There is so much work that goes into learning how to create your own garden… But it’s definitely worth it! Fruits and vegetables that you grow are healthier than the ones that you pick up at the grocery store. Letting your children take part in planting your garden will also ensure that they eat more fruits and vegetables while teaching them how to give back. Growing vegetables is fun and rewarding. To do it successfully, it’s very important to know the basics of keeping your plants healthy. These tips for vegetable gardening for beginners will get you on the right track!
Pick a Place
Make sure that your position your garden in a sunny location. Most vegetables need at least six hours of sunlight a day. That said, the more sunlight they receive, the better your veggies will be. Similarly, make sure that you plant your vegetables in good soil. Good soil means it’s enriched with nutrients and offers proper drainage. To have an understanding of whether your soil is good, consider it’s texture. Clay, clay loam, loam, sandy loam, or sand are the main classifications. Healthy soil is loamy and resilient even in unfavorable conditions.
Keep your plants away from areas that flood easily during heavy rains or in a place that dries out easily. If strong winds could knock over your plant, or keep pollinators away that isn’t particularly favorable either. Your plot should be just right. In the beginning, it would be best to pick a small plot so that you can begin to gauge exactly how much you’ll need. Plan your garden with care. A good place to start for a family of four is 16×10 or 11 rows wide and 10 feet long. In the event that this seems to be too much, simply make the rows shorter.
Determine the Best Layout
The first step would be to sketch out your garden in order to determine where everything should go. Planning your layout is the best thing that you can do before you plant anything. After you sketch your garden to scale, gather inspiration from Pinterest or your favorite gardening magazines or seed catalogs. If you already have your seeds chosen, take some time to read the back of those packets. They should have specific information about where each seed should be planted, how far they should be planted apart. Of course, as a piece of this, it’s definitely important to choose high-quality seeds and gather reference material to determine which veggies pair best. (And which veggies you enjoy the most too!)
Of course, this is important when you create your garden layout, knowing how far to spread your seeds. For a more traditional setup, you should create staggered rows with pathways to walk through. These rows should keep plants away from one another. If they’re too close, they’ll compete for sunlight, water, and nutrition. That said, if you’re using a more modern set, convert to 3 or 4 foot wide raised beds or triangular sets. Raised garden beds will make it easier to control your soil and deter pests. Also, include space for companion plants and herbs.
Tend to Your Garden
Water your plants properly so that they can form well-formed, mature vegetables. Don’t overthink your watering. When in doubt, feel the soil. If you can form it into a ball, it’s just fine. But if the surface is cracked, it’s in need of moisture. Water your plants early in the day so that the leaves dry off by the evening, which can cause disease. Of course, the amount of water that your plants will need us determined but he vegetable. Your seed guide should include this information.
Fertilize once your plants are 4 – 6 weeks old. Find out what kind of feeder your plant is and fertilize accordingly. Leafy greens and root veggies are light feeders. Heavy feeders can be classified as beets, corn, tomatoes, and the brassicas. For these vegetables, consider topdressing with manure or compost as well as a water-soluble fertilizer. Stay on top of weeding to keep it from getting out of hand. Pull weeds from their roots or gently use a hoe when the soil is moist. To keep weeds completely at bay, consider laying down paving stones or bark mulch – that will dispatch pathway weeds quickly.
Time Crops Carefully
What’s most important, of course, is getting the timing right. Succession planting, or successive planting, is a great way to “extend your harvest by staggering plantings of crops or planting varieties with staggered maturing dates.” There are four different methods that you can follow: same vegetable/staggering plantings, different vegetables in succession, paired vegetables in the same spot, and the same vegetable/different maturity rates. No matter what you do, it’s important that you make sure that you have enough seeds to get you through the season, that you add compost between plantings to enrich the soil, and that your pull out vegetables that happen past your prime.
Reap the Rewards
There are so many benefits to gardening and planting your own vegetables and if you follow our vegetable gardening tips for beginners, you’ll be sure to have an amazing set of vegetables of your own.
