1) It all starts with great soil. This year I've mixed my regular top soil with a few wheelbarrels full (I'm sure that's not correct grammar but I'm too lazy to look it up)of mushroom soil/compost. What exactly is mushroom soil you ask? You can read more about it here. Long story short, it's super enriched stinky soil that acts like a megavitamin to your plants. From my experience thus far what else can I say but holy crap! This photo was taken after they had only been in the ground for 2 1/2 weeks...
2) Starting from seed is totally worth the little effort it takes. Unless you only have outdoor space for a few plants then by all means, save yourself the grief and just buy your plants. If you've got the room for several, go for it. I start them in small peat pots and then transplant them to larger pint sized plastic pots before putting them in the ground. Don't bother using that special seed starter soil. It's very fine and I think it's hard for my seedlings to get a good root system going that way. Regular potting soil works just fine. I spray the seedlings with a spray bottle in the beginning to water them so I don't flood out the seeds (which is VERY easy to do). You can also get yourself one of those trays with the clear plastic lid to put your pots in. It creates a greenhouse effect. But, make sure to remove it once your sprouts pop up. They don't need as much moisture then. I learned this the hard way last year when half my pots started to grow mold and I lost those plants.
Big Boy Tomato
3) I know this sounds like common sense but YOU HAVE TO WATER ALMOST EVERY DAY. If it rains, sure, obviously you can skip like 2 days. But, as long we're getting hot,sunny weather, get your hineys out there and give those gardens a drink. I can't tell you how many people comment on how big my plants seem to be next to everyone elses. Well that's the main reason why. Believe me, the last thing I like doing at night is wrestling the damn hose all over the yard but that's part of the deal.
Roma Tomato
4) Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance:
If your herbs are starting to flower, especially your basil, you'll have to keep up with plucking the flowers off to extend the life of your plant. For some reason, this doesn't seem to work with my dill or cilantro. I'm guessing their growing cycle just ends earlier? I've never really taken the time to figure that one out.
Have plants in cages? Make sure as they grow that you help them along but feeding their branches up and inside the cage. Once those branches start to bear fruit it's tough for them to support that weight if the branches themselves are not well supported.
And finally, weeding. Ugh, yes, weeding. Unless you're letting your weeds get gigantic and choke out your plants, I really never understood the point. If someone can enlighten me, I'd appreciate it. Anyway what I tell myself is that it's a good workout for my ass and then it's like I'm killing two birds with one stone. Sure you can put down weed barrier but in my opinion,it's kind of a pain and some weeds will just rip right thru the fabric. Just dump your grass clippings in your garden and spread them around. It works as a natural barrier during the season (sorta, still have to weed sometimes) and then as compost when your churn your soil up in the fall when it's all over.
Bell Pepper
Hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July!
