What You Should Know Before Starting A Vegetable Garden

What You Should Know Before Starting a Vegetable Garden

Some people will plant their own vegetable garden so they can have fresh, quality produce. However, sometimes the backyard garden doesn't work for everyone. Some gardeners will use special gardening techniques that will help them get the most from a smaller garden. Another option for gardeners is using vegetable container. We will discuss different ideas and techniques for getting your quality vegetables in a smaller space.

When choosing a site you want to make sure that the sun shines on it at least 6 hours a day. If vegetables are grown in the shade they are less likely to have good production and quality. It is a good idea to work your soil in the fall. If you cannot do that, plow the area 6-8 inches deep in the spring once the soil is ready to be worked. You should remove all clumps of dirt, twigs, rocks and other debris. After your area is cleared you should then level the area with a rake. Just before you level your garden one last time you should spread a complete analysis fertilizer evenly over the garden and rake into the soil.

It is a good idea to document on paper what you plan on planting in your garden. This will help you to determine how much space you will need and what vegetable you are going to be able to grow. Another helpful hint is to stake out your garden so you know where you are going to plant your vegetables. Here is some space saving ideas: In a smaller yard you can use a fence or pole to support beans or cucumbers. Remember not to crowd the plants. Growing two or more vegetables in an area will also help save space. By planting the slow and fast maturing vegetables near each other you will be able to harvest the fast ones providing more room for the slow growing vegetables. This method is called interplanting. An example of two vegetables that you could use this method with would be radishes because they mature fast, and carrots because they mature slow. Another method of space saving gardening is called succession planting, which means when one crop is finished growing then plant another. Vegetables you could use with this method would be cool season crops such as lettuce, radishes and peas. Once you have harvested those then you can plant your beans, beets and turnips.

A great technique for leafy vegetables is to scatter seeds around over an 8-12 inch wide area, staying away from the row planting. These vegetables create leaves that have a canopy type look to them that prevents the growth of weeds. This method cannot, however, be used when planting carrots and onions. They do not produce a large canopy and might require hand weeding between the vegetables in the band. There are different bush varieties that produce fruit on a short vine. These bushes are muskmelon, watermelon and squash. They take up less room in the garden than other varieties. Another technique would be to do square foot gardening. With square foot gardening you section off squares for planting certain vegetables rather than planning in a row.

Weeding your garden is very important to its growth. Weeds will take the nutrients and water away from your vegetables. If your garden is planted in wide rows or the square-foot plots you will need to hand weed until the canopy of the foliage develops and covers the area, which will prevent weed growth. You can apply organic mulch around your vegetables once the soil has gotten warm. This will help keep maintenance low and control weeds. Certain things you can use for mulch would be grass clippings, straw and even sawdust. For the most successful garden one of the greatest needs it requires is water. Water will produce good plant growth. One can rely on rain to water your garden, but if you go through a hot dry spell it would be a good idea to water it once per week. Another option is irrigation for your garden. If you have a large garden you might want to consider irrigating it. With irrigation you can set when and what time you want your garden watered.

By taking all of these steps and a little tender loving care you should have yourself a wonderful array of fresh, quality vegetables.