It seems like every gardener has a vegetable garden first. I planted and weeded in my family’s vegetable garden as a child, but my “first” vegetable garden was grown in 1998. It was a simple but ambitious spread – corn, cantaloupes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash and flowers.
There are so many things I learned in that first vegetable garden. I had failures and successes. There’s even a picture of me with the first two crookneck squash that I harvested in early June 1998.
Almost 20 years later I still start gardening season with great ambition. Today, I’m growing some of the same things I grew 18 years ago, but there are always new seeds and plants that I try – both flowers and vegetables.
One thing I never tire of doing is giving advice to first-time vegetable gardeners. A vegetable garden is a great reward for any gardener because with just a little effort, there’s usually a reward of something good to eat as well as the reward of knowing that you grew it yourself.
Are you or someone you know thinking of starting your own garden this year? It’s hard to pass up tempting displays of brightly colored seed packets or rows of bright green plants.
An important thing to know before you start planting seeds is whether or not the seeds need to be started indoors or if the seeds can be sown directly in the ground. The back of each seed packet will indicate the best way to get the seeds to germinate.
Gardeners that want to get an early start can direct sow pea seeds in mid-March.
Squash, gourds, and cucumbers can also be direct sown into the garden after the first frost. Several pea seeds should be grown to ensure a good crop of peas, but two or three squash or cucumber plants may be all you wish to have for a small garden.
Corn and beans are also seeds that can be direct sown. Corn takes several rows for proper pollination, so a good deal of space is necessary. Beans don’t take a lot of space, but you will want to plant several seeds (like peas) for a good harvest.
Peppers, tomatoes and eggplants are available in seed packets, but first time gardeners will probably have greater success growing these common vegetables from the seedlings available in nurseries.
First time gardeners should also try growing a few flowers. Many annual flowers can be direct sown into the ground in late May. Some good and colorful ones to try are marigolds, cosmos, zinnias and sunflowers.
Anyone who’s just a little interested in gardening should take a pot or two or a small bit of ground to grow a vegetable and annual flower garden. I can’t promise it will all be a success, but the rewards will outnumber the failures. Who knows where you’ll be 20 years and two crookneck squash later!
Joleen is an University of Missouri master gardener. For questions or comments related to gardening, contact her at missourigardener@hotmail.com