Spring Gardening: You Reap What You Sow
By Dianne Venetta, GalTime Garden Guru
Time to address those delightfully colored seed packets clenched tightly in your hand--yes, I know you're excited, as well you should be--it's planting time! One of the best times in the garden, second only to harvest.
Sowing seeds is a wonderful step in the process because it's filled with the thrill of anticipation, a dash into un-chartered territory, the belief that all things are possible. It's this enthusiasm that will ensure your seeds get a good start on life. Forget they do this kind of thing on their own, all day long, in nature everyday...
YOU are the master of your garden (not to be confused with master gardener). You control what grows where and when (all important factors). You are ultimately responsible for the success or failure of the plants in your garden (make sure you know where the hose is prior to sowing). Sure Mother Nature does this all the time, but now it's your turn. Ready?
Related: Get Your Garden Growing!
Depth. Distance. Time.
Depth, distance, and time; the three main ingredients to sowing seeds. First, you must know how deep to plant them. A good rule of green thumbs is to consider the size of your seed. Tiny seeds like carrots, lettuce and broccoli are planted very shallow, say about 1/4" deep. Makes sense, right? If you plant them too deep, how will they ever break through all that dirt to reach the surface?
A step up from these are eggplant, squash, pepper and beets. These require a bit more coverage at about 1/2" deep. Moving up the size scale, you have other seeds like beans and corn which prefer to be buried in about an inch of soil.
What about potatoes? Those big old things? They love to be underground and prefer a depth of about two inches. So does garlic.
Once you know how deep, you must know how far apart to space them. Many plants like to snuggle and be close while others don't. Gives them "the fungus." They need space-to breathe, to move, to be happy. And speaking of happy, plants have their friends and their foes and it would behoove you to know who's who, else there be trouble.
Related: Got Sprouts? Transplant with Success!
Companion Planting
Plants have feelings?
Sort of. They do respond to music but we're talking "companion planting" here and that means strategically planting certain fruits and vegetables close to one another (or far) in order to optimize natural growing conditions. For example, if you know the dill plant attracts the hornworm and you know hornworms can devour a tomato plant down to bare stem, are you going to place these two next to one another?
How about rosemary and cabbage? Rosemary acts as a natural repellent for the cabbage moth who just so happens to love to eat cabbage plants. You see what I mean? Corn and beans are great friends, as corn provides the trellis for beans to climb. Garlic repels aphids while tarragon seems to disgust most insects. Take a look at your selection of seeds and do the research. It will save you a basket full of heartache later on.
Another key concept is time; time of year, time per section. While some climates allow for an extended growing season (Florida: think twice a year!), most plants still prefer certain growing conditions to thrive. While Floridians may love their beaches and their cole slaw, cabbage prefer it cool, even a tad nippy. Southern summers are no place for most cabbage plants (though as with anything in life, there are exceptions to the rule).
Related: How to Choose the Right Seeds for You and Your Climate!
Play it safe your first time. Read the seed packet labels and sow accordingly. Later, we'll teach you about "tricking" your plants into believing all sorts of things!
Stagger Planting
But time also applies to time within each section or row, otherwise known as "stagger planting." Imagine you've had great success with your first crop (and you will!), the next question becomes, "How am I going to eat all this bounty?"
A wagon full of tomatoes is ideal, until you have to eat them all and quick-before they rot. Canning and freezing will only take you so far. You may still end up with an excess. Instead, plant a few seeds today, a few 10 days later and so on. These numbers can be adjusted based on what you're growing.
For example, many tomatoes mature between 55-80 days. Say your first planting date is May 1st and your growing season effectively ends in October (frost is back), then you might consider planting first week of May, third week of May, early to mid June, end of June/1st of July. You have a lot of seeds, don't you? Wonderful. By "staggering" your planting dates this way, you'll stagger your harvest too, giving you and endless stream of tomatoes, fresh from the vine while ensuring your last batch is mature prior to fall's frosty nip.
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