Growing your own vegetable garden is a rewarding experience that will allow you to save money while creating a beautiful space in your yard. If you work close to the yard with the effort required to grow your own tasty vegetables, you will find great satisfaction in picking your brightly colored vegetables and enjoying them for dinner. While growing a vegetable garden may be easier than you think, there are certain things to consider when planting a garden for the first time. Follow the instructions below to learn how to start growing your own vegetable garden.
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Method 1 of 3: Understanding Your Climate
Step 1. Find out which USDA Plant Resilience Zone you live in
Resilience zones are based on the minimum average winter temperature in a given area and are divided into categories separated by 10 degrees Fahrenheit (-12 degrees Celsius). This can show you what plants do well in your area and which are not very suitable for your area's climate. Plus, you can figure out the best time of year to plant based on your hardiness zone. Visit https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/ to find out where you live. The interactive map will display information on your page.
Step 2. Choose a spot with at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day
Most vegetables need lots of sun to grow to be healthy producers, but you may want to vary your garden's sun and shade ratio to grow plants that need shade as well. If your plant doesn't get enough sunlight, it won't produce much and is more susceptible to pests. It's best to have an idea of what plants you want to grow before choosing a site.
- You can grow dark, leafy vegetables like broccoli and spinach in places in your garden that don't get full sun. If you live in an area with little sun, don't give up. You can still plant a beautiful garden, though you may have to forgo tomatoes.
- Or, if you live in a very hot climate, you might want to choose a shaded section for some of your vegetable variations to protect them from overheating. For example, winter peas can benefit from growing in the shade.
Method 2 of 3: Preparing Your Planting Area
Step 1. Choose your garden base
Decide whether you want to plant your vegetable garden directly in the ground or build a planter box to lift your vegetables a few feet above the ground. Or, you may want to grow a different variety of vegetables in separate pots. Your decision should depend on the quality of your soil and the vulnerability of your planting area to flooding. If your soil is of poor quality and absorption is poor, you may want to build a raised vegetable garden plot.
- Think about how big you want your planting plot to be. Depending on the type of vegetables you're growing, you'll want to make sure the box is wide and deep enough. Do a little research on the types of vegetables you are growing to see how much space they need to grow. Broccoli, for example, uses a wide area to grow, whereas carrots need enough room to grow downwards.
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To build raised planting plots, you can use wood, plastic, synthetic wood, brick, or stone. However, spruce boards are usually recommended because they do not rot when exposed to water. Remember that your vegetable crops need regular watering, and some weak woods like plywood won't last long if they get wet often.
Start a Vegetable Garden Step 3Bullet2 - Round off the top of your plant bed to get the maximum area for planting. This means the top is rounded to form a curve instead of a flat surface.
- Place a barrier between the plot and the ground to prevent weeds from growing. You can use garden plastic, some kind of mat, or several layers of newspaper and/or cardboard to reduce the chance of weeds growing.
Step 2. Scrape the ground
Most vegetables need rich, fertile, and smooth soil to grow well. You can avoid this if you choose to build a raised kebuh box and fill it with store-bought soil mix.
- Make sure your planting area is free of rocks or thick lumps of earth to allow the roots to spread and your seeds to grow into healthy, productive plants.
- Make sure you remove weeds or any unwanted plants from your planting space. It will take up your plant space and can carry dangerous pests.
Step 3. Test the soil pH
Soil pH is based on a scale of 1 to 14, with a pH of 7.0 neutral, any value below 7.0 is acidic, and any value above 7.0 is alkaline. Most vegetables like slightly acidic soil between 6.0 and 6.5. Soil that is too acidic will damage plant roots and cause your vegetables to not produce as much. Test the pH of your soil by visiting your city's branch farm office and obtaining the necessary test equipment and instructions. You can also pay someone else to test your soil.
- Soil pH tells you whether the soil needs to be added with limestone to reach the desired pH value. Limestone is cheap and effective for improving soil.
- Evaluate soil calcium and magnesium levels to determine what type of limestone to add to your soil. If the soil is low in magnesium, add dolomitic limestone. If it is rich in magnesium, add calcitic limestone.
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Add limestone two to three months before planting to allow the soil to absorb it. After adding, check the pH again. You may need to add limestone to the soil every year or two to maintain the right pH level.
Start a Vegetable Garden Step 5Bullet3
Step 4. Fertilize the soil
Most vegetables like soil rich in organic matter. You can increase soil fertility by adding peat, cooked compost, blood, fish emulsion, etc. The most commonly recommended fertilizers for vegetable gardens are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
- Try one of these common fertilizer compositions in your vegetable garden: 1 pound (0.45 kg) of 10-10-10 or 2 pounds (0.9 kg) of 5-10-5 fertilizer per 30.48 meter garden. The first number refers to the percentage by weight of nitrogen, the second number describes the percentage by weight of phosphorus, and the third number indicates the percentage by weight of potassium.
- However, too much nitrogen can damage crops, causing a reduction in production. On the other hand, too much phosphorus can increase the possibility of yellowing leaves (chlorosis).
- You can also add small amounts of iron, copper, manganese and zinc to nourish the soil.
Step 5. Water the soil thoroughly
Most vegetables do not survive drought well. Be sure to water the soil before planting your seeds or lettuce and ensure that the plot is kept moist while growing.
Method 3 of 3: Choosing Vegetable Variations
Step 1. Know when to plant
Most vegetables are grown outside during the late spring freeze and are harvested between midsummer and late fall. Refer to specific growing instructions for each type of vegetable you are growing. To enjoy a wide variety of vegetables throughout the entire growing season, plant vegetables that are ready to be harvested at different times of the year. That way, you won't be without fresh vegetables for long.
Step 2. Know when to plant
Sometimes, new gardeners get too excited about their new hobby and end up planting more than they can eat or maintain. Be aware that some crops, such as tomatoes, peppers, and squash, produce in an entire growing season, and others, such as carrots, radishes, and corn, produce only once.
- For best results, plant a mix of continuous and one-time-producing vegetables in your garden. Generally, you can grow fewer continuous-producing vegetables and more one-time-producing vegetables to achieve good balance in your garden.
- Make sure you give each plant enough space to thrive and succeed in your garden. You should thin the plant as it grows so it doesn't get too crowded.
Step 3. Ask your family what plants they like to eat
Think of your family's favorite vegetables when planting your vegetable garden. By growing the produce you buy most often, you can greatly reduce your grocery costs.
Step 4. Consider growing hard-to-find vegetables
Many grocery stores only sell basic products. Often grocery stores only sell one variety of tomatoes or peppers, making it difficult to find interesting types or exotic variations. If your climate is right, consider growing vegetables that are hard to buy in your area. It not only allows you to cook with special vegetables, but also makes special gifts for your family, friends and neighbors.
Step 5. Avoid plants that animals and pests in your area will consume
Get to know the different vegetables that your local fauna loves to gorge on. To protect your vegetables from birds or deer, you may have to build some kind of fence that covers your vegetable garden to keep it from being attacked by predators that eat vegetables.
Step 6. Decide whether you want to grow from seed or transplant seedlings
Most vegetables can be grown from seed or purchased as seedlings and transferred directly to the soil or planting box
- While some vegetables like carrots are very easy to grow from seed, others like tomatoes can be more difficult. Research the process for growing each vegetable from seed before choosing a planting method.
- You may also want to start the seeds indoors in peat pots before transplanting them into the garden. Read the growing guide for each vegetable to determine the planting time and temperature that most vegetables can withstand.
Step 7. Space your plants appropriately
While some gardening guides recommend planting in rows, others suggest that planting each type of vegetable in a triangle may actually allow you to save space in the garden. However, the most important thing is, your plants are not planted too close together so as not to scramble with nearby plants for space.
Step 8. Learn how to care for your plants
Each type of vegetable plant requires maintenance routines if not slightly different, drastically different. Do a little research to find out how much water your plant needs, whether it requires cutting or thinning, how often to fertilize, and when it's ready to harvest.
Tips
- Mowing weeds early is very important because weeds steal the light, water, and nutrients your vegetables would otherwise be taking.
- In the early days of the vegetable garden, all your plants are vulnerable to attack. Plant large numbers to ensure some survive, and take action against pests.
- Nets can be used to prevent animals from eating plants.
