Veggie Time

Since the April showers are soon to be here, it's time to get ready for our May flowers.. or Veggies and Fruit! A vegetable/fruit garden is a great way to save money and eat healthy. Head outside your back door and pick a tomato straight off the vine and some fresh basil leaves to make for a great start to some delicious bruschetta, all you need is Simek's garlic toast and some mozzarella cheese and you're good to go! I've gathered some starting tips to help make your veggie garden a success! Be sure to share your successful garden veggie photos on Facebook for us and others!

Start your plants inside.

Give those veggies time to mature before sticking them in the ground. Pour soil into transplant tray and fill to ¼ inch below the top. Firm the soil consistently. Sow with a pencil ¼- ½ inch deep into each tray cell. Put 2-3 seeds in each tray cell. Plant wisely… some should go before others. Check out this handy chart to time your garden properly!

Transplant wisely Late afternoon or on a cool, cloudy, calm day. Water plants before moving. Scrape the dry soil area off the area where you will plant. Next, dig a whole large enough to easily hold the entire root ball of the plant. Firm the soil around the newly planted crop.

Rotate your crops each year Rotating your plants will protect from pests and diseases.

Don’t let your plants compete! Give your plants the right amount of room to grow so they don’t have to fight over nutrients and water

Water your plants… the right way! Do not over water and do not under water. Do the same amount every day. They like consistency. Also, water earlier in the day rather than in the late afternoon.

Mulching Protective covering, reduce evaporation, maintain the soil temperature, enrich the soil and prevent it from weeds… all around good idea!

Sources and great additional information
VegetableGardeningIdeas.com
University of Minnesota
Dundee Nursery