How to Plant a Vegetable Garden in South Carolina
- 1). Find a site for your vegetable garden where the plants will get at least eight hours of full sun every day and quick, consistent drainage. Vegetable plants won't bloom or bear fruit if they don't get enough sun, and may die in standing water. Choose a site that gives you at least 10 square feet growing space. Begin your preparation while there's still frost on the ground, so any new amendments have time to settle into the soil before planting.
- 2). Turn up the top 6 to 10 inches of soil using a garden fork, and pull out rocks, weeds and litter. Mix quick-draining soil and organic compost in equal parts, and lay 3 to 4 inches of this mixture on top of your garden. Use the garden fork to turn the amendment into the top 6 inches of soil to build a rich, crumbly foundation for the garden. Add 10-10-10, organic or starter fertilizer to the top 2 inches of soil.
- 3). Plant frost-hardy summertime vegetables, which should mature in cooler temperatures, a week before your last frost. The last frost may fall from late March in Beaufort to early May in Greenville and Wallawalla. This first planting may include broccoli, beets, potatoes, cabbage, any leafy green vegetables, radishes, turnips, carrots, cauliflower and onions. Keep these shorter-season crops on one side of the garden, as they'll mature to harvest more quickly than longer-season crops, and make the ground available for replanting.
- 4). Plant the larger, more sensitive and long-season plants one week after the last frost, so in early April in Beaufort to mid-May in Wallawalla. This planting may include tomatoes, peppers, corn, beans, squash, cucumber, okra and pumpkins, all of which take longer to grow to maturity and won't bear their fruit until the end of the summer.
- 5). Spread 2 to 3 inches of organic mulch over the garden soil to maintain moisture and warmth and discourage pests and weeds. Maintain this mulch layer throughout the summer, as it will break down over time. Water the garden with 2 to 3 inches of water a week in the warm South Carolina summer.
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