How To Grow Vegetables in Talent, Oregon
- 1). Prepare your soil for spring planting as soon as it is workable. Use a pitchfork to loosen the soil, breaking up large chunks of earth and removing large stones and debris. Mix a 4-inch layer of compost into the soil for nourishment.
- 2). Test your soil prior to planting, using a soil testing kit from a nursery. Soil acidity varies throughout Talent, Oregon, so you may need to amend depending on what you are planting. For instance, many of the most commonly planted vegetables--such as carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, peppers, squash, corn and tomatoes--tolerate soil with a pH between 5.0 and 7.0.
- 3). Amend your Talent soil if necessary. If the soil pH is lower than 5.0., add agricultural lime to raise it. If your soil is above 7.0, lower it by adding peat moss. Follow the instructions on the amendment packaging for allocation amounts and application methods.
- 4). Determine the planting depth and distance for your vegetable seedlings. Nursery seedlings usually come with planting instructions. Most vegetable seedlings require a 12- to 18-inch distance between plants, planted at a depth that is equal to their nursery container.
- 5). Water your vegetables immediately after planting using a soaker hose. The annual rainfall totals in Talent are approximately 20 inches, not quite enough to sustain a vegetable garden. Therefore, weekly watering will be necessary to keep the soil moist to the required 1-inch depth. Water twice a week if the weather is dry.