foodscout blog

7 Weeks ago we put our first vegetable seeds in the dirt in our 2 raised beds. We’re getting ready to plant a 3rd bed and harvest some of our squash and greens. I thought I’d take the opportunity to share a few things I learned along the way on my first real attempt at vegetable gardening.

1. Fertilize your plants! Plants need water and they also need food. Your local gardening store will have great advice to share with you about what type of fertilizer is best for your area and particular plants. Just sprinkle half a cup or so around each plant and gently mix it into the soil. Our plants were growing very slowly at first. After giving each one some fertilizer, they perked up and started growing much faster.
2. Soapy water kills aphids. Our okra plants were being attacked by aphids. If you see a lot of ants crawling around on a plant, check the underside of the leaf for aphids and their eggs. Ants “herd” aphids in order to eat the nectar they produce. Take some natural dish soap or Dr. Bronner’s Soap, mix a small amount with water, and gently wash the leaves with it. Do this in the morning so they will be dry before the hot sun comes out and definitely dry before nightfall. Works like a charm. Aphids have not returned.
3. Tomato and tomatillo plants need extra support. My beautiful tomatillo plant was growing like crazy. I had it tied to a stake for support, but it quickly grew  well past the string and I did not tie up the long branches. After a big rain storm, both of the 2 main branches fell from their own weight and split right off. The plant is now down to it’s little stumpy stalk and a new leafy little branch is starting again. I noticed that my 2 tomato plants were quite sprawling as well, so I took the opportunity to tie up all the long heavy branches to the stake using garden tape.
4. Shop at your local garden supply store. If you are not already convinced of the benefits of supporting local shops, then consider a purely selfish reason instead. The workers at Lowes and Home Depot don’t know jack about vegetable gardening. Everyone who works at your local garden shop is an expert in exactly what you need for your particular plant in your particular climate. And if one person doesn’t, they can ask the owner of the store who most definitely will.
5. Check on your plants every day. Look for holes in the leaves and pests. Stick your finger in the dirt to see if it’s dry. Check that each plant is growing. Look for fungus. And just generally get to know your plants so that you can recognize when something is wrong.
6. Keep a garden journal. I regularly need to remember when I planted something or which plant was planted where. Don’t kid yourself into thinking you’ll remember. Keep a journal and write down when you planted. Draw a diagram of the garden and where the plants are. Make a note of when you watered, what bugs you found on which plants and what you did about it.
7. Get a rain gauge. Or at least do what we did and put an even-bottomed plastic bowl outside. That rain storm might have seemed like an inch of rain, but more often than not in our town, it was maybe 1/10 of an inch. The plants need to be watered deeply to develop strong roots. Just because the top of the dirt is wet, doesn’t mean you don’t need to water.

All these things are simple and inexpensive but they make a world of difference.

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