New To Gardening? Here are some tips:
Starting your own veggie garden may seem intimidating. How big should your garden be? What should you plant and where? Should you use compost? How often should you water? These are all easily answerable questions. And building your own garden is absolutely worth the effort because of all the fresh tasting veggies you'll harvest from it!
Pick the Right Location
Pick a sunny location. Most veggies need at least 6 hours of direct sunlight each day. The more sunlight they get, the bigger your harvest, the bigger your veggies and the better they taste.
You'll also want to plant in a good, nutrient-rich, loamy soil. You may need to amend your soil by adding vegetable garden soil to your existing soil. You'll also want to loosen or till any hard soil as roots have an easier time penetrating soft soil. Add compost that will provide nutrients for your veggies. You will also need to ensure proper drainage. You don't want water to collect on the top nor have it drain away too quickly.
Plant your garden in a stable area. You don't want to place it in an area that is prone to flooding during heavy rains or put it in a spot that tends to dry out a lot. Your garden should also be protected from strong winds that could knock down young plants or keep pollinators from doing their job.
Plot Size
Start small. You don't want to frustrate yourself by starting too big. You also don't want to have such a big harvest that you have food that goes to waste. A good size for a beginner gardener is about 16 x 10 feet and has crops that are easy to grow. This is the perfect size to feed a family of four with a little leftover for canning, freezing or sharing.
With a 16 x 10 foot garden, your plot will be 11 rows wide, each 10 feet long. The rows should run north and south to take advantage of the sun. If this still seems like too much for you to start with you can go smaller; do less rows or make the rows shorter. Once you get comfortable with gardening and learn how to properly can and freeze your harvest, you can always make your garden larger.
Growing Your Veggies
Space your crops properly. Each veggie needs a different amount of space. You also don't want taller crops, like corn or trellis grown veggies like beans, to overshadow your other plants. You don't want to overcrowd your plants as they will compete for water, sunlight and nutrition. Pay close attention to spacing guidance on your seed packets and plant tabs.
You get what you pay for. Use high quality seeds. And while seed packets are less expensive than individual plants, if your seeds don't germinate, your money and time are wasted. A few extra cents could pay off with larger yields.
Water properly. You don't want to water too little or too much. Pay attention to watering instructions on your seed packets and plant tabs.
Plant and harvest at the correct time. You don't want to plant too early as a late frost could kill your plants. Planting too late could mean your plants don't mature in time for harvesting. You also don't want to harvest your crops before they have fully matured. It is important to have a gardening calendar customized to your local frost dates. The Old Farmer's Almanac online is a great resource not only for getting a customized gardening calendar, but also for information on plants.
Suggested Plants for Beginner Gardeners
These suggested veggies are easy to grow and common, productive plants. Be sure to plant crops that will grow well in your area. Also think about what you like to eat as well as what is hard to find at your local grocery store or farmer's market.
- Tomatoes (5 plants, staked)
- Peppers (6 plants)
- Zucchini Squash (4 plants)
- Cabbage
- Lettuce
- Bush Beans
- Carrots
- Chard
- Radishes
- Marigolds (to discourage garden pests)
Try a Garden Planner
To help make planning your garden easier, there are some great apps and online garden planners to help you create a smarter, more productive garden. One such garden planner is the online Almanac Garden Planner. In just a few minutes, you can draw up your garden. It even automatically pulls the frost dates for your location and shows you how many plants will fit in the space you have so you don't overcrowd or waste space.
Keep a Garden Journal
Document your garden, both the failures and successes. Write down important dates, varieties that you particularly liked, what worked, what didn't. Documenting your garden in a journal will help you have a better garden year after year.