Planning For A Garden

With days starting to get warmer, you might find yourself wanting to get outside more, and the possibility of starting a garden might have crossed your mind. However, there are some things that you should consider before starting your garden. In the MontGuide, Planting a Successful Home Vegetable Garden (2009), written by Cheryl Moore-Gough and R.E Gough, it mentions that having a successful garden is not only dependent on how you garden but also planting the right vegetables at the right time. For example, hardier vegetables such as cabbage can tolerate frost and can be planted in earlier spring. However, more tender vegetables such as peppers don't tolerate frost and need to be planted when it is warmer, according to Cheryl Moore-Gough and R.E Gough.

Cheryl Moore-Gough and R.E Gough, mention that the organization of your garden should be considered when determining where to plant your crops. For example, taller vegetables such as corn should be planted in the northern or northeastern parts of your garden to reduce shading. To take advantage of sunlight distribution, arrange your rows in your garden from north-south.

Another tip from Cheryl Moore-Gough and R.E Gough is plant vegetables that need heavier watering during the fall, away from your root vegetables such as potatoes, and onions (because they will need to dry for proper storage). These are just some of the many items to consider when planning for a garden.

For more information or to read the full MontGuide on Planting a Successful Home Vegetable Garden visit the MSU Extension store https://store.msuextension.org. There are also additional MontGuides from Can I Grow That Here? all the way to Growing Annual Flowers that can be found at the MSU Extension store. In addition to MontGuide's, Tim Fine, our MSU Richland County Agriculture Extension Agent is offering Gardening Webinars on Friday's at noon through the end of April. For more information on these Webinars, check out the Richland County Extension Facebook page. Happy gardening!

For more information, check out the Richland County Nutrition Coalition Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/1rcnc1, and the Pinterest page at http://www.pinterest.com/1rcnc1.