California Plants

When working to grow vegetables in your home garden, these are five useful tips to keep in mind.

1. Vegetables generally love at least 6 hours of sun per day.
2. Vegetables like well amended, good draining soil.
3. If you can mix in compost, cow manure, and peat moss when planting, vegetables will love it.
4. When selecting vegetables for your garden at home, talk to people in your neighborhood to see what thrives. You can also ask garden experts in stores and garden centers.
5. Generally, the easiest plants to grow include beans, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash. One good way to plant your vegetables is to plant in a number of quadrants and rotate after plants are done. You can plant root vegetables such as radishes and carrots in one quadrant, vine vegetables such as tomatoes and squash in another, and so on. By doing this, different kinds of nutrients are pulled out of the soil, and as you amend the soil you have time to replenish important nutrients.

When gardening at home, it is important to take into account plant hardiness zones. You should know your zone before buying plants. Here is the USDA plant hardiness zone map. There are 11 plant hardiness zones with zone 11 being the warmest. The plant hardiness zones are based on winter low temperature. When purchasing plants, check the plant label to find out the zone the plant is able to grow in. If you have a different microclimate you may need to experiment to see how plants do.

There is also a plant heat zone map. Use both maps to find plants that will thrive for you in your home garden.

This article tells about how you can decide if you should buy a particular plant at a store, nursery, or other garden center you are shopping at. This article details five tips to help you choose that right plant that has a better chance of living in your home or yard. Choosing plants and buying plants is not easy.

1. Buy a plant with good roots. Hold the plant by the crown, which is just above soil level. Is the plant tight or loose in the pot? If you pull gently, does it seem very intact with the roots or do the roots seem weak? You should choose a plant that is well secured, with a strong root system.
2. Don’t buy plants that have been over watered. Look in the soil mix of various plants the store is selling. Do they tend to over-water? Do you see water pooling under various plants? Do you see the health of plants declining? You want to make sure that the people at the store caring for the plants have not done more harm than good.
3. Don’t buy bugs! Look for bugs on the leaves. This is a big one. They can be scales, mealybugs, flying insects, or other bugs. If you see many plants here and there with bugs, watch out. You should go to another nursery rather than bring bugs into your home. For example, I bought a six pack of red cabbage, and forgot to inspect the plants. As they grew larger, within a month I had an infestation of bugs so bad in these plants that rather than treat them, I uprooted the plants and composted them.
4. Get a plant that is ready to bloom. Did it just start to bloom, or it is ending? Look for plants that still have the show coming.
5. Choose the right kind of plant, meaning annual or perennial. Is it an annual or perennial? Some annuals may live longer than one year in some climates, but you must be careful here. Perennials live more than one year. Generally annuals are more for quick growth and bloom color added to the garden, while perennials are meant to add longevity and stability to the garden. I buy mostly perennials, with only a few annuals. I do find perennials that are showy like many of the fast growing annuals, but it does take a bit of looking. It is worth it.

Selecting the right plants for your garden can save you a lot of time. Following these tips for your indoor or outdoor plants should help you in success of your garden.