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Lifestyle, Wanda Tineo

Sizing Up Your First Vegetable Garden

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Vegetable Garden
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Wanda Tineo has served as an underwriting professional with Allen Block Insurance Agency in Tarrytown, New York, and as a real estate agent in Piermont, New York. As a hobby, Wanda Tineo has focused much of her free time on maintaining her flower beds and vegetable gardens.

Determining the size of your first garden can be a challenge. To start with, you don’t want to be overly ambitious, planting on no more land than you are comfortable maintaining, nor do you want to be hemmed into a confined space. When it comes to vegetables, first-time gardeners are advised to plot out a 100-square-foot patch. This should allow the growth of three to five unique vegetables, which represents a manageable diversity for novices.

Assuming all goes well with the beginner garden, you can next consider a 300-to-500-square-foot space. This size garden can produce enough food for a family of four all summer, with more to spare. In fact, a general rule of thumb holds that about 100 square feet of gardening space should feed one person. If you and your family intend to eat year-round homegrown produce, this figure should be doubled.

Lifestyle, Wanda Tineo

The Basics of Seasonal Flowers

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Seasonal Flowers
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Wanda Tineo has enjoyed a successful career as a New York-based real estate and insurance professional, including time with Allan M. Block Insurance Agency in Tarrytown and Piermont’s Kennedy and Kennedy. Away from her professional activities, Wanda Tineo enjoys spending time tending to her vegetable and flower gardens.

Maintaining a healthy and beautiful flower garden can be quite a challenge, particularly if gardeners are planting flowers out of season. Fall flowers represent a great starting point for novice gardeners, as they may bloom during the warmth of early September or later in October. Geraniums and phlox maintain the bright colors of summer blooms, while cardinal flowers and black-eyed Susans are more telling of the autumnal season. Other fall flowers include dahlias and big leaf asters.

Winter might not seem like the right time of year for blooms, particularly in regions that experience freezing temperatures, but there are a few flowers that can be categorized as winter blooms, including lenten roses and primrose. Poinsettias, arguably the most well known winter flower, typically bloom in December, just in time for the holiday season.

Spring and summer blooms, of course, are abundant. Blue flag iris, daylilies, forget-me-nots, and peonies are just a fraction of the many spring flowers a gardener can choose from. Many summer flowers, including lavender and geraniums, are hardy enough to bloom year round in certain climates, though gardeners should be prepared to protect the plants from heat waves and dry spells.

Food, Wanda Tineo

Early Steps for Growing Healthy Eggplants

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Eggplants
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Wanda Tineo is a well established Montvale, New Jersey professional with an extensive background in insurance and real estate. An avid gardener, Wanda Tineo enjoys growing flowers and vegetables in her free time.

Among the common spring plantings are eggplants, which originally came from India and spread throughout Southeast Asia before arriving in the Mediterranean region in the 8th century.

To ensure a healthy plant, begin eggplant seedlings in the greenhouse a couple of months before the expected last frost and transplant them to their own individual pots at a height of three inches. One way to prepare eggplants for outdoor planting is to gradually expose them to nighttime air once the temperatures exceed 50 degrees.

When the soil and outdoor air are in the 70 degree range, the seedlings can be transferred outdoors, with raised beds ideal for maximizing heat in early spring. Leave each plant abundant space, preferably three feet in all directions, and use compost to firm up the base.

Pull any weeds that crop up by hand. The eggplants can then be interplanted with lettuce or another fruiting plant. Pinch off the initial flowers when they emerge, as this will redirect plant energy toward the roots and leaves, and create a number of fruiting branches.

Lifestyle, Wanda Tineo

Quick Winter Gardening Tips

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Winter Gardening
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Since 2007, Wanda Tineo has worked as a real estate professional in New York. She previously served with Kennedy and Kennedy in Piermont, but has since ventured out on her own as a licensed independent agent. Outside of her professional pursuits, Wanda Tineo enjoys various activities, including gardening.

For many who like to get out and work in their gardens, the arrival of cold weather means it’s time to put away the tools and take a break from their hobby. This doesn’t have to be the case, however. In almost every region of the United States, four-season gardening is a possibility with a little knowledge, preparation, and hard work.

Of course, trying to grow flowering plants such as tomatoes, melons, and peppers in the winter ultimately will end in failure, but plenty of other veggies do great in cold weather. These include greens like kale, lettuce, and spinach, as well as root vegetables such as carrots, onions, turnips, and beets. Other options include leeks, radish, and endive.

To ensure the success of your winter garden, you’ll need to protect it from the elements. A simple greenhouse is always great to have, but there are plenty of other inexpensive season-extending solutions, including mulch, Reemay covering, and cold frame enclosures. The key is to use as little protection as necessary, keeping plants ventilated but safe from biting winds. With a little work and experimentation, you can have delicious homegrown food all year long.