{"id":12932,"date":"2024-02-29T12:00:51","date_gmt":"2024-02-29T20:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanpedrotoday.com\/?p=12932"},"modified":"2024-03-03T10:37:52","modified_gmt":"2024-03-03T18:37:52","slug":"home-garden-ready-set-sow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanpedrotoday.com\/2024\/02\/29\/home-garden-ready-set-sow\/","title":{"rendered":"Home &#038; Garden: Ready, Set, Sow"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><span style=\"color: #999999;\">As Southern Californians, we\u2019re lucky to live in one of the best climates in the country for growing vegetables, thanks to our mild winters and warm summers.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>But if you\u2019ve ever tried and failed to grow a garden here, that may be hard to believe. One of the most difficult lessons to learn in vegetable gardening is that sticking plants in the ground and hoping nature does the rest does not work, and there are numerous steps you need to take before planting. I\u2019ve learned this lesson myself \u2014 and many others \u2014 so you don\u2019t have to. If you\u2019re ready to take advantage of all our climate offers this spring, here\u2019s how to prepare your garden for veggies.<\/p>\n<p><b>Let the Sunshine In<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The first step in growing a successful vegetable garden is choosing the right planting site. Vegetables cannot grow in full shade and generally prefer at least six hours of sunlight a day, with certain plants like tomatoes needing more.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>When choosing a site for your garden \u2014 whether you\u2019re planting in pots or in the ground \u2014 make sure the location gets enough light by observing your yard or patio for a day, noting how many hours of sunlight it gets at different times. If you don\u2019t have a spot with at least six hours of sun, consider planting vegetables that can tolerate some shade, like lettuce or spinach.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Wherever you decide to plant, make sure that the garden is located next to a convenient water source, like a hose, and that it\u2019s not built in an area where water pools when it rains.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Know Your Soil<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p>A good gardener grows plants, but a great gardener grows soil. A healthy soil is comprised of minerals, air, water, and ample amounts of organic matter (such as decomposed plants). If you live in San Pedro, you likely have clay soil, which is full of minerals but lacks air pockets and organic matter.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>At the start of every gardening season, but especially before your first garden, it\u2019s important to test your soil before planting to understand the soil type you have and the nutrients it contains. You can buy an at-home soil test kit for this, but I prefer to send mine off to a lab for deeper analysis.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>A lab test will not only tell you if your soil is deficient in essential nutrients like nitrogen, but you\u2019ll also learn whether it contains lead or other harmful substances, which vegetables can absorb.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Don\u2019t Skip Compost<\/b><\/p>\n<p>After you understand your soil, it\u2019s time to prepare the bed for planting. Start by clearing the site of debris, such as rocks and weeds, and remove sod if you\u2019re planting in a lawn.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Once the area is clear, loosen the soil by driving a garden fork as far as it will go into the bare dirt and rocking it back and forth across the whole bed. Then, add compost \u2014 and don\u2019t ignore this step. Though the amount of compost will vary depending on your soil test results, a good rule of thumb is to add a three-inch layer to the soil surface of a new bed. Use a shovel to mix it thoroughly into the top foot of freshly loosened soil and water when you\u2019re done.<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s it \u2014 you\u2019re ready to plant!<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>For information on when to plant specific vegetables, check out the \u201cDigital Gardener\u2019s Southern California Vegetable Planting Schedule\u201d online or join LA Compost for a free beginner\u2019s home composting workshop in San Pedro on March 2 at Gaffey Nature Center (721 W. Summerland Ave.) at 9 a.m. Visit <a href=\"http:\/\/lacitysan.org\/compostworkshops\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lacitysan.org\/compostworkshops<\/a> for more info.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Whatever you choose, start small \u2014 and have fun gardening! <strong><span style=\"color: #999999;\">spt<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As Southern Californians, we\u2019re lucky to live in one of the best climates in the country for growing vegetables, thanks to our mild winters and warm summers.\u00a0 But if you\u2019ve ever tried [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":12948,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Home &amp; 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