Gardening Tips For Growing Bell Peppers and Strawberries

Bell peppers need nutrient rich soil. They do best in well drained soil, and lots of sun. Raised beds are great for bell peppers, with good topsoil, compost, and rotted manure mixed in.

Your bell peppers grow into small bushes, and need lots of air circulation. Give them enough room by spacing them between 12 and 18 inches apart, and in rows at least 24 to 36 inches apart.

Bell peppers need lots of water during germination. You'll need to keep them moist but not soggy. If they don't get enough water, they'll have a bitter taste. You can use mulches to help keep the soil moist.

You'll know that your bell peppers are ready to harvest when they turn their final color. They can be red, orange, yellow, green, or purple depending on the variety. The more you harvest, the more will grow, so pick them regularly.

Watermelons

Plant your watermelon after the soil is warm and there's no danger of frost. Watermelons grow best on a sandy soil, and it's important to plant them on raised mounds.

Watermelon vines need lots of space. Plant seeds one inch deep in hills spaced 6 feet apart. Make your rows 7 to 10 feet apart. After the seedlings start sprouting, it's a good idea to thin them to about three plants per hill.

Watermelons have deep roots, so you seldom need to water them. In cooler areas, you can get floating row covers, drip irrigation and black plastic mulch to help produce a great crop in a short season.

Watermelons can be hard to tell when they're ripe. Here's a list of things to look for:

# Light green, curly tendrils on the stem
# Surface color of the fruit turns dull
# the skin is tough and resist the thumbnail
# The bottom turns a yellowish color.

Pumpkins

Pumpkins are sensitive to grow. The seeds need warm soil, and frost can really injure the seedlings. If you want pumpkins for Halloween, plant the seeds from late May in northern locations to early July in southern places.

Pumpkins need a minimum of 50 to 100 square feet per hill. Plant seeds one inch deep, and four or five seeds per hill. Allow 5 to 6 feet between hills, spaced in rows 10 to 15 feet apart. Once they have sprouted, thin each hill to the best two or three plants.

Pumpkin plants need to be kept weed-free by hoeing and shallow cultivation. They do okay with short periods of hot, dry weather.

You'll know when your pumpkins are ready to be harvested when they are a deep, solid orange, and the rind is hard. This will usually be in late September or early October, before heavy frosts. Cut the pumpkins carefully, using pruning shears or a sharp knife, and leave 3 to 4 inches of stem attached.

Summer Squash

Summer squash needs warm, fertile, and aerated soil. They do well with soil that has compost or well-rotted manure added to it.

One way to grow summer squash is to plant them in a corner of the garden and train the vines to grow outside of the garden. Plant them about 2 feet apart and in rows that are 2 feet apart.

Summer squash need lots of water throughout the growing season. Water them deeply during dry spells. Only water the roots; not the foliage. Watering them early morning helps prevent mildew.

Summer squash are ready to harvest when they turn their mature color (usually green or yellow). Straightneck, crookneck, and zucchini summer squash are ready when they reach 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter, while scallop summer squash are ideal at 3 to 4 inches in diameter.

Strawberries

Plant your strawberries in the spring. If you're planting young plants, be sure that they're certified and disease frees. Select plants with large crowns with healthy, light-colored roots. Prepare your soil with 1-2 inches of organic matter (like compost, or well rotted manure).

To plant your strawberry plants, make a hole big enough to spread the roots. Make the center of the hole into a hill, and place the crown at soil level. Spread the roots downward, and bury the strawberry plant so that the soil goes half way up the crown.

Your strawberries will need 1 to 2 inches of water per week. This is especially important during the formation of the strawberry, from early bloom until it's time to pick them.

Pick your strawberries when they're fully ripened. This means leaving the berries on the plant for a day or two after they are fully colored. To pick them, snap the stem directly above the berry, rather than pulling on the berry itself.