Learn to plant warm season vegetables and anticipating the last frost dates.

Coming up on this edition of Year Round Garden.

There are many great warm season vegetables you can grow in your garden without too much trouble.

These are vegetables that thrive in the warmer temperatures of the spring and through summer.

Whether it's tomatoes, squash peppers, corn, or other vegetables, you can bypass the need to buy them at the grocery store.

Choosing your vegetables, Make sure you choose vegetables that appeal to you and the family.

No reason to dedicate space to Brussels sprouts if no one enjoys them as part of their diet.

The next step is to select varieties that are suited for your local conditions.

What does well in Southern California may not do as well in central Pennsylvania.

Plenty of reference sources can help you with this process.

When choosing which warm season vegetables to grow, keep in mind how much room you have in your garden.

It can be a little misleading.

When you look at a seed or transplant, they seem so small, yet over the weeks, they're going to grow and fast.

A pepper may need four square feet while a pumpkin requires 20 square feet.

Some crops like pole beans grow on vines and require support, such as a fence or trellis.

Consider sunlight.

The general consensus is that a garden should receive at least six hours of sunlight per day to be most productive.

Be aware of the shade that nearby trees or buildings could throw onto the garden area.

Consider water like all living organisms.

Vegetables require adequate and timely watering through various growth stages.

It may be needed to assist sea germination or relieve stress on a newly planted transplant.

As the plant grows, newly formed cells need to stay detergent.

Many of our fruiting vegetables are over 90% water.

If drought stress, good yield may not be achieved.

If possible, try to keep water off the leaves when irrigating.

Many disease organisms need wet leaves to start their infection process.

Soil.

A good garden soil should have water holding capacity.

You don't want all sand.

As the water passes through.

You will also want good drainage soils with a lot of clay.

Do not drain water properly and will cause roots to rot.

Choosing the best dates to plant.

Be aware of your last spring frost date as cool soil temperatures can lead to poor seed germination and frost can kill transplants.

Also know first fall frost date as this can end a gardening season for warm season vegetables.

These two dates will help plan your seeding and planting schedule throughout the growing months.

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