If
you've never vegetable gardened before, you are in for a treat on
many levels. Fortunately, growing vegetables is pretty easy and the
gardening
basics of
flowers still apply. People have been doing it forever. Growing great
tasting vegetables and staying ahead of problems does take a little
knowledge and effort, but the following lessons will get you
comfortably up and running in no time. The rest you'll learn as you
go, which is the real thrill of gardening; overcoming unexpected
obstacles and ending the season with a hearty harvest. You literally
get to eat the fruits of your labor. So let's start your first
vegetable garden. I warn you, it's addictive.
You
want to make your vegetables happy. Stressed plants won’t give you
bushels of great tasting vegetables. Most vegetables enjoy the same
growing conditions, so making them happy isn’t a huge challenge
especially if you have a spot with full
fun.
But if your vegetable garden isn’t convenient, it’s going to be
neglected. Here's what to consider as you decide where to put your
vegetable garden and how much effort you are willing to put into it.
This
is the fun part of planning a vegetable garden. It’s also
deceptively difficult because our eyes are much bigger than our
gardens. Everything sounds so luscious that it’s very tempting to
try and squeeze in more than we should. I may never convince you not
to try 18 varieties of tomatoes this season, but here are some
suggestions for deciding what vegetables will have a place in your
vegetable garden.
There
are some practical considerations here. A lot of gardeners will
start
all their plants from seed
just
to have the greater variety seeds offer over seedlings. But even if
the idea of spending your winter pampering tiny plants in the
basement is disagreeable to you, there are still vegetables that grow
best if planted from seed. Don’t panic. These can be
direct
sown
in
your garden. Still, you'll need to know which vegetables you can buy
as plants and which you’ll need to pick up as seeds.
Aesthetics
take a back seat in vegetable gardens. Your first concern should be
placing the vegetables in their optimal growing conditions. You’ll
also need to consider room for paths and space for working. But that
doesn’t mean it can’t look great. Here are some tips for laying
out out your vegetable garden and some vegetables
garden photos
for inspiration.
Growing More Vegetables in a Small Space
You
don’t usually plant your vegetable garden all at once. Some
vegetables will fade when the weather heats up and others can be
popped into the opened space. Other vegetables only produce for a
limited time and can be sown in staggered plantings to extend the
harvest. There are several easy ways to make the most of your
vegetable garden space.
Almost
any vegetable can be grown in containers. In fact,
container
vegetable
gardening
has certain advantages. First, you can control the soil and drainage.
It’s a lot easier to have great soil when you’re pouring it into
a pot and not breaking your back tilling in
amendments.
You can place
your vegetable
container
gardens where
they’ll get the most sunlight or even move them around to follow
the sun. And raising your vegetables off the ground a few feet makes
them harder for pests to reach. Of course, they’ll need more water
and some of the larger vegetables won’t be happy cramped into a
pot. Here’s a list of tips and suggested varieties to turn your
patio into a vegetable patch.
Now
we’re ready to tackle more practical matters. A vegetable garden
requires regular maintenance. Vegetables won’t wait until it’s
convenient for you to water them, stake them or harvest them. Some
tasks, like staking and mulching, can be done early in the season.
Others, like watering, will be ongoing. The last thing you want to do
is go through all this work starting your garden and then see your
vegetables going to waste.
You
knew it was coming. Pest control is a vital part of vegetable
gardening. The last resort is to start spraying all kinds of
concoctions on your food. The trick is to stay on top of the
situation and take the appropriate steps when necessary. This is what
we call Integrated Pest Management or IPM.
Finally.
To savor the best, we need to know when to pick at peak. Some
vegetables tell you, like the way a cantaloupe will slip off the
vine. Others take a bit of finesse.
It’s possible to grow only what you intend to eat fresh or give away, but it seldom happens that way. Besides, there are few winter treats as enjoyable as a pie made from your frozen blueberries or a jar of your own crushed tomatoes.
Vegetables A-Z
By now you must be raring to go. The only thing left to do is study up on what your vegetables want, so you can be sure to give it to them.
