Always in season

Black Eyed Susan’s or Rudebekia is a great addition to your perennial garden. Be sure to check your local nursery for new varieties and different colors. (Photo by Justin Cave.)

Plan year-round for vegetable and perennial gardens

BY JUSTIN CAVE

Gardening and landscaping are one in the same—especially when your vegetable garden is part of the landscape! There is nothing more exciting than seeing the first tomato or perennial of the season, except taking a bite into that tomato. With careful planning, preparation and a little diligence, you can take your landscape to the next level.

Vegetables throughout the year
Whether you love the cool taste of tomatoes or the spicy bite of a bell pepper, you can plant or harvest something from your garden almost all year long. Georgia’s mild climate offers an extended growing season that gives the “Peach State” a solid reputation for vegetable gardens.

Planning and preparation are critical
To get the most out of your garden you must be in tune with the seasons and be prepared. Whatever you decide to plant will also determine your garden plot. The good news for a novice gardener is that a lot of veggies grow well in all of Georgia’s climate zones—like tomatoes, radishes, peppers, carrots, beans, okra, broccoli, cucumber, cabbage, lettuce and cauliflower, to name a few. One of the most important things to do before you plant is prepare the soil. Much of Georgia has clay soil. While it can hold nutrients, it doesn’t allow much air flow and is slow to drain. If your yard has a high clay content, amend it with compost and soil conditioner.

The back of your seed packet contains information like planting and harvest time, plant spacing, and growing zones. Be sure and refer to it. (Photo by Justin Cave.)

When to plant
In order to grow as much as possible and have more than one harvest, you need to concentrate and practice. The two major planting periods in Georgia are spring (March to May) and fall (mid-July to September). The spring plantings can be harvested in June and July, while fall plantings are harvested from October to December. January and February are perfect times to plan your garden space, do prep work and envision a productive year. So if you haven’t started, it’s time to get to work!        

April is the time to plant your warm-season or frost-tender crops. Make sure to include cucumbers, eggplant, okra, field peas and tomatoes. Plant tall-growing crops like okra, pole beans and corn on the north side of your vegetable plot to avoid shading. To have a larger and longer harvest, it’s a good idea to plant additional rows of squash, beans and corn within two to four weeks of your first planting. This will help ensure that you will, in fact, have vegetables throughout the year.

Ready to harvest
When June comes around, your first plantings should be ready to harvest with the second planting ready in a few weeks. June and July are months when you will surely have plenty of produce. However, if you preserve enough, you should have some leftover to freeze or can for the long winter months ahead. Make sure you wait until your veggies have matured before you pick them. It is also important to handle your vegetables properly so that you don’t waste any. After you have harvested all your plants from a row, be sure to clean the veggies off so there is no insect or disease buildup. If you are really ambitious, you can plant an additional row of the crops you just harvested. Be cautious, though, and make sure there is time for the plants to mature before the first frost.

Turn or tumble your compost pile so it will be ready for use in the garden. Remember that the vegetables you decide to grow will determine the size of your garden plot. (Photo by Justin Cave.)

Cool-season crops
By the beginning of September, you need to start planting your cool-season crops, and broccoli, collards, spinach and carrots are a few popular picks. Make sure to follow the same method you used in the spring and plant additional rows two weeks after your first planting. Again, be wary of the first winter frost. It may not come until November, but you never know what Mother Nature may bring.

When done properly, you should be able to harvest a cornucopia of vegetables. There is always some trial-and-error, but practice makes perfect. Any mistakes can be taken into consideration next year.

Design your perennial garden
Perennials live from year to year, with varying bloom times, and have enjoyed resurgence in popularity among both home gardeners and commercial landscapers. Perennials offer a certain permanency in the landscape, not to mention that many varieties can be divided year after year! And, there is a perfect perennial for almost any spot in your landscape. For a relatively small investment you can begin a perennial garden that will last a lifetime.

Perennials for …
… borders. A popular gardening style that is relaxing and informal is the English country garden. Imagine a cottage house surrounded by herbaceous perennial borders packed with prolific blooms. This type of perennial border will die down to soil level in the fall, and develop fresh shoots and leaves every spring. However, a mixed border offers you all the plants you like, perennials included. Even a small garden can have a corner devoted to a color-themed border. A well-rounded mixed border should display a variety of perennials, bulbs, annuals, shrubs and trees of varied colors, sizes and shapes. Examples: stonecrop, lavender, blue fescue.

… ground covers. Ground covers literally cover soil with foliage to prevent weed growth, and are a necessity in every garden. Perennial ground covers can be effective planted in between stepping stones or even in large flat areas. Try a perennial border along the capstone of a wall. As the plantings mature, they can grow around, and even over, the wall. This is a great technique for giving your garden a look of age and maturity. Examples: phlox, verbena.

… shade. Almost every house or garden has a shady area, whether it’s beside a large tree, house, fence or even a hedge. Often these shady spaces can be a problem. However, different micro-climates in your yard can give you the opportunity to grow a wider range of plants. In fact, many perennials grow in shade, both in moist and dry soil. Plant hostas for a great look in a shady spot in your yard. Combine those with the lime green color of creeping Jenny and you’re on your way to creating a great perennial shade garden. Examples: astilbe, heuchra, hosta patriot.

Using the proper ground cover is a nice accent in the garden and can help stop erosion. (Photo by Justin Cave.)		Phlox does well in full sun and in rock gardens.

… sun. A wide variety of perennials will grow well in strong sunlight. This inevitably means dry soil, and it may be necessary to amend the soil and add mulch. On the other side, using perennials that thrive in full sunlight can come in handy in the Georgia landscape. Lantana loves 100-degree heat and only needs watering once every two weeks after it is established to bloom solidly through the summer. Examples: shasta daisy, iris, peonies.

… scent. Scented perennial flowers and aromatic leaves can enrich the air and awaken the senses with many different fragrances. The perfect place for a scented garden is away from strong winds, which can disperse scents, and where the sun allows the garden to capture its warmth to help plants emit their fragrances. A great way to create this environment is by building a freestanding trellis or by planting a row of hedges. Examples: russian sage, hyssop.

Planning your landscape so you have a garden all year can seem like a large task. But once you enjoy the fruits of your labor, it will make you appreciate the hard work even more! A healthy garden can not only be nutritional, it is a great way to “get out of the house” and enjoy Mother Nature—spring, summer, fall and winter!

—Atlantan Justin Cave is host of HGTV’s “Ground Breakers” and principal of Sierra Consulting.