HOW TO GET YOUR GARDEN STARTED: PUTTING THE THEORIES TO WORK

Asad Manzoor
Department of Agriculture & Agribusiness Management, University of Karachi (asad@gardener.com)

Most of your garden scheduling has been theoretical. You've given idea to the vegetables you want to grow, what you're going to do with them, and how much you need to cultivate. You've got a plan of how the climate in your spot will influence your final choice of vegetables.

You're starting to understand your microclimate how growing circumstances in your own back garden may differ from the general climate of your region/district or city. Now you're ready to start getting your plans on paper, but as soon as you open the seed catalog, confusion strikes again. You want to grow your own corn, tomatoes, lettuce and carrots…..

Remember, too, that you don't all the time have to play by the rules; you can plant more than one variety of a vegetable and decide for yourself who one is best suited to your palate and your garden. You can also broaden your harvest by planting varieties that mature at diverse times. Experimenting is a good part of the fun of growing a vegetable garden. Selecting the varieties you're going to grow gives you some solid information with which to work .You now know when to plant your vegetables.

With careful scheduling you may also be capable to save garden space and get two or more harvests from the same spot by succession or sequencing planting. After early-maturing crops or Vegetables are harvested, you clear a portion of the garden and replant it with a new crop or vegetable. Plant so that cool-season crops or vegetables grow in the cooler part of the season, and warm-season crops or vegetables can take advantage of warmer weather.

Companion (we can also say friendly plants) planting is another way to twice upon plantings pace. This you do by planting short-term crops or Vegetables between plants that will take a longer time to mature. The short-term crops or Vegetables are harvested by the time the longer-season crops or Vegetables need the extra room. A good example of this is to plant radishes between rows of tomatoes; by the time the tomatoes need the space, the radishes will be gone.