Vegetable Gardens
Are Very Productive
Most vegetable gardens, often also called kitchen gardens, will be located in the backyard toward the side of their property where it will receive the most sunlight. Ideally it should have a fence around it to keep the deer, groundhogs and armadillos in the south out. If can be very discouraging to go out to your vegetable garden one day and find that almost everything has been eaten by the local wildlife.
A good size to start off with would be 75 to 100 square feet. This is a reasonable amount of space to get started. Prepare the area, removing large rocks and adding organic material to improve the soil so it will drain properly. Sandy soil will drain too quickly and dry out and heavy clay soil will hold too much water. Heavy clay soil is also too dense which makes it hard for the vegetable roots to grow.
Annual Vegetable Garden
Many vegetables need at least six to 8-hours of full sunlight. Most of the vegetables we grow are annuals, which grow for only one season.
The sunniest spots in your vegetable garden are where you will plant tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, eggplant, summer squash, winter squash, radishes, beans, peas, peppers, potatoes, corn and other warm weather crops.
The summer squashes such as zucchini, and yellow squash are top favorites with gardeners. They are called summer squash because they are eaten in the immature stage when the skin is still soft and the seeds are very soft and small. Picking the young squash will encourage the plant to produce more squash.
Winter squashes such as acorn squash, butternut squash, pumpkin and spaghetti squash are also favorites with gardeners. These are called winter squash because they are left on the vine and harvested when the squash is fully grown and mature. At this point the rind becomes very hard and the flesh color ranges from yellow to orange and the inside becomes hollow with hard fully formed seeds. Typically the winter squashes do not produce as much as the summer squashes, but the hard protective skin allows it to store very well over the winter for many months.
The spots in your vegetable garden that get a bit of shade are where you can plant broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, lettuce, radish, spinach, Swiss chard, and other cool weather crops.
The proper location and the right plant in the right place will insure successful results. Plants require the proper amount of sunlight. Some plants require full sun while others will tolerate some shade.
A small area for growing herbs will be an important addition to your garden. Fresh picked herbs add so much flavor and nutrition to your everyday salads and cooking. You may find yourself in your garden every day picking several vegetables and some herbs for your daily salad.
Perennial Vegetables and Herbs
It is worthwhile setting aside a portion of your vegetable garden for planting some perennial vegetables and herbs. Select the location carefully because the perennials will be in that location for many years. The location should get full sun and could be located off to one side of your annuals or even split and placed with some on the left and others on the right side.
Some perennial vegetables and fruits to consider planting are; asparagus, blackberries, blueberries, currents, gooseberries, raspberries, rhubarb, strawberries, and wineberries. The vining raspberry, blackberry and wineberry plants might be best put in another area due to the thorny vines. The taste and flavor of fresh picked berries far surpasses anything found in a store.
Some perennial herbs are; chives, horseradish, sage, mint and fennel. For more information on herbs click on the herb garden page.
Getting Started
If you are just getting started with your first vegetable garden do not make the mistake of trying to do too much at once. If you are too ambitious and try to do too much it becomes work and the results will be disappointing.
Put a little thought into what you want to grow and start small. Many gardeners start off with a few tomato plants. The next year they may add lettuce, peas, beans, cucumbers, peppers, summer squash and winter squash. If you want to grow some herbs then parsley, basil and dill can be added without taking up too much room.
It is very easy to go into a garden center with a lot of enthusiasm and pick up several 6-packs of tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, eggplant and zucchini.
Realistically 12-tomato plants on stakes need about 2-square feet of space each, plus an aisle between them to prune and tie them to stakes. Ideally that is about 100-square feet of space.
Cauliflower, broccoli, eggplant and peppers can be planted closer together, but squashes are vines and will take over your vegetable garden and can crowd out other plants. The plants will produce long runners with many attractive male and female yellow flowers. Many people will be amazed at how much fruit one plant can produce, so much so that a hidden zucchini may be 2-feet long, instead of the preferred 8 to 10-inches long.
Growing Vegetables from Seed
In the spring when you visit a garden center, grocery store or even a hardware store you will be greeted by large seed displays. There will be rows and rows of seed packets of flowers and vegetables.
Some of the easiest vegetables to grow from seed are: beans, beets, carrots, cilantro, cucumbers, dill, kale, lettuce, peas, pumpkins, radishes, spinach, squash, Swiss chard and Zucchini. These are usually directly sown in your garden after the last frost is expected in your area.
Some seeds such as tomato and parsley will do best if you start them indoors in a seed starting tray.
Do not be afraid to experiment with planting different vegetables each year and trying different locations. Keep good garden records taking note of which vegetables do well and those that do not. Your records will also assist you in deciding which vegetables you want to plant more of and those you do not want to plant next year.
You may think of some plants as weeds, but do not overlook planting some nutritious dandelion or purslane in your garden. These will grow in very poor soil.
For more detailed information visit the seed starting page.
Sources: Seeds Now, Burpee, Park Seed.
Garden thoughts:
“We may think that we are nurturing our garden,
but of course, it’s our garden that is really nurturing us.”
- Jenny Uglow
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