Good crops for the beginning gardener
- This page is under construction - JE
What to include for each crop
- Name (in link)
- When to sow or plant
- How to sow or plant
- Soil
- Fertilizers
- Other conditions
- Comments
Beans
- Main article Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)
Only sow when there's no danger anymore for frost or night frost. For the region where i have my garden (temperate climate, northern hemisphere) this is after May 15. You can sow until half July, depending on the species. Don't add fresh manure to the soil, but beans like a humus-rich soil so you can add some old compost or saw dust to prevent the beans from rotting.
Beans like full sun and dislike cold and wet weather.
Sow the beans 7 per stick or group of plants and keep the five best of them. Cover the seeds with ca 2 cm of moist soil.
Beans growing onto sticks: You may need to help the beans fix to the stick with little ropes. The bean twiners coil anti-clockwise, seen from above.
Pick those beans that are big enough. Picking the beans stimulates the growth of more beans.
Beetroot
- Main article Beetroot
You can sow beetroot directly into the soil. It helps to put the seeds a few days in water to make them germinate faster. You can also sow beets in pots and then plant them out, but because beets have taproots you cannot keep them long in pots. Thin the beets at 15 cm in the row.
Desired pH = 6-6.5 (a bit acid).
Beetroots need to grow in the full sun and don't tolerate shade.
They don't appreciate a lot of nitrogen fertilizer, so don't give them too much compost. However, they do like some potassium added.
Lettuce is a good companion plant for beetroot.
For winter storage harvest beetroot before it begins to freeze. Twist off the foliage with your hands, don't cut it with a knife.
Carrot
- Main article Carrot
Carrots grow best in full sun but tolerate some shade[16] In order to avoid growing deformed carrots it is better to plant them in loose soil free from rocks. The seeds, which are 1-3mm in diameter, should be sown about 2cm deep. Carrots take around 4 months to mature and it is suggested that carrot seeds are sown from mid - February to July.
Carrots like any soil but rocks will deform them. They also don't like and don't need compost or manure. I always sow them in a field that was well composted the year before. They grow well even in soils that are so poor that most other crops won't develop.
S = summer carrots; W = winter carrots. Companion plant Onion Summer carrot: Sow Febr to the end of June Winter carrot: Sow March to May
Carrots are useful companion plants for gardeners. Growing carrots intercropped with tomatoes would increase tomato production.
