Vegetable Plants

If you've ever thought about starting a vegetable garden , you may wonder where to begin. How do you know what to plant, where do you get them, and when should they be planted? These are questions you should think about before you trek off to the garden center and fill up a shopping cart.

The variety and number of plants you'll see there will be overwhelming if you're unprepared. With a little advanced planning, growing a vegetable garden and selecting the right vegetable plants can be a fun and rewarding experience.

Seeds or Plants?

The first thing to do is decide what vegetables you want to grow. Even though it's easy to sow a 10 foot row of lettuce seeds, if your pet guinea pig is the only one who eats it, it could be a waste of space.

Plan what vegetables you want to include. This is a great winter project, especially if you decide to start your garden from seeds. Once you know what to plant, decide how you want to start -- seeds or established nursery plants.

If you decide to start with seeds, get a few seed company catalogs and learn about the different cultivars available for the vegetables you want to grow.

Many cultivars have been created especially for your region and are disease resistant and hardy for specific regions of the country. Find the ones that are best for you, and purchase your seeds.

Check the seed packs and catalogs for information on when to start seeds. Many should be started indoors, several weeks before the last frost in your area, and transplanted into the garden later. Others may be better suited to sowing directly in the ground at a later time.

If you opt for purchasing established vegetable plants, be sure there is an information tag on the container. This will tell you the cultivar that you are buying and give you some information on transplanting, care and harvest times.

Purchase these plants when they are small and healthy. If the leaves are wilting or the plant is misshapen, it probably hasn't received enough care and won't survive.

Six-packs of any variety will usually provide enough plants for a home garden. Don't buy plants that have already set flowers, as they are already using their energy for the flower and won't transplant well.

When to Plant

When you're ready to start buying vegetable plants, remember that all plants don't grow in the same temperatures. Trying to plant everything in one day isn't a good plan.

Consider the appropriate growing time for your vegetables and plan to put them in the soil at the right time. Cool weather crops like peas, lettuce, onions, radishes and spinach can be planted a few weeks before the last frost, in early spring.

Right after the last frost, plant warm weather crops like carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, peppers, corn and pumpkins.

About three to four weeks after the last frost, plant hot weather crops like eggplant, sweet potatoes, watermelon and shell beans. These hot weather plants can't tolerate cold soil, so don't plant too early.

In areas with year-round warm climates, a second planting of your cool weather crops can be planted in early fall. They will grow over the fall and winter and provide a harvest in spring before the next planting season.

With a little planning and careful shopping, you can create a great vegetable garden. By selecting the right vegetable plants and planting them when they will thrive, you will reap a bountiful harvest.

Vegetable garden plants can be grown easily with a little help from these guides. The quality of seed you get will determine a large part of your successful gardening. 

Now that you have a complete vegetable garden, try healthy recipes from your own back yard, such as some delicious vegetarian soups.

Growing Vegetable Plants

Growing Broccoli
One of the tastiest and healthiest vegetables to grow in the garden is broccoli. Depending on the cultivar selected, broccoli needs from 45 to 85 days to mature.

Growing Cantaloupe
Cantaloupe, a member of the melon family (cucumis melo) requires more space in the garden than most crops. Smaller varieties, like Sugarbush and dwarf varieties require less space and can even be grown in containers.

Growing Cucumbers
There are four types of cucumbers: slicing, pickling, space-savers and the ever-popular burpless cucumber.

Growing Horseradish
Growing horseradish is an easy process. The plants require little maintenance during their growing season and, whether dug up annually or divided every spring, they continue to produce a pungently flavorful crop.

Growing Eggplant
The variety of eggplants available for the home garden makes it a favorite for many gardeners.

Growing Lettuce
Lettuce is the basis for many recipes, including salads and wraps. With an extensive range of sizes, shapes and flavors, adding a few varieties of these tasty greens is a great addition to the vegetable garden.

Growing Peas
Growing peas requires timely planting and little maintenance. Peas add iron, fiber and vitamin C to the diet. They are easy to prepare in cooked recipes and delicious raw in salads or as a snack.

Growing Potatoes
potatoes are nutritious and delicious, with a vast array of uses in meals. Potatoes are easy to grow in the home vegetable garden and there's a variety for every taste.

Growing Radishes
Among the easiest vegetables to grow in the garden, radishes are hardy annuals that tolerate cooler temperatures than most vegetables. They can be planted early in the season and again in early fall, and germinate within a few days to a week.

Growing Rhubarb
Rhubarb is a perennial vegetable plant, whose petioles, or stems, are used in a variety of culinary dishes such as pies and sauces.

Growing Squash
There are two types of squash – summer squash and winter squash. Summer squash have edible, thin skins and are best harvested when ready to eat, as they do not keep well. Winter squash have inedible, thick skins and, with proper storage, will keep for months, providing fresh produce well into the winter.

Pepper Plants
Pepper plants (Capsicum annuum) are among the most popular plants for the home vegetable garden. With so many varieties available, every gardener can find a few that suit their taste buds. Peppers can be found in many sizes, shapes, colors and intensities of heat, from sweet to intensely hot.

Tomato Plants
Tomatoes (Lycopersicon) are available in an endless number of varieties. They are available in reds, yellows and greens, with egg, round and ribbed shapes.