Growing A Vegetable Garden
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There is nothing like the satisfaction of growing your own vegetable garden. Few experiences can match the pleasure you will receive as you put these beautiful vegetables on your table for you and your family to enjoy. The joy of knowing that you raised them yourself from a seed or small plant is a pleasurable activity, not to mention the time you get to spend outdoors in the warm sun and fresh air.
When it comes to growing a vegetable garden, experience is probably the best teacher there is. As you experiment in your garden, your knowledge will grow and so will the rewards that come with a bountiful harvest.
When choosing a space for your vegetable garden, you don’t need a large area to begin with. Begin growing in containers is another option, especially if you don’t have much yard space available. What is important is having at least 6 hours per day of sunshine, access to easy watering and lastly having good soil. With those three important elements you should have no problem growing a great vegetable garden.
Preparing you garden is a process that takes time. The proper mixture of the soil should be 40% sand, 40% silt and 20% clay. This insures no water gets trapped inside that it chokes the roots and the roots will rot if there is to much water in your soil. Composting is a great way to keep your soil rich and healthy. There are various ways you can set up to start your own compost pile for you garden. There is plenty of useful information online to help you get started.
The best approach the first time you begin to grow a garden is to consider what you and your family like to eat most. It’s always tempting to try to grow large varieties of vegetables, but it’s best to narrow down the list to the easiest and most productive varieties. Some of the best to begin with are tomatoes, radishes, lettuce, onions, beans and squash. Don’t try to begin with vegetables such as corn as they take up to much room, asparagus requires a couple of years for the first harvest and maybe green peas as they are very limited to growing seasons.
Direct seeding is when you plant seeds directly into the soil. Carrots and beans are just one example of direct seeding. You place seeds at the required depth, water thoroughly and then patiently watch the plants emerging through the soil. It is almost always a good idea to plant extra seeds to allow for some not germinating and once the plants are growing you can thin them out.
All of this is an exciting moment to witness and makes all preparations so worthwhile. You can also purchase plants already started from a green house. Tomatoes are a good example of that or starting them in your home in early spring. The benefits of planting the seeds indoors is you can have your vegetables ready to harvest several weeks earlier then if you were to plant them in the ground.
Many vegetables can be harvested in different stages. One example is leaf lettuce. You can pick the young leaves as often as you need them and they will continue to grow and produce more. The same applies for summer squash and cucumbers. You can harvest them when they are young and only a few inches long or you can wait for them to mature to full size. With a lot of the vegetables, the more you pick, the more they will produce. If it looks good, try it, you have nothing to lose.
It is important to understand that some vegetables need to be picked in early morning to keep them fresh or harvesting just before your meal is to be prepared for the freshest flavors. Other crops can be left in the ground until it’s a convenient time for you to harvest.
It is truly an amazing, rewarding experience to grow a vegetable garden. Get the family involved and you will all reap the full benefits that go along with the hard work by reaping the enjoyment of fresh vegetables on your table for dinner.
