Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Buncombe County

vegetable gardens

Gardening Videos: Vegetable Gardening 101—Start a Garden Now!

Gardening in the Mountains presents:
Vegetable Gardening 101—Start a Garden Now!

Presenter: Barb Harrison, Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteer

Calling all vegetable gardeners. Now’s the time to plan and prepare to plant. Our three-part video series will show you how.

Part 1, Garden Site Selection, discusses important things to consider when choosing where to place your garden.
Part 2, Types of Gardens, covers in-ground gardening as well as alternatives such as raised beds, containers, and vertical structures.
Part 3, Planting Seeds and Transplants, examines the pro’s and con’s of each, and gives guidance on when and how to plant.

You will receive important gardening tips and learn different ways of growing vegetables to help maximize garden space and increase both efficiency and productivity. Links to valuable resources on vegetable gardening are also provided. Each video is approximately 6 to 10 minutes long.

To access these videos on the Buncombe County Master Gardeners website, click on the link: Vegetable Gardening 101.

Or go to www.buncombemastergardener.org, click on the ‘Resources’ tab at the top of the page, and select ‘Gardening Videos’ from the drop down menu.

Planning Your Summer Vegetable Garden

Cucumber 'Poona Kheera'_by TangledBranches_CC-BY-NC 2.0_Flickr
Cucumber ‘Poona Kheera’

Nothing quite compares to the excitement of planning, planting, and enjoying the harvest of vegetables from your own garden. It’s a good idea to plan before planting. Planting a garden plot or a container of herbs is an excellent activity while staying home during the current pandemic. Taking the time to plan can result in better vegetable production and can be great fun as well. Important things to consider in the planning of a garden are plant selection, sun, water, and soil.

Plant selection
The first step in planning your garden is to think about the plants you want to grow. Choose vegetables that you and your family especially enjoy eating. Also become familiar with the climate in your region. Optimal planting dates for individual vegetables can vary widely depending on your area. Before planting, refer to the NC State Extension web page, Garden Calendars, to view planting timetables for your region. Consider the space you have available. Decide whether you’ll plant in rows or raised beds or whether you’ll have both. Seeds and plants can be found through catalogs or local garden shops. Determine whether vegetables will grow vertically and need support poles or trellises, or whether they will require extensive ground space. Read the directions on seed packets concerning spacing and thinning. It’s a good idea to draw a diagram of your garden in a notebook or on graph paper so you’ll have a visual plan. Be sure to leave room for flowers to attract pollinators.

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Site selection.  Sun and water availability are essential.
The second step in choosing a garden site is the availability of sunlight. Most vegetables need at least six hours of sun each day, with eight to ten hours being ideal. Planting where there are no trees or other structures to block sunlight will help assure healthy plants and a bountiful harvest.

The availability of water is a very important consideration. Growing vegetables need at least one inch of water each week and rainfall can be unpredictable. Having a spigot near the garden can be helpful, but depending on the size of the garden, it may be possible to use a watering can. Many gardeners use hoses or portable sprinklers to provide moisture for growing plants, but prolonged periods of wet foliage can lead to leaf disease. The possibility of developing diseases in your garden can be reduced either by watering early in the morning so plants can dry in the sun or by using a soaker hose or drip irrigation. Avoid establishing the garden in a low area like the base of a hill since most vegetables don’t grow well with constantly wet roots. Applying organic mulch at the base of each plant can also help conserve moisture in the soil and reduce the growth of weeds.

Soil quality is the key to healthy plants.
The final consideration in garden planning is the soil. Healthy plants require loose, fertile, well-drained soil. The garden should be tilled or dug deeply by hand to loosen and aerate. A soil sample test kit can be used to find out the pH (acidity) of your soil so you will know whether you need to add missing nutrients. Under normal circumstances we recommend a soil test before planting, but due to the pandemic, the lab is currently processing only agricultural soil samples. The best way to improve soil is to add organic matter such as compost, well-rotted leaves, or old manure which is free from herbicide carryover. The top few inches of amended soil can be smoothed with a rake to remove rocks and create a level place for plants to grow. The development of rich loamy soil may take a few gardening seasons to establish, but it will definitely be an invitation for seeds and plants to grow.

Bountiful harvest

While it may be ideal to prepare a garden site in autumn, early spring can also be a wonderful time to locate and prepare a desirable place for growing. Consider the vegetables you want to grow, sunlight availability, water source, and soil enrichment as you anticipate an exciting summer of gardening.

Article written by Mary Alice Ramsey, Buncombe County Extension Master Gardener.

For additional information, refer to the following:

Gardeners Guide to Soil Testing
Herbicide Carryover
Planting Calendars for North Carolina 
Vegetable Gardening 101 

Gardening Outdoors: Vegetables, Flowers, Whatever You Like!

Do you suddenly have more time to garden? That’s the good news! This is a busy—and often a favorite—time of year to garden as everything springs to life with fresh new growth! It is also a time when gardening chores begin in earnest: plants need planting, weeds need weeding, lawns need mowing, mulch needs to be spread. In this time of pandemic, let’s focus on how gardening can be a fun activity that provides time outdoors to de-stress and get some exercise! Even if you don’t have any land to garden, if you have any space to plant containers outdoors—even on a balcony, or by your door, go for it:  https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/extension-gardener-handbook/18-plants-grown-in-containers

Vegetables
If you’ve never grown your own food, this is a good year to start! If you are a seasoned gardener, this is a chance to have a more ambitious garden or try some new crops or methods.

There is a wealth of information on how to choose a site, what to grow when to plant, how to troubleshoot pests and diseases, when to harvest in the North Carolina Extension Gardener Handbook:  https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/extension-gardener-handbook/16-vegetable-gardening
The time for planting cool season crops is waning, so focus on warm season crops to plant in May. You may need to do some calling around to find out who is selling seeds and plants; another chance to explore new things—different sources, new varieties!

Flowers
If vegetable gardening doesn’t appeal, you can brighten your landscape by planting flowers.
Annuals. Again, there may be limited outlets and varieties available, but for a small investment, many warm season annuals will quickly give you a long season of bloom: even the commonly available begonias, marigolds, and petunias come in many colors and sizes. Or try something a little different like upright Angelonia, trailing Calibrachoa, filmy Cosmos, or Pentas. This is instant gratification—although these plants will not come back, it could be the beginning of a new tradition of flower gardening.

Think about ordering flower bulbs to plant in the fall

Perennials. Planting these may not produce flowers as quickly, but the plants will come back yearly with a little care, and some may even spread. You can start a specialty garden of a favorite type of flower, such as daylilies, which can bloom over much of the summer if you choose early, mid- and late season varieties. Or you might like to start a wildflower garden of native plants. These might include groundcovers such as green and gold (Chrysogonum virginianum) or Allegheny spurge (Pachysandra procumbens) that bloom in spring, as well as some showy summer bloomers beloved by pollinators, such as butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia triloba), and garden phlox, and for fall, asters.

Whatever!
Plant a tree. If you see a spring-blooming tree you love, consider planting a young one in your own landscape. Do your homework to be sure your choice is the right size for your yard and that you have the right growing conditions. The Forest Service provides a lot of useful information about choosing, planting, and caring for trees in this “Owner’s Manual”:  https://www.fs.usda.gov/naspf/sites/default/files/tree_owners_manual_print_res.pdf


Add a new garden feature. Have you always wished for a small pond, a raised bed, a trellis, or a comfortable bench in your garden? Consider taking on a do-it-yourself project this spring!

Article by Buncombe County Extension Master Gardener Volunteers

For more information:
Pollinator plants:https://homegrown.extension.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Pollinator-Garden-Plant-List.pdf

Contact Us

Buncombe County Extension Office
49 Mount Carmel Road
Asheville, NC 28806
Helpline 828-255-5522

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