Growing your own vegetable patch is the perfect family activity. It's fun, healthy and a delicious way to get the kids to pitch in with dinner. With the help of garden guru Annie Farrell, of Millstone Farm, here's your essential guide to growing backyard vegetables.
Here are some tips so you can do it yourself.
#1 Pick a good site with lots of sun.
#2 Grow what you like and what your family will eat.
#3 Use quality soil.
#4 Water, but don't over water.
#5 Put up a protective fence around the garden. If you don't have deer maybe there's a cat or dog you need to keep away.
#6 If you don't have the space, plant your patch in a container. You can grow just about any vegetable in a portable pot.
#7 When to plant is just as important as what you plant. Do your research and consult a seed catalog or a planting guide.
#8 Tools of the trade include a garden hoe, a cultivator with an ergonomic handle and 4 tings, a narrow spade, a wide spade, and a hand shovel.
Here are some planting and picking tips from our episode's expert:
Lettuce should be cut at the soil line when it's ready to harvest. You will get more bounty this way. The one head may even spring up two, or you'll get new leaves you can pick one by one for a sweet salad.
Broccoli makes one head and should be cut at the stalk on a steep angle when its time, so the water rolls off the stem and doesn't sit on the stalk and rot it. You'll get back perfect florets back to thank you.
Strawberries are best to grow in a hanging basket or separate container because they spread quickly and can take over the rest of the garden.
Tomatoes need sun and water like every other plant, but they also need some space. Give them room to grow. When pruning, never cut the top, you should cut off suckers to help the fruit grow larger.
Stay tuned to watch how my garden grows this summer and send us any of your gardening tips and photos; we might use them in an upcoming episode. Thanks for watching.
Below, check out our most recent episodes of Make Home A Haven.
|
|
|
|
|
| At home with Bravo's newest reality family | Come with us on a guest bedroom rescue |
|
|
|
|
|
| 7 Storage Tips for Spring | A "real housewives" Hamptons home tour |
25 comments