Spring is here, and it’s time to start planning (and planting) your garden so you can reap the bounties of your hard work this summer while lounging in your backyard or seated around the kitchen table with friends and relatives. Spectrum Stone Designs, Central Virginia’s leading natural stone fabricator, shares Spring gardening tips for Central Virginia.
- Prepare the soil: Almanac.com recommends testing your soil before planting, so you can ensure your soil is optimal for plant growth. You can use a soil testing kit from a garden store or a local cooperative like Virginia Cooperative Extension. You’ll want to check your soil’s pH and nutrient levels such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). Depending on the results of your soil test, add nutrients to your soil such as compost, leaves, wood ashes, lime, manure or topsoil to prepare your soil.
- Plan your garden: Consider what you eat and decide which vegetables fit best with your diet. Make sure to space plants depending on their growth patterns. You don’t want to put plants that grow high and wide near plants that are small and low but still need ample sunlight. Also make sure to purchase supports for plants like tomatoes and cucumbers.
- Know when to plant: Garden.org or other sites can help you determine when to plant certain crops. For example, May is the best time to plant summer crops such as beans, corn, squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, watermelons and sunflowers. Plant established tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants after the last frost. The Virginia State University College of Agriculture Virginia Cooperative Extension also offers a useful calendar.
- Water and care for your crops: While it is tempting to take a break after you’ve done the hard work of soil preparation and planting, you still have to give your vegetables lots of tender loving care to ensure a good harvest. Make sure to give your plants ample water and sunlight and protect them from bugs by weeding regularly, monitor your garden for pests and take preventative and curative measures as needed.
- Enjoy your harvest: When your fruits and vegetables are ripe, it is time to enjoy all your hard work. Summer crops like beans can be picked early and served as baby snap beans or grown to full size. Bonnie Plants recommends using two hands to pick beans, with one hand holding the stem and picking the bean with the other hand. Bonnie also suggests picking beans every other day to encourage more growth. When a cantaloupe turns a yellow or buff color and the netting pattern is apparent, Bonnie Plants says you can easily slip the melon from the vine. You can pick cucumbers when they are big enough to use, according to Bonnie Plants. Use a knife or clippers to cut the cucumbers from the vine. Just like beans, cucumber plants produce more the more you harvest. For more information about harvesting summer vegetables, click here.
- Cook on an Outdoor Kitchen: Grilling home-grown vegetables on a outdoor kitchen is a great way to enjoy the food your grew and the great outdoors.
Spectrum Stone Designs can help you pick the perfect natural stone for your outdoor kitchen. To learn more about outdoor kitchens by Spectrum Stone Designs, contact us today.
Spectrum Stone Designs is Lynchburg’s leading fabricator of natural stone countertops, surrounds and tiles for kitchens, fireplaces and baths. Serving Lynchburg, Roanoke, Charlottesville and all of Central Virginia, Spectrum Stone Designs imports top-quality granite, marble and other stone and expertly cuts and polishes before professionally installing in homes or offices. Spectrum Stone Designs strives for excellence in craftsmanship and customer service.
