I reside in North Central Florida, and I have five acres of land. How can I start a vegetable and herb garden? What should be included? Etc. Thank you in advance.

4 Responses to “How Do I Start A Vegetable And Herb Garden?”

1. breadvan says:

   July 31, 2009 at 1:50 pm

   You first need to till your land that you want to plant your garden on…..then you need to buy miracle grow vegetable and flower soil it feeds up to three months..you can do a 12x 12 garden and buy like 5 bags at 6 dollars each and what you do is pour it onto the soil you just tilled and then mix it in….which you can till it again to do this. After that you need to put up stakes at the end of each row and run a fishing line or anykind of string so your rows will be straight or either you can do freestyle and do it the straightest you can get it. I planted corn (needs to be planted 2-3 seeds in each hole…6inches deep…6inches apart) after they sprout at about a foot high pick the strongest sprout and do away with the weakest. Cucumbers 2-3 seeds in a 3 inch hole 6 inches apart. Squash the same way. Watermelons 5-6 seeds in hole 5 feet apart because the vines grow so long. Carrots and raddishes are the easiest to grow…put several tiny seeds in a just under the soil hole and they sprout within two weeks. Most seeds will sprout within two weeks. I fertialize weekly and water once in the morning and once at night after the sun isnt high because it will burn your plants up. Buying herbs already started in little planters and transplanting them into your garden is easiest or i put my vegetables in the garden and grow my herbs in the window seal. Hope this info helps. Ive been gardening and farming for years.
2. Fauna says:

   July 31, 2009 at 2:14 pm

   Breadvan gave an excellent answer, but one more thing, maybe. You could call your local Extension Agent and they will come out and check your soil for PH and also tell you what best grows in that soil or area. I just have a small area but I grow herbs for the fragrance, chocolate mint is heavenly and my alltime favorite. I let it steep in half and half overnight, add some sugar, remove the mint leaves and freeze it just to a soft freeze and it is the best thing on a hot summer day I can think of.
3. kg c says:

   July 31, 2009 at 2:33 pm

   have look at http://www.enjoyherbs.com …. this site has some information on herb gardens, soil preparation, propogation etc
4. Neal & Cathy says:

   July 31, 2009 at 2:34 pm

   Being from the Midwest, we are not familiar with what soil types you might have in your garden. Your county extension agent can help you with this, but you can also look around at what your neighbor’s gardens look like. Five acres is a lot of land. If you are eventually thinking of establishing a market garden to sell the vegetables or just having a small garden for yourself, the gardening styles can be a little different. If this is your first garden, I would advise starting small and using raised beds. Add as much organic matter to the soil as you can get your hands on, you can’t overdo this. Also, try to get as much of this for free or off of your property. Buying packaged soil is very expensive and is really like a drop in the bucket unless you have a lot of money to try to spend for an instant garden.
   Lay out the garden in a manner that is pleasing to yourself, rows, 4 foot squares, long beds, it doesn’t really matter for a small personal garden.
   If you are thinking of eventually turning it into a market garden, then it is even more important for you to garden organically from the beginning. Organically grown vegetables are very hot right now as more people are concerned about what they are eating. You could also get together with local restaurants and see what the chef’s are looking for and do some custom growing.
   Check out our website for more gardening ideas at-http://www.gardening-at-the-crossroads.c…
   Good Luck and Happy Gardening from Cathy and Neal!