HOW TO START A VEGETABLE GARDEN?
Benefits of having a Home Garden
Published on 20/03/2018
Last Updated on 21/03/2018
Submitted by Beryl
Last Updated on 21/03/2018
Submitted by Beryl
Growing vegetables at the back garden of your house saves you lot of money. It also keeps you entertained if you have lot of free time. You also know how to grow veggies successfully and there is no need to worry about the pesticides and other harmful chemicals usually found in vegetables that you buy from vegetable shops. Other benefits of having a home garden are
- Saves you lot of money in grocery shopping
- Effective utilisation of your backyard
- Effective utilisation of household wastes like vegetable peels, fruit skin, egg shells etc.
- Your kids or grandkids learn lot from your farming
- You can get vegetables which are free from pesticides and various insecticides
- You can utilise your free time usefully
- Keeps bushes and unwanted plants away from your backyard
- You know what vegetables and fruits you are eating and how healthy are they
Vegetables that are easy to grow for first time farmers
If you are new to farming and not sure how to start and what to grow, then you can try these vegetables mentioned below as they are very easy to grow. These vegetables are
- Salad leaves- Lettuce
- Spring onions
Selecting a suitable location for your garden
Suitable location is very important for successful farming. Choose a place which receives sunlight atleast few hours a day. The garden should be near to your house, so that its easily accessible and you’ll remember to take care of it everyday. Selecting a place that is too far from your house may not work for some people, as some may be lazy or others may forget to take care of it on daily basis. Select a place that is flat, and the place should be easily accessible by vehicle so that you can bring the necessary mulch and other things easily.
What to do before planting the vegetables?
There are lot of things you need to know before you start planting the vegetables. The place should be made fertile before you plant anything into it. Only plant the vegetables and fruits in a fertile garden soil for better results. You can make the garden soil fertile by adding all the kitchen waste like vegetable and fruit peelings, tea dust, egg shells, water from washing rice, etc. These kitchen waste act as good manure for the garden. You can dig a hole and dump these kitchen waste and cover them with a layer of soil. Alternatively, you can prepare a compost using all these kitchen waste and use that to increase the fertility of your soil. Building Raised beds is a good idea for successful gardening. Try building one or two at the starting and you may build more later based on your needs.
Getting Vegetable seeds from the shop
When getting the vegetable seeds from the shop, you need to consider the climate of your place and know which vegetable grows well in those climatic conditions. Do some research before you buy vegetable seeds as this will save you some money and time. Most of the package contains all the details about the time to sow the seed, how much depth is necessary to plant the seed, what should be the distance between two plants, how much water and sunlight is necessary for that plant and when to harvest etc. You can also read those instructions and have a general idea about the vegetables that you are going to grow.
Planting the vegetables
Once the soil is made fertile, dig some holes preferably in rectangular shape. Plant the seeds as per the instructions given in the seed packet. If the seeds are so nearby, you can thin them when the plant-let grows. Increasing the space between the plants increases the chance to get better vegetables. The distance between two plants vary depends on the type of plant. Water the plants daily and check for its growth. Some plants need some support while they grow as in creepers. Daily inspection of the plant and daily watering are the must for any plant, although there are few exceptions to this.
General Tips to remember
- Start your vegetable farm in a small area first and then you can slowly expand to a larger area. You cannot start a garden overnight.
- Raised beds are found to be more successful. Try building one or two raised beds to start with and then you can add more as you go. Raised beds must not be more than 4m wide.
- Add kitchen wastes and other fertilizers to your soil to make it more fertile. Try to make your own compost as this is very good for the soil.
- Try using locally available materials like stones, woods, etc. to make raised bed or for making fence around your garden.
- Before starting the garden, build a fence around your garden if you have pet animals in your home like dogs, cats or hen. You can also train your dog not to damage the plants.
- You may face some failure at the beginning. Don't get disappointed, have some fun and try again with some new techniques or easy to grow plants
If you are a new farmer, you need to spend more time on learning and taking care of plants on daily basis. As you get more and more experience from the farming techniques, it becomes more easy to grow vegetables. Once you are familiar in growing a vegetable, start trying to plant another new type of vegetable or fruit, as this increases your knowledge in gardening, saves your grocery bill and ultimately makes you feel happy and satisfied. If you like this article, do share this with your friends. If you have any ideas on this topic, do post them in comments section.