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Beginner’s Tips to Vegetable Gardening
| By Kenny Servera
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It’s spring again and this is the year you’re finally going to do that thing you’ve been putting off for a while now: grow your own vegetable garden.
Creating your own vegetable garden at home can help save money and provide you with your very own delicious vegetables assured to be better than store bought produce. Plus, growing vegetables can be fun. It’s a great way to spend time with the kids or have a place to get away and spend time outdoors in the sun.
Interested in creating your own vegetable garden? Check out our beginner’s tips below.
Make Efficient Use Of Your Space
Many people dream of creating their own perfect vegetable garden in their backyard, but the first thing everyone must consider is how much space you have to use. Once you know, you can start to determine what veggies might be best for your space.
Keep in mind when figuring out what to plant in a garden with vegetables that you don’t always need a large space to begin. If you choose to grow in containers, you don’t even need a yard – a deck or balcony may provide plenty of space.
Know What Type Of Vegetables You Want To Grow
If you are a beginner, it is important to know what kind of vegetables that you want to grow in your garden. It’s recommended to start with growing tomato plants. It can basically grow anywhere and is fairly easy to manage.
Keeping Unwanted Pests Out of the Garden
You might want to keep your garden clean and well protected as slugs and rabbits can wreak havoc on your crops. For rabbits, you can install a six-foot fence around your plants. In India, farmers created homemade pesticide using just Pepsi and Coke and apparently it’s cheaper and effective, according to this report from Omni News.
Soil Quality Is Important
Soil quality is important when it comes to growing vegetables. Good soil makes even better vegetables. To better improve the soil, use organic matter.
Crop Rotation
Crop rotation is a systematic approach to deciding which crop to plant where in your vegetable garden from one year to the next. This ensures that the same garden vegetables will not deplete the same nutrients year after year. It can also help foil any insect pests or disease pathogens that might be lurking in the soil after the crop is harvested. The only problem with this is that it could be difficult to remember the spot where you actually grew your plants. That’s why keeping records (see below) is a good idea every year.
Weeds Should Be Pulled, Not Sprayed
Every gardener knows that it is important to get rid of weeds in your garden. Pulling weeds is the most effective and safest way to tend to your garden. If you are poisoning your weeds, be aware that it could be a danger to your health. If you check for weeds every 2-3 days and use a weeding tool, the work goes fast and easy.
Pick at Least 2-3 Vegetables to Plant
Pick at least 2-3 veggie plants to grow to diversify your garden. Some easy vegetable plants to choose from includes onions, lettuce, tomatoes, tulips and squash.
Don’t Over-Fertilize
The most common mistake a gardener can make is putting too much fertilizer in your garden. Excessive use of fertilizer may burn the plant roots, which will make it more vulnerable for bugs and diseases to invade the plants. Signs of excessive fertilizer in vegetable plants includes yellow leaves and spindly stems. If you are going to fertilize, make sure to not go overboard.
Proper Drainage
Providing proper drainage to your vegetable plant is very important. If the soil is constantly wet, then your plant will rot. The excessive water can block the roots from getting air, causing the roots to decay and can also increase the ability of some problematic diseases to move around in the soil and infect plants. If you would like to know more about how to put in a proper drainage system in your garden, you can click here.
Don’t Plant Your Veggies Near Trees
Planting your veggie gardens near a tree is a bad idea. Trees can block sunlight reaching the ground and starve your vegetables from the proper nutrients it needs. We recommend that you plant your garden at least 50 feet away from any tree.
Keep Your Garden Close to Your House
Although this may be a given, you can keep an eye on your garden and see if any maintenance needs to be done, and it’s easier to harvest vegetables with the house close by.
The Make-Your-Own Compost Rule
You can create your own compost using lawn clippings, egg shells and kitchen peelings. When it turns to compost, it helps feed your veggies necessary nutrients they needs to grow.
Keep Records of Your Garden
It is important to keep records of your garden. Make sure you create a checklist of all the things that need to be done everyday, things like watering your plants, pulling out weeds and providing wildlife protection. Doing this everyday will help you become a better and more efficient gardener.
Using Bed Gardens
Using bed gardens is a great tool for beginner gardeners. If your garden soil is barren, a raised garden bed is a perfect solution. Many experienced gardeners have at least one raised bed in their backyard. To see the pros and cons of having a bed garden, check out this article here.
Make Sure You Have All the Necessary Tools
A properly stocked shed is a must for vegetable gardening. Some of the tools you will need include garden gloves, spading fork, rake, hoe, hand cultivator, garden hose, shovel and a wheel barrow.
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