Here are some vegetable garden hacks from fellow gardeners to try:
I plant my peppers in pots as I'm in a short season climate, so I can move them to a warm place during late spring cool weather or early fall cool weather and frosts to extend the season. I also use a small garden bed hoop house with greenhouse film to cover them on cold nights below 50˚in spring and fall.
Adding alfalfa pellets to my beds for slow release nitrogen to feed the beneficial bacteria in the soil not the plants. And the worms get treats too!
Hugelkulture and shade cloth can help a lot!
Grow bush beans with my peppers together in pots, they love growing together! And, keeping them in part shade here in Denver, my full sun peppers are NOT as happy as the ones who are in morning shade with about 5 hours of afternoon sun. I guess our sun here is too hot!
Use spent grain from your local brewery in your garden to supercharge your dirt.
Massive KNF feedings evey full moon at least.
Cattle panel trellises and welded wire fencing material for tomato and pepper cages
Fish for fertilizer (fish fertilizers or your own caught fish!)
Make your own compost from food scraps, eggshells, leaves, grass clippings, plant prunings, used tissues/paper towels, newspaper, etc. Homemade compost is ALIVE with an active microbial ecosystem that will help feed your plants - much better than store-bought bagged compost, which is often heat-treated or processed, which reduces it's living microbial count.
Plant some flower friends with your veggies! Think: native plants, echinacea, nasturtiums, marigolds, zinnias, calendulas, sunflowers, lavender, etc. You'll get better yields on anything that needs to be pollinated, if you're putting out a buffet for your pollinator friends. Plus, flowers add a lot of joy to the garden.
Grow a wide variety of vegetables, for example: don't just grow one type of pepper, grow five or more different kinds! Grow different kinds of squash, tomatoes, beans, and lots of herbs. Each season can favor some varieties over others, and you'll also find out which varieties do best in your specific garden's climate.
Start veggies from seed, you'll have lots of extras to use to fill in gaps, replace struggling plants, and share with others.
Start seeds throughout the growing season, you can sow extra veggie seeds all summer long including bush beans, basil, radishes, cilantro, green onions, dill, peas, carrots, beets, cabbage, etc.
Start seeds early: When growing cool-weather sensitive plants like peppers or eggplants, tomatoes, it's best to start seeds indoors 4-6 weeks before the last chance of frost to get them a head start to the season. Pepper seeds can take longer than most other veggies, so starting them 6-8+ weeks ahead will give them time to grow a good root system and leaves before transplanting outside.
Focus your efforts on improving the soil. With healthy living soil, you can grow just about anything. Add compost, grow cover crops, rotate out with legumes which will all help build the soil over time. Mulch your garden beds, especially in dry climates over the winter months, this will protect your soil and organisms from the drying sun, conserves moisture, helps prevent freeze and thaw cycles, prevents erosion, and feeds the soil worm and microbes.
Make Compost Tea! Just dunk/soak some dark rich finished compost from your bin in a bucket of dechlorinated water using a colander or cheesecloth, then use the "tea" to water your veggies. Compost tea feeds the soil!
Use good vegetable garden mulch including leaves (shredded or whole), untreated organic grass clippings, or hay. Mulch helps prevent weeds, while also making it easy to weed!
Above: Some bush beans started in pots to keep the bunny at bay, these will be tucked into the bare spots in the garden where onions and radishes have been pulled.
Do you have your own garden hacks & tips?
Share them on our Facebook post and read everyone else's hacks, or reach out to us online here.
