ALL STEPS AND TIPS FOR A VEGETABLE GARDEN

THE BENEFITS OF GROWING YOUR OWN VEGETABLES

FIND A LOCATION FOR YOUR GARDEN

SOIL PREPARATION
This is the best soil bag you can find out there. Cheap, organic, perfect texture and full of nutrients. If you mix it with some Azomite, there is no way your organic garden won't grow healthy. Successful vegetables cultivation depends largely on how well you prepare the soil before planting. Vegetables grow and yield better in well-prepared soil. However, there are no hard-and-fast rules in preparing soil for vegetables planting. Much depends on the terrain, the soil type, the size of your garden, the vegetable you want to plant, and the season.

HOW TO PREPARE THE SOIL
Prepared the land manually with a hoe and rake. Do not work the soil when it is very wet so as not to destroy its structure. Clean the site and save cut grasses and weeds for composting. Dig the land at least two times to a depth of six to eight inches. Harrowing with a rake and pulverizing clods is between diggings.

MAKING DRAINAGE
To provide good surface drainage, make raised beds four to six inches above ground levels. Raising beds this way facilitate your work; it  also helps provide paths through the garden.


BASKET AND TRENCH COMPOSTING
Make compost baskets of wire or shape flexible bamboo strips around stakes to make round forms at least one foot high. Make holes in you garden plot 6 inches deep and large enough to accommodate the baskets, spacing the holes one meter apart. Then places the basket in the holes. If you prepare trench composting, dig a trench 6 inches
deep and place bamboo stakes along the side of the trench. Then weave bamboo strips around the stakes to form a “fence” about 6 inches high along the side of the trench.

PROCEDURE IN BASKET AND TRENCH COMPOSTING
Put the composed material and manure (goat manure, chicken dung, etc.) in the baskets or trench first, then grasses, weeds, ipil-ipil (Leucaena leucocephala ) or kakawate (Gliricidia sepium ) leaves. There is no need to turn the composting materials. Just keep on adding new materials. After the harvest, remove the contents of the baskets or trench and work the compost into the soil around the baskets or trench to make the soil more fertile and to improve its structure. Then place new compost materials in the baskets or trench for the next crop.

METHOD OF PLANTING
The time to plant seeds/seedlings in your plots depends on the state of decomposition of the materials in your compost basket or trench. If the materials at the bottom part are nearly decomposed, you can plant seeds/seedling immediately. If most of your plant materials are still fresh and green (called green manures), plant seeds/seedlings two to three weeks later. Plant seeds/seedlings two to three inches away from the compost baskets or trench. Then water inside the baskets or trench – not the plant directly. The
roots of plant well grow into the baskets or trench.


PLANT EARLY MATURING VEGETABLES
Divide your garden into three sections. Set aside the first section for vegetables that you can harvest in two to four months, such as soybeans, tomatoes, pechay, bush sitao, radish, mustard, cowpeas, sweet corn, sweet pepper, mung beans, carrots, etc. do not plant the whole section; reserve one-half of the section for relay planting.








PLANT SEMI-ANNUAL VEGETABLES
Set aside the second section for vegetables that are harvestable in six to nine months.
These are winged bean (seguidillas ), better gourd (ampalaya ), eggplant, (talong ), okra, squash, garlic, onion, cucumber, chayote, upo, patola, wax ground (kundol), ginger and others. As in the first section, plant one-half of this section and reserve the remaining half-portion for relay planting.









PLANT ANNUAL VEGETABLES
Set aside the last section for planting year round vegetables like lima beans (patani ), upland kangkong , alugbati, tinangkong , sweet potato (kamote), gabi, cassava, pigeon pea (kadios ), etc. as in the first and second sections, plant only one-half of this section and reserve the remaining one-half for relay planting.












PLANT SURROUNDINGS TO PERMANENT CROPS
Plant the surrounding area of your garden to permanent or semi-permanent plants like papaya, pineapple, sugarcane, yam beans, malunggay, banana, citrus and short fruit trees.













REPLANT PROMPTLY THE RESERVED PORTION
Replant promptly the reserved portions of your FAITH garden. This will further help ensure continuous and adequate supply of fresh vegetables in your home. In the third section (year-round vegetables) of your garden, plants the reserved half-portion when the first crops in the other half are about five months old. In the second section plant the reserved portion when the first crops are about four months old. In the first section (the early-maturing vegetables) plants the reserved portion when the first crops start to flower.


ROTATE YOUR VEGETABLES
When replanting, practice crop rotation. This means that you plant leguminous vegetables (like soybeans, bush sitao, string beans, etc.) to garden plots where nonleguminous vegetables (such as tomatoes, eggplants, okra, kangkong, etc.) were previously planted and vice versa. Crop rotation helps prevent the spread of pest and diseases and also improves the fertility of the soil in your  garden.

CULTURAL PRACTICES IN THE GARDEN
Besides following the TEN BASIC Steps of gardening, strictly observe other needed vegetable gardening practices such as:

SEED TREATMENT
Seeds should be treated with any of both following chemicals: Orthocide (Captan), Sevin 85S or Brassicol (PNCB). Treating seeds with chemicals will protect germinating seeds from pre- and post- emergence damping-off disease. Seeds from reliable sources like the Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center are usually treated with fungicides and insecticides prior to storage.

INOCULATION
String bean, cowpea, lima bean, garden pea, and other legumes can first be inoculated
before planting. Put seeds in a big container and moisten them with water. Mix the inoculants (available in agricultural supply stores) thoroughly until all the seeds are well coated. Legumes have their own matching inoculants. Be sure to use the right inoculants for the legume you are using. Many benefits can be derived from effective inoculation. It prevents the early nitrogen starvation of plants, thus reducing the demand for soil nitrogen. HOWEVER, you can still plant leguminous crops without inoculating the seeds.

HARDENING TRANSPLANTS
Before transplanting seedlings in the garden plots, “harden” them first for several days.
This is done by exposing them gradually to strong sunlight in the field if they have been shaded. You can also harden seedlings by gradually with holding water from them.
Withhold more and more water as transplanting time draws near. This method slows down the growth of plants. Their tissues become thicker, less succulent and harder, hence the term “hardening.” Hardening helps plants recover rapidly from the stresses of transplanting. A succulent plant needs much water and nutrients for rapid growth. It cannot tolerate dry field conditions. A hardened plant will grow slower after transplanting but will resume normal growth much sooner than a non-hardened plant.

TRANSPLANTING
A day before transplanting, water the seed box or seedbed thoroughly to facilitate pulling of the seedlings and minimize root injury. Then transplant the seedlings to the prepare garden plots. After transplanting, firm the soil slightly around the base of the plants, water then firm again. Starter solution (40 grams or approximately 4 tablespoon of 16-20-0 analysis of fertilizer or 150 grams or 15 tablespoon of complete fertilizer dissolved in one big kerosene can of water) may be used in watering. If it is very hot, cover the seedlings with coconut leaves or banana bracts.

WATER SUPPLY
Without water, fertilizers cannot b effectively absorbed by the roots and soil nutrients, cannot be transported to the leaves. Photosynthesis will not take place.

CULTIVATION
Cultivation or loosen the soil around the plants to enable their roots to expand and develop fully. Plants with fine roots spreading out near the surface should not be cultivated to deeply. Deep cultivation is needed only for deep-rooted plants like radish, beet, and carrot. Cultivate only when there is enough soil moisture. Do this late in the afternoon or early morning. Cultivation maybe done with a hoe or any other suitable hand tool.

TRIM RATOONING PLANTS
When you observe that your vegetables crops are no longer productive. You can rejuvenate plants like okra, lima beans, winged beans, eggplants, sweet pepper, malunggay and pigeon peas by cutting to height of one-half to one foot above the ground. For sweet potato, kangkong, and alugbate , trim them about one inch above the ground. You may do this two times then replant.

TRELLISING
Some plants that need supports or trellises include cucumber, better gourd, chayote, upo, patola, winged bean, Kentucky wonder bean, lima bean, snap bean, and string bean. Poles 2.4 to 2.7 meters in length are usually set in the ground to a sufficient depth in a tepee-like arrangement.

STAKING
Vegetables that need stakes include tomato, okra, eggplant, and sweet pepper. Stakes are usually set during the rainy season to support the plants and keep their fruit above ground. Good staking materials are ipil-ipil, kakawate, and bamboo.

MULCHING
Mulch can be made from any of the following: rice straw, rice hulls, cut grass, sugarcane, bagasse, sawdust, and paper. Spread the mulch on the surface of the ground, around the plants or between the rows of plants. Mulching controls weeds by preventing sunlight from reaching the ground.
Mulching is very important during the dry season to reduce moisture loss and to save irrigation water. Straw mulch keeps the soil moist event on the warmest days, during heavy rains, mulch reduces the impact of raindrops on the soil surface and prevent fertile topsoil from eroding our being was away.
Plants materials used as mulch improve soil structure and increase soil fertility when they decompose and become part of the topsoil.

CROP PROTECTION
Insect, worms, and diseases are the principal enemies of vegetables, but these can all be controlled. Success greatly depends on prompt action. The best and cheapest way to eliminate caterpillars, beetles, and insect eggs is to pick them off the plants by hand. Enriching the soil with natural fertilizer-rotted leaves, grass, and straw- provide the natural chemicals that makes plants resistant to plant pests and diseases. You can also use insecticides and fungicides to protect the vegetables garden from pest and diseases. Many of these may be sprayed or dusted on the plants.


THIS IS HOW YOUR GARDEN WILL LOOK IF YOU FOLLOWED MY GUIDE:
REMEMBER THE TEN STEPS:

· Locate the best place of the garden.
· Provide enough space.
· Thoroughly prepare the soil.
· Fertilize with compost.
· Plant one-third to early-maturing vegetables.
· Plant another one-third to semi-annual vegetables.
· Plant the remaining one-third to annual vegetables.
· Plant the surrounding area if the garden to permanent crops.
· Plant reserved portion on time.
· Practice crop rotation.


Do you have some inquiries or suggestion? Let us know. See us personally at the Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center in Kinuskusan, Bansalan, Davao del Sur, or send us a letter. We will be happy to receive your letter or to have you visit us in person.