Garden Column for the Salisbury Post

Darrell Blackwelder

January 22, 2004

During this time of winter weather is an opportune time to sketch out a diagram of your vegetable or floral garden plot. Be sure to include all the vegetables and flowers for the upcoming growing season. Try to involve family members, especially the little ones. Early involvement may stimulate a life-long love of gardening.

Be realistic about the variety and amount of vegetables to be planted in your garden. High volume crops such as squash, tomatoes or green beans are excellent choices for small garden spaces. However, vegetables such as sweet corn, cantaloupe or sweet potatoes demand a large planting area making these crops inappropriate for small areas.

It is easy to over plant some vegetable crops; squash is one example. Four to five hills provide an ample supply for a family of four so try to be careful not to over plant.

Plant new varieties each season. All-America selections are excellent choices for experimentation. Be sure label these selections in the garden for comparison. It's extremely frustrating to have discovered a wonderful tomato or squash variety and not know the variety or information for future purchase.

Don't rely too heavily on fantastic results claimed by seed catalogs. Some featured varieties of seeds may in fact do well, where the data was recorded. Some seed varieties may have data recorded from gardens in the mid-west or in the Northern tier of states. The majority of vegetable varieties that you choose to plant should be reliable ones that have been proven family favorites.

Most seed companies have a limited source of seed relying on seed brokers and other seed companies to complete their diverse inventory. Crop failures and shortages are not uncommon, so it is best to place an order as quickly as possible.

Hard copy seed catalogs are gradually being replaced with user friendly on line catalogs. With the click of a mouse shoppers can go on line view seed and purchase their entire supply for the summer. Most catalogs now have toll free numbers for free orders and information. Some offer gardening tools and gifts such as CD-ROMs for 3-D garden design.

Don't forget flower seed when ordering vegetables seed. Cut flowers are a welcome addition to the home during the growing season. Cut flowers also provide beautiful borders around unattractive vegetables.

Stick to your garden plan and make notes. Experienced gardeners keep journals, which prevent them from making the same mistake twice. You will be happy you kept notes as a reference when you place an order next season.