4 Gardening Lessons Revealed -
Planting Methods, Tools, Crop Rotation & Clothing
Planting Methods:
There are several methods for planting.
Picking any of these methods depends on the vegetable, the size of
your garden, and your fondness. Three methods of planting, namely,
single rows, wide rows, and hills are clarified as follows:
A) Single Rows: In this method, seeds are sown in rows or lines that
are spaced equal distances apart. The distances between the
rows and between the seeds within the rows differ from vegetable to
vegetable. If you want the rows to be straight, which gives a
pleasant appearance to your garden, stretch a string between two
stakes and sow the seeds along it. If you think this is too much
work, use a stick to mark a line on the ground and try to make the
line as straight as possible. With some training, you will get it
straight.
B) Wide Rows: In wide row planting, seeds are sprinkled at equal
spacing in both directions over a wide area. The width of the row
varies from 6 to 16 inches. The row's width is limited by your arm's
reach to the area in the middle of the row while standing at the
edges.
We find that wide rows are convenient and productive for peas
and beans. In addition to giving high yield per unit area,
they cut down on weeds. Wide rows are also good for starting leaf
vegetables like lettuce and spinach. When the seedlings emerge,
they can be thinned and transplanted elsewhere. Double rows are a
special form of wide rows.
C) Hills: In hill planting, 3 to 5 seeds are sown close to each
other. They need not be sown on a formed hill, as the name implies.
This method is used for example when planting zucchini and
cucumbers.
2. Gardening Tools: There are many gardening tools available on the
market today. The basic tools you'll need are a shovel, trowel,
steel rake, tomato cages, and a water hose or can. The shovel is
used to till the soil, mix potting soil, move soil around, and cut
the weeds if they grow big. Some gardeners use a fork instead of a
shovel to till the soil, but we don't.
The choice is yours. The trowel is used for cultivating the weeds,
transplanting the seedlings, mixing soil or fertilizers, and filling
containers with soil. The steel rake is used to grade the soil and
to compact the soil over the seeds. Tomato cages are indispensable
for supporting tomato plants. You can also use them to support
running plants such as cucumbers and peas.
Without them the plants
will collapse on the ground and their fruit will get into contact
with the soil and eventually decay. A hose or a can is used to water
the plants in the garden and within containers.
3. Crop Rotation: Crop rotation is the practice of planting each
vegetable in a different location each year. The advantages of crop
rotation are:
A) The chances of transmitting diseases and insects to next year's
crop are very much reduced. Certain diseases and insects attack
certain vegetables. These diseases and insects move from the plants
to the soil, where they winter.
If the same vegetable is planted in
the same spot the following year, the diseases and insects will
surface from the soil and attack the new plants once again.
B) Each vegetable absorbs trace amounts of specific minerals from
the soil. If the same vegetable is planted in the same spot year
after year, the minerals the vegetable needs to grow healthy plants
will be depleted, resulting in a meagre harvest.
C) The roots of legumes (peas and beans) have bacteria that soak up
nitrogen from the air and fix it on the roots of the plants and in
the soil. To take advantage of the nitrogen they fix in the soil,
the legumes should be followed by a leafy vegetable, such as lettuce
and or spinach, which both need nitrogen-rich soil.
This is one of
the techniques organic growers use to grow vegetables without the
use of chemical fertilizers. It may be impractical to rotate every
crop each year if your garden is small.
This difficulty can be overcome by taking the following measures:
(1) choose disease-resistant vegetable varieties, (2) keep your
garden clean of rubbish, and (3) watch for insects and diseases. If
a plant becomes teeming with insects, pick them by hand; if a plant
is infected by a disease, pull it from the ground and dispose of it.
4. Proper Gardening Clothing: In the course of gardening, your
footwear and clothes are likely to be soiled. You walk on dirt and
or mud, your clothes make contact with plant leaves and stems, and
your hands are soiled.
You are also exposed to the sun. Your shoes
accumulate mud and will soil the floor if you walk directly into the
house. Therefore, you should have a pair of aged shoes set aside for
gardening. Put them on before going into the garden and take them
off before entering the house. Leave them in the garage or put them
in a bag until you use them again.
Also, have special clothes for the garden. If you don't, your
ordinary clothes will be soiled no matter how careful you are. To
protect your hands and fingernails from collecting dirt, use a good
pair of garden gloves. Some are washable and can be reused again and
again...
Please feel free to forward a copy of the "Gardening Online
Newsletter" to any of your friends and associates.
Happy Gardening,
