www.sublimegarden.com

MAY

Its finally time to start planting. Its important to decide how much of which vegetables you would like to grow. There are many choices for the western North Carolina area. I like to grow a variety. Tomatoes are a must, 2 or 3 varieties if you have room. Its important not to over plant. The plants will produce much more than you imagine. I grow one squash plant, and one zucchini plant. Both of these plants take an impressive amount of garden space, and produce ample harvest. I like peppers, so I plant bell’s, jalapeno’s, and habanero's. This is probably over kill for most, but I enjoy it. I highly recommend trying out some corn, grows tall and doesn’t take up much valuable floor space. Strawberries don’t do very well here, but I try with varying success every year. Spinach, broccoli rabe, and kale will produce well in the first half of the summer. We also grow beets, eggplant, cucumbers, and green beans.

The time of year that you plant each vegetable varies, as well as its time to maturity. To simplify things I'm going to go out on a limb and say plant your greens now, plant everything else at the beginning of June. There are very complicated ways of dealing with crop rotation, harvest times, and growth cycles to maximize garden yield. I don't feel like taking on such a complex task is fun for the beginner. So, greens now, everything else later.

1. Go to your local garden store. Pick out some green leafy vegetables, and strawberries if you dare. You're looking for starters at this point, not seeds. These plants will come in containers of 1, 2, 4, even 6 plants in one container. You will not need all the plants that you buy. Every year I have to sacrifice a couple of starters for the greater good of getting the vegetable I want.

2. Back at home, you're going to plant your starters in your weeded, rows. You are going to need one foot clearance on either side of the plant. So if your rows are 4 feet long, each row can hold 2 plants. Don't, don't, please don't try to squeeze 3 plants onto a row that should only hold 2. This is self defeating, its almost irresistible...but trust me, your garden will thank you.

3. Dig out a small hole for the starter, place the plant into the hole, water liberally. Repeat for each plant. Hang on to the plastic containers. You will need them in July :)

4. At this point you have a large garden area with very little plant life. You should have Spinach, broccoli rabe, kale, and green beans. Patients is key now. Keep the garden free of weeds, keep your plants hydrated, and meet me back here next month.