Vegetable gardening for beginners: 6 easy steps

Vegetable Gardening Tips

As with all things that matter, a vegetable garden needs to be planned out well in advance -- so if you haven't started already, you'd better hop to it!

The Sunny Side of the Yard
Of course, you'll need to decide what you want to plant and how much of it, first; then you have to find or make the proper conditions to grow those plants. For reasons of convenience, you'll want to start out with a sunny spot close to your house.

Be sure to observe your chosen area over the course of several days, to be sure that it isn't shaded by trees or other structures for more than a few hours at a time. And be sure to take into account what conditions may be like later in the year, when the nearby trees have leafed out fully. Although there are exceptions, most crops need a minimum of six hours of full sunlight a day to mature properly. Lack of sunlight can't be compensated for by any amount of water, fertilizer, or other care.

Other Important Factors
Moving beyond sunlight, a water source must be close to your garden area so watering isn't too much of a chore. You should also avoid areas that are too windy, though good air circulation is a must. The soil itself should be fertile, relatively moist, and well-drained; you never want puddles in your garden.

A fence high enough to keep out animals (both pets and pests) is generally a good idea, especially since it can serve as a trellis for climbing crops and others that need support as they grow: tomatoes, legumes, cucumbers, and the like.

Finally, while it's a good idea in most things for your reach to exceed your grasp, that can be a recipe for failure in a home garden. What would you rather have: a well-maintained, productive small garden that you can handle, or a big garden that's full of weeds and neglected plants? Enough said.

Preparing the Soil
While it's always nice to have sandy, loamy soil that's easy to work, the type of soil in your garden isn't as important as its health, fertility, and quality of drainage. All three are critical for a successful garden. The ideal garden soil is well-drained, well-aerated, leavened with sufficient organic matter, and free of stones and other non-organic materials. It must also retain some moisture, though not too much.

Pay attention to the subsoil as well. Though not all vegetable roots will penetrate that deeply, it's best to avoid areas that overlie shale, rock ledges, gravel, deep sand, or hardpan. Old, buried house foundations can also cause trouble.

If you've gardened for years in the same spot and have already taken care of the above features, then all you really need to do is plow the ground and till in some additional organic material and fertilizers, along with other amendments as necessary.

pH Concerns
Different types of vegetables require varying degrees of soil acidity, so you'll need to take pH into account when planting your crops. (Check with a master gardener or local county extension agent for more information.) Generally, soils in moist climates are acid (below pH 7.0), and those in dry climates are alkaline (above 7.0).

Determining pH is easy, particularly with our handy dandy electronic soil tester. Be sure to test the soil when it's relatively dry, both before and after adding amendments. And speaking of amendments, organic materials like sawdust, coir, composted oak leaves, wood chips, peat, and cottonseed meal can lower soil pH, while hardwood ash, lime, crushed marble, crushed oyster shells, and bone meal raise pH.

By and large, standard garden vegetables thrive in slightly acid soils, so don't apply amendments to raise the pH unless the soil is overly acid; otherwise you're likely to hurt your plants' growth. If you find that your pH is too high, it might be best to grow in raised beds filled with a specially-prepared growing medium or topsoil rather than directly in the ground.
Follow these simple steps, and before you know it, you'll be enjoying fresh-picked home-grown harvests all summer long.

Source: CleanAir Gardening

 

thanks!

 

Does someone know where I can get an idea of what veggies I can plant in planter boxes? I don't have the luxury of space for an actual garden, but would like something besides herbs and flowers. Thanks!

 

PowerPlay,

I would suggest that you may visit the Master Gardeners Display Garden when they have people there that can help you and make educated suggestions.
You can also call them. Here is their website.

 

How big are the planters? I've done tomatoes in planters before. You need to be a little more careful with watering because potted tomatoes are more prone to blossom end rot, but it can be done.

 

Hi -- take a look on Amazon at the book called Square Foot Gardening. I ordered it earlier this week. A friend recommended it, as she has already completed her little garden. The book tells you all that you need to know -- when to plant, how much space each different veggie needs, and so on . . . I can't wait to get it and get started. I think the Borders Books in Sterling has it, but I ordered it from Amazon because they are cheaper. Good luck!

 

Thanks, that sound like a great idea. The planters are 35x8x8 and I have four of them so I'm looking forward to having lots of choices (maybe).

 

I didn't have much luck with my garden last year, and from reading your post I'm thinking it could be a drainage problem. I really only have that 1 spot to plant in. What can I do to have it drain better this year?

 

Save Time and Space Growing Vegetables

Space-saving gardening is an important variation on the gardening theme, because it meets a variety of needs. The most obvious, of course, is lack of space, especially in urban environments. But it can also be the ideal solution for those with limited time, poor soil, limited water, limited mobility, limited funds, or too many intrusive critters. It's also ideal for those wanting to grow some fresh food on a small scale.

Using space-saving methods, the definition of "garden" is expanded so that you can garden on your balcony, porch, deck, rooftop, stairway, patio, pathway, front stoop, and the like. This can include everything from growing compact or dwarf varieties of favorite veggies to "upside down" or vertical gardening; hydroponic gardening (which is not only a space saver but a soil saver too); raised bed gardening; and traditional container gardening. In every case, the space you use is up to you, and most of these methods offer an extraordinary amount of flexibility.

Vertical gardening is just what it sounds like: gardening upward (or, in the case of something like a Topsy-Turvy planter, downward) instead of outward. There's no digging, weeding, ground insects or small animals, and the method can provide privacy, if you grow your plants on a fence or trellis. And you can tend to your plants while standing up, which is a real plus!

Hydroponic gardening doesn't even use soil. Instead, plants are grown in some other medium, usually liquid -- or even in the air. A big benefit of hydroponics is that more plants can grow in the same space, as compared to a soil environment. You never have to worry about soil diseases, and since most hydroponics takes place indoors, you don't have to worry so much about pests, either.

We've recently sung the praises of raised bed gardening, which offers its own unique approaches and benefits. The fact that you don't have to bend or kneel nearly as much is certainly attractive. You can easily grow raised bed gardens on clay or hardpan, or even concrete if that's all you've got. Within the beds themselves, you have full control of the soil, there is less soil compaction, the plants can be spaced closer together, and you've got better water drainage.

Container gardening offers all the benefits of raised bed gardening, with the added benefit that you can move your plants around with ease. You can shift plants around to follow (or avoid) the sun, to isolate sickly specimens, or simply at whim. You can also take your plants with you if you happen to move during the growing season. What's more, container gardening makes it easy to experiment with different plants and gardening methods.

If you're stuck with limited space, we hope these suggestions have stimulated some ideas about how you, too, can keep your green thumb happy. And even if you've got all the gardening space you need, they're worth considering. After all, wouldn't it be sweet to have a little herb garden on your kitchen window sill? And wouldn't it be fun to experiment with vertical gardening? Hey, why not?

Source: Clean Air Gardeninghttp://www.cleanairgardening.com/planters.html