Every spring I watch the same thing happen. Somebody discovers gardening, loads up at the nursery, then drowns everything with daily watering. By mid-summer, it’s all brown. You just need to understand what matters.
Start From Seeds
Six weeks before your last frost date, start tomato and pepper seeds indoors. Get seed-starting mix, not potting soil. The lighter texture prevents damping-off fungus that wipes out seedlings overnight. Whether you’re starting vegetables or learning how to plant legal cannabis seeds, proper seed-starting technique matters more than the crop type.
Your seedlings need light for fourteen to sixteen hours each day. A sunny window won’t cut it. Shop lights positioned two inches above the trays work better.
Move seedlings outside gradually. One hour in shade the first day. Add an hour each day for a week while slowly increasing sun exposure.
Check Your Sun Situation
Go outside three times today. Morning, midday, and late afternoon. See where the sun actually hits. Most vegetables won’t produce without six solid hours of direct sun. Tomatoes and peppers really need eight. Lettuce can get by on four.
If your yard faces south, that’s your best bet. Morning sun is kinder than the brutal afternoon heat. Notice how your trees and buildings throw shade around. That shifts through the growing season.
Grab some dirt and squeeze it. When you open your hand, it should hold together but break apart easily. Clay soil stays packed solid. Sandy soil runs through your fingers.
Buy a pH test kit for ten bucks. Most vegetables prefer 6.0 to 7.0. Adjust with lime or sulfur.
Containers for Problem Soil
Get pots with drainage holes. Standing water kills roots fast. Herbs need six inches deep. Tomatoes need at least five gallons.
Use potting mix, not garden soil. It drains better and roots spread easier.
Check container soil daily. Push your finger two inches down. Dry? Water it. Moist? Wait.
Grow Vertically
Install trellises when you plant cucumbers, beans, and peas. Adding support later damages roots.
Buy tomato cages four feet tall minimum. Short wire cones collapse under ripe fruit weight.
How to Actually Water
Water less often but soak it deep. This makes roots grow down into cooler soil where moisture lasts. Sprinkling a little water every day keeps roots right at the surface where they cook.
Get your watering done in the morning. Leaves need time to dry off before dark because fungus loves wet leaves at night.
Drip irrigation puts water right where you need it instead of spraying it all over. Your water bill drops by half compared to sprinklers. Hook it to a timer because otherwise you’ll forget.
Spread mulch around your plants. Two or three inches works. Pull it back from the stems a bit. Wood chips work fine. So does straw. Shredded leaves from fall cleanup work great too. Your soil stays damp longer and weeds can’t break through.
Better Soil Means Better Results
Work compost into your beds each spring. An inch or two makes a difference. Clay soil gets looser. Sandy soil holds water better.
Stay off growing beds. Walking on soil packs it down and forces out air. Build permanent paths.
Rotate what you grow in each bed. Peppers went in bed A last year? Put tomatoes somewhere else this year. Plants in the same family pull identical nutrients from soil and bring in the same bugs and diseases.
