when transplanting to minimize transplant shock. Make sure you choose the right fertilizer that will suit the plants you are growing.
2. Make your own mulch of leaves
Speaking of leaf mulch, it’s a great, inexpensive way to tackle one of gardening’s big problems: weeds.
“During the summer months, any collected leaf litter can be shredded and stacked for use in the spring after decomposition, ”says Mbofung-Curtis.
Spread a 2 to 3 inch layer of the decomposed leaf litter around the plants in your yard to stifle weeds and add nutrients to your plants and soil.
3. Create a follow-up planting plan (to increase your crop yield).
The best way to maximize the harvest from your vegetable garden is through backplanting. This basically means that you need to postpone your planting times so that you can get harvest from spring through late fall.
“This requires starting seeds at different times so that you can replace one growing herb or culture with another that is still in a seedling stage,” says Mbofung-Curtis. “For example spring tomatoes, followed by summer sweet corn, which could be followed by a spring onion or a salad.”
The first step is to identify the plant hardiness zone of your area as seen on the page USDA website. Each zone is classified based on its average minimum temperature. to find out which plants will thrive in your climate.
Next, determine whether you are sowing directly into the ground or growing plants in containers or raised beds. Think about how much sunlight the site receives – which changes depending on the time of year.
“Most herbs need a sunny location. Only a few, like Angelika, Woodruff and sweet Cicely, grow well in partial shade. Vegetables need at least six to eight hours of sunlight a day for optimal growth. For a mixed vegetable and herb garden, you need a location with full sunlight, ”says Mbofung-Curtis.
4. Save your garden’s bounty for the off-season
People who have well-laid out victory gardens enjoy their crops all year round. You can also do it by venturing into conservation.
“You can use a variety of preservation methods including canning, freezing, drying, and fermenting,” said Amie Best, vice president of home and garden research and development at Spectrum Brands.
We love this guide to fermenting vegetables from garden bloggers Megan Cain. The National Center for Home Food Preservation is also a great resource for making vegetables.
When introducing products indoors, be careful not to introduce unwanted garden pests.
“Treat your food with products like Garden Safe Insecticidal Insect Killer Soap ($ 5.98, Amazon) in the days leading up to harvest to make sure insects and insect damage are not a problem, “says Best.” Spray fruits and vegetables until harvest – rinse thoroughly before eating. “
