How to Plant a Vegetable Garden in New Jersey
- 1). Select a location for your garden. Choose a sunny spot where your plants can get plenty of sunlight -- at least six to eight hours per day.
- 2). Till the ground 16 inches or more with a garden tiller. Tilling the ground helps by breaking up claylike soils and helping you find large rocks that can interfere with root systems. It also helps to spread out tightly compacted soils.
- 3). Test the soil with a pH test kit to find out what soil amendments are necessary. Tomatoes prefer more acidic soils, while other types of vegetables, such as carrots, cucumbers and radishes, thrive in neutral or slightly alkaline soil. The New Jersey Agriculture Experiment station says that the soils in New Jersey are naturally acidic. However, the texture and type of soils in New Jersey vary greatly depending on where you live. You might encounter claylike, sandy or loamy soil. Some amendments can alter the structure and pH of the soil. You may need to experiment and continually test the soil until conditions are right for a garden. Adding ground limestone can make acidic soil more alkaline. The amount of limestone needed varies depending on the structure of the soil. If the soil is sandy, add 3 to 4 lbs. of ground limestone for every 100 square feet of land. If the soil is loamy, add 7 to 8 lbs. for the same area, and thick, claylike soils need 8 to 10 lbs.
Adding sulfur can make alkaline soil more acidic. If the soil is claylike or loamy, add 2 lbs. of sulfur for every 100 square feet of land. Sandy soil needs 1 lb. for the same area. - 4). Spread a 5-inch layer of compost on your garden plot. Use a garden tiller to blend the compost into the soil.
- 5). Plant tomatoes, carrots, squash, peas, peppers, eggplants and cucumber seedlings 4 inches deep and 5 inches apart. Plant these crops in May or June. Always make sure that the last frost date has passed before planting. Plant cool season crops such as spinach, radishes and lettuce 4 inches deep and 5 inches apart in September.
These crops are usually ready for harvest between 60 and 80 days after planting, but times may vary depending on the individual vegetable. - 6). Water your garden with 2 inches of water every week unless it rains.