Starting Vegetable Gardens

Starting vegetable gardens takes time, but investing time before you plant seeds or vegetable plants ensures a healthy harvest. By carefully selecting the location for the vegetable garden, planning the vegetable garden layout, and improving the soil, you’ll naturally ward off pests and increase your yield of delicious vegetables.

Learn types of soil before starting a vegetable garden.

The basics of starting vegetable gardens are similar to the basics of starting any type of garden: proper location, excellent soil, and thoughtful layout.

Choosing the proper location for your vegetable garden is half the battle. Most vegetables require full sun, which is defined as six or more hours of continuous sunlight during the growing period. If you’re not sure whether or not the area you’re considering for your vegetable garden receives this much sunlight, try observing the location for a few days. Note any overhanging trees or structures, like garages, sheds or your home, that may block the sunlight. Although some plants will produce healthy vegetables with fewer than six hours of sunlight, you won’t get as much of a harvest from these plants as you would from plants that enjoy full sun. Choose a location in your yard that gets the most sunlight.

Another factor when starting vegetable gardens and considering the location is proximity to water sources. Vegetables require a lot of water, and the hot summer sun will make them thirsty. Locate your vegetable garden near a hose, spigot, or rain barrel, or at least close enough so that you can easily run a hose from the water source into the garden as needed. While some gardeners rely solely upon rainwater, most backyard gardeners need supplemental water to ensure that plants thrive.

Another important consideration when starting vegetable gardens is the soil quality. Healthy soil is the building block for healthy plants.

First, have your soil tested. Your local state cooperative extension or garden center can help you with your soil test. Most vegetables prefer a soil pH between 5.0 to 7, or slightly acid to neutral.

Don’t despair if your soil is very sandy, filled with so much clay you could start a pottery, or so hard-packed from construction that you need a pick axe to even turn a spadeful of earth. All of these soil conditions benefit from the addition of compost.

Compost is simply the decaying matter and rich remains from other plants. Fungi, bacteria and insects such as worms consume plant material and turn it into rich, nutrient-filled soil. If you don’t have a compost pile, they’re easy to start and maintain, and the benefits of adding compost to the soil are legendary.

Nearly all plant material can be added to a compost pile, including leaves, grass clippings, carrot and potato peels, and more. Avoid adding weeds, since they may carry seeds, and the seeds will get into your compost. You don’t want to seed ragweed among your lettuce every time you add compost to your soil.

If you’re starting a new vegetable garden or you don’t choose to make your own compost, bags of compost may be purchased at garden centers and home improvement stores. If you have a big section of soil to amend, some bulk carriers deliver truckloads of compost to your doorstep. As long as you have a place to store it, and the truck can safely get in and out of the area, this may be an economical alternative to purchasing bags.

Manures can also be added to the soil to improve both the quality and nutrients. Avoid adding fresh manure, as this can be too high in nitrogen and actually burn vegetable plant roots. Allow the manure to age or compost naturally, or turn it into the soil of your vegetable garden in the spring and give it a few weeks to mellow before planting vegetables. Cow, horse and poultry manures are frequently used in gardens. Bagged and dehydrated cow manure may also be purchased at stores if no local, free sources are available.

When starting vegetable gardens, many layout choices are available. You can use the borders around a suburban back yard, or dig up a large rectangle or square piece of earth and plant vegetables in rows. The possibilities are almost endless.

Choose a layout that makes it easy for you to work among your plants. From transplanting seedlings to harvesting vegetables, you’ll need to be able to bend and reach all of the plants. Make sure that aisles among the rows of vegetables are wide enough to accommodate a wheelbarrow or other gardening tools.

There are so many wonderful vegetables to try that, when starting vegetable gardens, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Once you’ve established your garden space, explore the wide world of vegetables. From common varieties to heirloom seeds, you’ll be producing your own tasty harvest in no time at all.

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