How To Start Your Own Vegetable Garden

Source: Flickr – ConstructionDealMkting

There are many reasons why it is beneficial to start growing your own garden and I list some of the many reasons here Poisons in Today’s Food… Time To Grow Your Own Garden? 

Preparation

Start with what you like to eat and what you can’t find fresh locally. Corn takes a lot of space and remains in the garden a long time before it’s ready to be eaten. If you have corn farms nearby, you might want to use your small garden for vegetables that give a longer harvest, like tomatoes, lettuce and beans.

Before you start, it’s best to check what growing conditions your plants will require and you can do that by going to this site that gives growing conditions per vegetable. Your priority is at least 6 hours of sun exposure a day for your vegetables. Secondarily, you can consider at what times the sun will shine on your plants because afternoon sun will be hotter and more drying than the preferable morning sun. You can also evaluate other elements of exposure such as high and drying winds or foot traffic.

Preparing the Bed

Your chosen site will probably have grass on it or at least weeds. The grass and weeds including their roots is the sod and must be completely removed, so they do not grow back. You can add the sod to your compost pile (decayed organic matter).
To make a good bed, you should dig 12 to 18 inches into the ground. Fill the hole with a good amount of compost mixed in with the soil that you dug out. When you are done, your bed should be above ground level.
Test your soil’s texture type: Ideally your soil should be drainable and moist at the same time. Pick up the soil in your bed and squeeze it. It should be crumbly and moist. If it stays as a big lump of clay, then put some sand and more compost in your soil. If your soil is too dry, then put in some peat moss and more organic material.
Starting with good soil means you won’t have to add a lot of artificial fertilizer to your garden. If you’ve fed the soil with amendments, the soil will feed your plants.
Plants cannot take up nutrients unless the soil’s pH (acidity/alkalinity) is within an acceptable range. Most plants like a somewhat neutral pH, 6.2 – 7.0, but some are more particular. Soil is usually within an acceptable pH range and if you have added enough compost and organic matter, your soil’s pH will be even closer to neutral (7.0). If there is a reason your soil’s pH may be off or if you want to be sure you have good soil, there are several ways you can check your soil’s pH:

1. Call your local Cooperative Extension office or your local nurseries. For a minimal fee, they may test your soil for it’s texture, pH, or even the nutrients and minerals in it. They may also provide test kits that you can do yourself.
2. It is very simple to do your own testing as well. You can either purchase a pH meter or pH test strips (aka litmus paper). The test strips are almost as accurate and much less expensive.In order to use the test strips and some of the meters (depending on type), you will need distilled water and any other type of water can be slightly acidic. You can purchase both distilled water and pH test strips at your local pharmacy. You can also easily make your own distilled water by filling a large stainless steel pot with some water and float an empty glass or oven safe bowl on the water. Put the lid upside down on the pot and heat the water. Put some ice or cold water on top of the upside down lid to cool the steam that is inside the pot. The steam will then turn into distilled water and collect in the bowl.Dig a hole in your bed that is at least 4″ deep. Fill the hole with distilled water and wait for the soil to have the consistency of molasses. Place the test strip or the meter probe directly into the soil and leave the test strip in it for 6 minutes. Remove the strip and rinse it with distilled water. You can then match its color to a chart that comes with the pH kit. Each color represents a different pH level.

Planting

Water your newly planted garden as soon as it is planted and make sure it gets at least one inch of water per week. You may have to water more often in hot dry summers. Let your plants tell you how much water they need. Some wilting in noonday sun is normal. Wilting in the evening is stress.
Seeds: Plant seeds at any time of the day when planting vegetables in the spring. However, if you plant seeds in late summer for fall crops, plant seeds in the evening. This allows the soil to remain moist after watering. If planting seeds near other crops, morning planting allows the nearby foliage to dry after watering, preventing disease.
Containers: Plant container crops in the early evening or on overcast days. Vegetables planted in the morning must immediately deal with heat, sun and transplant stress. Evening planting delays this problem, allowing the new plant time to recover from root disturbance. The ideal time to plant is on a still, overcast day, so that you stress your new plants as little as possible.
Water the plants in their pots the day before you intend to plant.
Don’t remove all the plants from their pots and leave them sitting in the sun for the roots to dry out.
If the roots are densely packed or growing in a circle, tease them apart, so they will stretch out and grow into the surrounding soil.
Bury the plant to the depth it was in the pot. Too deep and the stem will rot. Too high and the roots will dry out.
Don’t press down hard on the plants as you cover them. Watering will settle them into the ground.
Hardening: When starting vegetable seedlings indoors or when buying container-grown plants from a protected greenhouse, acclimate the seedlings before planting them in the garden. Gradually reduce water, expose them to cooler temperatures and increasing amounts of sunlight. Do not bring the plants back indoors. The Colorado State University Extension recommends hardening off plants over the course of one week.

Mulch

Mulch conserves water, blocks weeds and cools the soil.

Plastic mulches are nice in a vegetable garden to heat the soil around warm season crops like tomatoes, peppers, melons and squash. Apply it soon after planting before new weeds sprout. Apply a 2-4 inch thick layer of mulch, avoiding direct contact with the plant stems. Piling mulch around the stem can lead to rotting and can provide cover for munching mice and voles.

Garden Records

If you start a garden journal, you can record how plants perform, when flowers are in bloom, how large a harvest was and all kinds of information that will help you make a better garden next year.

Maintenance

• At the very least, your plants will require 1 inch of water a week. Over watering your plants is common mistake and it is more important to be consistent. At the same time, don’t let your plants get drought stressed. Once a plant is stressed it will never recover fully that growing season.
• There will also be weeding to do. Weed seeds come from all kinds of sources: wind, birds, and soil on shoes
• Vegetables will produce more if you keep harvesting while young.
• Some taller plants may need to be staked, to keep from flopping.

Enjoy your garden!