I often see questions from beginners looking for gardening advice. Here are some tips I usually share when people visit my 8,000 square foot garden.
Don’t try to grow everything you find at the store. Focus on localized themes like a salsa garden or stir-fry garden to start.
Grow upwards. Use fences, strings, and cages to keep plants off the ground.
Use large cages for tomatoes and sturdy stakes, like studded T-posts, to prevent them from falling over.
Use smaller cages for peppers with lighter stakes like those meant for electric fences.
Start a really early spring garden with lettuce, radishes, set onions, and spinach. Plant these in areas that will later be occupied by larger plants like squash.
Space your plants properly. It’s better to have fewer larger plants than many that can’t develop well.
Regularly weed your garden. Cultivated plants struggle against weeds.
Don’t let any plants, whether weeds or cultivated, drop seeds in the garden. These seeds can cause problems for years.
Think about a fall crop of lettuce, spinach, beets, or whatever crops toward the end of the season. This can fill the space left by earlier plants.
Consider soil replacement under your larger plants. I often dig a hole, add some 10-10-10 fertilizer and a bit of compost, then plant my tomatoes, peppers, or cabbages.
Now it’s your turn to share any new tricks you have for this old gardener.
Edit: Wow! I just got gilded for the first time. Thank you for the gold. I really appreciate it.
Salsa garden has worked wonderfully for me too, especially if the Pacific Northwest agrees with me.
Just a note: while “fertilizing the hole” is effective for annuals and herbaceous perennials, it’s typically not a good practice for woody shrubs and trees. I know you’re sharing tips for veggie gardeners, but I wanted to clarify this for newcomers.
@Tennyson
I agree. I’m suggesting small nutrient spots under fast-growing plants like tomatoes, peppers, or broccoli. I wouldn’t do this for trees or shrubs since that’s a different approach.
Stevie said: @Tennyson
I agree. I’m suggesting small nutrient spots under fast-growing plants like tomatoes, peppers, or broccoli. I wouldn’t do this for trees or shrubs since that’s a different approach.
Understood! I just wanted to keep that in mind for anyone who might think, ‘Oh, this apple tree is a larger plant.’ Cheers!
Jace said: @Tennyson
Can you explain why “fertilizing the hole” works well for annuals but not for shrubs or trees?
Woody plants generally prefer nitrogen in ammonium form rather than nitrate. Ammonium is primarily produced by soil microbes, which can be sensitive to salts. Adding inorganic fertilizer with high salt content can disrupt the soil ecology where beneficial microbes thrive.
@Tennyson
I’ve been gardening for about a decade now, learning more each year. I’ve discovered my part of Illinois struggles to maintain a proper salsa garden since my jalapeños, onions, tomatoes, and cilantro never seem to be ready simultaneously, especially the cilantro.
@Zion
I’ve tried for over 10 years to get this right! By the end of the year, it’s often tomatoes and peppers that ripen together, but cilantro is rarely ready. One year I had plenty of cilantro but someone stole my tomatoes. I’m going to try succession planting for the cilantro this year while I’m still learning about shallots and onions.
@Zion
Yes, you can do this. Cilantro needs to be planted later or in succession to be ready for salsa, while onions can be planted earlier and stored. Thus, you mostly just need to have the peppers and tomatoes ready at the same time, which is what usually happens.
We all figured it out, so I believe you can have them align too.
@Stevie
Aside from cilantro issues, my main challenge is that I’ve never successfully grown an onion. My garlic does great every year, but onions just don’t cooperate. It’s so frustrating.
Zion said: @Stevie
Aside from cilantro issues, my main challenge is that I’ve never successfully grown an onion. My garlic does great every year, but onions just don’t cooperate. It’s so frustrating.
Onions require rich soil, no weeds, and plenty of water. You also need to space them at least 8 inches apart. You could plant some in between but pull those early as green onions.
I’ve also found that raised beds are better for onions as they provide better drainage.
I’m going to try succession planting for the cilantro this year while I’m still learning about shallots and onions.