Thursday, 30 April 2020 13:52
By Peter Bowden | Home & Garden

There are a lot of beginning vegetable gardeners this spring. Among these well-meaning folks there seems to be a nearly universal fear of planting seeds.

Some seeds, like tomatoes and peppers, must be started inside in March but the best value from vegetable gardening is from crops that we grow from seeds sown directly into the garden.

It may seem very early but peas and spinach seeds can, and should be going into the ground in early April to grow in the cool weather of early spring. Our vegetable growing season is actually much longer than from Mother’s Day to frost.

There really isn’t anything at all difficult about starting seeds directly in the garden. Lettuce and all the other greens like chard and spinach and later on, green beans are good examples of easy-to-grow crops. Radishes are also very rewarding since you can sow a row every two weeks and they grow and mature in less than a month providing a continuous supply once they get going.

Let’s take a look at green beans, one of the easiest crops to grow. According to the vegetable schedule you can start sowing them in early May or anytime through the third week of July. Now let’s take a look at a bean seed pack. The front of the pack is pretty but the back has complete growing instructions. 

Let’s go step by step. I’ve made a little trench 2” deep as per the instructions and placed the seeds at the bottom. Then I cover them with 2” of soil and water them in. I like to use potting soil to cover them since it looks different than the garden soil so I know I’m watering the right area. Now I just need to keep them moist and they’ll sprout in a week or less. After a couple of weeks, they will be a few inches tall. Since they all germinated so well, I’ll have to thin them out by removing any that were closer together than 6” spacing the seed pack indicated I should have. If they are too close, they won’t do as well. and harvesting will be difficult. 

The trick is knowing when to plant which crop for the best results. If you’re just trying your hand at vegetable gardening for the first time, drop by the garden center and pick up a copy of the “Vegetable Schedule.” It is a wonderful resource for the beginning gardener and even a seasoned veteran can use it to keep on track. It shows when the different plants and seeds should be planted out in the garden. Spend some time with it and you’ll be on your way to bumper crops from spring through late fall. It is quite rewarding starting your crops from seed right in the garden. Try it out...you’ll be hooked in no time.

THANKS FOR THE READ!

Read 1064 times

Blotter

  • New York State Police The New York State Police announced that it issued 5,576 tickets during this year’s St. Patrick’s Day enforcement initiative. The campaign began on Friday, March 15, and continued until Sunday, March 17. During the campaign, funded by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, State Police utilized sobriety checkpoints, additional DWI patrols, and underage drinking and sales to minors detail. State Police also ticketed distracted drivers who use handheld electronic devices. State Troopers arrested 132 people for DWI and investigated 199 crashes, which resulted in 25 people being injured and no fatalities. As part of the enforcement, Troopers also…

Property Transactions

  • BALLSTON Heather DiCaprio sold property at 473 Garrett Rd to Justine Levine for $288,000 Sharon Willman sold property at 99 Jenkins Rd to Charles Lemley for $165,000 CORINTH George Montena sold property at 422 Oak St to Stephen James for $142,250 Mark Makler sold property at 313 Oak St to Sabrina Sinagra for $195,000 GREENFIELD Landlord Services of Upstate New York sold property at 1935 NYS Rt 9N to Cochise Properties LLC for $210,000 MALTA  Linda LaBarge sold property at 35 Snowberry Rd to Qu Haozheng for $270,000 Dennis Mitchell sold property at 60 Village Circle North to BGRS Relocation…
  • NYPA
  • Saratoga County Chamber
  • BBB Accredited Business
  • Discover Saratoga
  • Saratoga Springs Downtown Business Association