Vegetable Gardening
William Brister
Planting and starting a vegetable garden is exciting, especially when your hard work and labour are rewarded with mouth watering results. It is as essential to design and plan the space for the vegetable garden as it is for your front lawn. You could construct the vegetable garden in a sunny spot at one end of your lot in clear view of your driveway or have it accessed from the patio through an elaborate pathway so that it immediately catches the eye. Understanding the basics of vegetable gardening can help immensely in creating a verdant and healthy environment.
Some vegetable gardening tips on how to start a vegetable gardenIt is important to first determine how large an area you have to build your vegetable garden. You can then decide what vegetables you would like to grow. A properly planned layout of your vegetable garden with good planting techniques will produce more from less space, using less water.
Cordoning off the vegetable garden with a picket fence, trellis or a low wall can look ornamental as well as decorative. Flowering vines and creepers can drape these and make your vegetable garden look grander. While flowering plants and trees add colour and beauty around the corners, they also serve to be an effective backdrop for plants like zucchini, pumpkin, okra, artichoke, tomatoes and herb boxes.
In vegetable gardening cucumbers, melons, peppers and lettuce also turn out to be good investments when planted young. If you are going to plant seeds in your vegetable garden, the most commonly used are corn, beets, radishes, parsnips, squash, potatoes, beans, peas, flowers, pumpkins, carrots, sunflowers, chard, and onions.
Soil for planting vegetables should be moist, well-draining and free of big pebbles. With an ideal pH balance of 6.5, the soil must be enriched with compost, organic manure or peat. The subsoil should not be too sandy, clayey or hard. You may need to add sulfur or lime to adjust the pH if it is not in the correct amount.
There are a few vegetable gardening basics that must be adhered to especially while starting your first vegetable garden. When transplanting, seedlings have to be thinned to ensure healthy growth of strong plants. Row planting of seedlings is ideal for most vegetables. While some vegetables like sweet corn can be planted in square or rectangular spaces, leafy vegetables are better sown in drills and then replanted. Ensure that you sow the seeds keeping in mind the correct depths and spacing requirements. While liquid fertilizers are essential during growth, mulching the site will help contain weeds. Adequate pest control measures against the flea beetle, flies, aphids, caterpillars and fungus pests should be taken to keep your vegetable garden looking fresh and healthy. Water everything thoroughly and keep the seed areas moist until they germinate and start growing. Rotation of crops is recommended every three years, if the same site is used over and over again to grow vegetables.
William Brister – http://www.beautifulgardens.tv – Practical Gardening Tips
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