Thursday, May 18, 2017
By Barb Delisio
OSU Ex master gardener volunteer
Hopefully you’ve set all the right things in motion for this year’s garden. You’ve chosen the right location with at least six to eight hours of sunlight, completed a soil test and added necessary nutrients. You’ve considered garden size and the work involved and chosen what to grow.
As long as Mother Nature keeps the rest of the month frost-free, the stage is set for gardening. Depending on your site and soil, you may want to hold back on tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers until soil temperatures get a little warmer.
First thing to do – check your soil moisture. Take a handful of soil and squeeze it. If it remains in a tight ball, it is too wet. If it crumbles, it’s ready to till. If you have raised beds, your job should be easier because this top soil will warm up quicker and drain better.
Any seedlings grown indoors need to be hardened off. This means gradually moving your young plants outdoor by moving seedlings to an area like a porch overhang, not in direct sun. Each day, move the plants to more direct sun. This should take five to 10 days.
Use a string to ensure straight lines. Plant tomatoes at 18-24 inches apart, center to center; peppers, 12-18 inches apart, center to center. This looks like a lot of room, but plants fill the space in no time. If you plant hot and sweet peppers, you can plant them next to each other and not worry about cross-pollination of a “hot” one on a mild pepper plant. But if you save seeds, those seeds may grow hot or sweet peppers next year!
Plant squash seeds 18 inches apart on hills. The hills will improve drainage and warm the soil in the area for quicker emergence. Plant two seeds in each hill. Remove the weaker one when they come up. Plant three to four cucumber seeds in the center of a 3-foot mound, giving them room to spread. For pumpkins, just make the mound larger. If you want pumpkins for Halloween, wait till June 15 to plant.
Lettuce, spinach and most greens are cold-weather crops, but you could plant the seeds now, using planting directions on seed packets. You’ll just have a shorter growing season before they go to seed.
Leafy greens (lettuce, kale, etc.) benefit from a 10-10-10 fertilizer. Other vegetables need a 5-10-10 or a 5-10-5 for better root growth and fruit production. Fertilize seedlings as they emerge, and transplants as soon as they are planted. Plants should not be fertilized again until the first fruits set. Then a program of every two weeks works well. Simply follow the fertilizer label directions.
Here’s to growing and harvesting a wonderful garden full of the fruits of your labor this year!