This article describes the steps required to raise a variety of 14 vegetable plants from seed starting to a successful harvest. I’ve been at this for 50 years and feel like I am getting closer to getting it done right.
I raise vegetables and fruit, manly to sell from a roadside stand. Yearly, I grow about 4,200 pounds of vegetables and 1,500 pounds of apples, plums, and pears. Our family uses only 30% of this yield, so that leaves a lot to sell.
The following are what I believe are the most important preparation and focus points for a successful garden:
• Your outside garden area will be best prepared if your soil has at least a 3-inch layer of compost over the entire area placed there at the end of last year’s harvest.
• Best date to start seeds will be listed. Don’t start too early and don’t start too late.
• The amount you can expect to harvest from each seed will be listed by number of plants or pounds per plant. Don’t start more seeds than you expect will produce a sufficient harvest. On average, 10% of your seeds won’t make it, and if they are more than two years old, increase the loss to 20% or more.
• Start plants in pots that are placed under grow lights and left in a warm room, or are started in the greenhouse. I use 3.5″ square black plastic containers that are 3.25″ deep.
• If you don’t have a greenhouse, your seed starting date should be delayed by the number of days I am showing that they need to be left in the greenhouse before transplanting outside.
• All plants require outside soil preparation. Some garden spots need to be tilled and level before planting. Other plants such as Cole crops, cucumbers, squash, potatoes, and tomatoes don’t need the ground to be tilled.
• Some seeds are best to start under lights indoors, or in the greenhouse, and others can be directly planted in the garden.
• The amount of produce you can expect to harvest and the length of the season will be shown.
• The date you should expect each plant to start delivering a harvest will be estimated as well as the date when the harvest will be finished producing.
Before getting into the details, let’s discuss weather, temperature, and light. This garden is in Zone 7, located in the Pacific Northwest. Here, the last frost ends about March 31st. The first frost of the season is Oct. 15th or later. Nighttime temperatures never rise above 55 degrees. During summer days, the temperature will reach low 70’s in mid-July through the end of August with only an occasional day rising to the high 70’s. Being close to the Canadian border means days are long with lots of light. Storms of wind and rain are rare from May first thorough mid-September. The weather at this location allows for growing vegetables from mid-March to the end of October. So let’s get started.
Here are the fourteen plants:
1. Beets
2. Broccoli
3. Cabbage
4. Cauliflower
5. Carrots
6. Cucumbers
7. Garlic
8. Hubbard squash
9. Onions
10. Peas
11. Potatoes
12. String beans
13. Tomatoes
14. ZucchiniContinue reading“Volume Vegetable Gardening – Part 1, by J.T.”
