It’s finally time to plant your spring garden, but before you jump in, take the time to review best practices and come up with a garden plan that will set you up for a solid harvest.
What to Plant
Choose crops based on the needs/tastes of your family and available space. These are general recommendations for a balanced garden:
- Two leafy green or yellow vegetables (i.e. lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, squash)
- Two pod vegetables (i.e. peas, snap beans, lima beans)
- Two root crops (i.e. carrots, beets, turnips, radishes, potatoes)
- Tomatoes (in May) and cabbage
- Additional herbs and vegetables that your family enjoys
When to Plant
To make the most of your space and ensure you have a consistent harvest throughout the growing season, consider companion and/or succession planting.
Companion planting involves growing two vegetables in the same area at the same time. One crop matures and is removed before the second is ready for harvest. Examples: lettuce and cabbage planted alternately in the same row; radishes seeded between rows of cabbage, broccoli or cauliflower; early beans, lettuce, radishes, or spinach planted between rows of tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, or late cabbage.
Succession planting provides several smaller harvests instead of one big harvest. There are several strategies to choose from. The first is to make three or four plantings of a vegetable (such as radishes or lettuce) every seven to 10 days. Another option is to plant several cultivars of a vegetable that have different maturity dates, meaning you can still plant them at the same time but have varying harvest dates. Lastly, you could plant another vegetable right after the initial planting matures. For example, early sweet corn can be followed by turnips.
Where to Plant
For best growth, choose a location for your garden that receives at least eight to 10 hours of sunlight daily. Ideally, it would also be near your home for convenience and easy access to water. Avoid planting your garden near trees and shrubs since their roots will compete and other problems may arise (such as walnut tree roots may kill your vegetable plants).
Vegetables thrive in fertile, well drained, loamy soil. Soil that is rich in clay or sand will need to be improved by adding peat moss, compost, or other organic materials. If you haven’t already, complete a soil test to learn your soil’s fertility needs.
Only plan to grow as much as you can reasonably manage. A small plot that is well cared for is better than a large, neglected garden! Vegetables can also be grown in containers if you don’t have land. Leaf lettuce, chives, patio-type tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, green onions, parsley, and Swiss chard all grow well in containers if they have good drainage.
Did you know that London has a community garden? The garden is located at the intersection of E First Street and School Street, and there are a variety of plot sizes to suit gardeners of every ambition. Pricing is very affordable (the largest, most expensive plot is only $10 to rent for the growing season). Learn more and reserve your plot at the information meeting on Friday, April 17th, from 5-6 PM in the Hartley Meeting Room at the London Public Library.
To learn more about planning your spring vegetable garden, visit go.osu.edu/garden-plan.
Article written by Natasha Atlas, Extension Educators Coordinator with OSU Extension Madison County. Have a gardening question? Send it to us by emailing whitman.179@osu.edu.