Now, more than ever, is a great time to grow your own food. These quick-growing veggies will help you spend more time at home and less time at the grocery store. Be sure to share what you’re planting with us on Instagram and Facebook using #Anawaltathome.
Your veggies need a good bed to get tucked into. Let’s take a look at how to get your garden bed ready for planting.
Till The Sun Comes Up
- Till your soil 12 inches deep to loosen up the dirt and give your veggies a good space to spread their roots.
- No rototiller? No problem! Use a shovel and pitchfork to break up and turn over the soil for a similar effect.
- Your veggies should never be planted in dry soil, so make sure it is moist for when you are ready to plant.
Who Wants a Bunch of Onions?
- Green onions—also known as bunching onion—are incredibly easy to grow and taste great in a lot of dishes
- Give your green onion plant 6 inches on each side to grow. Dig a hole 6” deep and plant. Only 1-2” of leaves need to pop up above the dirt.
- Don’t firm the soil. Just add water — about 1/4-1/2 gallon of water in a 12 sq. in. space around your plant.
Lettuce Move on to the Next Veggie
- Lettuce is incredibly easy to grow and ensures you will have the best tasting fresh salads all spring and summer.
- To find out how deep to plant your lettuce, measure your container to find out how deep and how wide you should dig your hole.
- Dig a hole that is 1” deeper and at least 2” wider than the container. Give at least 12” of space on each side between each lettuce plant.
- Carefully remove your lettuce seedling from its container and place in your hole. Fill in the gaps with dirt and water.
Cool as a Cucumber
One dish I love during the spring and summer is diced cucumbers with feta, fresh cracked pepper, and a vinaigrette. It’s a big reason I think they are a must- have in any garden. Let’s take a look at how to plant them.
- Start out by digging a hole slightly larger than the container in which your cucumber plant is held, and at least 6” away from the edge of the garden bed.
- Cucumber plants should be given about 12”on each side to grow.
- Gently place your plant in the hole, so as not to damage or disturb the roots, and fill in around it with soil.
- Gently water your cucumber plants. Strong jets of water can damage the delicate new plants.
Squash
You can’t have summer without summer squash. This, and their quick grow time of 40-50 days, is why we have included it as a must-have for our garden.
- Start by digging a hole a little larger than the container in which it resides. It will need at least 3 feet of space on each side, so as not to crowd out other plants or inhibit its growth.
- Make sure your soil for squash is moist. Not dry, not muddy, but moist.
- Remove your plant from its container. Take care not to damage its roots.
- Place the plant in its hole and fill in around it with soil and give it a good watering.
Do you think this radish on my arm looks weird?
- Radishes are great when roasted with garlic, in a salad, or even pickled! Let’s take a look at the best way to plant them in your garden!
- You can dig your holes ahead of time or dig as you go. Just know that radish seeds should be planted in moist soil in holes 1/2”-1” deep and 2” apart.
- If planting multiple rows of radishes or another veggie, space them 12” apart.
- Plant another round of seeds every 10 days (while weather is still mild) for a continuous harvest of radishes into the early summer.
Watering is Key
None of your veggies can grow without water. All gardening experts will say it is standard to give your plants 1” of water a week, but what does that even mean!? Let’s break it down really quickly.
You could crunch the numbers to figure out exactly how much water to give your plants, or you can be cool like your cucumbers and take a simpler approach.
Remember how we wanted to plant our veggies in moist soil? Watering them follows the same concept. When you notice the top layer of soil begins to dry out, water your plants. This is typically every other day, but sometimes more often when it gets hotter.