Vegetable Gardens

Starting your own vegetable garden can seem like a huge task. Hours can be spent researching the best plants to buy, how to plant them, and then the labor of actually planting them. It almost seems easier to just go to your local super market and purchase your veggies there. However, these can have harmful pesticides and typically these veggies do not have bountiful “lineages”. Several agents and staff at Vincent Properties grow their own gardens. Here are some of their tips to have a fruitful garden without too much hassle. You will be having garden fresh salads and good ole ‘mater sandwiches before you know it! 

Starting Out

Raised beds, though they can be costly in the beginning, are one of the best ways to start a garden.  This will insure you have quality dirt and nutrients to generate your plants plus it keeps your yard looking organized. Older and have problems with back pain? Then super raise your beds for easy access! Work smart not hard.

Compost needs time to integrate and stabilize in the soil. Apply two to three weeks prior to planting. OR! Lay your fertilizer in the fall after you harvest, then prior to the first frost mulch the bed with a tiller or by hand. Cover with hay to let mother nature do the work for you over Winter and be ready to go in the Spring. 

Insects can’t stand plants such as garlic, onions, chives and chrysanthemums. Grow these plants around the garden to help repel insects.

Paint the handles of your gardens tools a bright, color other than green to help you find them among your plants. A mailbox is a creative way to have easy tool storage inside your garden.

Plants will do best if they are well suited to your growing area. Take some time to read up and choose plants accordingly.

Eden Brothers is a wonderful online seed company that specializes in heirloom vegetables, herbs and flowers. When using their site, they have a very user friendly chart to show you which plants will grow best in your area.

For “easy peas-y” vegetables , start them indoors. The germination rate is far better, and the seedlings will be healthier to better fight off pests and disease. Start the seeds in a small cup and place in a sunny window

 

Maintaining

Garden vegetables that become over-ripe are an easy target for some pests. Remove them as soon as possible to avoid detection.

Milk jugs, soda bottles and other plastic containers make great mini-covers to place over your plants and protect them from frost.

Do what you can to encourage earthworms in your soil, it lets you know that the dirt is providing good nutrients to your plants. Dig a hole and count the worms, if there aren’t many, then check out  this article to help attract more.

Keep garden vegetables from getting dirty by spreading a 1-2 inch layer of mulch (untreated by pesticides or fertilizers) around each plant. This will also help keep the weeds down. 

Water your garden in the early morning to conserve moisture loss and to help avoid powdery mildew and other fungal diseases that are often spread by high humidity levels.

Over watering is worse than under watering!! It is easier to revive a dry plant than try to dry out drowned roots.

 

Starting your own vegetable garden doesn’t have to be a summer long task that you dread. The best way to avoid the frustration and aggravation is to do your research. Once you have the knowledge and necessary tools, you are capable of building a full and healthy vegetable garden that will serve you well.

Other sources: https://www.planetnatural.com/vegetable-gardening-guru/tips/