Planting Your First Vegetable Garden

Getting Started

Few experiences can match the pleasure of savoring a homegrown vegetable, especially if you raised it yourself from a seed or seedling. In almost every case, the flavor and texture of varieties you can grow far exceed the best grocery store produce. Growing vegetables is also a pleasurable activity in its own right, giving you an excuse to spend time outdoors in the warm sun.

Growing vegetables doesn't have to be difficult or time-consuming, especially if you follow the advice in this guide. You'll soon discover, however, that experience really is the best teacher. As your knowledge grows, so will the rewards of this productive pastime.

Picking a Site

You don't need a large space to begin a vegetable garden. If you choose to grow in containers, you don't even need a yard. But you do need three critical elements to grow good vegetables:

• Sunshine. Choose a spot that gets at least 6 hours per day.
• Water. The closer your garden to a source of water, the better.
• Good soil, something between rock-hard clay and loose sand. Luckily, fixing bad soil isn't hard.

Deciding What to Grow

It's tempting to try growing a large variety of vegetables. A better approach for a first-time vegetable gardener is to consider what you most like to eat, then narrow the list down to the easiest and most productive varieties. Some of the vegetables that meet this test include tomatoes, lettuce, radishes, peppers, snap peas, green onions, summer squash, and green beans. Vegetables that didn't make the list include corn (too much room, too few ears), asparagus (requires waiting a couple of years for the first harvest), and green peas (too limited a growing season).

Garden catalogs are your best source of ideas for vegetables to grow. Once you narrow your choices to types of vegetables, pick two or three varieties that seem promising; by growing more than one variety, you'll have some insurance if one doesn't perform well. Next year, grow the best performer again, and choose another to try.

When selecting varieties, pay close attention to the description. Some varieties produce smaller plants that are ideal for small gardens or containers. Also look for varieties that are described as disease resistant.

Laying Out Your Garden

There are two basic approaches to planning the layout of a vegetable garden:

Row Cropping.

This means planting in single file with a walking path between each row. Row cropping works best for large gardens, and it makes it easier to use mechanical equipment like hoes and tillers to battle weeds. The downside of row cropping is that it is a very inefficient use of land. Much of the soil area is used for foot paths rather than vegetable plants.

Intensive Cropping.

This means planting in wide bands, generally 1 to 4 feet across and as long as you like. This approach reduces the amount of area needed for paths, but the closer spacing of the plants means that they must be cared for by hand. This isn't a problem with most home-sized gardens. Because of the handwork required, it is important not to make the bands wider than you can comfortably reach.

A specialized version of intensive cropping is the "square foot method" developed by Mel Bartholomew. This well-thought-out system divides the garden into small beds (typically 4 x 4 feet), that are further subdivided into one-foot squares. Each one-foot square is planted with one, four, nine, or 16 plants, depending on the size of finished size of the plant. Bartholomew's book, Square Foot Gardening, is the bible for this method of gardening.

Whichever method of gardening you choose, start small. A 10-x-10-foot space is a good size for a first garden. Plan your garden on paper before you put shovel to earth. Allow at least 18 inches between rows or beds for easy access. As you sketch out your plan, place taller vegetables at the north side of the garden. This includes naturally tall plants -- like standard size tomatoes -- and plants that can be grown on vertical supports -- like snap peas, cucumbers, and pole beans.

It also makes sense to leave some areas of the garden unplanted at first. This allows you to plant a second crop to harvest later in the season. Lettuce, radishes, green onions, carrots, and bush beans are commonly planted several times during the season.

Digging Your Beds

If you choose to plant in the ground rather than in raised beds, you'll need to loosen (till) the top 6 to 12 inches of soil. Large power tillers can grind the sod into the soil. If you choose to dig by hand, you'll need to remove the sod instead. Use a sharp, straight-edged shovel to score the turf then pry up the sod. After the sod is removed, begin loosening the soil by digging and turning. Work small sections, breaking up large clods as you work.

Once the soil has been loosened -- either with a tiller or by hand -- spread your amendments and work them into the soil. This can be tough work if you do it by hand, but the more thoroughly you perform this task, the better your results will be. Avoid stepping on freshly tilled soil as much as possible. If you must cross a tilled area, use planks or pieces of plywood to distribute your weight. Otherwise, you'll be compacting the soil and undoing all your hard work.

When you're done digging, smooth the surface with an iron rake, then water thoroughly. Allow the bed to "rest" for several days before you begin planting.

Seeds or Seedlings?

Some vegetables can be grown only by putting seeds into the garden soil. Carrots and beans are two vegetables that require "directed seeding." With direct seeding, you place the seeds at the recommended depth, water thoroughly, then wait for the plants to emerge. In most cases, you'll plant extra seeds to account for some not germinating, then thin out any extras after the plants are up and growing.

Many vegetables can be started early indoors or purchased already started from a garden center. The benefit of this approach is that you can have a crop ready to harvest several weeks earlier than if you were to plant seeds in the ground. Starting vegetables indoors is not difficult, but it does require some time and attention. Seed packages list the options you have for planting particular seed.

Care and Feeding

Most vegetables like a steady supply of moisture, but not so much that they are standing in water. About an inch of water per week is usually sufficient, provided by you if Mother Nature fails to come through. Water when the top inch of soil is dry. For in-ground crops, that may mean watering once or twice a week; raised beds drain faster and may require watering every other day.

Weeds compete with your vegetables for water and nutrients, so it's important to keep them to a minimum. Use a hoe or hand fork to lightly stir the top inch of soil (cultivate) regularly to discourage weed seedlings. A mulch of clean straw, compost, or plastic can keep weeds at bay around larger plants like tomatoes.

Fertilizing your crops is critical to maximizing yields. Organic gardeners often find that digging in high quality compost at planting time is all their vegetables need. Most gardeners, however, should consider applying a packaged vegetable fertilizer, following the directions on the box or bag. Don't apply more than recommended as this can actually decrease yield.

Pests and Diseases

Pests and disease are ongoing problems for most vegetable gardeners. Although specific problems may require special solutions, there are some general principles you can follow.

• Use fences to deter rabbits. Make sure the bottom of the fence is firmly attached to the ground, or even buried a few inches into the soil.
• Row covers -- lightweight sheets of translucent plastic -- can protect young crops against some insects. Row covers are also helpful to prevent damage from light frosts.
• To reduce fungal diseases, water the soil, not the leaves of plants. If you must use a sprinkler, do it early in the day so the leave will dry by nightfall. If a plant does fall prey to a disease, remove it promptly and throw it in the trash; don't add sick plants to your compost pile.
• Grow varieties that are listed as disease resistant. Garden catalogs and Web sites should tell you which varieties offer the most protection.
• Pick larger insects and caterpillars by hand. Once you get over the "yuck!" factor, this is a safe and effective way to deal with limited infestations.
• Use insecticidal soap sprays to provide safe control of listed pests. Most garden centers carry these products. Whatever pest control chemicals you use, read the label carefully and follow the directions to the letter.
• Finally, make it a habit to change the location of crops each year. In other words, if you grew tomatoes in the northwest corner of your garden this year, put them in the northeast corner next year. This practice, called crop rotation, reduces the changes that pests will gain a permanent foothold in your garden.

Harvesting

This is what it's all about, so don't be shy about picking your produce! Many vegetables can be harvested at several stages. Leaf lettuce, for example, can be picked as young as you like; snip some leaves and it will continue to grow and produce. Summer squash (zucchini) and cucumbers can be harvested when the fruit is just a few inches long, or allowed to grow to full size. The general rule: if it looks good enough to eat, it probably is. Give it a try. With many vegetables, the more you pick, the more the plant will produce.

Planning Your New Vegetable Garden

Planting your first vegetable garden is always an exciting event. Visions of red, ripe tomatoes, crunchy green peppers and sweet, sweet corn dance through your imagination. And nothing tastes better than hot, buttered summer squash with a dash of salt and pepper.

In order to fulfill the promise of each tiny seedling, a little planning is necessary. Vegetables have very particular sun/shade needs, along with individual soil conditions. The first thing you need to learn is how much sun each veggie requires. Next are their growth habits. Some vegetables are indeterminate and sprawl all over the place, bearing multiple crops. Cucumbers, squash, melon and tomatoes fit this category.

Determinate plants are much bushier in their growth habit and only bear one crop of fruit. This makes them ideal for small spaces or containers. Tomatoes, squash, cucumbers and certain melons fit this class of plant.

The indeterminates can be staked or trained up fences and trellises to save room. Under ideal conditions they can be prolific bearers, so it’s important not to overplant.

Prepare the soil in the beds ahead of time. Be certain all rocks, debris and weeds are removed. Using black plastic as a mulch around cucumbers and melons helps keep wet soil away from leaves and helps speed ripening. Once the bed is prepared, lay the plastic down and cut openings to place the plants in. Cucumbers are very prone to mildew from wet leaves so this method really helps cut down on the problem.

Always water new starts as soon as they are all planted to get them off to a healthy start. I recommend feeding them with fish emulsion to help them establish better. If you don’t let them dry out or become weed choked, you will wake up each morning to bigger, healthier plants.

Topic of Discussion: Which vegetable have you always wanted to grow, but were afraid to try?

Lesson 1: Preparing The Soil

This lesson covers all aspects of building great garden soil, from understanding pH, to learning about different soil types, to amending, composting and side dressing. This is the true key to having a great garden.

Taking the time to analyze and understand your soil composition will give you valuable tools for building an ideal garden. If you are a new home owner, facing a bare lot, this becomes especially crucial. Think of the lot as an empty palette, just waiting to be filled with bright color and texture. The background of this palette is your soil.

Before doing anything else, remove all debris and rake smooth. Any weeding should be done before any soil adjusting gets started. Using a level, look for low spots in the garden. These need to be filled in to avoid swampy, boggy areas. Use only sterile topsoil for this purpose. You don’t want to introduce soil borne disease or pests into the new garden. Once the leveling is done, and necessary drainage created, you can then begin to work your soil.

A rototiller is a gardener's best friend. Even a small yard will benefit from the aerating and loosening these machines provide. The Troy Built or Mantis tillers are compact, easy to use and can help avoid back strain by doing the heavy work for you.

Use the tiller in stages. The first week, make several passes through the soil to begin the loosening process. You will feel the soil resistance begin to lessen as you go through the garden over and over again.

The following week, add your chosen amendments and till in again, making several passes.

The third week, remove any large clods, stones and debris. Run the tiller through again. Stoop down and feel the soil. If it has reached a good, earthy texture, you are ready to begin planting. If it is still not right, go through the soil with the tiller again a few times. Rake the area smooth, water lightly to dampen, and you are ready to go.

Different Soil Textures

Ideally, your soil should be slightly crumbly, hold together lightly when gently squeezed and release easily. This is the good earth we all dream of and work so hard to achieve. Simply tossing bags of premixed soils on top of the underlying soil isn’t the solution.

What type of soil is in your own garden? Is it adobe? Too sandy? How can you tell? Pick a handful of soil up in your hand and squeeze it lightly together. Feel the texture as you're doing this. Is it heavy and cold? Does it feel gritty or sandy? Now open your hand and release the soil. Does it fall apart completely? Does it remain in a hard cold clump? Answering these questions will tell you what type of soil you are dealing with.

Heavy clay soil is the bane of a gardener’s existence. With its tough, seemingly impenetrable nature, and its tendency to compact and choke off roots, it can cause real problems in the garden. There are several degrees of clay, from the adobe-like concrete that is next to impossible to work with, to a lighter clay, which benefits from amending. If you have a true concrete type clay that softens very little, even with watering, raised beds are the perfect solution.

Lighter clay soils benefit from products like GreenSand or gypsum that work to break up the soil. Using a rototiller and working this type of soil over and over again, and adding amendments like peat, compost and garden sand will help bring it close to ideal. You can rent tillers from local equipment centers.

Acid or Alkaline?

We expect a lot out of our gardens, including beautiful, prolific blooms and bountiful harvests. Yet, how many of us really stop to consider our garden soil? Do you know anything about your own garden dirt? Is it acid or alkaline? Peaty, sandy or clay? Why are these questions important? Because every living thing you place in your garden depends on the health of your soil.

How do you get this type of information? You can buy home soil testing kits. These are very reasonably priced, starting at under $20.00. Once you have one in your hot little hands, you need to take random samples from different areas of your property. Here is a quick overview of how you go about this:

Soil samples - Remove any loose organic matter in the top one-inch of the soil, With a spade or hand trowel, take samples 6-7 inches deep. Do this in six locations for every 1000 to 2000 sq. ft. of area. Mix these samples in a bucket and use about 1-2 cups for testing.

These kits generally consist of a test tube, some testing solution and a color chart. You put a sample of your soil in the tube, add a few drops of test solution, shake it up and leave it for an hour or so to settle. The solution in the tube changes color according to the pH of your soil. Compare the color of the sample with the color chart that came with the kit. Matching colors will tell you the pH range of your sample. The better kits will also include advisory booklets about how to interpret your results.

Now that you have a fairly good idea of what the pH is in your garden, you can begin to amend the soil to suit your particular planting needs. If your soil’s acidity is too high, adding dolomite or lime will bring it back into a more alkaline state.

To acidify alkaline soil will require adding garden sulfur to sour the soil. Plants that thrive in an acidic environment: gardenias, azaleas, rhododendrons, pines, raspberries and many tropicals, also benefit by feedings with an acidifier like Miracid, at least once a month.

Understanding your soil pH will help you become a much more confident and successful gardener.

Sandy Soils

Sand is great for beaches and deserts, but in our gardens it can spell real trouble to plants. Soil that is too loose drains so fast that water never reaches the roots. As a result, the plants die off very quickly. So, unless you are a big fan of desert plantings, some adjusting needs to be done to correct this problem.

One way to tell if your soil is too sandy is by feel. It will have a gritty texture that is very different from the loamy, earthy feel of ordinary garden soil. It will not hold together after compacting, but immediately fall apart.

In order to provide a firm anchor for plants and create a moisture retentive environment, certain elements will need to be added to firm up the earth. This recipe will give you a firm healthy soil, that will continue to improve over the next 2-3 years:

For every 100 sq. feet of garden add:

20 cubic feet of organic compost

2 lbs. of bat or seabird guano

2 lbs of rock or Super Phosphate

10 lbs of gypsum or lime

2 lbs of Green Sand

2lbs of kelp meal

This should be spread over the garden or planting areas and tilled in 6"-8". Once this is done, the garden is ready to plant. In about two to three months, add 3 lbs. of alfalfa meal to the garden, digging it in to the first 6” of topsoil. You should begin to notice earthworms tunneling through the dirt. If not, buy them and release them to work their magic. You should see an improvement in your soil within the first year. By the third year, you will have the garden soil you want. The soil will be rich in texture, dark in color and will hold moisture very well.

Lesson 2: Planning Your Garden

Your first garden! Filled with excitement, the impulse to run out to the nearest nursery, load the minvan up with plants and just dig in is downright irresistible! This lesson will help you get just the garden you want, for all the right reasons.

Let's Learn About Sun and Shade

All growing things, including shade loving varieties, are dependent upon light. Sunlight is a critical component of the photosynthesis of the plant structure.

When designing your first garden an awareness of where sunlight falls is a key factor in deciding which plants to select. Some plants thrive in full sun but others need partial shade to succeed. So, the first step is to discover what exposure you have on your lot.

This can be done very easily. Try waking up just before dawn one morning. Look out your windows and look for the direction the sun is rising in relation to your home. Since the sun always rises in the east, wherever the sun is facing is the eastern side of your yard. The western, or opposing side, will be the hottest area of your garden.

If you are still uncertain of your exact orientation, a compass can help you "map" out each area. In order to plan your garden wisely this needs to be done before the next steps can be completed.

A northern exposure is generally the coolest or shadiest side of your lot. But, in hot climates, this doesn't mean you can just select any shade loving plants. There are degrees of shade: dappled, partial and deep shade, as well as "warm" shade. Living in a hot climate would then call for warm shade plantings.

Understanding the light elements of your new garden will only increase your chances of creating a place of beauty and healthy growing life.

Planting to Save Energy

Most brand new homes are built to meet or exceed Federal energy standards. But even with a well insulated home, there is still room to reduce energy costs even more. If your air conditioning unit is attached to the side of your home, you can increase its efficiency and lower your energy consumption very easily.

One of the best ways to do this is by planting trees or shrubs near the unit. As they grow, they will create a natural shade cover for the unit.

West or south facing windows are great sources of natural light in the winter, while northeastern windows can become extremely cold. Planting slender trees like birch are excellent for shading and providing relief from harsh summer sun, while still allowing a filtered light through.

Northeastern windows should not have trees in front of them as they act as a barrier to any winter light trying to come through.

Trees are excellent windscreens and where prevailing winds are harsh, they are an effective solution. Combined with shrubs as the second layer of defense, they can help create a buffered quiet zone.

Water conservation is a huge factor in many communities. One of the most effective and least costly ways to achieve this is to use a drip irrigation system from the start. Combined with emitters and sprayers, you can create an energy-efficient garden that will save you hundreds of dollars and hours of effort. If you combine this with drought tolerant plantings, you will have created an ideal environment for your new garden.

Vegetable Gardening

Growing your own vegetables is a healthy and rewarding pastime. This lesson guides you through the steps necessary to grow great vegetables.

Planning Your New Vegetable Garden

Planting your first vegetable garden is always an exciting event. Visions of red, ripe tomatoes, crunchy green peppers and sweet, sweet corn dance through your imagination. And nothing tastes better than hot, buttered summer squash with a dash of salt and pepper.

In order to fulfill the promise of each tiny seedling, a little planning is necessary. Vegetables have very particular sun/shade needs, along with individual soil conditions. The first thing you need to learn is how much sun each veggie requires. Next are their growth habits. Some vegetables are indeterminate and sprawl all over the place, bearing multiple crops. Cucumbers, squash, melon and tomatoes fit this category.

Determinate plants are much bushier in their growth habit and only bear one crop of fruit. This makes them ideal for small spaces or containers. Tomatoes, squash, cucumbers and certain melons fit this class of plant.

The indeterminates can be staked or trained up fences and trellises to save room. Under ideal conditions they can be prolific bearers, so it’s important not to overplant.

Prepare the soil in the beds ahead of time. Be certain all rocks, debris and weeds are removed. Using black plastic as a mulch around cucumbers and melons helps keep wet soil away from leaves and helps speed ripening. Once the bed is prepared, lay the plastic down and cut openings to place the plants in. Cucumbers are very prone to mildew from wet leaves so this method really helps cut down on the problem.

Always water new starts as soon as they are all planted to get them off to a healthy start. I recommend feeding them with fish emulsion to help them establish better. If you don’t let them dry out or become weed choked, you will wake up each morning to bigger, healthier plants.

For people that don't have a lot of land, like apartment dwellers, there is a way that you can still have a garden. The solution is container gardening. Everyone would like to have a little color in their homes and this is the way to achieve it.

Container gardening is more than just adding color and fresh oxygen to your rooms; it is convenient, portable and not very expensive. Use different size containers to add interest, just make sure they are roomy enough for the plants roots to grow. Container gardening is versatile. You can grow small plants in dish like containers or have a huge container for a tree by your entrance. Before you start planting you must come up with a plan. You need to do research on the plants you want to use in your container garden. To be successful you need to know the watering, light, and soil requirements of each plant. You must also consider the amount of room you have for your plants.

Another benefit of container gardening is that you can group the containers together with plants that have diverse needs. Like the moist loving herbs next to a cactus plant. In an outside in-ground garden this would be disastrous.

When starting your container garden, proportion is the key to your success. You wouldn't want to put a small plant in a large container. Although is could live nicely there it would look sad and forlorn. The container must have plenty of room for the roots, with proper PH soil, very good drainage so the plants won't get "wet feet", air circulation and plenty of light. Differentiate between plants that need strong, direct light and those that prefer indirect light. If a plant that needs strong direct light does not get it, the plant will wither and die. On the flip side, if a plant does not like strong direct light and you situate it in that way its foliage will burn.

The backbone of your container garden is the soil that you use for planting. It is never a good idea to bring soil in from the yard. If it is clay it will be to dense in a container and if it is sandy it will drain much too quickly. For your small and medium containers, purchase potting soil from your nursery center. For very large containers you may consider mixing your own soil mix. Talk this over with your nursery center or investigate it on-line and make sure it is a mix each particular plant will thrive with in.

Watering a container garden is a little trickier than your gardens outside. If you tend to be a little neglectful in the watering department many plants can survive this. What plants cannot survive is over-watering. If you keep the plants too wet their roots will rot. If you are a novice at container gardening, invest in an inexpensive device called a water meter. It is a tool that measures moisture in the soil and is very useful for beginners.

Be diligent about checking for pests. Try not to use pesticides that can be harmful to pets and small children. If you find an infected container plant, isolate it immediately and treat it right away. Do not put it back into the grouping until you are sure it is pest free. Here is a very good natural recipe to keep pests at bay:

In a jar, combine 1 teaspoon dishwashing liquid and 1 cup vegetable oil. Shake vigorously. In an empty spray bottle, combine 2 teaspoons of this mixture and 1 cup water. Use at ten-day intervals (or more often if needed) to rid plants of whiteflies, mites, aphids, scales, and other pests.

Container Gardening is fun and can be as easy or complicated as you choose. Just be sure that you know the needs of your individual plants and then you will have years of enjoyment.

Happy Gardening!