Stephen Albert
Starting a vegetable garden can be fun and an inexpensive way to bring healthy food to your kitchen table. But it can be overwhelming if you don’t know where to start.
The secret to getting started vegetable gardening is to take a little time to make a plan. Take a look at your yard or patio or front stoop; think about what you’d like to grow; talk to the staff at a local nursery or garden center; talk to friends and neighbors with experience, and visit Harvest to Table and other websites dedicated to growing healthy food.
Don’t plan to do too much at first, but plan to have fun. Vegetable gardening is something you can do as a family or a great way to spend time alone enjoying nature.
Basic Steps for Starting a Vegetable Garden
1. Visit nearby vegetable gardens and see what your friends and neighbors are growing. Visit a community garden and see what vegetable gardeners in your neighborhood and town are growing. You will see vegetables and small fruits that are easy to grow, and probably get some great ideas on how to plant a garden. This article will be helpful: Vegetable Garden Planning.
2. Visit online sites like Harvest to Table. Visit the Topics Index at Harvest to Table and look up specific growing requirements and recommendations. You will find lists of easy-to-grow crops and what you will need and how to grow your vegetable garden step by step.
3. Visit a nearby garden center or nursery. See what kinds of vegetable seedlings and seeds are available. Seed packets and plant labels usually have good growing information—the number of days the vegetable requires to reach harvest and how to plant it. Ask questions; garden center and nursery staffers are happy to answer questions and can recommend specific crops for your area. This article will be helpful: Vegetable Crops for Beginning Gardeners.
4. Make a list of the vegetables and small fruits that you and your family or the people in your household like to eat. Which vegetables are your favorites? These are the crops you will want to grow first. Here are ten easy-to-grow vegetables (click on the crop you want to grow): beans, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, leaf lettuce, onions, Swiss chard, radishes, spinach, and tomatoes.
5. Make a sketch or diagram of the area where you want to grow your vegetables. Graph paper is an easy way to diagram the planting bed where you want to grow vegetables this season or map a larger area where you’d like to garden over a period of time. Pencil in the different crops you want to grow. Note the hours of sun that will shine on your garden and the time of day when the garden is in shade. Note how large plants will be at mature size. This article will be helpful Vegetable Garden Calendar and Map Keeping.
6. Share your plan with a friend who gardens—their experience will be very helpful. But, in the end, this is your plan and your garden. Grow a garden that pleases you—this is key!
7. Putting a shovel or trowel in the soil is your first step to actually growing vegetables. A local garden center or nursery will have everything you need to grow vegetables: shovel, rake, hose, soil amendments, seeds and vegetable seedlings. For your first vegetable garden, don’t buy more than you can get planted in a day or two. This article will be helpful: No Dig and Light Dig Vegetable Garden Preparation.
8. Once your seeds or seedlings are in the ground, water will be very important. Water just enough to keep the roots of your vegetables moist—this may mean watering every day in hot weather or a couple times a week in warm weather. Follow the advice on seed packets and plant labels, ask neighbors and friends for advice, and visit Harvest to Table often for growing and harvest tips. These articles will be helpful: Vegetable Watering Tips and Vegetable Harvest Times.
