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How to Start a Edible Garden |
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Edible Plants
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How to Start a Edible Garden
Eating fresh-picked corn, cucumber, carrots or vine-ripened tomatoes is a life-altering experience. But where do you start?
We want to give you some ideas on where to start.
1. Grow only those vegetables you enjoy eating.
2. Prepare a plot of flat ground that gets full sun nearly all day.
3. Figure out how much growing space you have and plant accordingly. Lettuce, for example, can be grown in a solid mat, but tomatoes need to be spaced about 2 feet apart.
4. Schedule plantings around the two main growing seasons which vary by region:
cool (spring and fall) and warm (summer). Common cool-season vegetables include beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, lettuce, peas, potatoes, radishes, spinach and turnips. Warm-season crops include beans, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, melons, peppers, pumpkins, squash and tomatoes.
5. Choose seeds of colorful radishes or giant sunflowers to introduce children
to the satisfaction and fun of growing their own food.
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WE ARE LICENSED TO COVER ANY PROJECT |
We are proud of our experience and expertise in site development work.
Whether it's a resort, retail center, master-planned community, corporate campus, recreational parks, or the place you call home. We have completed numerous projects that we are proud of.
We have over 35 years reputation for unparalleled knowledge and technical ability, outstanding customer service and a true understanding of customers' needs.
If you need an experienced landscape partner to maintain and enhance your property of lasting beauty, please contact us.
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Spring-Flowering Trees and Shrubs
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| When and Why to Prune |
Early-spring bloomers, such as lilac, forsythia, and rhododendron, bear flowers on wood formed the previous year. The best time to prune them is late spring -- immediately after they finish blooming. If you prune them later in the growing season or during winter, you'll remove flower buds and decrease the amount of spring bloom.
Garden Tip - 1
Save time by using a pole pruner with a rotating head to remove stems all the way to the base of the plant. That way, you don't have to bend over for each cut, saving not only time, but also wear and tear on your back!
Summer-Blooming Trees and Shrubs
Plants that bloom in summer, such as potentilla, butterfly bush, and crape myrtle, produce their flowers on new growth from the current season. Prune them in winter while they're dormant, or in early spring just before they push out their new growth. You can even cut them all the way to the ground in late winter, and they'll still bloom that same summer.
Hydrangeas
Most hydrangea types -- pink, blue, or white mopheads and lacecaps, or oakleaf forms -- bloom on old wood. Prune these types of hydrangeas before midsummer. If you prune them in winter or early spring, you'll be removing flower buds. With newer re-blooming types, such as the Endless Summer Series or Let's Dance Series, which bloom on new growth as well as old wood, timing of pruning is less critical. Even if you cut off some of the flower buds by pruning the old stems, the plant will bloom on the new growth.
White-flowered paniculata (such as the varieties 'PeeGee' and 'Limelight') and arborescens (including 'Annabelle') these type of flower can be pruned any time other than just before they bloom.
Find more helpful tips about pruning in our next newsletter.
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Don't be Intimidated By "Organic" |
| What is growing organically? The simple answer is that organic gardeners only use animal or vegetable fertilizers rather than synthetics. It also means natural pest control devoid of industrial insecticides. In other words, using natural substances and beneficial insects to ward off pests instead of spraying with the backyard equivalent of Agent Orange.
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| "Organic" is easily achieved |
It's time to demystify the word
Organic.
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Growing organic produce and transforming a garden space into an
organic garden is easily achieved. When folks refer to organic produce or organically grown veggies and fruit, they’re describing items grown in a garden space that has replaced pesticides with natural substitutes, and building soil life so plants are healthier. Anyone can grow their own organic veggies and fruit in any sized space, and best of all, this is a simple transformation that doesn’t take much effort and yields healthier and delicious results!
For those who desire a more green and healthy approach to your gardening adventure, here are some great tips and ideas:
IDEA 1: Since many vegetables, herbs, flowers, and other plants grow very well together, be creative. Don't just think about a vegetable plot and an herb plot. Instead, think about vegetables, herbs, flowers, and more. You can even plant a vegetable garden that enhances the rest of your landscape. Nature is never this plant and that plant, but a whole variety of diverse environmental relationships.
IDEA 2: Companion planting is another way of working with nature. Some dissimilar plants have developed a symbiotic relationship-they help each other survive. Of course plants that have a similar pH should be planted together, but many symbiotic plant relationships go much farther than pH.The most famous symbiotic relationships are 'Carrots Love Tomatoes' and 'Roses Love Garlic,' both titles of books.
When basil is planted in close proximity to tomatoes, both grow very well. This is a beneficial relationship that increases the vigor and flower of both crops.
Another similar relationship is between climbing beans, corn, and squash. When the three grow together, they are all happy, but no one knows exactly why.
IDEA 3: Your vegetables and herbs need a lot of sun. They should also be planted in raised beds because they need good drainage. In addition, you will need paths between the rows of vegetables so that you can work with them and harvest them..
Elevating the soil between paths doesn't work very well because watering tends to flatten it again. Using wood for raised beds is better, but wood breaks down over time. Chemically treated wood lasts longer, but still breaks down over time and its chemicals leach into the soil. This is where creativity and companion planting come to the rescue. you can make raised beds by using sculptured cement blocks-the ones that are usually used for building garden walls. There are several varieties and they can be used to create plots of almost any shape. Best of all, they won't rot.
Look for more Ideas in our next newsletter.
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Regards,
Oakridge Landscape, Inc. |
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