Planting a Vegetable Garden

I am excited to plant a garden this year. Last year we waited too long and missed the planting window. But we did dump a few bags of planting soil over the spot we wanted to use, which made it much easier to prepare the ground when the time came around again. For some reason the soil in our area is hard clay. After it bakes throughout the summer, it is almost impossible to work with, so I got out there early this time and prepared a spot for a small garden. I used some wooden sign stakes to plot out the boundaries and bought some basic garden fencing to wrap around the stakes. Inexpensive and easy to do. Looking at the area now, we may decide to expand it. It just looks so tiny! And since we haven't laid the sod down yet, it is easy right now to expand this area where there is no grass.

There is something so fun and rewarding about planting a vegetable garden. It is amazing to watch as your plants literally change and progress every day. It also gives you a sense of accomplishment, a chance to work outside in the sun, and of course, the nutritious food for a fraction of what you would spend at the grocery store for fresh produce. 

I think we are planting our salsa ingredients this year (tomatoes, onions, cilantro, jalapeños), I would also like to try some squash, carrots and maybe cucumbers. In looking for some tips on when to plant, I found this site. It lays out a basic schedule specific to the Wasatch Front. I thought I would pass it on in case you are planning your garden too.

Here are some tips I found as I was doing my research:

1. Position your garden in a spot that gets at least 6 hours of direct sun each day
2. Start planting early in the spring and plant in multiple phases so you have vegetables to harvest throughout the season
3. Soak your seeds in room temperature water a few hours before planting them to start the germination process
4. Use compost in your soil for a better result and higher quality product
5. Make sure to give your plants plenty of water - they are not very drought tolerant
6. Keep your garden free of weeds. Those little freeloaders want to soak up the nutrients and can harm your plants

So, what will you be planting this year? Do you have any tips to get better results?