Organic Gardening - Growing Gardens In Smaller Spaces

Organic Gardening: Growing Gardens In Smaller Spaces.

It seems that summer 2011 is upon us. The cooler days of winter were replaced with a 40 jump in temperature on the first day of spring. Odd how we languish beneath the oppressive 80 degree days of pre-summer. It did seem as though we were standing in an inferno. Sadly, Sacramento is a place where summers heat can soar into the 110 degree range.

The bright side of this warm weather is the fact that the summer garden plants are all rustling around inside their seed coats waiting to break free. The key to planting plants that love hot weather is to watch the nighttime temperatures. 80 degree days and 30 degree nights can kill young plants and sprouting seeds. Ideal temperature should range above 50 degrees during the night and 70 degrees during the day.

Despite the fact, that March was the wettest month thus far it is still important to make sure new plants are watered daily. The transition from container to ground is sometimes traumatic for seedlings and younger plants. Watering methods vary greatly from gardener to gardener. I have always found a slow soaking in the evening is enough to get plants through the day. Let the water soak in deeply so that the plant can draw on it throughout the day.

Tomato and pepper plants do really well in hot weather. Now is a good time to plant both tomato and peppers. If you have planted a winter garden, then plant younger tomato plants between winter plants that will be harvested soon. This allows the tomatoes to get established and grow while the winter plants mature and are harvested. This is a wonderful way to jump-start the growing season. This is also a nice way to garden in a limited space. The winter plants share the space with the smaller summer plants.

homemade trellises are easy to build and fairly cheap. All that is needed are some bamboo stakes and twine. Feel free to substitute anything that is sturdy in place of the bamboo. This trellis cost about $6 and will last about 3-4 years. It will last longer if you take it down each year.