VIDEO: How to Fertilize Garlic 🧄 || Wyse Guide
Did you plant garlic? 🧄
Watch as Kaleb @WyseGuide shows you the proper way to feed your garlic plants.
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Did you plant garlic? 🧄
Watch as Kaleb @WyseGuide shows you the proper way to feed your garlic plants.
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An edible garden can be a wonderful addition to any home. But with all of the information out there on vegetable gardening, it can feel overwhelming to start. This blog is here to help people who are in their first few years of vegetable gardening by covering the need-to-know basics.
This blog is inspired by Episode 89 of Bloom and Grow Radio Podcast, where host Maria Failla interviewed Toby Adams, the Director of the Edible Academy for the New York Botanical Garden.
What Vegetables Should I Grow as a Beginner?
You might be tempted to try growing lots of different vegetables, especially as a beginner. But it’s best to start with just a few varieties and get really good at growing them. From there, you can expand your vegetable garden in the following years, slowly building on your mastery.
So, where do you start? The simplest way is thinking about what you like to eat! Create a small list of vegetables you purchase regularly at the grocery store or farmer’s market. Then do a little research about the plants themselves and what they require to grow. You may find that some vegetables don’t grow well where you live, or you might be hindered by your growing set up in size, sun, and scale.
Next, think about your location. If you’re growing in a place like New York City or other Northeastern U.S. locations, you’re likely to have different seasons. Spring and fall are referred to as cool seasons. There are groups of plants that do well in cool weather with some warm days, but colder nights. There are also warm season crops that grow best in summer with no chance of frost.
If you go back to your wishlist, you can figure out which plants are cool season versus warm season crops, and plan from there. Here are some examples of cool and warm season vegetables:
Cool season vegetables: lettuce, radish, peas, spinach, carrots, kale, cabbage.
Warm season vegetables: squash, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, beans, corn, cucumbers.
What’s a Hardiness Zone?
If you’re in the U.S., you can find your USDA plant hardiness zone by entering your zip code. This helps you determine which plants are most likely to grow well in your area based on temperature.
Once you find your hardiness zone, you can also search for the last frost date in your zip code. Your first and last frost dates will show you how many frost-free growing days you have in a season. This can help you figure out which warm and cool season crops will grow best in your area.
From there, you can even find helpful planting calendars for your area through resources like your local extension office, local or online gardening groups, and the Farmer’s Almanac.
What Do Vegetables Need to Grow Successfully?
There are a handful of factors that go into a successful vegetable garden. Below we’ll cover space, sun, water, soil, and fertilizing.
How Much Space Do My Vegetables Need?
Once you’ve got your list of vegetables, think about other growing factors like space requirements. Some plants require more space, while smaller varieties can be planted in small containers.
A tomato plant, for example, needs about 18 – 24” to grow successfully. If you’re growing tomatoes in containers, make sure to only plant one tomato per container.
On the other hand, leafy greens like lettuce and spinach can be planted close together and harvested as baby greens.
How Much Sun Do I Need for My Vegetable Garden?
The next component of successfully growing vegetables is sun exposure. Most vegetables need a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight, but eight hours is ideal. Think about your garden placement based on how much sun each area receives.
An easy way to determine how much sun your garden gets is to do a sun analysis. If you have a full day at home, check the area every hour and make note of whether it gets direct sun or not. At the end of the day, add up how many hours of direct sun you get. This will help you determine which plants will thrive in your area.
Be aware though, if you’re doing your sun analysis in winter and you have trees nearby, those trees will actually have a full canopy of leaves in summer that will cast shade.
An easy way to start is keeping in mind the following: in the Northern hemisphere, gardens that face South will get the most sunlight. Eastern gardens will receive gentle morning sun and Western gardens will receive hotter afternoon sun. Northern gardens will receive the least amount of light and may cause issues for successful growing.
How Much to Water Vegetables
Water is another key aspect of vegetable gardening. The amount you water will depend on the time of year, the needs of each plant, and the other growing conditions in your garden. A general rule is that plants don’t like to sit in water, but they do need consistent water.
Deep watering your plants with longer, less frequent periods of watering will encourage robust root systems that grow deep into the soil. During Summer months, this can look like watering 3-4 times a week at 30 minute intervals, depending on your climate.
What’s the Best Soil for Edible Plants?
Last, you’ll need a soil medium based on where and how you’re growing. A well-draining soil that contains organic food for your plants, like compost and fertilizer, is a good option.
If you’re growing in containers, Espoma’s Organic Potting Mix works great for growing vegetables. If you have an outdoor growing space, the Raised Bed Mix or the Vegetable & Flower Garden Soil work well for edible plants.
Whatever soil you choose, make sure that it has good drainage. Most of your plants’ root systems need oxygen to grow and don’t like to sit in water.
If you’re growing in an in-ground garden, a soil test is essential to know what nutrients and heavy metals are in your soil. Your local extension office may have soil testing or be able to direct you to companies that do. You can use Espoma Organic Land & Sea Compost to amend your soil.
Do I Need to Fertilize My Vegetable Garden?
Plant nutrients are broken up into macro and micronutrients. The main macronutrients you need to know about are the famous NPK: Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K).
Starting with high quality soil and compost sets your edible garden up for success. Throughout the growing season, your vegetable garden will use up and absorb many of the macronutrients in your soil, and they will often need to be replaced by using fertilizers.
Use a general fertilizer like Garden-tone or use the plant-specific fertilizer line of “Tones” that Espoma has to offer like Tomato-tone, Berry-tone or Bulb-tone. For a list of Espoma’s wide varieties of “tones,” visit our website.
The Best Vegetable Gardening Advice
What’s the best advice you can get on starting your edible garden? Just start! Remember to try growing only a few different vegetables, making sure they have the right conditions, and expand from there. We hope this blog inspired you to try growing some of your own vegetables right in your own backyard!
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About Bloom & Grow Radio Podcast
Bloom & Grow Radio Podcast helps people care for plants successfully and cultivate more joy in their lives. Host Maria Failla, a former plant killer turned happy plant lady, interviews experts on various aspects of plant care, and encourages listeners to not only care for plants, but learn to care for themselves along the way.
About Our Interviewee
The NYBG Edible Academy is a state-of-the-art educational facility featuring hands-on activities and innovative programs that help children, families, teachers, and the general public learn about growing and preparing vegetables, fruit, and herbs while encouraging a lifelong interest in gardening, nutrition awareness, and environmental stewardship. Toby Adams has worked at the NYBG for almost 20 years, and has a passion for helping people understand how to grow food.
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Watch as Kaleb Wyse @Wyseguide transplants trees and fertilizes his Hydrangeas this spring.
Kaleb uses Espoma Organic Bio-tone Starter Plus prior to putting his trees in the ground and Espoma Organic Holly-tone when fertilizing his Hydrangeas.
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Seed starting is easy when you follow along with Wyse Guide! Bundle up your seeds this winter with Espoma Organic Seed Starter, and by the time it’s warm enough to put them outside, you’ll already have beautiful, strong root growth. Watch the full video below for a step-by-step introduction to spring your seeds into action!
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Another win for Garden Answer! From boxwoods to trees to a brand new bulb-garden, this planting haul is one for the books. Honorable mentions? Espoma Organic’s Bio-Tone, Potting Soil, and Bulb-Tone are the true heroes of this epic. See how they’re essential for long-lasting healthy blooms in the video below!
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Everyone loves an aesthetically-pleasing succulent arrangement, and with Garden Answer’s guidance, you can create one for your own home. Plus, with Espoma Organic’s Cactus Potting Mix full of the nutrients you need to set your succulents up for success, you can focus on having fun with the colors, shapes, and textures of these special plants!
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Ready to spruce up your green space? Garden Answer is back to guide you through planting ornamental grass—a low-maintenance way to aesthetically enhance your garden. Plus, with Espoma Organic’s Bio-Tone Starter, your new additions can bloom bigger and lay roots quicker, easily adapting to their new home. Dig in!
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Fall: it’s the season of transition. The weather is cooling down, the leaves are changing colors, and the air is getting crisp and breezy. While you might be thinking it’s time to pack up the gardening supplies until Spring, there’s no reason the growing has to stop yet! With this seasonal shift comes perfect weather for establishing new plants, great deals at garden stores, and a decrease in pests. In fact, this special season offers plenty of opportunities for preserving, planting, and preparing. Make the most of this time with these seven tips, and get back in the garden!
1. Don’t Forget Your Veggies
Don’t let the cooler weather fool you, there’s still time for growth. Broccoli, carrots, lettuce, and kale… fall is the season to plant these beloved vegetables. If your vegetable garden needs a boost, use our famous Organic Garden-tone or Grow!
2. Success with Succession
Maximize your harvest all throughout fall with succession planting. Harvest one crop, then replant one with a shorter maturity date, plant companion crops, stagger your seeding so harvest arrives in intervals, or plant a crop with varying maturity dates (broccoli, for example). Try out one of these methods and keep growing with our Garden-tone!
3. Bring in the Big Guys
Looking for a bigger way to upgrade your garden this fall? Plant trees and shrubs while the soil is still warm, use our Organic Tree-tone to nurture their development, and give them a chance to lay roots before winter settles in. Just be sure to keep them well-watered and protect those roots with mulch!
4. Free Fertilizer
Have you tried using those fall leaves to your advantage? Thick piles of leaves can be a lot for your lawn to tolerate, but mowing over what’s fallen creates smaller pieces that break down in the soil easier. Time to tackle that leaf pile and get your lawn some natural nutrients!
5. Allium On the Way
Patience is a virtue… and so is planting ahead! Give your garlic, onions, and shallots a jump-start by planting them after the fall equinox. With full sun, rich soil, and crisp fall weather, your allium vegetables have plenty of time to get rooted before weathering the frost. Check out this article here for more tips on allium planting!
6. Take Cover
Mustard, peas, and clover are great cover crops to plant in the fall. Not only do cover crops prevent erosion, they can create better, richer soil for gardening. Let them grow throughout the fall and winter, then turn into the soil in the spring to enjoy the nutritious benefits of your labor.
7. Winterize, Winterize, Winterize
Think of it as a gift to your future self. Keep up with weeding, winterize your watering system, and give your lawn a much-needed refresh with our Organic Fall Winterizer. These little chores make all the difference when getting your garden through upcoming winter frosts.
There’s so much in store this season, and with these tips, you can fall in love with fall gardening. Have your own must-do or want to share a photo of autumn in action?
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Wow! Look how much the shade garden bed at Flock Finger Lakes has grown. With the help of Espoma Organic Bio-tone Starter Plus and our Organic Cow Manure Compost Blend, your garden can thrive season after season too.
Learn more about Summer Rayne Oakes here:
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Add a little pH pep to your step—your acid-loving plants will really thrive with our Espoma Organic Soil Acidifier. Take it from Summer Rayne Oakes at Flock Finger Lakes as she walks you through her acidic, edible groundcover garden!
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