Posted by | Posted in Garden Layout | Posted on 20-08-2011
Tags: starting a vegetable garden
Starting A Vegetable Garden
Spring is the time of year when we think about creating a vegetable garden, especially with all the emphasis on the damage that long transport distances do to the ecosystem, never mind the fact that we are eating vegetables that are not quite as fresh as they might be! When choosing the location for your vegetable garden forget the old idea that the veg patch must be an ugly spot. If carefully designed, thoughtfully planted and well cared for, it will be feature of your garden, bringing a touch of homeliness that no formal bed could ever create.
Bearing this in mind you should not restrict yourself to any area of the garden just because it is out of sight. In the average modern garden there won't be much choice as to land anyway. You will need to use what you have available and then do the best that you can with it. There will probably be more choice as to exposure and convenience. All things being equal, try and choose a spot reasonably close to the house with easy access. It may seem that the difference of only a few yards is hardly relevant, but if you are depending largely on snatched spare moments for working in the vegetable garden easy access will be much more important than you might realise. Only when you have made a dozen unnecessary trips for forgotten bits and pieces, or ended up getting wet as you dash in and out will you realise that it would have been much easier to have the veg garden just that little bit closer!
Alongside convenience you need to pick out a spot that has suitable exposure to Sun and rain. You don't want to use a spot that is blasted by cold winds and likely to catch a frost. Choose the "earliest" spot you can find, ideally sloping a little to the south or east, that catches the sunshine early and holds it late. Chill winds from the north and northeast can have dramatic effects on your yield so if you can pick a spot that gets some shelter be it from a garden building, fence or the house itself, your plot will be protected and your vegetables will get an early start. If there is no protection available think about planting a low hedge or putting some other form of protection in place if you are intending to grow all your own supplies.
It is unlikely that you will be able to choose the type of soil as most gardens are not big enough to have a variety of soils available. This is not really a problem as most soils can be improved quite easily to give the ideal growing conditions. The best soil for growing vegetables is said to be a 'rich and sandy loam'. That is a soil type that is almost never found but always made! It needs to be full of nutrients that are easily available for the plants to grow well. This can be achieved by the addition of compost and plant feed, either organic or chemical depending on your preference. The 'sandyness' refers to drainage. If your soil is too heavy the water will form a sticky mess that isn't good for your plants, equally if it is too sandy the water will pass through before the plants can take advantage of it. You can easily add sand or soil conditioners to get your drainage right.
Before planting you should make sure that the plot is well dug and prepared for your precious seedlings. In an ideal world we would plan our vegetable garden in the autumn, digging it over and working in lots of organic material. The winter weather would help to break up the soil and work in the nutrients giving a perfect growing medium when the warmer Spring weather comes. However, it isn't the end of the world if you haven't done that. You might have to work a little bit harder at first to make sure the soil is clear of weeds, stones and other rubbish but that won't take long and the sense of achievement when your new vegetable plot is all prepared is well worth it.
My vegetable garden is one of the most satisfying parts of my garden I love to go out each day and pick the vegetables that we will be eating, knowing that they are as fresh and wholesome as they can be. The constant supply of fresh seasonal foods is a great reward for the little effort that it takes to maintain.
Frequently Asked Questions
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QUESTION:
Starting Vegetable Garden in February South Texas?
I live in S. Texas and would like to start a vegetable garden. It's February and I don't know where I should start or how to begin. What should I plant, etc. Please help.-
ANSWER:
To start a vegetable garden, you really have to plan it:"Planning a vegetable garden is not difficult though, so we'll go through an overview of each step here for you.
1. What vegetables do you want to grow? Knowing which vegetables you want to grow in your garden is the first step in planning. There's really no use planting things you will not use yourself, unless you plan to give vegetables away or sell them.
Most people start vegetable gardens for their own personal use though. And starting simple and small is usually best, so try selecting five to ten of your family's favorite vegetables to get started with, then you can grow from there each year.
2. Where will your vegetable garden be? The location of your vegetable garden is an important decision that needs to be made in the planning stage. Not only do you need to plan for enough room to grow all the vegetables you want in your garden, but you also need to plan the space based on how much sunlight it gets throughout the day, and how easy it will be to get water to the garden.
Most vegetable gardens need at least five hours of sunlight each day in order to grow abundant amounts of healthy produce. If you don't plan the location well, you may end up with no vegetables to harvest from your garden because there's not enough sunlight or water for the plants to grow.
Since you planned your vegetables already in the first step of this process, you should have a good idea of how much sun and water each of them will need. And this in turn will help you with planning the location for your vegetable garden.
3. How large will your garden be? This ties in closely with planning the location of your vegetable garden, because you must make sure you have enough space for the amount of vegetables you intend to grow."
I found the above tips on the following site:
http://www.gardenbot.com/vegetable-garden.html
It's a huge gardening site with tons of information on vegetable gardening as well as gardining in general
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QUESTION:
Need help starting a vegetable garden?
Can anyone recommend any good books or website links to help us get a vegetable garden started?-
ANSWER:
http://www.gardenguides.com/how-to/tipstechniques/vegetables/veggie.asphttp://www.ehow.com/how_110539_start-vegetable-garden.html
http://home.howstuffworks.com/how-to-start-a-vegetable-garden.htm
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QUESTION:
1st time starting a garden. Any advice? What vegetable are easiest to grow?
My husband and I are starting a vegetable garden. Is now the time to do it (March)? Should we be growing our seeds indoors now? What vegetables are best to grow when you are first starting out?-
ANSWER:
Till the soil about 8-10 inches deep mix in some compost if you have it if not some composted cow manure till it all up together with a granular fertilizer for vegetables.You can start seeds anytime but for some things if you want an early harvest buy quality plants.You can plant from now to end of May for regular harvest.Whichever has last frost your area.Radishes,Lettuce,carrots sow directly in gourd very shallow.Tomatoes,pole beans,cucumbers,squash,Peppers very easy to grow you will need rows or hills,depending on what you plant.Have fun and enjoy your garden there are no errors,it is all a learning experience,take note of what did well and where it was planted.Most gardens and herbs need at least 6 hours of sun daily.You can grow any herb in a 12 inch pot and have abundance crop.Get a good book and follow the instructions to start with,library has many.Happy Gardening !
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QUESTION:
starting a vegetable garden in Denver Colorado?
I want to start a Vegetable garden this year, but this would be my first time ever and I just don't know where to start, and really I don't know what grows best in Colorado. So basically I'm just looking for some basic information on starting one maybe some good blogs based in Colorado or places with similar climates. Also I would like it to be all organic and I want to start Worm Composting so any information on that too would be awesome.-
ANSWER:
I would start out with tomatoes and onions. Easy to grow and lots of uses for them.
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QUESTION:
Can starting a vegetable garden attract vermin?
My sister and I are planning on planting a small vegetable garden in our yard, so far we know what to do to get rid of grass and such. But we're worried about attracting vermin, we have a lot of mice and possum in the the summer as well as birds. The city just shut down it's program for keeping the city free of rats and mice... and we just got rid of an infestation of mice in our house. Would this be inviting the vermin into our yard and possibly our house?-
ANSWER:
Rabbits and ground hogs are attracted, but I never heard of rats or mice except with garbage. We have possums but I have never known them to be in the garden. Raccoons like corn. Deer are attracted, too. Birds can be very beneficial, eating the insects and caterpillars that eat your veggies.
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