Why Consider Starting a Vegetable Garden?
One of the best reasons to consider Starting a vegetable garden is eating vegetables that have no pesticides or genetically modified organisms (GMOs). It is not practical to try to grow all types of vegetables, but attempting to grow a few can make a big difference in taste and quality.
Gardening can also be relaxing, meaning it can relieve stress and anxiety.
Starting a vegetable garden does not take a lot of money, and can even be done in limited spaces.
How to Begin Your Vegetable Garden
Finding a spot in the yard that gets a lot of sun is the first thing to do. Before planting any vegetables, it is important to prepare the soil. That entails digging it up, adding fertiliser, and mixing it well. The combination provides additional nutrients to promote growth. Plant food can be added during the growing season as well.
For a simple summer vegetable garden, planting should occur when the weather starts to warm up (about mid spring). If seeds are exposed to frost, they will die, putting an end to the garden before it has an opportunity to begin. Planting in pots can be completed a bit sooner, as long as they will not be placed outside until the weather is warmer.
Planting in limited spaces does not mean there can be no variety. Most gardens are planted in rows, but that does not have to be the case. As long as it is possible to reach the whole area, rows are not necessary. People can do Vegetable gardening in raised beds, for example, that are three to four feet wide. Weeding can still be done, and each plant can be tended. The lack of rows also shades and cools the ground, which translates into less watering and less weeding.
Helpful Tips For Your Vegetable Garden
Starting a vegetable garden is actually easy. The difficult part can be learning how to grow your own vegetables to maturity. There are many things that can go wrong with a new garden. A few helpful tips may save new gardeners a lot of confusion, and some trouble.
A garden requires a fair amount of tending. If schedules get hectic, it is all too easy to forget about the garden, and neglect it altogether. Placing it near the kitchen, or by an entrance, can prevent that from happening. It will not be hard to forget if it is passed every evening, or seen while preparing a meal. Placing it near a water source, if possible, will also make tending the garden easier.
Many crops can be supported vertically, so they grow up instead of out. Vine crops, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, and peas, can be supported with stakes, trellises, or even the backyard fence. Planting stakes prior to planting seeds can make that process easier. If using the fence, add ties at specific intervals so they are available when needed.
Improvements to Foster Success
Growing a garden to eliminate pesticides means being creative when controlling pests and fungi that can destroy crops. Watering the soil rather than the foliage, for example, will prevent leaf fungal diseases. Placing pantyhose over developing tomato plants will keep out fruit flies as the tomatoes ripen.
Keeping track of what vegetables grow well, and which do not, can help improve success from year to year. Rotating crops every two to three years is also recommended. That prevents the soil from being depleted of certain nutrients. Practice makes progress so give it a go using these basic tips and learn what works best in your fantastic backyard.
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