“A good rule of thumb is two inches of water a week,” Stewart said.
“Don’t water plants every day once they have gotten established.”
Water keeps plants from dying out and helps them grow into lush
vegetation, but giving a plant too much water can also help keep plants
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from reaching their full growth potential. Stewart explained that too
much water can cause a plant’s roots to stay in close proximity to the
main body of the plant, as the roots “know” plenty of water can be
found in the immediate vicinity of where the seed was planted and
thus have no real need to spread out. By not overwatering plants,
this essentially forces the plant’s roots to spread out more in search
of water, thus building a stronger root network and helping the plant
flourish that much more.
When it comes to the kinds of plants that grow best in Cherokee
County, Stewart said there are a number of plants that do very well in
the area. These plants include tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers,
corn, crowder and field peas, okra, peanuts and soybeans. Several
kinds of green vegetables, including cabbage, kale, collards, mustard,
turnip greens and broccoli also grow well in the area during the
winter months.
Stewart said that April is usually a good time for planting
vegetables and other plants that grow over the summer, as a warmer
ground is important for plants to thrive in. There are some things
that can be planted in March, but when doing so, Stewart said
growers will need to ensure they go out every evening and cover
their plants up, as any potential overnight frost can be deadly to
plants, and thus recommended home gardeners wait until the
warmer weather that usually comes in April. When planting winter
crops, he said August can be a good time for these kinds of plant
seeds to be put in the ground.
For those who may have never tried to grow their own vegetables
in a backyard garden, Stewart said there are several kinds of plants
that can be fairly easy to learn to grow. These include tomatoes,
peppers, cucumbers and squash. People with less experience wanting
to experiment with growing during the winter months may find it
easiest to work with kale, collards, mustard and turnip greens.
Before starting a vegetable garden or any other kind of planting,
one thing Stewart recommended potential growers do is to have
the soil they are planning on planting in tested to see how rich or
deficient in nutrients it might be. This can be done fairly easily
with the assistance of the Cherokee County University of Georgia
Extension Office, located at the Cherokee Conference Center on
Bluffs Parkway in Canton. According to the extension office’s website,
these soil tests can be conducted for as little as $9, while providing
growers with a wealth of information about the soil they plan to
work with. Soil tests require at least one pint of soil to be effective,
which the extension office recommends be collected from several
random spots throughout the yard. With the information provided
through a soil test, planters can know exactly what nutrients to add
and how much to add to their soil to make it optimal for growing all
kinds of plants there.
Although the optimal time for planting things to grow over the
summer may still be more than a month away, Stewart said there
are several things local residents interested in starting their own
vegetable garden can do right away to be ready when planting time
does come. This includes having a soil test conducted, loosening
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