Ready to grow some vegetables? Starting your first garden? Consider growing vegetables. We put together a simple “How-to” guide just for you. Enjoy the beginners guide to vegetable gardening.
Vegetables are so much healthier and taste better when you grow your own the right way!
In this guide, we’ll highlight the basics of vegetable gardening and planning: how to pick the right site for your garden, how to create the right size garden, and how to select which vegetables to grow.
Choose the Right Area
Picking a good location for your garden is absolutely key. A sub-par location can result in sub-par veggies! Here are a few tips for choosing a good site:
- Plant in a sunny location. Most vegetables need at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day. The more sunlight they receive, the greater the harvest, the bigger the veggies, and the better the taste.
- Plant in good soil. Plants’ roots penetrate soft soil more easily, so you need nice loamy soil. Enriching your soil with compost provides needed nutrients. Proper drainage will ensure that water neither collects on top nor drains away too quickly.
- Start with a small plot. A 16 x 10 foot space can feed a family of four during the summer months. You can put back, for canning or freezing any extra vegetables. A smaller start is recommended. Only grow what your family or close community can eat.
- Organize the growing area. You want to develop your garden into rows. Within a 16 x 10 space there is ample room for 11 rows that are 10 feet long each. If the recommended size is too much for you, just shorten the length or the number of rows. And be mindful that the rows are running North-to-South, so they get the full sun.
- Marigold flowers in the area discourage pest infestations in your vegetables. And it adds some color. Vegetables that typically provide more than one crop every growing season includes: beans, lettuce, beets, turnips, carrots, cabbage, radishes, rutabagas, and spinach.
Grow Quality Vegetables
Once you’ve chosen the right location, it’s time to confirm the layout of your garden. And of course decide what you are planting.
- Space your crops properly. Don’t put your crops too close together. Set your rows based on the seed packet directions or the Almanac Garden Planner information.Label your rows or insert plant tabs to keep the new plants organized.
- Use high-quality seeds. Of course you can plant small individual vegetable plants if you want. But seed packets are cheaper and usually pay off with higher yields.
- Water properly. Too much or too little watering doesn’t work well. Always water when the soil becomes dry to the touch.
Vegetables for Newbies to Grow
As a first time gardener, you want to pick nutritious, productive and easy-to-grow vegetables.
Top Ten Vegetables
-
- Tomatoes
- Zucchini squash
- Carrots
- Cabbage
- Bush beans
- Lettuce
- Beets
- Turnips
- Radishes
- Spinach
The old Farmer’s Almanac provides an enormous amount of helpful detail. So get the app and grow a smarter garden. Use the ALMANAC GARDEN PLANNER!