Virginia has a long , successful agricultural history because of its fat soil , long raise season and meek climate . Atlantic current keep weather soft in the Tidewater realm ; gardeners can easy lift outflow , summer and fall craw of veggie . Planting a garden in Virginia ’s native arenaceous loam is a pleasure . Favorite crops are tomato plant , potatoes and all sorts of beans . The last middling rime date in southeast Virginia is as early as the remnant of March , but most Virginia nurseryman can get establish by the end of April .

Step 1

found a planting schedule and planting plot for your garden . The urban center of Powhatan , situate just south-west of Richmond , suggest get in February with beet , peas , carrots , chard , kohlrabi and collard and mustard greens . Some vegetables , like broccoli , cabbage and Brassica oleracea botrytis can be planted in early spring and again in previous August and September . Virginia favorites tomatoes , white potato and musk melon may be planted in the bound and again in June and July and grow during the state ’s hot summer .

Step 2

mold in plenty of compost or humus to improve the texture and crumbliness of your soil . work the topsoil to a astuteness of 6 inches . If you garden in an area with heavy mud ground , withdraw half the topsoil and replace it with well - rotted compost to improve its power to run out and get strain to plant root . sum a balanced ( 10 - 10 - 10 ) slow - release garden fertilizer according to package counselling ( typically 2 lbf. per 1,000 square feet ) and work compost and fertilizer in to the ground .

Step 3

Begin planting former bound crop in one end of the garden and work toward the other , spacing plant accord to item-by-item requirements . spinach plant and dinero , for example , are planted 3 to 4 inch apart , but cucumber involve as much as 4 feet of place .

Step 4

fertilise again with deadening - release fertilize in late July as the spring crop are reap and before the fall planting start . Donna Williamson , author of " The Virginia Gardener ’s Companion , " suggest supplementing dull - going lotion with a half - persuasiveness liquid plant food every two weeks in the vegetable garden to compensate for the rapid leeching of nutrients through Virginia ’s sandy ground .

Step 5

Near Richmond , for example , works declination vegetables ( or second harvest ) beginning in July for some crop , but in September for super acid , kohlrabi and cucumber . plant life Daucus carota sativa , peas and lettuce until Oct. 1 ; spinach plant and turnip can be planted until Oct. 15 . plant life radish until Nov. 1 .

Tip

Virginia daylight and Nox temperatures are often extremely variable ; keep a cardboard box full of newspaper on manus to pass over tender seedling . Virginia has five geographic areas . If you live in the uplands , your surface soil is clay - labored and will require amendment to better drain . In the Piedmont or Tidewater area , your arenaceous soil may need constituent amendment . Virginia Tech does soil testing through the Virginia Cooperative Extension that can help diagnose your soil ’s motivation . Rainfall in Virginia ranges from 60 in a year in the Blue Ridge and Appalachian uplands to 33 in in the valleys . The coastal plain stitch receives about 45 inches yearly rain , but much of it is from storms , including hurricanes . Make trusted your garden receives an inch of water every week during the growing season .

Things Needed

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