Beginner Guide to Planting a Vegetable Garden

by Cathy on May 13, 2009

Having fresh vegetables is very rewarding, not to mention the benefit of the exercise you'll get maintaining it. Having your own vegetable garden may be intimidating but is beneficial because you know that they were grown pesticide free.

Changes in the weather tend to affect flower gardens more than vegetable gardens. Changing weather is harder on flowers than vegetables. Vegetable gardens typically need a lot of space, though some vegetables can survive in a plant box. It depends on what you expect from your vegetable garden and what kind of vegetables you want.

The most traditional planting style involves planting vegetables in straight rows. Some people prefer to plant alternating rows of different types of vegetables so that when one type of vegetable is about to be harvested, the rows in between them have vegetables that are not yet in season. The soil structure quickly becomes ruined because gardeners have to walk between rows, though.

Though planting is rows is traditional, many people today plant vegetable gardens in beds. The beds have to be small enough in size so that you can reach into it and pull out the weeds that will grow among your plants. Beds can also be raised a bit higher off the ground so that the heat will be kept inside longer during cold weather. In addition, it makes a good drainage system for the beds.

When you combine vegetables with flowers and herbs in your garden it is referred to as the potager style of planting.

If you are trying to grow a vegetable garden in a small amount of space try using plant boxes. Vegetables will need a lot of sunlight and open spaces. Want more vegetables? Designate a larger plot of land.

It is important to prepare the soil for your garden. It doesn’t matter whether you plan to raise vegetables in a small plot of land or in a plant box. Soil preparation is an essential step. Soil is either sandy or clay-like with silt being a mixture of both sand and clay. Clay particles mixed with sand help the ground retain water longer and absorb water faster. Sandy particles in soil makes the water flow through it easily and lets the air in so that the roots can breathe.

Prepare you vegetable garden soil for planting by mixing a balanced combination of sand, clay and silt. The ideal soil mixture is 20% clay, and 40% each of silt and sand. To test it, you can scoop up soil and form it into a ball using your hand. It should not be too hard as to not crumble when you poke at it, but it should also be sticky enough that it retains its shape even if you don’t press it too hard with your hands.

Vegetable gardens require patience. You have to find what works for you, and experiment on getting the right type of soil for the right type of vegetables. It is very rewarding to enjoy eating home grown vegetables.

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