How to Grow Large Vegetables
Some types of vegetables grow larger than others like large squash, melons, corn, potatoes, large tomato varieties and big bushes of lettuce. Proper vegetable care, including preparing high-quality soil, proper watering and regular fertilizing, also ensures that any vegetable varieties produce many veggies and relatively large-sized veggies. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Compost
- Tiller
- Starter plants for large types of vegetables
- Garden space
- Water
- Shovel
- 5-10-10 or 10-10-10 fertilizer (depending on vegetable varieties)
Instructions
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How to Grow Large Vegetables
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Choose a sunny garden space. The National Gardening Association says that most vegetables need at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight per day, although spinach and lettuce can tolerate less light. Ensuring that a garden space gets enough sun results in large healthy vegetables.
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Prepare a nutrient rich garden space. The National Gardening Association recommends fertilizing the soil with a layer of compost or well-rotted manure prior to planting. Apply a thick layer of compost or manure over the top of the garden soil. If the gardens soil contains lots of heavy clay or sand, also add a layer of lighter loamy soil to improve drainage and aeration. Till the garden after applying the compost and soil to mix it in thoroughly with the natural soil in the garden area.
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Choose starter plants and pick varieties that grow large vegetables. Zucchini, pumpkins and many other squash grow very large. Potatoes, cucumbers, corn, melons and yams also grow large. Leaf lettuce plants do not necessarily grow to be huge, but they grow relatively large. According to the University of Illinois, lettuce plants also produce a large quantity of food because they may be harvested frequently whenever the leaves grow large enough.
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Weed the area before planting vegetables and continue weeding the garden after planting. North Carolina State University explains that weed roots may interfere with vegetable roots. The damage resulting from this interference harms vegetable growth and may result in smaller output.
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Water the plants regularly. Do not over saturate vegetables, but make sure they never dry out as this may reduce their growth.
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Fertilize the vegetables again after planting. Fertilizer helps plants produce large veggies and stay healthy. Washington State University provides a great guide to fertilizing vegetables. It recommends using 5-10-10 fertilizer for beans, Brussel sprouts, celery, cucumbers, melons, parsnips and peppers once every three to five weeks depending on the vegetable. Other vegetables, such as beets, cabbage, lettuce and okra benefit more from a 10-10-10 fertilizer.
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Tips & Warnings
Some types of vegetables are prone to pests like aphids, slugs and beetles that nibble on veggie plants and reduce their output. Inspect vegetables regularly for signs of pest damage and remove pests by hand, with natural repellents or with natural predators, like ladybugs for aphid problems.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Squash image by Barlev from Fotolia.com
