Hi this is Justin at the Red Bird Mission. I know I keep talking about the weather, but the sun has finally came out and we caught a few pretty days and started getting our gardens ready by clearing, burning, and plowing. Most everyone has there peas in and some are putting their taters out.
I have one participant that has a home made green house and they have been starting different varieties of heirloom seeds.
I was looking through the “Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky” book we get at our extension office. I know this might be a little late, you should do this in January or February, but I seen some good info and wanted to share it on what we should do before we begin with our gardens.
Every aspiring gardener should follow eight steps to have a successful gardening season:
1. Plan your garden on paper before you begin.
2. Select a good gardening site that is:
a. in full sun for at least eight hours each day.
b. relatively level.
c. well-drained.
d. close to a water source.
e. dries quickly from morning dew.
3. Prepare the soil properly, conduct a soil test, and add fertilizer and lime according to U.K. test result recommendations.
4. Plan only as large a garden as you easily maintain. Beginning gardener’s often over plant, and then they fail because they cannot keep up with the tasks required. Weeds and pests must be managed, water applied when needed and harvesting done on time.
5. Grow vegetables that will produce the maximum amount of food in the space available.
6. Plant during the correct season for the crop.
7. Choose varieties recommended for Kentucky.
8. Harvest vegetables at their proper stage of maturity. Store them promptly and properly if you do not use them immediately.
Leave A Comment