This Mahalo page will provide you with information on how to plant plants. Because the word 'plant' covers a great area, we will discuss planting vegetables, fruits and flowers in this article.

The decision to grow your own plants is a good one since you will be able to save some money. For instance, if you grow vegetables or fruits, you will save money in the grocery store. You will just be able to walk into your back yard and harvest some. To some people gardening is a creative outlet or hobby and to others it's a way to save some money. Growing your own produce might sound easy, but successfully growing anything, requires time, patients and some effort. There are certain steps you will need to take in order to successfully plant plants.

You can purchase plants for planting at your local garden center or nursery. You can also start them from scratch by basically purchasing the seeds. The seeds are usually started indoors and germinate into seedlings which are then planted outdoors. If you decide to start off your plants from seeds, the Mahalo page 'How to grow seeds' can be a useful source of information.

On this page you will find information regarding soil quality, location, layout, plant varieties and much more. Hopefully some of your gardening questions will be answered.

LOCATION: The first thing you need to do when deciding to plant plants is to find a location. You can plant plants outside, indoors, on a patio or balcony, in a greenhouse and even in containers. The possibilities are endless. If you decide to place you plants in containers, it's easy to move them around. For instance if the plant requires shade or sunlight, you can just move the container to meet its needs. If the plant is in full bloom you can place it where it's visible and when it's not in bloom you can do the opposites. If you decide to plant in the back yard, make sure to pick the sunniest spot since most plants need sunlight to grow. Also make sure the location is easy accessible by the irrigation system. http://www.thegardenhelper.com/vegetables.html http://www.humeseeds.com/vegplan.htm

BLUEPRINT: Once you have decided on a location for your garden, you can use a pencil and paper to make a blueprint. This blueprint is basically a layout of the garden. On your blueprint you want to make sure to include overhead and underground utilities, surrounding trees, and walkways. If you already know what you want to plant you can include this on your blueprint.

SOIL QUALITY: The next step is to look at the soil you are working with. The soil quality is important and can be the difference between a garden that thrives and flourishes and one that won't. To test your soil you can purchase a soil pH test kit from you local garden center. Most plants do well in a soil with a pH that ranges from 6.2 - 6.8. If your soil test shows different, you may have to amend your soil. The Mahalo page 'How to test soil pH' comes in handy here. Soil texture is another important factor. Soil needs to drain well so that water can easily reach the roots of your plants. If the soil is too much of a clay like or sandy consistency this needs to be adjusted. You want to aim for a sandy loam like soil. The Mahalo page 'How to amend garden soil' can be a good guide towards reaching the desired soil. http://gardening.about.com/od/gardenprimer/a/Amending_Soil.htm

PLANT VARIETIES: Deciding what to plant will mostly depend on your individual taste and your family's preference. If they like to eat certain vegetables or fruits these will most likely end up being the vegetables and fruits you will be planting. If certain flowers are a favorite, you can plant these also. If desired you can choose plants that all mature around the same time, this way you can have one big harvest. For instance, cauliflower, beans and cabbage all take the same time to mature. You will have to make sure to check with your garden center on the planting requirements for each individual plant. Most plants don't tolerate frost, so you will have to wait till the frost has passed. http://www.thegardenhelper.com/vegtips.html

VEGETABLES: To give an example of how to plant a vegetable, we'll use the pepper plant. If you purchase the seeds you will have to start them off inside. Once they germinate you can plant the seedlings outside as follows:

• Dig small holes in the soil about 18-24 inches apart, in rows 24 to 36 inches apart.
• Place the seedlings in the holes and fill the hole with soil..
• Water the soil so that it's moist. The soil should not be drenched.
• Add mulch around the peppers to hold onto moisture and prevent weeds.
• Follow car instructions as given by your local garden center or as instructed on the seed packaging. http://www.gardenersnet.com/vegetable/pepper.htm

FRUITS: To give an example of how to plant fruit plants, we'll take the strawberry plant.

• Make sure your soil is dry when planting the strawberry plant.
• You will dig small holes eighteen to thirty inches apart in rows three to four feet apart.
• Place the strawberry plant in the hole with the soil just covering up the tops of the roots.
• Give the plants about one inch of water per week during growing season.
• Follow further car instructions as given by your garden center or nursery. http://urbanext.illinois.edu/strawberries/growing.html

FLOWERS: For an example of planting flowers we'll use the Dahlia plant. Dahlias can be grown from seeds, or from cuttings/roots. If you opt to start off with seeds, start them indoors for about 6 - 8 weeks before planting them outside as follows:

• Make sure the frost is over. Dahlias need full sun and partial shade.
• Keep your soil moist and drained at all times.
• Small Dahlias should be placed 16' apart and larger ones 2 feet apart.
• After 3 - 4 leaves appear on the plant's stem pinch the Dahlia back.
• For further care follow instructions of your garden center. http://gardenhobbies.com/flower/dahlia.html