How To Plant A Vegetable Garden
If you think about having your own vegetable garden where you can pluck them out with your own hand, fresh, ripe, juicy, and full of vitamins and minerals, there is nothing really to compare or even come close to it. The vegetables will taste better and they are much more nutritious than the produce that is grown and shipped and travels long distance.
And many times they are picked green, and they are forced riped in the trucks on the way to some warehouses, before they get to the store shelf. Now, how does that compare with the fruits and vegetables that you can grow in your own little paradise?
For convenience, you probably used to go to the supermarket to buy your fruits and vegetables, but honestly, they just cannot compare with what you can grow and eat raw or cooked from your own garden.
If you never had the experience to create your garden yet, and all you have eaten was the produce from your local supermarket, or from the roadside fruit stand, than you are missing out and you owe it to yourself, to think very seriously to start your garden, if you really want to eat fresh and healthy. It is not really that hard, and it sure is not complicated at all. And once you have it, you'll be glad you did.
Just think of the benefits to be outdoors, in nature, and work in the tranquility of your little paradise. Not withstanding the free exercise you are getting in the process. That's good for your body, mind, and soul.
And you want to do it right. So it is a pretty good idea to make a little plan, and stick to it.
First, choose a good sunny spot, where you don't get too much shade or no shade at all, if possible, and the plot should be free of rocks or debris. But it should be close enough to the house to be able to water with a hose hooked to a spigot, when you need to water if and when it's not raining.
Preparation of the soil:
Preparation of the soil is very important, and your success will very much depend on how you prepare the site. If the soil is clay or sandy and lacks nutrients, it must be amended and enriched with composted matter, like cow manure, organic fertilizer and minerals if needed. To make it even cheaper for next season, collect the leaves and other vegetation, kitchen leftovers, and make your own compost. The humus that the plants strive on. The soil will need nutrients to replace those used and depleted by the vegetables as they feed from the soil.
Now think of what vegetables would you like to grow, something you enjoy eating the most. So, buy the seeds for the vegetables you choose, and go from there. It could be an endless list, but just a few examples would be; tomatoes, bell peppers, hot peppers, squash, radish, carrots, spinach, cucumbers, cabbage, lettuce, onions (sets). Maybe a few herbs to spice up your cooking with, like, dill, parsley, oregano, basil, fennel, arugula, rosemary, cilantro, etc. It all depends on how much space you have, and how large a garden you want to have. Herb plants don't take too much room, and they are fun to grow. Just think of that nice aroma they so freely give, in exchange of just a little LTC. Loving Tender Care.
To have a good and early start with your garden, start your seeds indoors, and plant the transplants after the danger of late frost is past. It depends on where you live. One of the best methods would be to start the seeds in little peat pots, like the Jiffy-pots, so that when you plant the little plants outside you plant them with the Jiffy pot, thus not disturbing the tender roots of the transplants. If you prefer, you can plant the seeds directly in rows, according to the instructions on the seed packets.
Plant the plants according to their size, and group them together. The low growing ones, should be separate from the tall growing ones, as to not block the sun light from reaching evenly on all the plants.
Water well and keep the soil moist. Don't let the soil dry completely out between watering, nor keep it too soggy either.
Once they started to grow, you can water them good, and then leave them alone and give them a chance to drink and feed. Water again before the soil dries out completely.
Now sit and relax on a bench, somewhere in the shade, and watch how the little seeds sprout out of the soil. It is very rewarding to see, as the hard part of gardening is pretty much over, except that now and then watch for them pesky weeds to pluck them out, and don't let them invade your little paradise. Wait patiently for the time when you take out of your garden, with your own hand, and enjoy those healthy, juicy vegetables. It is simply wonderful.
A lot more information is coming periodically, through related Gardening Articles. So please, leave a comment and help me improve the quality of service I'm providing to you, my fellow gardeners, freely. Your following me on this blog, as well as linking to it, is highly appreciated.
This Article was written by Mike Borlovan
Friday, July 30, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Garden Like A Pro with modest means
Gardening like a professional with modest means.
You don't really have to be a professional gardener to grow quality, vibrant, healthy and full of life vegetables. You need a desire to learn, to experiment, and apply in practice what you've learned.
Mather nature is so rich, and so freely giving, that we could never exhaust her of the never ending resources she has. The only thing we need to learn is how to receive and take from her, as long as we do not try to destroy her.
And we need to give some of it back, by composting the leftovers, and help the soil to get fertile again, through natural means.
Sometimes the plot we intend to grow our vegetables in, is depleted of the best nutrients it used to offer. The first impulse would be to apply some chemically based fertilizer, but that's obviously not the best solution.
The land is so over fertilized in the lands where the produce is grown, and we purchase it from the supermarket shelf, they are hardly safe to eat anymore. You don't know what kind and how much fertilizer and pesticides was used to increase their bottom line for their productivity!
So what are we going to do? We have to eat fruits and vegetables, we've got to feed our families. But thank God there is an alternative to it: start your own Garden and grow your own fruits and vegetables, if you don't have one already. That's the smart thing to do. Especially today, when most of our produce is coming from imports, and we don't have a clue how were they grown!
We don't need to poison our bodies with chemical fertilizers and pesticides, that we don't even have any idea how much was there applied. We don't know how was the produce handled.
In my humble opinion, the best way to make the soil fertile is through natural means. Let's think of the forest, where the trees have grown and survived for hundreds of years. They even survived fires, and revived again stronger then before. Why?
Because of it's ability to replenish the nutrients by its natural means, without the intervention of the humans. The trees are dropping the dead limbs, and the leaves that decompose, and turns back into the soil, with the help of rain, wind, sun, heat, and our little invisible friends, the micro organisms that feed on them, and thus turn the decaying leaves into humus. That's exactly what the plants need to continue the cycle of life. Humus.
And that's exactly what we should do for the soil in our own garden. Collect the leaves from one year to another, have a pile in a corner of the garden, and let it decay. Just turn it now and then with a pitch fork, and you'll have the best natural fertilizer possible. For Free!
A lot of people are burning the leaves. Well, if they don't have a garden it's OK, I guess. But if they do have a garden, and they burn the leaves, and then they go to the supply store to buy that expensive chemical fertilizer, in my opinion that is a mistake. But, hey, who knows, maybe they have money to burn!
As for you folks, who are passionate about gardening and save the leaves, that's like money in your pocket, as well as prime quality fruits and vegetables, much safer to eat, than a lot of other people who maybe do not care.
If you have also access to some cow manure, that's perfect. But the leaves are the cheapest and smart way to make your own compost.
Now there are a lot of ways to make your own compost, of course, food leftovers, sea grass, seaweeds, ground oyster shells, peanut hulls, grass clippings, etc, etc, etc. I don't doubt that. But what I'm saying is that the leaves are the cheapest and the most readily available for almost anyone.
Spread your compost on top of the soil, till it in and reap the benefits of an abundant crop of fresh, vibrant, healthy, and happy fruits and vegetables of your own garden.
Create your own paradise and live smart and well.
Until next time,
Happy Gardening!
You don't really have to be a professional gardener to grow quality, vibrant, healthy and full of life vegetables. You need a desire to learn, to experiment, and apply in practice what you've learned.
Mather nature is so rich, and so freely giving, that we could never exhaust her of the never ending resources she has. The only thing we need to learn is how to receive and take from her, as long as we do not try to destroy her.
And we need to give some of it back, by composting the leftovers, and help the soil to get fertile again, through natural means.
Sometimes the plot we intend to grow our vegetables in, is depleted of the best nutrients it used to offer. The first impulse would be to apply some chemically based fertilizer, but that's obviously not the best solution.
The land is so over fertilized in the lands where the produce is grown, and we purchase it from the supermarket shelf, they are hardly safe to eat anymore. You don't know what kind and how much fertilizer and pesticides was used to increase their bottom line for their productivity!
So what are we going to do? We have to eat fruits and vegetables, we've got to feed our families. But thank God there is an alternative to it: start your own Garden and grow your own fruits and vegetables, if you don't have one already. That's the smart thing to do. Especially today, when most of our produce is coming from imports, and we don't have a clue how were they grown!
We don't need to poison our bodies with chemical fertilizers and pesticides, that we don't even have any idea how much was there applied. We don't know how was the produce handled.
In my humble opinion, the best way to make the soil fertile is through natural means. Let's think of the forest, where the trees have grown and survived for hundreds of years. They even survived fires, and revived again stronger then before. Why?
Because of it's ability to replenish the nutrients by its natural means, without the intervention of the humans. The trees are dropping the dead limbs, and the leaves that decompose, and turns back into the soil, with the help of rain, wind, sun, heat, and our little invisible friends, the micro organisms that feed on them, and thus turn the decaying leaves into humus. That's exactly what the plants need to continue the cycle of life. Humus.
And that's exactly what we should do for the soil in our own garden. Collect the leaves from one year to another, have a pile in a corner of the garden, and let it decay. Just turn it now and then with a pitch fork, and you'll have the best natural fertilizer possible. For Free!
A lot of people are burning the leaves. Well, if they don't have a garden it's OK, I guess. But if they do have a garden, and they burn the leaves, and then they go to the supply store to buy that expensive chemical fertilizer, in my opinion that is a mistake. But, hey, who knows, maybe they have money to burn!
As for you folks, who are passionate about gardening and save the leaves, that's like money in your pocket, as well as prime quality fruits and vegetables, much safer to eat, than a lot of other people who maybe do not care.
If you have also access to some cow manure, that's perfect. But the leaves are the cheapest and smart way to make your own compost.
Now there are a lot of ways to make your own compost, of course, food leftovers, sea grass, seaweeds, ground oyster shells, peanut hulls, grass clippings, etc, etc, etc. I don't doubt that. But what I'm saying is that the leaves are the cheapest and the most readily available for almost anyone.
Spread your compost on top of the soil, till it in and reap the benefits of an abundant crop of fresh, vibrant, healthy, and happy fruits and vegetables of your own garden.
Create your own paradise and live smart and well.
Until next time,
Happy Gardening!
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