Let’s Make a Vegetable Garden! Part 3

In part three of my series on how to plant your very own vegetable garden, I’d like to answer some questions I often get from beginning (as well as more experienced) gardeners:

 Q: Why are we always planting more seeds than necessary, then having to pull up the extra plants?

 A: Good question! When planting a row of seeds directly into a garden furrow, you just can’t control the seed flow, and too many always come out – but better too many than too few. Same thing when planting individual seeds for the larger plants (beans, squash, etc.): better too many than too few – and not every seed will sprout!

Good gardening is like good comedy: Proper timing is the key to success. If you don’t get your seeds/plants in the ground on time, or if your seeds don’t sprout, or if you don’t have enough plants, the opportunity for success may have been lost. The passage of time has taken “opportunity” in hand and moved along its singular pathway, where that particular opportunity can no longer take root. So, better to play it safe and plant a few extra seeds, right?

 Q: You speak often of thinning out the row of seedlings. How exactly do you do that?

 A: Well, you need to get on your hands and knees and get up-close-and-personal with your seedlings so you can assess the situation and perform the necessary extractions. (“Sorry, little guys, but there’s simply not enough room for all of you in this particular bed.”) It is necessary because, as stated previously, in the garden world less is more.

Crowded plants do not grow well. 1) Many root crops (i.e., radish, turnips and beets) have contact sensitivity and will actually stop growing when a neighbor is too close and touching. 2) Plants robbed of nourishment by competing plants or weeds will be curtailed in their ability to make fruits: thus the need for proper spacing and weeding.

You will need to pull out all the extra seedlings carefully. Try not to disturb the roots of the seedlings you leave in place. Check the seed packet for the correct distance between plants “after thinning.” You want to leave just the right number of seedlings with the proper space between them. It’s kind of a slow-go, but the task is necessary if you want to get a good yield on your crops.

Get yourself a good kneeling stool; position this stool over a stepping stone for extra support. I love the kneeling stool pictured here because the handles on the sides help me to get up using arm power! Even if you’re a lot younger than I am, you will still find this very helpful. (Note: If you flip over the kneeling stool, you’ve got a little seat: very clever!) Otherwise, you can simply use a garden cushion aka kneeling pad. For many years, I just used a kneeling pad, but now I use the kneeling stool almost exclusively.

 Q: What does it mean to cultivate between the rows?

 A: Good question! This is a fancy way to say, loosen the soil between the rows, and in the process get rid of the weeds growing there. Another reason to cultivate is that you want to keep your soil loose so that the roots can spread out easily and water can seep into the soil. This is all pretty straightforward.

A good time to “cultivate between the rows” is right after you’ve thinned out your seedlings. There’s plenty of room to work the soil, and there’s less danger of pulling out a plant by mistake (although it happens). Also, if you look between your rows of seedlings, you will notice that there are already little weeds growing there. And from little weeds come big weeds. Getting rid of them when they’re small puts you one step ahead of the game.

Since your soil has already been tilled/shoveled, this cultivating business is going to be a relatively easygoing affair and won’t take long: Pull the cultivator (also known as a hoe) down the soil, between the rows of seedlings. You don’t have to go deep; try to get rid of the weeds as you pull. Afterwards, use the edge or back of the tool to smooth out the roughened soil. No hoe? You can use your garden trowel or garden fork to turn over the soil.

 Q: What does it mean to mulch? What is mulch?

 A: In the bare soil between your vegetable plants, two different situations may develop, and how you handle them will affect how well your vegetable plants grow: 1) You do not want weeds to grow there, and 2) you do want the soil to remain moist.

Mulching will remedy both these potential conditions and give you the desired effect – namely, less weed production and more water retention. Mulch is any material that will retard weed growth and promote water retention.

Please feel free to google “different kinds of mulch” for everything that you can use; lots of different materials will do. But I will skip over all the details and tell you what I prefer to use as mulch: grass clippings! If you lay down an initial layer of about two inches of grass clippings, they will dry out and keep the weeds out and the water in. If you supplement this initial layer with a second layer (wait for the first one to dry out), then you will have a very effective mulch. Best thing: it’s organic, and you can turn this “green compost” back into the soil at the end of the growing season.

Keep the grass clippings just a bit away from the stems of your plants; sometimes the clippings begin to “compost” (rot) and get warm – ever stick your hand into a black bag of grass clippings? It’s hot in there! – and they can burn your stems. Once they’ve dried out, there’s no problem.

 Don’t have grass clippings? Ask your neighbors for theirs. They don’t have any? Do what I do – cruise the neighborhoods (especially after weekends) and look for those nice, rounded-out black trash bags that most likely have grass clippings in them. Here we have a fulfillment of the popular aphorism, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure!” I always silently thank these neighbors for their gift. I’ve actually developed a relationship with a few households, and they give me a call when they put grass clippings out to the curb! Before taking the bags home, try to ascertain, by feeling them, that they have only grass clippings; you don’t want a bunch of sticks or other unusable debris cluttering up your yard.

The good news: For a small garden, you won’t have to do this but once or twice. Are you too proud to lift garbage bags off the street? My wife would definitely not do this – nor would a lot of other people I know! If so, maybe you can ask someone for a big favor (how about kids or grandkids?). Or ask your gardener friends. Otherwise, have fun weeding and watering!

Q: How often do I have to water my garden? How much water does it need?

A: Your garden will definitely need water – even if you’ve mulched. What is the most effective way to water your garden? My favorite way is to let it rain. The Talmud will often speak of a “normal” rain as a geshem metzuya. (See the story of Choni Hama’agal in Taanis 23a.) This is the best kind of rain: not too little, not too much. It is also known as geshem shel bracha. This spring of 2020, it has rained so often I have barely had to water the garden, b”H. So, pray for rain – the normal kind; it will make you and your plants happy, and will not have an effect on your water bill! When it doesn’t rain, however, you will have to water your garden.

Watering seeds, seedlings and small plants: Seeds in the ground (or in pots/containers) need water in order to germinate. Water the ground often (at least twice a day; let’s say morning and evening). Once the seeds have germinated, you want to keep them well-watered with a showering from your hose so that the roots have water: just a five-minute spritz to each section will moisten the soil down to a depth of about an inch. That’s all you need at this point. Your seedlings have a “lock-in” mechanism to hold water inside the plant, so they don’t need water constantly. But it’s a good idea to try to keep the soil moist for these babies.

Watering young plants and vines: The older your plants get, the deeper the roots grow; and the deeper the roots grow, the longer you will want to water these plants. Here is the trick: You want the water to go down at least to the depth of the roots. Moist soil below the root-line will encourage your plant to grow its roots even deeper; deep, healthy roots translate into a vibrant and healthy plant.

So now you see the error that most people make when watering their garden: They think that a five-minute sprinkle is enough, because the ground looks wet, right? Wrong. You are not doing your vegetable plants any favors by giving them minimal amounts of water that leave the roots high and dry. With these young plants, you should increase your watering time to 15 to 30 minutes.

You will need a hose and a nozzle for regulating the spray; I like the nozzles with a variety of spray options to choose from. P.S.: You don’t need to water an entire vine plant; concentrate the water spray to where the vines are coming out of the ground and where the roots lay below.

Watering mature plants with fruit: As your plants get older, forget about the 30-minute spritz. Give your garden a good soaking every other day, or even every third day, if it’s not too hot. A summer downpour is a blessing. If you’ve taken the time to mulch, the soil will retain its moisture for an extended period of time. If you don’t want to stand with a hose for a lengthy period, use a sprinkler and water the garden for at least an hour. By adapting this watering method, bs”d, you will see great results in the health and productivity of your plants.

 Q: What’s the difference between summer squash and winter squash?

 A: All squashes grow in the summertime, so, what’s with the summer and winter categories? This one is easy to answer: Summer squash (including zucchini and yellow crookneck/straightneck) do not last long in storage and are therefore eaten in the summer, shortly after being picked. (We’re talking about the ones from your garden, not the ones shipped from California that we eat throughout the winter!) Even when refrigerated, zucchini will not last much more than four weeks before starting to spoil.

Winter squash varieties, however, easily last into the winter months – and some until the following spring – even when they are stored at room temperature, although a cool storage environment is preferred! With their sweet and sometimes exotic tastes and textures (which often get better with age), these vegetables are a perennial favorite amongst many gardeners, yours truly included.

Kol tuv, Avraham Cohen

If you are interested in more Questions & Answers, please write to me at avcograph@aol.com. and I will be happy to send you the entire article, including Q&A on: Transplanting seedlings, patio gardens and initial advice on dealing with animal and insect pests.

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A Model Garden Layout 6’ x 6’

Reproduced here is a ‘Model Layout’ for a 6’ x 6’ garden – I think you will be amazed at how many plants and vegetables you will be able to get out of even this small space!

Insert Model Garden Graphic here [A]

Here is the key to the vegetable plants which I have suggested for this layout:

Row 1: T = Tomato • 4 plants, each 20” apart

Row 2: P = Pepper • 3 plants, and E = Eggplant • 2 plants, each 15” apart

Row 3: B = Bush Bean • 9 plants, each 8” apart

Row 4: D = Chard • 14 plants, each 4” apart

Row 5: R = Radish or Lettuce • many plants, each 2” - 4” apart (after thinning)

Row 6: S = Squash or M = Melon or Z = Zucchini • variable plants

Border: C = Cucumber • 4 plants, in groups of 2

Border: K = Cantaloupe • 4 plants, in groups of 2

If you are interested in learning more about this 6’ x 6’ “Model Garden,” please write to me at avcograph@aol.com. There is a long article (in pdf format) explaining in detail the mechanics of this garden layout, as well as extensive information regarding the vegetables I have suggested here. Space limitations in the WWW prevents the entire article from being printed here.