How to Grow Your Own Edibles

The phenomenon of growing veggies in your own yard just gets bigger. Last year seed rack sales grew by more than 20% and this year is looking like a repeat performance.

My late father used to say that a seed packet and patch of soil was always your best bet for return on investment. How true.

The key to growing great vegetables is twofold: lots of sun and proper soil preparation. All veggies favour a loose, organic rich soil. Dig finished compost at least 30 cm or 12 inches deep into your existing soil. If you are planting carrots or other root crops the key is to open the soil up with generous quantities of sharp sand – ‘play sand’ in the hardware trade.  But NOT beach sand, which is too fine for the job.  My carrot soil is at least 30% sand by volume and I dig it down about 50 cm deep (18 inches) to avoid root ‘forking’.

For the veggies that you have already planted in the ground or in containers, some important tips to keep in mind if you wish your dreams of garden fresh produce to be realized this summer:

- Water deeply.  Keep in mind that all veggies need to get dry about 4 or 5 cm below the surface of the soil between watering once they are established. Overwatering is a bigger problem for most gardeners than under watering. That said, it is important to water generously when the need arises. Tomatoes are especially thirsty as they grow: mulch them with 30 cm of fresh, clean straw or 5 cm of finely ground up cedar or bark mulch. This insulating layer will reduce watering by up to 70%.

- Tomatoes top the list as hungry plants. To fertilize them this time of year I add an inch of finished compost around the roots of each plant before I add the straw mulch. You may choose to apply an organic or synthetic fertilizer specifically formulated for use on tomatoes.

- Support tomatoes with a stake now, before they start to crawl over the ground. I use the new spiral aluminum stakes that eliminate the need to tie the plants up for support. They also last forever: you can leave this investment in future tomato crops in your will.

- Prune out the suckers that appear between the main limbs of the tomato plant. Look for a young green shoot that squeezes its’ way between a lateral stem and the main stem of the plant and just rub it out with your thumb.

All veggies:

Weed control.  Interesting thing about killing weeds in mid-June is this: all you have to do is move a fledgling weed seedling to kill it. Allow the plant to put down roots and you suddenly have an enormous job on your hands attempting to remove it.  More than that, an established weed will compete with your desirable veggie plant, robbing it of valuable sunlight, water and soil borne nutrients.

The best method for removing young weeds is still the traditional garden hoe. Be sure to sharpen it on a grinding wheel and keep the sharp edge with a bastard file.  I sharpen my hoe with a file every time I use it: this takes less than 2 minutes.

If you have large weeds in your garden pull them out by hand after a generous rain or after you have watered deeply: this makes the job much easier than pulling them from dry soil.

Throw weeds into your compost bin if they are not in seed –otherwise send them out with your green waste.

Mark Cullen appears on Canada AM every Wednesday morning at 8:40.  He is the Lawn and Garden expert for Home Hardware.  Sign up for his free monthly newsletter at www.markcullen.com.