For as long as there have been gardens there has been some degree of garden envy. Whether the garden is made of flowers, plants, or vegetables, there always seems to be one garden that is more prolific, greener, more colorful, or yields more food. Whatever you are envious of in the gardens of others, chances are that if you take the proper time to learn about the placement of the plants, the optimal growing conditions for each plant, preferred soil treatments for each plant, and best case scenarios when it comes to sunlight and watering for the plants in your summer garden you could create a summer garden to rival the best in your locale no matter what you happen to be growing.
Of course it requires a great deal of time, effort, and energy to become the absolute best and your efforts may be best suited into making small improvements each year in your summer garden rather than creating a massive overhaul that may burn you out on your summer garden all together. That being said, you may find some of the information below useful when working with your summer garden to help it become the best it can possibly be.
The first thing you need to do is check to see what regulations exist in your state in regards to plant food. Your local county extension office is often a good place to turn for information regarding these particular regulations as they exist not only for plant food but any other restrictions that may be in place for adjusting the soil in your summer garden. Once you have the information in hand you might want to test the pH in your own soil to see what kind of conditions you currently have and what, if any, adjustments need to be made before planting.
You should also make sure you are aware that every decision you make in regards to your summer garden will affect the yield and output to some degree but no matter how carefully you plan there will always be events that are beyond your control. This summer alone we are seeing record rainfalls in part of the country that have flooded and devastated crops while experiencing frighteningly low rainfall in other parts of the country and a very real drought in parts of the heartland that are responsible for much of the corn and soybean production for the nation. Stuff happens and for this reason the best of plans can easily go astray.
With this in mind, plan your garden carefully around the things mentioned above. Each plant will have its very own needs that must be met for optimal growth and yield. If those needs are not met chances are you will still have a plant but it will not provide the best possible flowers, the most vegetables, or the greenest leaves. If average is your goal then some care is needed but not as much as if your goal was to create and grow blue ribbon winning vegetables or flowers and that isn't everyone's goal when it comes to creating a summer garden.
Keep the local laws in mind when fertilizing and feeding your flowers and plants, avoid using pesticides that could be harmful electing instead to go with methods of pest control that are more natural and humane, this is particularly important when planting vegetables as you do not want to expose your children to potentially harmful chemicals that may be used as pesticides. Grow according to the needs of the plant and within the limits of the space you have for gardening. This means that if you only have shady space available for your summer garden choose flowers, plants, and/or vegetables, that thrive in shady conditions rather than those that need copious amounts of sunlight. More importantly, plant according to those things you wish to include in your garden. It is there for your pleasure after all; you may as well get as much pleasure as possible from it. That often makes it grow best at any rate.
