Do you know how to grow vegetables or have you ever thought of having your own veggie gardens that produces high yields? Well, you can do it. Growing vegetables simply demands devotion. I know it feels overwhelming especially if you are a beginner. But there is no need to worry though, I’m here to spoon feed you with the best advice. With these techniques, anyone can significantly improve their garden in almost no time at all.
In this post, I would like to share with you the best tips for how to grow vegetables at home. I’ll help you to prepare your space to grow and reap high-yields.
Nothing Beats Quality Soil
The key to a healthy and productive vegtable gardens lies in healthy and organically rich soil. In order to have an idea of your soil fertility and pH, you need to do a soil test. It is important to know that so you will b e aware of the type of fertilizers or amendments that will get your soil up to par.
Building up a layer of fertile soil to make raised beds is also highly recommended. It’s a good way to encourage the roots to easily reach out to nutrients and water. Most gardeners rely on compost, well-composted animal manures, and organic fertilizers.
Keep in mind that composts need a bit of time to integrate and stabilize in the soil. I’d recommend applying a minimum of two weeks prior to planting. You can easily quadruple your soil’s water storing ability with a simple five percent compost increase.
Note: Many novice gardeners overlook the fact that a compost won’t produce well if crowded. If you cram it too much, you will reap a much smaller harvest.
How to plant a vegetable garden: Watering, weeding, and feeding
This seems pretty obvious, but new gardeners might not know when or what’s the amount of water needed on a certain plant. Newly seeded beds need to be frequently watered. Whereas the most established crops can do fine with an inch or two each week. Watering during the early morning hours has great benefits too. Furthermore, the best way of conserving water is to reduce irrigation. Also mulch your soil with several inches of straw and shredded leaves. Mulch suppresses weed which is a crucial side benefit. Fertile soils reduce the need for fertilizers, and they are best for fast-growing crops like radishes and lettuce.
Tomatoes and eggplants, for example, are long term plants that will need a boost several times over their growing season. They need an occasional dose of water-soluble organic food which supports and encourages growth and a big harvest.
The Nature of Organisms
Some bugs aren’t enemies of your plants. For example, bees, ladybugs, butterflies and many more. They boost crop pollination. Therefore attracting them to your garden isn’t such a bad idea. To achieve this, include some insect-friendly plants such as sunflowers between your veggies and herbs.
The earthworms are of high importance in your garden. They benefit it by increasing air space and leaving behind worm castings.
On the other hand some insects are enemies of vegetables. They target especially over-ripe vegetables. So try your best to always remove them before they are detected. Furthermore, they are also capable of spreading diseases.
No need to plant all types of vegetables
For your first vegetable garden, fight the temptation to grow every type of vegetable you get on your hands. I’d highly recommend you to pick 3 to 4 types of vegetables to start up with. And make sure you research and grow plants that are suitable to your region.
Also remember to check on how long will it takes for a plant to be mature. This information is usually on each packet or label. It helps you to know if you have enough time to wait for the plant’s future maturity.
Then try boosting your yield with succession (or companion) planting. You maybe wondering on how to do it. Well, after harvesting your initial crops, follow up with planting a second one. For example, you can follow up spring lettuce with summer beans.
This method comes with many benefits. It allows you to stretch your harvest season. Some plants fill up nutrients that were lost by the previous one. It keeps the pests away.
No Light, No Harvest
Most veggies that bear fruit need a lot of sun. Tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers for example. It is ideal to place them on a site that receives direct sunlight for at least 8 hours per day. In areas with lots of shade, you can still grow some edibles; mainly leafy crops and herbs.
Think Big, Start Small
It’s not always necessary to go big with home vegetable gardens, you can harvest enough from a small area. I’d suggest sticking to a small portion of land for the first couple of years. My recommendation would be a 4 by 8-foot bed for starters. It’s small but enough to grow a handful of crops.
You can also try planting container friendly veggies and herbs in pots or windows-boxes on a sunny deck.
Conclusion
Harvesting half a ton of tasty vegetables from a 15 by 20-foot plot is very possible. And so is harvesting 100 pounds of tomatoes from a 100 square feet area. Or even a 20-pound carrot harvest from an area as small as 24 square feet. Sounds hard but, if done well, you will achieve better results of yields.
Your secret weapons are to plan and apply those strategy, prepped soil and choosing your plants accordingly. It also encourage root growth for stronger and healthier plants by raising your beds. And you will enjoy the feel of flavor and texture of veggies from your own yard.
You can’t compare home-grown vegetables to anything bought at the store. Besides, the store costs are slowly and constantly escalating nowadays. So, if you carefully follow these vegetable garden tips, you’ll surely succeed without a doubt. Go for it. And happy gardening to you!
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