March is here and the itch to start a vegetable garden is getting stronger. Here are some factors to consider when starting a garden.
• Location. The garden does not have to be next to the back door, but it is most handy if the garden is within eyesight and is easily accessible. The adage out of sight, out of mind, can apply to gardening also. If the garden is easy to get to, chances are greater that it will be well tended.
• Light. Most vegetables need full sunlight daily for a minimum of 6 hours. Leafy crops like lettuces and Asian greens can still produce crops with partial shade.
• Water. Always consider a plentiful, available and convenient water source. Water can be delivered by a hose or drip system.
• Soil. Given a choice, choose a loam soil that has a combination of sand, silt, and clay. Loam soils are ideal but are not common in West Texas. Our soils tend to be sandy or clay, both of which are difficult to manage. Enhance our West Texas soils with copious amounts of compost, manure, or other organic matter before planting. Incorporate the organic matter into the soil before every cropping cycle. The goal of a garden soil is that it is crumbly when scooped up.
• Planting dates. Crops to be planted in the spring garden are cool season plants. Cool season crops germinate while soils are still cool and seedlings emerging can survive frosts and light freezes. Cool season crops are lettuces, cabbages, kale, arugula, Swiss chard, collards, beets, carrots, radishes, and turnips.
• Warm season crops are planted after the last frost as they are tender and will be damaged or killed if hit with a frost or a freeze. Warm season crops include tomatoes, peppers, watermelon, cantaloupe, beans, okra, sweet corn, and squash. Wait until soils warm before sowing seeds.
• Crop management. Seeds must be kept moist until germination and emergence. After seedlings have emerged, waterings can be reduced, but do not let plants dry out. As the plant system becomes established waterings can be spread further apart but do not let plants dry out.
• Weed management. Weeds wick up available water that would go the crop plant. Keep plots clean and remove weeds by pulling or hoeing when young and before they set seed.
Ellen Peffley Harp, a retired professor of horticulture at Texas Tech University, writes about gardening for several Texas newspapers.
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