A few tips for gardening veggies at home

Growing vegetables successfully is easier by following a few simple steps:

Extend the harvest

Instead of planting all of a vegetable at the same time, spread out the planting time. For instance, three broccoli plants should yield enough for one person. Plants are typically ready to harvest 60 days after planting, with the harvest continuing for 40 days. This method results in a lot of broccoli in a short period of time.

Example

Set out plants at the beginning of the recommended planting time period, then set a few more plants out in the middle of the planting period and a few more at the end of the planting period. This method of spaced planting results in broccoli harvest season for 85 days, that is, 45 days more than only one planting date.

Selected vegetables

Select vegetables to grow based on your personal and family preferences. Learn the growing requirements for those vegetable plants to be healthy and grow productively. Select an area with suitable sunlight of 6 to 8 hours daily. Know the soil fertility and pH level by testing the soil. Start each crop when the temperature is suitable for planting.

Where to grow vegetables

A vegetable garden may be located at ground level with drainage ditches, ridges, and raised beds — low or up to 30-inch-high structures — or in containers of 1 to 20 gallons. Containers may be located on the ground or placed up on structures for easy access. Use a soilless mix for containers and weeds should not be a problem.

Accessible gardening

If raised beds and containers are 30 inches high, they are convenient for gardeners to stand while tending plants. If the raised beds or containers are lower, gardeners can sit on a stool, kneel on pads or easily bend over to care for the plants.

Soil temperature

Earlier this week in our vegetable garden, the soil at 4 inches deep was 50 degrees at 8 a.m. This temperature permits early planting of asparagus, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, garlic, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard, bulb onion, edible pod pea, English pea, radish, spinach and turnip.

• Write to Elmer Krehbiel, c/o Brazos County Office, Texas AM AgriLife Extension Service, 2619 Texas 21 W., Bryan, Texas 77803. Email him at gardening@theeagle.com.