Vegetable Planting

Everyone knows that vegetables grown in the garden are so much better tasting than the ones you buy from the grocery store. You can just walk out into your garden and pick what you need just before your mealtime. How much fresher can you get? You will not only find you are saving money, but your family are going to love what you produce.

Here are a few tips on planning a vegetable garden:

However enthusiastic you are, you need to start out small. If you take on too many different vegetables in one go, it is so easy to get completely overwhelmed by the amount of time and effort you are going to have to expend to keep it all together. So try and get one season of growing veg under your belt so you give yourself an idea of what is going to be involved, and how much time you are going to have to spend on your vegetable garden. A good size when you first start out is about 8′ by 4′, so you could utilize your balcony garden or your patio of you are short of space.

The next thing you need to think about when planning your vegetable garden is where you are going to have it, how you are going to lay it out, and what type of bed you are going to use. When planning which vegetables to grow, do bear in mind that most vegetables will need somewhere around 8 hours or more of sunlight a day.

Many people prefer to work with raised beds as they drain better and are easier to work on. You may have slightly more expense as you have to make the frame and then fill it, but you should see yourself doing less work in the long run. It’s a good idea to line the bottom of your frame with mesh – this will anything from burrowing its way in!

If you decide to dig into the ground directly, then you will need to dig to a depth of around 24″, as this will give you best drainage.

You could decide to plan your vegetable garden in pots and containers, this is fine – you should be using large containers, like half barrels in oak or something similar. Speak to your nursery for advice on which vegetables will grow well in containers.

To make your vegetable garden a success you must ensure that you prepare the soil properly. The perfect soil should just hold its form when you squeeze a handful of it, and then should crumble easily when you sift it between your fingers. You should consider buying a soil testing kit and then you can make any adjustments necessary to correct for any issues with too much alkaline or acid in your soil.

To gain the most crops from your vegetable garden, it’s always a good idea to implemement interplanting. This is a way of growing vegetables that allows you to have one crop first and then another in the same space. As an example you could plant radishes and carrots together with lettuce. By the time the lettuce has grown and filled the space you will have already picked and enjoyed the radishes and carrots.

When planning your vegetable garden you should take into account that certain vegetables will grow better when they are planted with another specific plant. As an example of this basil and tomatoes are good companion plants. Equally there are certain no-no’s, for example never plant tomatoes anywhere near gladiolas, or your toms will never grow.

Planning a vegetable garden is fun, but start small, do some research on which types of veg you want to grown, and you should be able to look forward to the fruits of your labor!