Starting A Vegetable Garden

Starting a vegetable garden can be one of the most rewarding things you do in the spring. And it's very easy to start small vegetable gardens in pots or containers, in the ground itself, or using raised garden beds too.

Planning is the first step to starting a vegetable garden, so you'll need to decide how you want to grow your vegetables. If you have a large enough sunny spot outside, you can start a traditional vegetable garden right in the ground.

If you're limited on space though, or you don't have a sunny spot in the yard, you might want to consider starting a container based vegetable garden instead. Container vegetable gardens can be grown indoors, or on a sunny porch or patio.

If you have plenty of space outside but you don't want to have to do all the work of digging up the area, you might want to think about starting a raised vegetable garden instead. These are easier to get started, and sometimes they can help your vegetables to grow better too because the soil warms up faster in a raised garden bed.

Remember when starting a vegetable garden though, that vegetable plants need at least five to six hours of sunlight every day. So factor that into your planning stage.

Once you know where you'll plant your vegetable garden, you'll then need to choose the vegetables you intend to grow. Select vegetables that you and your family like, and keep in mind any space limitations you might have with your vegetable garden growing area. The best choice when first starting a vegetable garden is to select just a few vegetables to start with, so you'll gain some experience without having an overwhelming amount of work to do.

From this point, starting a veggie garden is simply a matter of getting to work. You'll need to first prepare the soil for your vegetable garden. Regardless of whether you plant to plant in the ground itself, into containers and pots, or into raised garden beds, you'll want to use high quality topsoil for your vegetable garden.

If you're planting in the ground, you can simply mix the topsoil into the earth as you're turning it. If you choose containers or raised beds though, you don't have to turn the ground first, you can simply put your topsoil into the container or garden bed.

If your soil is not enriched already, you'll want to add some organic materials or compost to it. Vegetables require soil which is high in vitamins and nutrients, and compost or organic materials add these vitamins without poisoning the soil with chemicals.

The last step involved with starting a vegetable garden is to plant your seeds or starter plants. If you buy starter vegetable plants, they're easy to plant into the ground, garden bed or containers. Simply dig a small hole about the same size as the root ball from your starter plant. Take the plant out of its container gently, place it in the hole, then cover it with soil. Press the soil down firmly but not hard, then water well.

If you're planting seeds, some will be planted in your vegetable garden at the top of a row, or mounds of dirt. Simply poke small holes into the mounds or rows with your finger, then drop a seed or two in. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil and pack it down gently, then gently sprinkle water on top.