Get Planting
Growing your own vegetables can be a fun, rewarding, and eco-friendly activity that can provide you with fresh and healthy produce right from your own garden.
TOMATOES
Find a sunny spot:
Tomatoes need a lot of sun, so choose a location that gets at least six hours of direct sunlight every day. They also need well-draining and just slightly acidic soil. Start seeds indoors: Seeds like warmth. You can start tomato seeds indoors about six to eight weeks before you plan to plant them outside.
Choose the right variety:
Choose tomatoes best for our climate. There are tomato varieties that are best for the South, including those resistant to disease.
Plant deep:
Tomatoes will root along their stems, The Home Depot said. With “leggy transplants,” dig a trench, add a slow-release fertilizer, and lay the stem sideways, bending gently upward. Snip or pinch off the lower branches and cover with soil up to the first set of leaves.
Provide support:
Most tomato plants will need support as they grow, so stake or cage them to keep them upright.
Water regularly: Tomatoes need a lot of water — about an inch a week is good. Aim to keep the soil evenly moist but not waterlogged.
Prune:
Depending on the type of tomato you are growing, you may want to prune off some of the new growth that emerges from the main stem to promote stronger, healthier growth.
Handle Gently:
Handle tomatoes as “gently as eggs,” The Home Depot said. Place a soft cloth in the bottom of your picking basket to cushion the fruits.
Ripe and ready:
Tomatoes are typically ready to harvest when they are fully ripe and have a deep, rich color.
RADISHES
Follow the soil:
In the spring, plant radishes as soon as the soil can be worked, usually in late February or early March. Radishes with long roots need deep, loose soil, HGTV suggests.
Choose a planting location:
Select a location that receives at least six hours of sunlight per day and has well-draining soil.
Plant the seeds:
Plant radish seeds about half an inch deep, and 1 inch apart in rows. Space the rows about 6 inches apart. If you want a good supply of radishes, plant seeds every two weeks.
Water the seeds:
Radish seeds need water. Water once a week, and more often during hot, dry weather.
Fertilize:
Radishes usually don’t need a lot of fertilizer, but work with an all-purpose fertilizer at planting time and don’t fertilize again, HGTV said. If the soil is too rich, or your fertilizer is high in nitrogen, you’ll have more leaves than roots.
Thin the seedlings:
When the radish seedlings are about an inch tall, thin them so that they are spaced about 2 inches apart.
Harvest:
Radishes are ready to harvest usually about three to four weeks after planting. But check the seed packet — radishes have different grow times. Gently pull the radish out of the soil. Rinse it off.
LETTUCE
Cooling season:
Lettuce is a cool season vegetable, so it is usually best to plant during the cool spring temperatures (about less than 70 degrees).
Seek sunlight:
Find a spot that gets at least six to eight hours of sunlight each day. Some types can grow in partial shade, with four to six hours a day.
Space the seeds:
Lettuce seeds should be planted about a quarter inch deep, and spaced about 2 inches apart in rows. Space the rows about 12 to 18 inches apart.
Moisten the seeds:
It is important that the soil is moist, but not overly wet. Water lettuce once or twice a week, especially during dry weather.
Fertilize:
Lettuce need nitrogen to grow and it grows its best in fast-draining soil that has rich nutrients and is slightly acidic.
Thin seedlings:
Thining out seedlings when they grow to about one inch tall. Thining will help give your lettuce a great taste — not bitter.
Ready to harvest:
The time for your lettuce to harvest varies. Leaf Lettuce is ready when they grow to about 3 to 6 inches long, according to The Home Depot. Young baby lettuce leaves can be picked for harvest 25 days after planting and crisphead or iceberg lettuce is ready around 50 to 75 days after planting, according to epicgardening.com.
