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    Vegetable Garden Planning

    Garden bed planning1

    Experienced gardener or new gardener your gardening success will be greatly helped by planning the garden before you begin the growing season. The purpose of a garden plan is to make your work less and your returns more. A garden plan and a couple of supporting lists can guide you through this growing season and […] More

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    Soil and Air Temperatures for Growing Vegetables

    Spring vegetable garden

    The most useful measure of the vegetable garden growing season is soil and air temperature averages. Warming soil temperatures activate root growth and the uptake of moisture and nutrients. Soil temperature is very closely affected by the air temperature. As days lengthen in spring and the air temperature warms toward summer, the soil temperature follows. […] More

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    Know Your Warm-Season Crops

    bell peppers in garden

    Success in growing many vegetable crops is driven by warm temperatures. Not surprisingly, warm-season vegetables grow best in warm weather. Here are the key temperatures you need to keep in mind to successfully grow warm-season vegetables: Tender and very tender vegetables Warm-season crops can be classified as tender and very tender. Tender vegetables can take […] More

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    Vegetable Garden Soil Guide

    spading fork in soil

    The soil in your garden was created over thousands of years through the disintegration and decomposition of rock and organic matter. Temperature and rainfall, the life and death of plants, animals and bacteria, and fungi, and the rocks that were there, to begin with: all contributed to the soil you find in your garden today. […] More

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    Ready Your Garden for Spring

    Planting Bed Preparation

    Spring is coming soon!  Here are some early spring tips for your garden. Warm Your Garden Before Planting Pre-warm cold soil before sowing or transplanting warm-weather crops into the garden. Black or clear plastic sheeting is a simple and inexpensive way to warm the soil and get a jump on the growing season. Continue reading>>> […] More

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    Kitchen Garden Location

    Kitchen garden harvest1

    A kitchen garden is—as its name suggests–a garden that is as close to the kitchen as it can be. A kitchen garden provides the cook ingredients that are fresh-picked and at their peak of ripeness—fruits, vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers. Plan to use the produce from your kitchen garden immediately, at the very next meal. […] More

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    Kitchen Garden Size

    Rasied beds on deck1

    How big should a kitchen garden be? Two more questions: How much space do you have? How much ground can you care for? A small garden that provides the vegetables you will eat is better than a vegetable plot that produces more than you can use or give away. A small garden that you can […] More