You don’t have to live in the country to reap a bounty of vegetables. Growing things in your backyard isn’t that hard, and anyone can have a productive vegetable garden if they follow a few rules. Growing your own vegetable garden is both a relaxing and rewarding experience.
For example, some close friends from West Virginia, canned 50 quarts of tomatoes, 12 quarts of pickles, and froze enough peppers and onions to last the summer and most of the winter. And all of this came from a backyard vegetable garden that measured 20 by 20 feet!
Starting with your own vegetable garden
If considering such a feat of your own, one of the first things you should do is determine where you’re going to place your garden. Try to keep the garden as close to your house as possible.
Second, know the needs of your family, their likes and dislikes, and the amount of time you’ll have to spend in the garden. It is better that you do a good job with a small garden than a poor job with a large garden.
The site of your garden must include plenty of sunlight, good air circulation, a windbreak if the area you live in is constantly windy, be at a distance from trees or large shrubs, and have good soil structure.
Then with a pencil and paper, sit down and make a sketch of your garden according to this information.
After having selected a site, have a sample of the soil sent to a soil laboratory for analysis. Your county agriculture department or local garden center can assist you in this project. The soil varies widely in different parts of the country, and this analysis will tell how much fertilizer, nutrients, and lime you’ll need to add to the soil and the pH factor. Another alternative would be to buy your own soil pH tester and test the soil whenever you feel is necessary to do so.
Soil pH and its importance to your vegetable garden
The pH of a soil indicates the degree of acidity and alkalinity. Most plants grow best in a pH range of 5.5 to 7.0. But there are some plants that grow best in a low pH or a high pH. Plants that do well in acid soil are blueberries, sweet potatoes, and potatoes. Plants that take to an alkaline soil are asparagus, onions, lettuce, and peas.
To change the soil, for the benefit of those plants that grow best in that soil, add lime or sulfur. Adding lime increases the pH by reducing the soil acidity. Adding sulfur will increase the soil acidity, reducing the pH.
When the results of the test come back, spread the fertilizer, chemical nutrients, manure (cow manure is best) and whatever else is needed over the garden area at the recommended rate and mix well with the topsoil as you prepare the ground for planting.
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When mixing the soil, drive the spade down to its full length and turn the dirt. Work at a steady pace, and treat the soil as though the dirt were a living substance — because the soil is!
Don’t work the soil when wet, and don’t dig when the ground is frost covered. Burying frosty soil means it will take longer for the soil to warm up.
When the soil is dark black, pick up a handful of the soil and learn to know the feel of it. Make a ball of the soil in your hand, and the dirt should crumble under its own weight, not stick to your fingers. Squeezing the soil between your fingers should make the dirt smear.
Starting plants for your vegetable garden
Whether you start your plants from seed or buy them in their early stage of growth, it is best that you grow the plants indoors, waiting for the right time to put the plants in the soil of your garden. Growing plants indoors, waiting for the spring frost to subside, is a fascinating form of farming. Keep in mind that since growing space is limited, container-grown vegetables need more feeding and more water than when growing in open ground in the garden.
Ideally, the best places to grow such plants are in a greenhouse, a hot-bed or cold frame, but if you don’t have any of these, you can still grow your plants indoors.
After making sure the soil in the pots is well fed with nutrients, plenty of water is available, and each seed or plant is placed in the right sized pot, the next thing to worry about is sunlight.
Placing the pots near a large window that faces the sun most of the day is very helpful. Make sure the window is not shaded by a large tree.
A cool, white fluorescent lamp or a led lamp designed for plant growing hanging from the ceiling, is another light source for the plants. Leave the light on during the better part of the day, and turn the light off when it’s dark outside, adjusting the plants to the rising and setting of the sun.
If you do construct a chamber for growing plants indoors, the surfaces of the inside chamber should be painted white or at least made of reflective material to increase the light available.
Gradually, take the potted plants outside, during the warm part of the day, to adjust them to the environment. This procedure will prevent the plants from going into shock and dying.
When the plants are stocky, having developed a good color, are disease-free, and the last of the spring frosts are over at least according to the weather station (keep an open mind in any case), the plants are ready for transplanting in the garden. Peat pots are the best kind of pots to use for starting and growing indoor plants in because when the plant is ready for transplanting, you simply put both pot and plant in the soil.
Transplanting Done
Once the plants have been transplanted, it doesn’t mean you can now sit back and collect the vegetables as they grow. It means you now have to water the garden, watch the weather, provide the plants with supports, spread mulch, and check for pests.
When putting the potted plants into the soil, don’t just place the plants wherever you want. Put them in some kind of specific order, and label the supports, holding the plants, with the name of the variety.
When the plants and plant supports (bamboo staffs were very popular, but now there are cheaper alternatives) are in the ground, the next best thing to do is spread mulch. Mulch is a material that is laid on the surface of the soil and around the base of the plants to retain moisture, prevent quick evaporation of water, maintain an even soil temperature, and control weeds. The mulch should be about six inches deep.
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Some of the best mulches to use are leaves, lawn clippings, fresh sawdust, fine wood shavings, pine needles, straw, ground corn cobs, and shredded tobacco. Replace the mulch as often as needed. When a weed comes up through the mulch, simply pull the weed out by hand.
Watering your vegetable garden
Water is the key ingredient when you want good tasting, tender vegetables. With water, the basic goal is to provide enough moisture to the soil so the plant roots can absorb what they need. If drought is a problem, mulches will keep what water there is in the soil, slowing down evaporation. Check your garden daily for water needs.
Dig down into the soil about six to eight inches and feel the soil. If the soil is warm and dry, water the ground. But if the soil is cool and moist, your plants are okay for the next day or two. A good hose with a spray nozzle and a watering can are the watering items you’ll need for a small garden.
Keep an eye on your garden
As the plants grow, you must learn to follow the weather. When a late frost is expected, use plastic bags that are large enough to cover the plants. Secure the plastic bag at the base of the plant.
Develop the habit of observing your garden daily. This will help you in protecting your garden. And in no time at all, you’ll soon learn what kind of pests there are in your area.
A high, closely woven fence is sufficient to keep out most animals. A fence can serve as a trellis. For the rodents that burrow underground, you can use traps, poison bait, or place repellents in their runs.
To prevent insect damage in the garden, use insecticides, and read the instructions. Only certain kinds of insects are killed by certain kinds of chemicals. I also recommend making your own organic insect repellent or use companion planting, if possible.
But before you decide what you’re going to do about these bugs, try to identify the insect. Some insects are helpful in the garden, and to kill these insects would be a big harm to your garden. The lady beetle, the lacewing, the ambush bug, the praying mantis, and some spiders are good predators.
With more than half of the 1,400 species of North American birds having a diet consisting of insects, you’ll soon learn that birds are just as valuable as those “good” insects. Generally, birds will feed on insects when they are plentiful in summer and resort to other foodstuffs if they find the supply of bugs running short. To attract birds to your garden, keep a bird feeder filled with bird feed. Make sure you get a bird feeder that is squirrel-proof
Disease Resistance
It is very helpful if you are able to plant plants that are resistant to diseases, but that is not always possible.
For plant diseases, look for such things as rotting, wilting, scabs, spots and blotches and discoloration. When a plant becomes diseased, simply pull the plant, roots and all, from the soil and dispose of properly.
If you’re going to use an aerosol spray, don’t spray too close. Keep the can at least a foot away from the plant, or the chill of the aerosol propellant may damage the plant. Whatever it is you do about these plants, be concerned about it, and seek help from others if you don’t know exactly what to do.
When the vegetables start growing, and you start picking the vegetables to eat, wash the picked vegetables with clean, cold water.
This practice of “good hygiene” is a must if you are to protect the health of your family — especially if you have used insecticides.
In a small garden, a path between the plants isn’t necessary, not as long as the plants are properly spaced. But as you make your garden bigger, you might want to include a path. A path will allow you to have access anywhere in your garden with ease.
Basic tools for your vegetable garden
As you work in your garden more and more, you’ll find the tools that you’ll need to get the job you want to be done. When looking for hand tools, get the best tools available. These kinds of tools will last you a long time. Pick the tools that are right for your size, and they’ll be more pleasant to work with.
Clean and dry the tools after using them, sharpen the edge of the spade or hoe, wipe the metal parts with an oily rag and place them in a storage area.
The tools you should start with are the spade, hoe, rake, pitchfork, a sharp pocketknife, watering can, twine, and hand sprayer. When working with the tools, be careful.
The end of the growing season doesn’t mean it’s time to forget about the garden, but to prepare the garden for next season. After removing the plant supports from the garden and the string that served as a trellis, there are a number of things you should do. Mix the remaining crop residue with the soil as well as the compost. Compost is unused vegetable waste, barnyard manure, leaves, and grass clippings, and is collected during the growing season.
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A large plastic trash bag can be used for the collecting of compost. When filling the bag, add a little water every now and then to keep the material moist. Tie the bag and turn every few weeks to move the moisture back and forth.
Once the soil has been tilled, spread a layer of mulch, about six inches deep, over the soil. The mulch will keep the ground warm during the cold season. When it’s time for the next growing season, just mix the mulch, compost, and soil together, and you’ll find the ground just right for growing. Occasionally, check your garden during the winter months, making sure everything is okay.
Concluding
Since the era of the Victory Gardens during World War II, the backyard vegetable garden has been on the rise. And with every garden I work in, I enjoy the results: tasty, healthy vegetables whenever my family, my friends, and I want them.
Useful resources to check out:
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