How to Grow Vegetables
Growing your own fruits and vegetables can be a rewarding experience. You get to enjoy the satisfaction of being able to provide for yourself, as well as the pleasure of being outdoors and connecting with nature. Plus you get to eat fresh produce that tastes better than anything you can buy in stores. But where do you start? Here are some tips on how to successfully grow vegetables in your garden.
How to Grow Vegetables: What Every Gardener Should Know
A Vegetable Garden whether small or large, planned according to the space available, is always a rewarding asset to every home, quite apart from its value as a hobby, for there is no comparison between the shop bought article and the fresh home-grown vegetables.
A well run Vegetable Garden lessens the cost of living, for home-grown vegetables should be cheaper, cleaner and fresher. The Vegetable Garden provides greater variety of food, and the satisfaction of using vegetables of one’s own growing, and the fact that in many cases “if we don’t grow them, we do without them,” should be a great incentive towards planting a Vegetable Garden.
More gardens mean better health, and the exercise as well as the fact that gardening is an open-air hobby, further support this statement. Too large a garden should not be attempted as a beginner, and the size should be determined with regard to the amount of time and labor available. Without the necessary and support, too large a garden becomes a burden rather than a pleasurable hobby.
A small vegetable garden area properly cared for, frequently worked and thoroughly well renewed from time to time with fertiliser and manurial soil, will give better results and satisfaction than a large space which not only cannot be attended to without exhaustive work, but cannot by any means be properly and thoroughly looked after.
There are two types of Home Vegetable Gardens; the City or Suburban, with a more or less limited space available for cultivation, and in many instances unfavorable conditions; and the Country or Farm Garden, with unlimited space and usually a fine, loamy soil, an adequate supply of natural manure, good drainage, plenty of sunshine, and moisture in abundance. With either type, the keynote of success is not only the location, soil, moisture, sunshine or plant food available, but also the persistent efforts of the individual to make the most of what ever type of garden you may have.
How to Grow Vegetables: The Fundamentals
to be considered in the Home Vegetable Garden:
A sufficient supply to fill the family requirements
A continuous succession of crops
The ease and cheapness of cultivation
The maintenance of the productivity of the land after a year
A careful thought-out succession of crops and rotations and the utilisation of every foot of available space render it possible to raise considerable quantities and a good variety of vegetables on a limited area, and to so augment the family food supply.
A most important essential is to find out which varieties are best suited and give the best returns under the soil and climatic conditions prevailing.
Choose the Right Location
Location is one of the most important factors to consider when growing vegetables. The area needs to receive at least 6 hours of sunlight per day and have good drainage. The soil should also be tested for its pH level, which should ideally be between 6.0-7.0 for optimal vegetable growth. If it’s too acidic or alkaline, then you may need to adjust the pH level with lime or sulfur before planting your seeds or seedlings.
Prepare the Soil
Make the soil as rich as requirements demand; sow only the best seeds, and should the weather be too dry, or other adverse conditions for successful germination prevail, do not be discouraged – sow again and even a third time.
Keep the soil loose and fine by frequent workings, cultivate to prevent the weeds, not only from starting, but from flowering and reinfesting the ground with weed seeds, and also to encourage rapid growth and secure the finest quality vegetables.
Cut, pick or dig the produce of your garden when ready for use, and while young and tender, and do this, particularly in the hot summer months, in the cool of the early morning.
Pick or dig sufficient for the day, and store in a cool shaded place until required for use. Do not attempt to do too much and do not start by planting out too large an area.
Proper soil preparation is essential for a successful harvest. Begin by loosening the top 15cm (6 inches) of soil with a fork or spade and removing any weeds or debris that might interfere with your plants’ growth. You can also add organic matter like compost, manure, or peat moss which will improve aeration, drainage, water retention and nutrient availability in the soil. Make sure that your plants have enough space between them so they have room to grow without competing with each other for light and nutrients. Different kinds of veggies require different depths when planting; make sure you check this information before setting them into the ground! Finally, cover the planted area with mulch to keep out weeds and conserve moisture in the soil.
Water Regularly Watering is an important part of vegetable gardening – the amount needed will depend on weather conditions such as temperature, humidity, wind speed and rainfall amount – but in general it’s best to water deeply every couple of days during dry periods rather than lightly every day as this helps encourage deep root development which makes plants more drought tolerant. If possible use drip irrigation instead of sprinklers because this will help conserve water by delivering it directly to where it’s needed most – at the roots near each plant’s base – without wasting any on non-vegetable areas like pathways or lawns!
how ensure success
SOIL OF SUITABLE TEXTURE, CONTAINING AVAILABLE PLANT FOOD
Should the soil be poor, improve and enrich it by supplying the necessary Plant Food, Humus and Lime. Consider the whole garden as a seed bed and CULTIVATE and fertilize accordingly.
SUFFICIENT MOISTURE, TO DISSOLVE THE PLANT FOOD AND TO MAKE IT AVAILABLE TO THE ROOTS
When the soil moisture is insufficient, water carefully. Conserve the soil moisture BY FREQUENT cultivation.
SEEDS OR PLANTS TO PRODUCE THE DESIRED CROP
Buy only the best seeds or plants. Their cost is only a small part of the cost of production, but poor quality seeds or plants will mean failure of the anticipated crop, and consequent disappointment.
SUCCESSIONAL CROPS AND A CAREFUL SYSTEEM OF ROTATION
Plant out a careful succession of crops so as to ensure a greater range of varieties.
FREEDOM FROM WEEDS
Keep the weeds down, as they rob and impoverish the soil at the expense of the cultivated plant.
CULTIVATION
Thorough and frequent cultivation conserves the soil moisture by creating a dust mulch which keeps the ground clean and free from weeds and INCORPORATES AIR INTO the soil.
THE USE OF SEED BOXES, A HOT BED AND AN OUTDOOR SEED BED, AS WELL AS A GLASS FRAME WHERE POSSIBLE
Seed boxes will remove the need for a Glass Frame in a small garden. These are necessary so as to have young seedlings ready for transplanting as soon as the ground is clear from the previous crop, and to thus preserve an unbroken and continuous succession.
MAINTENANCE OF THE SOIL FERTILITY
In a small garden where intensive cultivation must be practised, the fertility of the soil must be kept up by the frequent additions of fertiliser, humus, and where necessary, lime.
THE GARDENER
The human element is equally important in Gardening as in other pursuits, and the care and work bestowed upon the Vegetable patch, will invariably be reflected in the more or less successful and satisfactory results attained.
Growing vegetables doesn’t have to be intimidating – just follow these steps and soon enough you’ll be enjoying delicious homegrown produce straight from your garden. With proper location selection, soil preparation, spacing planning, mulching and regular watering; there’s no limit to what you can achieve. Whether you’re new to gardening or a seasoned pro looking for ways to improve their yield; following these simple steps can take your veggie patch from basic backyard plot into an abundant kitchen garden overflowing with delicious produce!
