Starting a vegetable garden may seem a challenge
So learn the easier ways for starting a vegetable garden step by step.
This page provides an easy summary and access to many important aspects of starting a new vegetable garden with much information provided on this site. Start right, save time later, get better crops and avoid the all too common frustrations of making mistakes early on that could have been avoided;
1. The most important part of starting a vegetable garden is to learn about your site first; - weed cover and species
- soil type, soil condition and depth
- exposure to wind
- tracking of the sun during the day
- experiences of other gardeners locally
2. Next plan your vegetable garden carefully; - orienting it so crop rows catch the sun
- adding some shelter if the site is a bit exposed
- or choose a sheltered sunny site to start with
- and design the best solution to suit your needs, consider using a bed system, and maximise your success of starting a vegetable patch
3. Deciding how you will manage the established weed cover with appropriate weed control is essential when starting a vegetable garden; - either, cut back taller plants to be burnt and cover the ground with a thick tarpaulin for 6 months to kill many weeds by starvation if you have time
- or, carefully spray weeds with a glyphosate based herbicide, following the manufacturers instructions - leave foliage to die back then just dig in short material or cut and remove tall material for composting or burning
- alternatively, you could try to dig out weed material, but with deep rooted perennial weeds you will probably end up with a bigger problem longterm and this is the harder route (no pun intended!)
4. Resolve problems with your vegetable garden soil; - compaction needs removing by either soil loosening or deeper digging
- poor soils (sandy, sticky clay, cloddy) need addition of organic matter which should be spread over the surface in autumn/ winter or mixed in as the soil is dug in to the top 10cm soil
- wet soils will benefit from both the above
- always work soil when moist/ dry - never make things worse by digging or walking on wet soil
- note that ground intended for carrots/ parsnips should NOT have compost/ manure near sowing, only in the previous crop
5. In a well earned rest from cultivating your soil learn more about growing vegetables and you will see some guidance on;
6.Having decided what to grow you now need to decide whether to buy seedlings to plant out, grow your own, or just sow; - buying plants is the quickest and easiest but most expensive - good if you are short on time
- growing your own vegetable plants indoors to transplant later is very satisfying and allows you to start earlier if your garden is cold
- alternatively you can just sow seeds in situ., but they are then exposed to the weather and pests right from the start which can lead to frustration and loss of crops
For peas, beans, curcurbits and tomatoes I find it best to grow these indoors or in a greenhouse, or coldframe and then transplant later when conditions allow and sow/ plant the rest direct into the vegetable garden.
7. Take note of specific instructions on; It is important to get it right to maximise your success in year one so as to encourage a happy future gardening.
8. Speak to other local gardeners, people love to share their experiences, after all we have all had to learn how sometime and this is the easiest way of starting a new vegetable garden and making new friends.
9. Finally, learn how best to water your new plants and vegetable garden both to conserve water, minimise effort and reduce disease growth.
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