Nothing is more rewarding than sitting down to eat your home-grown vegetables. With inflation increasing prices everywhere, including at the grocery store, there is no better time to plant a spring garden. There are hardiness zones for planting and today we will look at Zones 8a and 8b specific for spring gardening in Montgomery County.
Vegetables to Plant in March:
It is too late to plant potatoes and too early to plant artichokes, but March is the perfect time to plant many popular vegetables. Some need to be planted as transplants (baby plants) and some by seed.
You can buy transplants in singles, four packs, and six packs from feed stores to gardening centers. Tomato plants do best when transplanted. If you want to grow from seeds, then you have to start indoors until you can transplant your own. Tomatoes come in a ton of varieties, colors, and sizes. From cherry or grape tomatoes to the large ones, you can grow several different kinds. They can be grown in pots or in the ground, but all need some support like a tomato cage to grow well.
Peppers need to be transplants as well when planting in March. From bell peppers to chiles, you can raise a wide variety of pepper plants. In general, peppers freeze well whole so you don’t have to worry about how prolific they are. Another vegetable that needs to be from a transplant in our area is eggplant. Not too popular of a vegetable as a whole, but they grow very well here.
You can plant other transplants offered in the gardening center. It is more expensive than seeds, but they do give you a head start to harvest.
Seeds are the most inexpensive way to raise garden vegetables. Arugula, lettuces, different beans, corn, cucumber, cantaloupe, squashes, and radishes grow easily from seeds. Follow the directions on the back of the seed packets. Each vegetable is slightly different in how far apart to plant, how deep, etc. It is important to label your rows so you can remember where you planted what. Also record which variety you planted. That way next year you will know what to plant again and which to try a different kind.
Advantages to Gardening:
Growing your own vegetables will save you money at the store. It also gives you an opportunity to raise organic produce as well. Getting your kids, grandkids, or even your neighbor’s kids involved teaches them valuable skills. It gets their hands dirty and their bodies outside. Gardening also increases the likelihood that they will eat and appreciate vegetables. It also teaches them where food comes from. It doesn’t just arrive at the grocery store.
Additionally, gardening usually provides abundant amounts of food. With your abundance, you can bless others with your surplus or even allow your helpers to sell it to neighbors and family for some extra spending money.
Spring gardening in Montgomery County really begins in March. For a great guide to planting vegetables in Zone 8a and 8b, click here. It will show you what to plant throughout the year. Happy gardening!