Vegetable Gardening 101: Some Tips and Life Lessons

This post is a follow-up to Vegetable Gardening 101 (read here) wherein I described my gardening routine up to the planting season and wrote I would blog about the post-planting season in October 2022.

Unfortunately, my 2022 gardening season was very disappointing. Consequently, I didn’t have the heart to write a follow-up blog. But a year later, here I am with one. With somewhat different content, though.

Specifically, I will share three gardening tips; and three life lessons from my not-so-successful gardening season.

Gardening Tips

Traditional Fertilizers

The main components of vegetable fertilizers are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. The optimal mix of these three components, in a fertilizer, differs by plant and across plant growth stages.

Many amateur gardeners err by using the same fertilizer, in terms of nutrient proportion, throughout the season.

A young plant needs more nitrogen, relative to phosphorus and potassium, to promote stem and leaf growth.

During flowering, the plant needs relatively less nitrogen and more phosphorus and potassium.

A mature plant needs even more potassium to improve fruit quality.

Green leafy vegetables require high nitrogen levels throughout.

Adjust your fertilizer to the changing needs of plants as they grow.

Commercial fertilizers are available in several combinations of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (see notes).

Nontraditional Fertilizers

Gardeners swear by different nontraditional plant foods. The efficacy of these foods depends on soil type, specific vegetables, and climate. So, what works for one might not work for another.

For me, Epsom salt works like magic on chili and bell peppers! Sometimes, I don’t know what to do with the boatloads of peppers I harvest.

I mix three tablespoons of Epsom salt in a gallon of water for watering 8 to 10 pepper plants. I water once a week after the first few weeks of planting.

Determinate vs Indeterminate Varieties

Some beginning gardeners overlook the determinate versus indeterminate dimension when selecting varieties of a vegetable to grow. For instance, Roma and Early Bird are determinate tomato varieties, and Beefsteak and Big Boy are indeterminate.

Determinate varieties grow to a finite height and produce fruit during a relatively short period.

Indeterminate varieties keep growing and fruiting until the end season. They require more space, support, and maintenance, and are more susceptible to disease.

Beans, cucumbers, eggplants, gourds, peas, pumpkins, squashes, tomatoes, and zucchini are some vegetables with indeterminate varieties

Evaluate the determinate versus indeterminate choice in the context of gardening effort, harvest output timing, garden space, and overall garden layout.

Life Lessons

• My garden disappointment began when deer feasted on several plants one night. And again a few days later.

  

I plant deer-deterring garlic, eggplants, and chili peppers at the garden border and regularly apply an anti-deer spray to repel deer. However, foolproof deer protection is a suitable fence, which I don’t have. I kept postponing the fencing project for years, so I am to blame for my disastrous gardening season.

Typically, when we fail, we blame the environment; when we succeed, we readily take credit for our success. Instead of blaming the environment, which we cannot control, we should ask ourselves what we could have done differently to ensure the desired outcome.

• A very important life outcome that I was eagerly awaiting did not turn out my way.

I was disheartened and lost interest in my garden. My garden, an unrelated activity, suffered; it shouldn’t have.

When something negative happens to one part of our life, negativity often spills onto other parts.

We must contain this spillover by reminding ourselves that negative emotions during setbacks can cause widespread damage. Not easy to do, but we must try.

• I eagerly await the gardening season every year without a second thought.

Over the years, I haven’t considered not cultivating the garden as an option. This approach is unwise no matter how much I love gardening—my disappointing season led me to critically evaluate, for the first time, whether I should continue vegetable gardening.

We should periodically review significant aspects of our lives even if everything is on the right track. We should assess our family and social relationships, careers, activities, interests, and opinions. Formal, honest, and comprehensive personal reviews alert us to any needed actions and interventions we might otherwise miss.

Happy Gardening!

NOTES

I am not into organic gardening. I use chemical fertilizers. Unfortunately, the word “chemicals” has a negative connotation. As a result, even tried and tested chemical fertilizers are shunned by some when they don’t have to be. As noted earlier, vegetable fertilizers mainly contain nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Safe stuff.

The proportion of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium is prominently labeled on fertilizer packages as three numbers, for example, 19-6-12. This number means 19% of the fertilizer is nitrogen, 6% phosphorus, and 12% potassium.

Home gardeners, unlike commercial gardeners, typically prefer plants that yield over time. Indeterminate plants are appropriate if you are willing to work extra hard. Determinate plants are suitable for space-constrained container gardening and commercial gardening.