Vegetable Garden Tips

Start With the Basic Tools

A rototiller is good if you have a sizeable area to work in. Otherwise, some basic tools will do. A sturdy spade and shovel, along with a hand trowel, gloves and a rake, are really all you'll need.

Plan Your Location

One of the most important vegetable garden tips is to plan where your garden will be. Consider the amount of sun the area gets throughout the day, and the direction it comes from.

It's best to start with a smaller garden and let it grow from year to year, so pick an area with room for growth. Pick vegetables your family enjoys , and don't forget some herbs for health and flavor.

Draw up a diagram of what you want to plant and where each plant will be placed. Planning ultimate plant size and sun direction, place taller plants where they won't shade lower ones.

Check Your Soil

Test the soil quality by taking a sample to a local county extension office or garden center. Add composted manure and other nutrients that may be needed to enrich the soil.

Break up the ground and work these amendments in, either by hand or with a rototiller. Then create your rows. Leave a space as wide as your rake between rows to make harvesting and weeding easier.

What to Grow

Consider the area where you live when planning what to grow in your vegetable garden . Certain vegetables grow better in specific zones. Plants are usually marked with growing zones, as well as planting times. Get advice from your garden center and talk to neighbors who garden, as they know what works in the area.

Plant Your Seeds and Seedlings

Whether you're starting your seeds indoors in winter for transplanting later, or sowing seeds directly in the ground, you don't want to plant until all danger of frost is past. Either way, follow package directions for spacing and depth, to allow room for roots to spread.

Check the USDA plant hardiness zone map for guidelines on last frost dates. With small seedlings, acclimate the plants by moving them outdoors everyday, increasing the time outside each day to avoid shock. Once everything is planted, mark your rows and water gently to give them a good start.

Companion Plantings

Certain plants just work and grow better together. These companion plants can produce healthier and abundant crops.

Garlic is known to ward off Japanese beetles, scented marigolds keep out asparagus beetles, and mint has long been touted as a deterrent to aphids. Radishes planted with cucumbers control beetles, basil with tomatoes control hornworms, and onions with carrots control rust flies.

Throw in some other herbs between the vegetables and you'll have flavor to add to the bounty. You're on your way to a bountiful crop.

Maintain Your Garden

Put a layer of grass clippings or mulch between the rows to keep the weeds down. As seeds sprout, thin, if necessary. Pull any weeds while they're still small.

Most seed packs show what the baby plant will look like, so you can distinguish it from a weed. It's best to water early in the day, to allow the water to soak deep into the soil before the heat of the day.

The seed packet or plant tag will indicate when the plants should be ready to pick. Harvest vegetables at their peak. Add your favorite fresh herbs from the garden and enjoy the healthiest recipes from your own back yard.

Following these simple vegetable garden tips will bring you a fun season of growing and a bountiful harvest.

More Vegetable Garden

Link to other sites:
Vegetable Garden Basics
Learn how to grow your own vegetables! They taste a lot better than those you buy from supermarket.

Vegetable Garden Tips, Vegetable Garden Tips