How to grow green beans

Green Beans are the second most commonly grown vegetables after tomatoes. They are very easy to grow. There are many varieties to choose from. You can grow pole beans or bush beans. Pole usually take longer to grow and you'll need a trellis for them to climb. Check your seed packet for sowing and harvesting times.


You can grow also grow them in containers. 


Green Beans are very prolific and you can continue to harvest them throughout the season. Just make sure you keep picking them in order for them to continue producing. You can also do succession plantings for a continuous harvest.  


Planting


After all danger of frost is gone, plant seeds 1 1/2 inches deep 3-4 inches apart in 24" rows.
Green Beans are not cold tolerant and need warm soil of 65 degrees or better. They grow best in full sun with well watered soil.


Harvesting


There are several factors to consider when harvesting green beans. You'll get the best flavor and texture if you pick you beans at the right time.
You should usually try and harvest your beans when the plants are dry. Let the morning dew evaporate before harvesting.

The bean pods do not need to reach a certain length before harvesting them.

How to grow carrots

Carrots can be sown outside in soil from around the middle of March until the end of June or July. Carrots will  germinate in 2 to 3 weeks and take between 2 to 4 months to mature fully, depending on the variety chosen. Check your seed packet for information on growing length of times and preferred sowing times.

Carrots need full sun. Chose a sunny spot to plant them in. 

Carrots love loose, loamy and sandy soil. So, before sowing the carrots, ensure the ground has been well dug over and is free of weeds and stones. If the ground is a bit hard or you have heavy clay soil, dig in some sand or peat into the soil to lighten the soil up, but not fresh compost or manure. In fact, carrots should not be grown on a patch which has been manured during the previous year.

It helps to use row markers and some twine to mark out the line along which you will grow your carrots.

Carrot seeds are very small and it's easy to sow to many. One way to avoid this is to mix the seeds with sand before sowing. Another tip is to mix the seed with radishes. The radishes will grow first and when you harvest the radishes this helps to thin the carrot seedlings. 

Sprinkle the seeds along the line about every 1 1/2 to 2 inches. And the make the rows 6-8 inches apart. (Once the seedlings are large enough to handle the can be thinned out.)

Cover the seeds with about a 1/2 inch of soil. Do not plant them too deeply. Planting them too deep will prevent them from growing. 

Water them generously. Keep the carrots well watered during dry hot weather.

Very gently cover the seeds with a tiny bit of soil. The seeds barely need 1/2 inch of soil above them to germinate, and the most frequent reason for a crop to fail to emerge is the seeds being planted too deeply.

Water generously.

When the time comes to harvest the carrots, use a garden fork to loosen the ground around the carrots before pulling. 

Carrots can also be grown in containers.








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How to grow summer squash

Summer squash does everything but plant itself! If you're looking for a vegetable that's easy to grow and produces huge yields, you can't beat summer squash. Anyone who has grown zucchini can tell you how prolific these plants can be.

Summer squash is really easy to grow just keep in mind that it needs full sun, warm temperatures, fertile soil, and steady moisture. Almost any friable, well-drained soil in a bed that receives full sun will suffice, but for the best production a little preparation is required. Work in plenty of organic matter (compost, well-rotted manure) to loosen the soil, help the soil conserve moisture, and provide an abundance of nutrients the plants will need throughout the season. A soil pH of 5.5-7.5 is satisfactory with 6.0-6.7 being preferred. Once you supply these requirements and plant the seeds, you basically need only wait until harvest usually about 7 weeks later.

Summer squash is also easy to grow in containers. So, even if you have limited garden space, you can grow squash (particularly the bush varieties) on your patio or deck. A 5-gallon or larger pot can contain one or two zucchini plants?and the production will be phenomenal!

SEEDS OR PLANTS?

Seeds are the way to go. Plan for one plant per person in your family, tops. Any more and you'll be up to your elbows in squash come midsummer! Direct sowing is preferred to transplanting seedlings. Like most cucurbits, squash plants can't tolerate having their roots disturbed. Most summer squash varieties are ready to harvest in 50 days, give or take a few days.

Because they mature quickly and require warm weather, you can plant them following early spring crops like peas, lettuce, or spinach. Direct sowings any time from spring (after all danger of frost is past) to midsummer works well with most summer squash varieties. In fact, waiting to plant a few seeds in midsummer will help avoid problems from vine borers and other pests and diseases common earlier in the season.

Growing Spinach in the fall and winter

We started this spinach in mid december

Sow: Sow seeds as early as 6 weeks before last frost or as soon as you can work the soil. Plant seeds 1/2 deep and about 2-3 inches apart in beds or rows. In areas with a longer cool weather, for a continuous harvest make successive plantings every 10-12 days. You can also start seeds indoors and transplant when about 2-3 inches in growth.

Care: Spinach grows best when growing in moist, nitrogen-rich soil. Spinach plants form a deep taproot; for best growth, loosen the soil at least 1 foot deep before planting. 

Spinach does not perform well in hot climates. If you use a cold frame or heavyweight row covers, you can grow spinach all winter in many parts of the country. In colder regions, try planting in fall (October) and protecting the young plants through winter for a spring harvest. In regions where the soil doesn’t freeze, try planting spinach in February for a March harvest. I've had great success in the winter were I live (zone 7) growing spinach in our mini hoop-house. 

Spinach seed doesn’t store well, so buy fresh seeds every year. Sow them ½ inch deep and 2 inches apart in beds or rows. If the weather isn’t extremely cold, seeds will germinate in 5 to 9 days. Spinach produces beautifully in cool fall conditions, but it’s tricky to persuade the seed to germinate in the hot conditions of late summer. Sow seed heavily, because the germination rate drops to about 50 percent in warm weather, and water the seed beds frequently—even twice a day—because watering helps to cool the soil.

Growing Broccoli

As well as growing cabbage and starting them from seed, I've also started broccoli from seed for the first time as well as brussel sprouts. 

Now, I must admit, I didn't exactly follow the instructions below when starting my seedlings. And there's a possibility that my broccoli could develop "button heads". The are area I planned on sowing them in wasn't quite ready, therefore the transplants were in their starter trays awhile. I started them indoors sometime in November. 

Last year, I purchased starter plants and harvested a few small heads, but nothing worth raving about. No oohs and aahs. I'm hoping this year, we'll be hollering and freezing up a bunch. If it gets too cold we'll cover them in the small hoop houses we made. The little bit we did get last year, made it through the winter. Here's tips on how to grow Broccoli...

Growing Lettuce

Sow: Seeds into beds thinly. Drills about 1/2" deep and 12" apart.

Then thin them out about 6"-12" apart, depending on the variety.

Care: Lettuce loves cool weather. They do not like heat. If you grow lettuce in the winter it can tolerate the cold. However, use a cloche, hoop-house, cold frame or plastic wind tunnel if temperatures get to cold.

Harvest: Cut outer leaves and use as needed. Additional leaves will continue to grow or cut the entire head depending on the variety.

Containers: You can grow lettuces indoors or out in containers. Sow the seeds directly into containers or sow a few seeds in seed pots and transplant when they reach about 2" inches. It's best to plant the seed directly in the area they'll mature in. Lettuce really doesn't like to be transplanted. However, I've had great success in transplanting. The above lettuce I started from seed out side and later transplanted into a larger raised bed. 

Growing Garlic

Sow: Plant cloves in October through February. Plant up to 4 inches deep and in rows about 12 inches apart

Soil: Garlic likes loose soil it will in heavy wet soils, so add sand and organic matter or a soil conditioner before planting if you have heavy clay soil. 


Harvest: When the lower leaves turn yellow or brown, pull up and leave to dry in
the sun for 10 days on a rack. Then remove the outer layer of skin before storing
in a cool place.


Containers: You can grow garlic in containers indoors or out. You can also clip the green stems and use for cooking. 

Growing Cabbage

Currently I'm growing cabbage that I started from seed for the first time. Last year, I planted a few transplants I purchased from my local feed store. I'm happy the seedlings have taken off and are doing quite well.

Cabbage is a hardy vegetable that grows especially well in fertile soils. There are various shades of green available, as well as red or purple types. Head shape varies from the standard round to flattened or pointed. Most varieties have smooth leaves, but the Savoy types have crinkly textured leaves.

Cabbage is very easy to grow...

How to Grow Okra

Okra is very easy to grow and a very hardy plant. 

 

It's the end of September now and my okra plants are about 10ft high.

Every day I harvest okra. It's best to pick them when the pods are about 2-4 inches long.

How to grow

1
Purchase okra seeds from a reputable provider. The seeds should be widely available in most areas, or you can use your own from a previous season or order seeds online.  Okra also needs a good quality soil to grow in.


2
Plant okra seeds only when the threat of frost has past. They need warm weather to grow and should not be planted until the warm weather has started or the seeds may not grow at all. Be sure not to rush this step.


3
Choose the right area to grow okra. Okra needs full sun and enjoys the hot weather. Be sure that the soil has good drainage as well. Mulch and fertilize the soil as needed.


4
Sow seeds for Okra in rows. Space out the rows at least two feet apart so that you can move through the area once the plants begin to grow. Place the seeds into the soil at least ½ inch deep and space out each seed about 6 inches. Water gently after you have the okra planted.


5
Notice when the seeds begin to germinate. As they do, thin out the plants so that they are about a foot apart from each other, keeping the strongest plants in place. To grow okra in large amounts, you do need a good amount of space since the plant will grow quite wide. Keep the plants wet without puddles of water.


6
Harvest okra as the plant begins to produce the seed pods, which should be about three to four inches in length when they are ripe. Check your okra plants every other day for new growths and harvest them quickly as this will encourage the plant to grow more pods. It takes about 50 days for okra plants to reach maturity. Okra grows extremely fast.