Posted by admin | Posted in Tomato plant care | Posted on 07-07-2010
Tags: Acorn Squash, Block Shapes, Broccoli Head, Companion Plantings, Flower Varieties, Growing Corn, Head Lettuce, Hot Weather, Late Harvest, Leaf Lettuce, Long Rows, Nasturtiums, Planting Marigolds, Plants To Grow In A Garden, Pop Corn, String Beans, Sweet Corn, Tomato Juice, Tomato Plants, Vegetable Gardener
My favorites are all the ones I like to eat! I’m primarily a vegetable gardener but I do add in a few flower varieties to enhance my garden visually and as companion plantings.
For instance, you can improve the performance of tomato plants by planting marigolds and nasturtiums with them. This helps keep whiteflys, aphids and nematodes away. I always grow 6-8 tomato plants and I love to experiment with all the different varieties. I can my own tomato juice and it’s better than any store bought brand by far. And home grown tomatoes make the best tasting BLT’s!
You can also make greater use of space in a small garden by taking advantage of how plants grow. Carrots are another good companion for tomatoes, helping to keep pests away, and you can grow them in the space between the tomato plants. They benefit each other and you get more crop in a smaller space.
Many plants are very easy to grow and take very little care. You can grow a lot of radishes in a small space. They mature very fast so they are one of the first harvests you will get from your garden.
A great way to increase the yield from your garden is to plan crops for several harvests. Leaf lettuce doesn’t do that well in really hot weather so plant it early in the spring and start harvesting. Then when the weather gets hot, replace it with a plant that does better in the hot weather. When it starts cooling down in the fall, you can plant another crop of lettuce for a late harvest.
Another favorite in my garden is zucchini. Three hills of zucchini and I get more than I can possibly eat. I grate and freeze a lot of it for making zucchini bread all winter.
Some of the other things I have grown in my garden are broccoli, head lettuce, cabbage, onions, potatoes, snow peas, string beans, melons, pumpkins, acorn squash, rhubarb, asparagus, herbs, pop corn and sweet corn.
Here’s a quick tip about growing corn. You should plant it in block shapes rather than long rows. In other words, it’s better to plant 4 short rows rather than 2 long rows. It will germinate much better and you will get better ears with more kernels.
Of course what you plant in your garden will depend on what you have a taste for. It also depends on where in the country or world you live and how long your growing season is. No matter where you live though, you will be able to grow some good food and flower varieties that are native to your area. You can always enhance your growing season with a green house or cold frames too.
Good luck and thanks for reading.
