March Gardening Tips.
March Gardening Tips.
As we approach the end of March, we need to start taking this gardening thing seriously. Gardening is about to shift into hyperspeed. But it doesn't need to be "hyper" but a shift into gear is in order. So we will hit on a few of the main points and try to keep this short.
First off, the seed selection is upon most of us. Most have put off this until the last minute. So get up and go down to the seed store and get what you need. As you make your selection, give this idea a thought. Think about doing 2 plantings. Do one planting early. Then, later on, do another planting. In order to do this, you will need to select a shorter growing season. Some plants do better in cooler weather. So if you get on top of things, you can grow some plants that mature early, such as Broccoli, Radishes, Peas, Cauliflower, Brussell Sprouts. Anyway, you get the idea, as there are many.
Next. Consider this idea. At the time of the writing of this tip, we are somewhere in the middle of the majority of the people going crazy and hoarding a lot of items from the grocery store. Unfortunately, I doubt that you can grow toilet paper. So there are other plants that you can grow that works as a substitute. You might do better to do that research yourself. As for me, I live where they grow a fair amount of corn, so dried corn leaves... maybe you can see the picture. Hey, there's an idea for you to consider. Grow some sweet corn. That is an early crop, easy to grow, you would have a lot of leaves that you could dry. Just an idea. But hey, seriously, consider the first things to go in the produce aisle. What are those? Potatoes, Carrots, and a few odds and ends of other produce. Potatoes and carrots store very well, easy to fix. I know, I know, some people condemn the eating of potatoes. But for me, well, for those of you that grew up poor, well you have a great appreciation for them. If fixed correctly, you are hard-pressed to be able to find a scientifically based reason for not having them on your to-eat list. Potatoes along with Carrots are easy to grow.
Third on your list, and these are good plants. In doing the verification process with the discussions I do, I keep running across some very interesting facts. Here are those facts. Among the most nutritious plants to be grown in the garden are as follows, as they have a tendency to take up the most minerals, and the widest spectrum of minerals as well. Here goes; Cabbage, both Red and Green, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Beets, Cucumbers, Carrots, Potatoes, Radishes, Cauliflower, and Turnips. As you can see all of these are easy to grow plants, for the most part, they store well for longer-term, except for maybe Lettuce. You have heard of the phrase, "An apple a day, keeps the Doctor away". Well, that isn't quite true, the more true statement is, "A Cucumber a day keeps the Doctor away". A Cucumber is on the extremely nutritious list. I am not saying an apple is something to discount, as they are highly nutritious in their own right, but an apple is a fruit and you aren't likely going to be growing any apples. That is a discussion for another day. But we will be on the hunt for apples later on as we will be making Apple Cider Vinegar, all the vinegar that you want, and you will like it. We will also be looking at various fruit vinegar, so just a little teaser. This past year we made some from Apricots. Man, was it ever good, fantastic flavoring. almost beyond description. You might have to improvise for vinegar for this year's garden cops, but you will have your vinegar for next year's crop. Any of these are very tasty when pickled. Have you ever tasted a pickled beet? I can sit and eat a whole jar in one sitting. Plus with Beets, you can steam their tops and they are delicious in their own right.
Next on your list is to keep in mind to not, please do not put down all of your fertilizer in/on the soil at the beginning of the season. This is one of the worst practices that you can adopt. Much of the nutrients are used up before they are needed and then the plant suffers for the rest of the growing season and will suffer an early death. Your yield/production will suffer greatly. The seed has enough nutrition to sprout and get started. Then the seed will send out roots to seek nutrients. Enough nutrients will be found to help it along its way. Plus most of the nutrients will be down a little deeper, which will help your plant's roots to go deeper. This will help with water usage, ie; you will use less water than normal and the plant will be more healthy. In other discussions on gardening, I have have discussed several methods that will enable you to grow more, work less and have a much more pleasing experience with your gardening. You will feed your plants throughout the summer season. We have discussed this in the past and will discuss this more in future discussions.
So as we bring this discussion to a close, have fun with your garden this year. With life the way it is, it will be a much more rewarding experience than at any time in the past. Even if it is only one plant in a container in your house, please do it. As always, if you have any questions get with me, I will get you the answer you need or get you to where you can find the right answer. I wish you well in your plant growing experience.
End of Discussion.
