Starting a vegetable garden
A quick how to guide for the would be vegetable gardener.
The first question to be asked before planting a vegetable garden is, “Am I sure I want to do this?” Starting your first vegetable garden is a bit like buying a pet. Puppies and vegetables may look appealing in a display window (no, not at the same time), but getting them to grow at home requires time and commitment. If your answer is definitely yes, here are some tips that will help you out.
Where and when
Begin by deciding where and when to plant your vegetable garden.
Where
Vegetable gardening demands sunlight and well drained soil, preferably sandy loam, but light trumps earth. Poor soil can be worked, but it’s awfully hard to manufacture sunlight if your vegetable garden is too much in the shade. Try to find a moderately open location. Air circulation is beneficial for pollination and disease prevention, yet too much wind can damage crops.
When
Next you must find out the average first and last frost dates in your region. Most — though not all — vegetables shouldn’t be planted or transplanted until after last frost. Stick to these dates faithfully. When planting a vegetable garden, it’s better to be patient and wrong than impatient and wrong.
The good earth
Soil preparation is critical for the first-time vegetable gardener. To take the guesswork out of it, we recommend contacting your local cooperative extension office and getting your soil’s pH and nutrient content levels tested (they should be listed in the government pages of your phone book).
The ideal soil for vegetable gardening is sandy loam. Loam is a fertile mix of clay and sand that contains humus, which is formed by the decomposition of plants and leaves. You can tell that your soil is sandy loam if a handful squeezed together in your palm crumbles as you let go.
Begin working garden beds in spring when the soil is yielding but not overly wet. If you decide to plant in open ground, work the soil to a depth of about 12 inches. If you soil is of a sandy or clayey type, now is the time to add several inches of topsoil or compost. Another option when planting a vegetable garden in regions with poor soil is raised beds. Building raised beds improves drainage and allows you to establish a genial soil composition. Apply a 15-15-15 granular fertilizer a few days before planting.
A final word on vegetable garden beds: start small. Weeding, watering, and nurturing — in other words, vegetable gardening — can be time consuming. Better to expand your vegetable garden as desire dictates than suffer a poor yield because you were too ambitious.
Gardening tools
Some vegetable gardening tools are obvious — shovel, hoe, rake, garden hose, etc. — but there are a few more that will come in handy. A wheelbarrow will make transporting soil and compost a whole lot easier. A garden fork and trowel will assist with weeding and transplanting. Stakes and garden lines are indispensable for an orderly vegetable garden.
Of seeds and seedlings
Most garden vegetables should be grown from seed sown outdoors. But there are a few plants that benefit from an early start, and these you can begin indoors and then transplant to your vegetable garden when weather permits. The list includes tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, broccoli, and eggplant. Give plants about four to six weeks before moving them outdoors. Seedlings can also be purchased from nurseries if you don’t want the bother of a glasshouse or cold frame.
As for seed buying, vegetable gardening is much like everything else: you get what you pay for. If you’re looking to save a buck or two, buy used garden tools rather than skimp on the cost of vegetable seeds. Your appetite will thank you for it later.