Getting a home garden started isn’t as hard for beginners as it sounds

[photo courtesy Currituck Cooperative Extension]

Starting a home garden can be a daunting task. The thought of buying materials and seeds, spending hours preparing and planting. just to have all of your hard work be for naught if your plants die can discourage anyone.

Yet, the reward of having fresh vegetables and the sense of accomplishment from growing a plant from seed to harvest is well worth the heartache.

N.C. Cooperative Extension, Currituck County Center’s Beginners Guide to Gardening aims to take the stress out of gardening.

A short summary of the article can be found below, with the complete article found at the Currituck County Extension web page, https://currituck.ces.ncsu.edu/. Once you’re through with this article you will have all of the knowledge necessary to start your very own vegetable garden.

Picking a location is the first step when starting a home vegetable garden. Planting should be done north to south to allow for even amounts of sunlight for each row.

Traditional row gardens, raised beds, container, and intensive interplanted gardens are a few garden techniques, each with its own benefits and drawbacks.

Regardless of the garden technique, soil should be sampled prior to planting to ensure proper soil fertility.

Knowing the right time to plant vegetables is another challenge. Using a planting table is a good place to start. The planting table below shows when to plant a few vegetables in Eastern N.C.

Month

Plant as Seeds

Plant as Transplants

April

Sweet corn, kale, leeks, mustard, radishes, spinach, turnips, sunflowers Collard greens, kale, leeks

May

Beans, melons, okra, peanuts, peas Eggplants, melons, okra, tomatoes, peppers

June

Cucumbers, basil, pumpkins, squash Cucumbers, basil, sweet potatoes, squash

For more gardening techniques, sign up for N.C. Cooperative Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteer’s Speaker’s Bureau Series at http://go.ncsu.edu/mgspeakersbureau .

This free monthly series aims to help you improve and enjoy your garden. For questions about the Master GardenerSM program contact Chris Blaha at chris_blaha@ncsu.edu.

More information on vegetable gardening can be found on the N.C. State Extension web page https://www.ces.ncsu.edu/ titled: Vegetable Gardening and Vegetable Gardening: A Beginner’s Guide.

For additional gardening help, or for help with soil samples, contact Adam Formella by email or phone at adam_formella@ncsu.edu or 252-232-2262.

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