If you want to create a garden that’s as beautiful to look at as it is productive, embrace the idea of growing vegetables in a decorative, multiple-part planting within a fenced or walled space. The first step for this is to think outside the box and let your mind wander freely over all the other geometric possibilities. Picture a square one with high trellises or semicircular island beds, or one further divided into pie-wedged beds or even a quartet of rooms.
Growing your own fruit and vegetables is a satisfying way to guarantee that you and your family enjoy healthy produce. Making the most of the space you have available is key to maximizing how much you can grow.
Plan Your Vegetable Garden
The secret to getting the most from your plot is careful planning. By setting out what, when, and where you want to grow in advance, you can ensure that your soil is rarely left bare and there is always something ready to be harvested.
Start by defining your garden’s dimensions, then select and drop into place structures and permanent features such as fences, paths, greenhouses and raised beds – objects can be resized and moved around to accurately reflect your garden’s layout. Use the plant selection bar to select and drag out rows or groups of crops. By taking the time to make a plan you can make sure that every space is filled, leaving little room for weeds and no excuse for unproductive gaps!
Prepare The Soil
Before planting, make sure that you have the soil rich in organic matter and nutrients. If you wish to prepare a soil that was previously a lawn, start in Autumn by mowing the lawn, and covering it with three or four layers of newspaper. Cover the newspaper with a thick layer of straw, and after that, cover it with a thick layer of compost.
By Spring, you will have soil ready for Spring planting, filled with earthworms, and rich in organic matter. Most plants require a soil pH between 6.0 – 6.8, so make sure to test the soil, and to plant limestone to raise pH or add sulfur to lower it.
Rais The Beds
Once you’ve imagined the shape possibilities of your space, consider the dual concepts of “raised” and “multiple” bedding plans as the interior design ideal. Gardeners today find that raised beds heat up faster in spring, adding days (or even weeks) to your growing season. Raised beds allow for far easier soil amendment, too. Build up a bed twelve or eighteen inches above path grade, and you can fill it with the ideal mix of organic topsoil and other amendments.
Beds built no broader than four to five feet, separated by paths, will allow you to reach into the middle of each bed without stepping into it. This keeps you from ranging through your seedlings, compacting the soil, and crushing plants underfoot.
Decide What To Grow
Start small and simple, plant the veggies that you know that your family will eat. Beans, lettuce, tomatoes, and pumpkin are the easiest plants to grow, and starting with those would be a clever move.
Learn about the warm and cold weather vegetables and when to plant them. Choose whether you’ll sow seeds directly in the ground or you will buy seedlings.
Crops that grow best in cool weather are peas, carrots, radishes, beetroot, and spinach. Warm weather veggies are cucumber, beans, pumpkin, and corn. Although these are mostly low-maintenance veggies, learn when to sow them, and how to take care of them.
Maintain Your Garden
Someone said that the best fertilizer for the plants in the shadow of the gardener. Be present in your garden, whether to inspect, weed out, or just to take a walk. Take care of the plants as well as the soil by nourishing it with compost instead of industrial fertilizers.
Provide the sunlight by trimming the trees and look for some handy garden hoses to regularly water the ground. Look for the signs of pests or any other threat and act timely. Also, learn more about your new hobby every day and apply your knowledge.
Planning a garden and making an effort to create it can bring you only good and improve the quality of life. Aside from obvious health benefits, spending time in the garden is relaxing, stress-relieving, and rewarding. It mutes distractions from this hectic urban life and connects us with nature and with our long-forgotten selves.