Gardening With Soul: Growing Your Own Bountiful Harvest Teresa Watkins November 1, 2004 When I sit down to my Thanksgiving meal, one of the blessings I reflect on is how easily I can grow vegetables in my garden. Vegetable gardening is easy for any age garden. If you have a hard time getting your children to eat their vegetables, let them grow their own to introduce their delicious benefits. Vegetables take from 20 days (radishes) to 130 days (onions) to sprout, grow and harvest, so with good planning and depending on what part of the country you live in; you could be enjoying your bounty for Thanksgiving. Raised Bed Gardening If your landscape area isn’t conducive to gardening, maybe because of sand or clay, try growing a raised vegetable garden. This is also a good idea if you have low-lying wet areas, small children playing or dogs running through the yard. Select a sunny site and define the area by using railroad timbers or pressure treated wood to create a 3-foot wide bed. A 3-foot bed will allow even the youngest member of your family to reach across to hoe, pull weeds or harvest your bounty easily. Fill the bed with equal parts of compost, peat moss, and manure. Growing Season There are several growing seasons throughout the country, allowing you to harvest vegetables throughout the winter in the South while getting your seeds or fall transplants into the garden by the end of June a must in the Midwest and North. Hardy vegetables like peas, lettuce, spinach, turnips, beets, and carrots, and vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussel sprouts can be grown in northern climates in the late spring and eaten in the fall and early winter. For spring and summer southern gardens, plant the many varieties of beans, squash tomatoes, okra, corn, eggplant, watermelon, cucumbers and peppers. Find out for your lifestyle if vegetables will be easier grown from seed while others, such as broccoli, cabbage, collards, and sweet peppers may do better from established transplants. Water With Care Water and fertilizer are the two most important things to remember in growing vegetables. Consistent watering is necessary for vegetables. Make sure you have a way to irrigate properly before you build your garden. Water your seeds after planting and then keep the soil surface moist while the seeds germinate. Transplants need watering every two to three days depending on the temperatures and season. Although nutrient-rich soil amendments give the vegetables a great start, they need frequent fertilization to ensure healthy growth. A monthly 6-6-6 or 10-10-10 garden fertilizer is recommended. Consider using a slow-release fertilizer such as Osmocote or Nutricote, to cut down on the hands-on time you may have to invest in your garden. Follow instructions and call your local Master Gardener or County Extension Office with questions. Usually, without intending to, the most problems are accomplished by overdoing our gardening practices. Being vigilant and watering only when needed will ensure a deeper root system and prevent fungus. Mulching between the rows of your raised bed will help prevent evaporation of the moisture and keep weeds from growing. Keep an eye out for garden pests weekly, if not daily. Harvest Time Harvesting your crop correctly depends on how often you pick the vegetables. Certain vegetables that produce multiple amounts like tomatoes, okra, beans, cucumbers, peas, and summer squashes should be picked often as they instinctively stop producing once they “think their job is done.” So when you pick them, the plant knows it needs to start over again and more flowers (which will become vegetables) begin forming! Others such as lettuce, mustard, cauliflower, cabbage can be ‘only one to a plant’ vegetables and have a set time frame to mature. Gardeners with scissors will be able to harvest leaves more often from Lactuca or Cruficerae vegetables with experience. Again, checking with your Extension Office for the exact time in your area to harvest is a good idea. Harvest your vegetables late in the day when vitamins are at their highest nutritional point, especially during the summer months, but some vegetables, like lettuce and cucumbers are best picked in the morning. A ‘good rule of green thumb’ to follow is to harvest vegetables closest to the time you are going to eat them. Fresh is always best! So now when you and the family sit down to your cornucopia-decorated table for Thanksgiving, maybe while you discuss all of your blessings, you can think of ways to spend more quality time with one another. A family vegetable garden project can be an inexpensive, fun, and delicious way to do that (Don’t have to mention the nutritious part). Just think of all the vegetables you can put into your own “horn of plenty” next year. For more information on growing fruits and vegetables in your region, click here .

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Jeff Radel, CRS 'Make a Smart Move' House of Brokers Realty, Inc. 1515 Chapel Hill Rd. Columbia, MO 65203 Phone: 573-446-6529 Fax: 573-446-5408 jefrealtor@aol.com Website			Donna Adams, GRI, ABR 'Make A Smart Move!!!' House of Brokers Realty, Inc. 1515 Chapel Hill Rd. Columbia, MO 65203 Phone: 573-446-6530 Fax: 573-446-5408 dadams@houseofbrokers.com Website