Ellen Bell asked:


If you’re one of the many Americans who will be cultivating a vegetable garden this year, one of the first decisions you’ll have to make is whether to grow your plants from seed or purchase transplants from a nursery.  In this article, we’ll explore the pros and cons to both methods, and we’ll provide a basic how to guide for starting your own plants from seed.

There are two primary deciding factors in whether to start plants from seed.  The first is time.  Starting seeds certainly requires a larger investment in time and effort than purchasing transplants.  However, the knowledge that you have grown the plants yourself from their very inception is also quite rewarding.  The other primary consideration is cost.  Seeds are far more economical to purchase than young plants.  A packet of 50 or more seeds might cost you a few dollars.  Transplants, on the other hand, will cost you that same amount per plant.  In short, if you have the time and the inclination, growing your own plants from seed is a very rewarding and economical way to start a vegetable garden.

Most gardening experts will agree that the best method of starting seeds is in a greenhouse.  Greenhouses provide optimal conditions for germination and growing: long warm days and ample sunlight during times of year when it is still to cold to even consider planting outside.   Many hobby greenhouses also feature auto venting systems that help regulate the inside temperature.

If you’re not ready to invest in a large outdoor greenhouse, consider a smaller portable unit that can sit on a deck or patio.  There are also small indoor greenhouses available that occupy no more space than a shelf or tabletop, and these are ideal for the urban gardener who is limited on space.
It is possible, though sometimes more challenging, to start seeds indoors without the aid of a greenhouse.  A large sunny window facing south is ideal.  If you don’t have such a location, consider purchasing fluorescent light fixtures with full spectrum grow lights.  These can be suspended a few inches over young plants and set on timers to provide the necessary 14 hours of light per day.  Ideally, the daytime temperature should be approximately 75 degrees Fahrenheit and the nighttime temperature around 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit.  If plants are in warmer temperatures all day and night, they will grow tall and soft, rather than the stock, robust transplants that are hardier for setting outdoors.

Seedlings also need plenty of moisture for germination and early growth.  Planting in a mixture that contains plenty of peat moss will aid in moisture retention.  In the early stages, before seeds have germinated, fill a spray bottle with water and use this to keep the soil moist.  This will prevent overwatering, which can cause seeds to dislodge and wash away.

The last important step in growing your own plants from seed is hardening off before transplanting outdoors.  Hardening off refers to the process of preparing plants for the rigors of growing outdoors.  Some gardeners harden off their seedlings by placing them outdoors on a deck or patio during favorable weather conditions for a week or so before transplanting is to occur.  Other methods of hardening off include lowering the temperature where the plants are located, watering only when plants show signs of wilting, and placing a fan nearby to blow a gentle breeze on the seedlings.

By following these tips, along with a good dose of patience, any gardener can successfully start their own vegetable plants from seed.  The process may be time consuming, but it is also very satisfying, and you’ll be rewarded with dozens of young plants at a fraction of the cost of purchasing them from a nursery or garden center.

Abhishek Agarwal asked:


Vegetable gardening at home signifies many things to many individuals – for quite a few people it may be financially prudent to cultivate their own vegetable whereas for many others it is a pleasurable pursuit to grow vegetables. You might be interested in knowing whether your soil is just right for cultivating vegetables. Rest assured that even the most awful soil could be renewed and transformed to produce a decent crop. Four vital aspects need to be committed to memory regarding gardening in general and vegetable gardening at home in particular. To grow and harvest healthy vegetables you should give due consideration to the soil conditions.

1. Every garden requires nutrients and enriched soil contains essential plant elements.

2. Appropriate Cultivation

3. Right Temperature

4. Proper Moisture

In case you are planning to start a vegetable garden at home, then you should be aware that the soil does not continue to stay enriched naturally but rather plants tend to drain the soil of its natural resources. Regular cultivation is necessary for keeping the soil rich as it aids in converting the raw food for the plants into accessible forms of food. A gardener enthusiastic about setting up a home vegetable garden should regularly put in plant food and manure into the soil from external supplies. The gardener should also ascertain the garden spot that receives the maximum sunlight, which in turn indicates a very high temperature in this area. All plants, whether they are trees, vegetables, flowers or fruits require warm sunshine if they need to grow and flourish. Lastly, every garden requires lots of moisture and hence there should be frequent watering to make certain moisture seeps down to the plant roots.

Establishing a successful home vegetable garden calls for locating the ideal place for raising vegetables, having soil that is properly turned over, enriched with nutrients and which is open to plenty of sunlight and heat and has proper drainage. In the first place, you should make up your mind what you wish to grow and where would be the location. Annual plants like rhubarbs, for instance, should be grown together at one corner of the vegetable garden. Vegetables like onions and carrots that are available throughout the season should be planted together. According to the space remaining, you can grow other crops like lettuce or peas. Study garden books for guidelines on sowing seeds and so on and record it against your selected vegetables. In this case, you need not spend countless hours trying to get the necessary information.

If you have a tiny space at your disposal, then your vegetable garden will adopt an intensive approach where the plants are packed densely together. Vegetables that grow best in such conditions are asparagus, beet cauliflower, kale, lettuce, carrots, Swiss chard cabbage, and tomatoes. The optimum season for cultivating vegetables is late in the spring, which produces a yield in the summer season even though beet, cauliflower, and carrots can be sown in June and harvested in October or November.

Abhishek Agarwal asked:


Many people enjoy gardening. It gets you outdoors, lets you commune with nature, give you time to think things through, and gives you a chance to create something beautiful. Gardening flowers is fun, but vegetable gardening has special rewards beyond fragrant flowers. You and your family can eat your harvest of vegetables.

Juicy ripe tomatoes, crisp snap beans, crisp green lettuce, and fresh squash are just a sample of the many food products that you can take straight to your table from your vegetable garden. Just rinse and serve. What better fast food could you want? You can also select your vegetables at their peak. No sifting through under- and over-ripe tomatoes at the grocery store. No questions about whether chemical pesticides or additives hide on and in your supposedly healthy vegetables. That means you know your family is getting healthy, nutritious food when you serve the “fruits” of your vegetable gardening.

Like other types of gardening and yard work, vegetable gardening gets you some good exercise and healthy living. You’re out in the fresh air, not trapped inside a dark stale room in your house. Vegetable gardening assures you get plenty of sunshine and the vitamin D you need to have healthy skin and bones. Not only that, but vegetable gardening is an excellent and effective way to work off the stress of modern life. No hassling with traffic or shopping mall crowds.

Vegetable gardening is a wonderful family activity, too. Preparing the bed, cultivating the soil, thinning seedlings and weeds, and harvesting ripe vegetables bring your family together with a sense of true accomplishment. Everyone at the table can be proud when your family sits down to an abundant table of home-grown vegetables they’ve all worked to produce. Not only that, your family can earn the friendship and gratitude of neighbors when your family shares the harvest.

The rewards of vegetable gardening last well after you’ve harvested the last winter crop. You can make a family game of freezing, canning, and preserving your vegetable harvest. That way, you’ll enjoy the rewards of vegetable gardening throughout the year. You’ll bring some of that summer sun to your table in the dead of a gloomy winter.

You’ll also save a pretty penny when you replace those expensive frozen vegetables with your own. And you can create your own custom preserving recipes for unique, delicious dishes.

You don’t have to own an acre of land for productive vegetable gardening. Any small plot of ground can provide abundant healthy vegetables. Vegetable gardening in containers, window boxes, even indoors, is a worthy pursuit as long as you have the proper soil, sun, and water. You can even extend your growing season indoors with artificial sunlight and warmth.

Give it a try. Buy some seeds, start a test plot indoors or out, and begin to enjoy the rewards of vegetable gardening for you and your family. Before you know it, you’ll be placing a steaming bowl of fresh squash, a beautiful salad, or a big plate of condiments – the greatest rewards of home vegetable gardening.

Andrew Bicknell asked:


Learning how to plant a vegetable garden is not hard, but without careful planning and proper follow through, your garden may perform poorly.  If done correctly it pays off with big benefits in so many ways.  Before you know it you will be picking perfectly ripe, perfectly delicious tomatoes without having to wonder what chemicals went into growing them.

The most important part of successful gardening is to properly prepare the soil.  A routine soil test gives information on any lime requirement, phosphorous and potassium needs and estimated nitrogen requirements. A good soil mixture contains two parts loam, one parts and, and one part organic matter and many pre-mixed soil mixtures are available at garden centers.  When manure is added to the soil, it must be composted prior to planting, because fresh, hot manure will also burn your plants.  Vegetables need a lot of nutrition to grow well, so the better you prepare the soil before planting, the better chances you have of producing a bountiful crop. For information on soil testing, call your local county extension educator or the local university soil testing laboratory.

Planting a vegetable garden is not hard, but without careful planning and proper follow through, your garden may perform poorly.  Tilling the soil in late fall facilitates earlier spring planting.  Cool versus warm planting periods are determined by your choice of cool-season vegetables and warm-season vegetables.

Successful vegetable gardening involves far more than just popping a few seeds into the ground and waiting for a tomato to appear. When sowing your seeds stretch a string between the two stakes you set to mark the row, or use a straight piece of lumber, and use it as a guide to open a ‘V’ shaped furrow with the corner of your hoe.  Tear the corner of the seed package off and use your finger to tap the package lightly as you move down the row, carefully distributing the seeds evenly. Larger type seeds may be placed individually in the row.  You will want to plant extra seeds in each row to allow for failed germination, and for thinning.  Cover the seeds with fine soil (no clods or rocks).  After the seeds sprout, the weaker seedlings should be pinched off to give the rest enough room to grow.

Vegetables that are leaves or stems, such as cabbages and onions, can usually be harvested over a long period as they are needed.  Vegetables that are the fruit of the plant, such as peas, beans and tomatoes, should be picked every two or three days to get them when they are first ripe.  Any vegetable garden should receive a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight during the day and grow best on soil that is well drained. Vegetable gardens do not always have to be laid out in large plots in the backyard; you can grow them nearly anywhere as long as all their growing conditions are met and your choice of plants will be largely determined by the likes and dislikes of your family.  If the same garden plot is used for vegetables for many years, your crops should be rotated, so that each type of vegetable is in a different position during the following season. 

Planting a vegetable garden is hard work but for both the beginner and experienced gardener the rewards can be delicious.

Abhishek Agarwal asked:


I’ve been gardening vegetables for quite a while now, and I’ve learned some lessons the hard way. Vegetable gardening offers some great rewards – the pride and satisfaction of cultivating beautiful edible plants and the savings on the weekly grocery bill! Here are some tips that should help you plan and grow healthy fresh vegetables in your vegetable garden.

The Versatile Legume

There are two basic types of beans – bush beans and pole beans. Bush beans do not need support, and pole beans are climbers. In my garden, I normally grow bush beans because they require less work. Call me lazy. Call me well-fed.

But I’ve found that pole beans are best in my vegetable garden are nice because they can climb along old fences or up the stalks of taller plants like sunflowers. I’ve also used pole beans to beautify my vegetable garden. I’ve planted these tall bean plants at the end of each row of the vegetable garden, making arches from tree limbs bound to make arches from row to row. The pole beans grow along the branches, making an attractive frame for the vegetable garden.

Beans are a warm-season crop and are easy to grow. They like rich, warm, sandy soil. They need full sun and well-drained soil. Also, I’ve found that they grow better when I rotate them with other vegetables every other growing season.

For the best tasting beans, I wait until all danger of frost has passed and dig the vegetable garden deep. Normally, I work the garden several weeks before I plant the beans because birds will eat the insect eggs and larvae that might damage my plants later. Then I work some lime into the soil to give the beans a healthy start.

I plant my bush beans from one to 1-1/2 inches in the surface and about eighteen inches apart. My pole beans need more space with rows three feet apart for best results. Bush limas need more space than most dwarf bean plants – as much as pole beans. Remember to plant the beans edgewise with the eye pointed down.

Generous spacing allows for easy cultivation with a hoe through the growing season. And if my bean plants get to high, I just pinch off the ends of the growing plants. This encourages outward, rather than upward, growth.

Bush beans include dwarf, snap or string, wax, limas, and what is called brittle beans. Pole beans include pole limas, wax, and scarlet runner. The scarlet runner is a wonderful decorative addition to my vegetable garden. Its flowers are deep red and look great against my old fence. Scarlet runners are nice additions to flower gardens and anywhere you want a vine. The nicest thing about the scarlet runner is that you get both beauty and food.

You Can’t Beat Beets!

Beets are root vegetables that grow on flowering plants. They’re easy to grow, and you can eat almost all of the plant. The top leafy part (a good source of Vitamin A) can be used fresh in salads, and the roots (good source of Vitamin C) can be cooked. Believe it or not, the leafy green part is more nutritious than the root!

While beets tolerate heat, they do best in a cooler climate. They’re good for a long growing season, and you can stagger planting to assure a continuous supply of fresh beets throughout the rest of the year.

Beets need organic soil to grow well. My beets do best in rich, sandy loam. I learned the hard way that fresh manure is fatal for beets. A particle of manure next to a beet root can doom a young plant. To avoid this, I dig a foot-deep trench, spread a very thin layer of manure at the bottom of the trench, and cover the manure with well-crumbled top soil. That way, you get the fertilizer benefits of the manure while also protecting your young beet plants.

When planting, I space rows about one foot apart to leave enough room for cultivation of my vegetable garden. Beet “seeds” are really clusters of small seeds in a dried fruit. They won’t grow well if they’re transplanted, and they need to be handled more carefully than many other vegetables. I plant the seeds about one-half inch deep in the rows. I’ve also found that I have to thin my beet sprouts to keep them healthy. Beets have very shallow roots, so I have to weed the vegetable garden often so that they don’t have to compete with weeds for important nutrients.

The Diverse Cabbage Family

The Crucifer family – cabbages – include many vegetable plants: cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, brussel sprouts, and kohlrabi (a combined cabbage-turnip).

The high-classed cauliflower needs rich soil and doesn’t tolerate frost. I’ve learned to give my cauliflower plenty of manure water for extra richness. Like with young cabbage, the outer leaves should be well- bent to get a healthy white head. I’ve found it best to plant and easier to grow the dwarf varieties.

Kale is not so picky. Though it needs rich soil like cauliflower, it can tolerate frost. Because kale matures slowly, it needs to be planted in early spring. But you can also plant it in early fall to get an early crop the following year.

The popular brussel sprout is a good substitute for the larger common cabbage plant. I enjoy growing brussel sprouts in my vegetable garden because their stalk stands tall. Almost like an umbrella, the top is a closed head of leaves. But this is not the part we eat. The umbrella crown shades the delicious small cabbages (sprouts) that grow along the stalk.

Like most Crucifer plants, brussel sprouts need rich soil and lots of water. I plant the seeds in May and then transplant the young plants in late July. My vegetable garden rows for brussel sprouts are 1-1/2 inches apart, and I put the plants about a foot apart in the garden rows.

Kohlrabi bridges the gap between cabbage and turnips. Sometimes called the turnip-root cabbage, its stem expands into a turnip-like vegetable. The true turnip swell is underground, but the kohlrabi’s edible part is above ground. Kohlrabi is easy to grow, but I have to encourage the plants to grow fast. Growing too slowly, the swell gets too woody for good eating.

I like to plant the seeds inside in early spring and then transplant them to my vegetable garden as the weather and soil get warmer. I form my vegetable garden rows two feet apart, and put the young plants about a foot apart when I transplant them to the outdoors. Kohlrabi seeds go a long way – an ounce of seed will produce a hundred-foot row of plants. A great early crop, I prepare and serve my kohlrabi like I do with turnips.

One of my favorite cabbage plants is the Savoy. It’s one of the best varieties for cooking, especially for slaw and salads, and it’s best for growing in poor soils. I plant seeds early in the year (February) under cover and then transplant the young plants to my vegetable garden in the spring (March or April). The closer together I plant the young savoy, the smaller their heads. So I try to provide for at least one foot of space in all directions around each young plant.

What’s Up, Doc, with Carrots?

Carrot is a hardy cool-weather plant that creates a thick root in its first growing season. There are two general types of carrot plant: long roots and short roots. For healthy long-root types, I have to work the soil down to at least eighteen inches. The short carrots do well in eight inches of sandy soil. Like beets, carrots don’t tolerate manure very well.

I’ve also found that I must thin carrots frequently. As the seedlings sprout, they are too close together and compete for nutrients and sunlight. I thin a little, wait a while, and then thin again. I love growing carrots because I can harvest the young tiny carrots for my table. I can also wait and have big Bugs Bunny type carrots for my kids.

Cucumbers – the Fresh Pickle

Cucumbers are really fruit, but they can be grouped with gourds among vegetables. I’ve heard the cucumber originated in India. It’s a creeping vine that roots and grows in spiraling strands or climbs trellises or other supports. Its large leaves shade the fruits.

I get the best plants when I use light, sandy, organic soil. And I’ve also found it’s best to plant them on a slope where drainage is easiest. In hot-houses, they can hang from the ceiling where they become beautiful hanging vines. I’ve seen some brave vegetable gardeners keep a hive of bees in their hot-houses to help with cross-fertilization of their cucumber plants.

I’ve found that it’s best to plant the seeds indoors, covered with one inch of rich soil. In an area of about 30 square inches, I plant six seeds with the germinating end down. When all frosts are past, I plant each set of six plants, together with the original planting soil, in the open vegetable garden. Later, I plant them in hand-made hills with four feet of space on all sides.

Let Us Have Lettuce

Lettuce is one of the earliest human vegetable crops, growing wild before it was cultivated by man. I can tuck it into spaces throughout my vegetable garden. It’s a very decorative plant, with a compact head and lovely big green leaves.

As the lettuce plants age, they go to seed. I pull them up, as I have no interest in going into the seed business. But I do want fresh tender lettuce throughout the season. The only way I have achieved this is by planting in early spring and then planting again every ten days or so throughout the summer.

There are many varieties of lettuce with different planting and growing requirements. I prefer leaf, cos, and butterhead lettuce because I can plant them anytime in the early spring. I’ve found that my lettuce doesn’t do well in the heat, so I stop planting about a month before the hottest part of the summer. But I’ve planted lettuce plants in the shade of other plants in my vegetable garden and planted late in the summer to get good fresh lettuce into the fall.

I plant lettuce seeds shallow – from a quarter to half an inch deep – in rows about a foot apart. Then I thin the seedlings so that plants have six to eight inches between them. The nice thing is that I can serve the seedlings I’ve thinned in my early spring salads. Nothing goes to waste.

More than Veges in My Vegetable Garden – Melons

Though they originated in Asia and parts of Africa, melons pleased the taste of ancient Romans. They’re a summer fruit, often grown in hot-houses. They need a lot of space, a lot of heat, and a lot of sun. They also need 3-4 months of growing time, fertile soil, and lots of water.

I prepare 2-3 foot mounds spaced 4-6 feet apart for my melon plants. The mound soil should be compost-rich. Sprinkling sand or lime on and around the mounds helps prevent insect damage to the young plants.

As they grow, the vines get to heavy to stand on their own, so I provide something like tennis netting for the vines to follow. I plant eight seeds in a mound, setting them about two inches apart, and planting them about an inch deep. Watermelon plants need more space – up to ten feet between each mound.

When the plants reach about four inches in height, I reduce the number to two per mound, always picking the sturdiest plants. I cut the close to or below the surface rather than pulling plants up as this is likely to damage the roots of the remaining plants.

One word of advice – be very careful in watering your melons. They’re vulnerable to fungal diseases, and overhead watering may be dangerous for them. I’ve found that drip-irrigation, a slow trickle at the base of the plant, keeps my melons growing healthy throughout the growing season.

The Joys of Vegetable Gardening

I love my vegetable garden. It gives me many hours of peace and serenity as I work with the soil and gently grow beautiful plants. My vegetable garden repays my family with many fresh, healthy meals and good nutrition.

It’s taken a lot of experimentation and some failures to have a productive vegetable garden, but it’s been worth every minute of work. The joy of handling soil and seed, tending to precious young plants, and harvesting beautiful mature plants is one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever done.

Jane Thomas asked:


The best way to ensure that your children eat healthy is to grow your own vegetables! And the trick to getting your children interested in healthy, organic vegetables is helping them grow their own.

You and your children can grow your own vegetables even if you don’t have masses of space to grow vegetables in your garden or a specified vegetable plot, since there are more and more possibilities for growing vegetables in containers.

Here’s how you do it:

1. Set aside a couple of containers or a small area of your garden and designate it the “children’s garden”. Obviously, you as a parent will be doing most of planting, tending for vegetable plants, weeding and watering, but let your child take pride in selecting (from the list of easy to grow vegetables) which vegetables to grow and how the plants will be positioned. If you don’t have a garden, there are many vegetables that can be grown in containers!

2. Choose vegetables that produce something to eat quickly, such as radish, spring onion, baby carrot and baby salad leaf. Quick growing vegetables are the best way to insure your child remains interested in vegetables and gardening! Tomatoes are another obvious choice, especially cherry types, as children can pick and eat them straight off the plant. Cucumbers are great candidate also. The traditional type is too large, but looks for varieties which are ready when they’re just 10cm long.

3. Encourage your child and to keep up the enthusiasm, by letting your child choose some of easy to grow vegetables, and you will both be delighted with the results. Find out what vegetables grow in your area, and what time of year each vegetable should be planted. (Check the library for magazines and books on vegetable gardening, look it up on the internet in gardening related sites and forums, or ask a gardener or farmer in your neighborhood).

4. Remember, make growing your own vegetables a FUN activity! Your child will love digging up the potatoes and carrots – make it a game, like digging for buried treasure! And watching seeds grow from tiny seedlings into grown, mature plants, tending for them and keeping an eye on their progress every day, protecting them from invaders (slugs and insects), really is quite an adventure even for us adults, let alone for the children.

Additional benefit from home growing vegetables with your kids is that it will encourage your kids to eat more vegetables – especially the fussy eaters! Let them choose the vegetable seeds or plants, help them plant and tend for vegetables together, and finally harvest the fresh vegetables. Home grown vegetables taste SO much better when they are fresh and not mass produced or bought at the supermarket. Tasting the difference between home grown vegetables and the supermarket kind is like eating a completely different vegetable. And your kids will notice the difference!

Another benefit that comes from growing your own vegetables with the help of your children is that children actually learn what vegetables look like, where vegetables come from and how vegetables grow. Furthermore, use this opportunity to teach them how to prepare vegetables for eating. Given that more and more children seem to have difficulty recognizing basic vegetables and knowing what to do with them, learning how to grow vegetables in your home garden or in containers will provide your children with a valuable education and a useful life skill– while at the same time they have fun and plenty of fresh air!

Elizabeth T James asked:


If you are going to take up a new hobby, you might as well do something that is productive as well as fun. One such activity is vegetable gardening. Vegetable gardening is a very relaxing activity that millions of people love to do. There is also a certain pride when you know that you can grow your own fruits and vegetables right from your own backyard. In order to become a successful vegetable gardener, though, you must have a specific plan involving the kinds of plants you want in your garden, as well as the placement of these plants.

Basic Requirements for Vegetable Gardening

A flat, level surface is necessary for vegetable gardening to ensure that the water will flow evenly, giving sufficient nourishment to all the plants in your garden. If you have an uneven terrain, some of your plants may drown while others might be dehydrated. Good soil is essential as well so make sure that you buy quality gIf you are going to take up a new hobby, you might as well do something that is productive as well as fun. One such activity is vegetable gardening. Vegetable gardening is a very relaxing activity that millions of people love to do. There is also a certain pride when you know that you can grow your own fruits and vegetables right from your own backyard. In order to become a successful vegetable gardener, though, you must have a specific plan involving the kinds of plants you want in your garden, as well as the placement of these plants.

Basic Requirements for Vegetable Gardening

A flat, level surface is necessary for vegetable gardening to ensure that the water will flow evenly, giving sufficient nourishment to all the plants in your garden. If you have an uneven terrain, some of your plants may drown while others might be dehydrated. Good soil is essential as well so make sure that you buy quality garden soil that is packed with sufficient minerals for the healthy growth of your vegetables.

Choosing the type of vegetables you want to plant in your garden is the fun part. There are hundreds of vegetables you can choose from, but make sure the ones you pick are well adapted to the particular environment and climate in your area. Most vegetables are actually very easy to cultivate if you provide them all their growth requirements.

Planning is very important for the success of your vegetable gardening venture. You need to at least have a general idea of where you want to place your different vegetables in relation to each other. Using pots is a good idea so you can rearrange your garden if the need arises. Of course, your options will be limited if you have a small garden space but if you have a large area to work with, your gardening options are limitless.

One more important element that all vegetable gardeners find very important is the elimination and prevention of garden pests. There are many organic pesticides that you can use to solve this problem without inflicting any damage to your crops.

If you have a little more open space at home, you can go for regular home vegetable gardening as well. This is a more structured type of gardening in which you can lay out your garden more systematically than when you are using random containers.

If you live in a cramped apartment or high-rise condominium where there is no backyard to plant in, you have to use your creativity in order to create your own indoor garden. You can use any kind of containers to serve as an improvised garden plot and place this near a window in order to get as much sunlight as possible.

When it comes to productive hobbies, nothing can be better than vegetable gardening. Not only will vegetable gardening provide you with fresh vegetables to serve your family, but it also has therapeutic and relaxing effects on your body and mind. Regardless of what kind of vegetable gardening you choose, planting your own vegetables will definitely be much healthier and cheaper than purchasing them from the local grocery store.arden soil that is packed with sufficient minerals for the healthy growth of your vegetables.

Choosing the type of vegetables you want to plant in your garden is the fun part. There are hundreds of vegetables you can choose from, but make sure the ones you pick are well adapted to the particular environment and climate in your area. Most vegetables are actually very easy to cultivate if you provide them all their growth requirements.

Planning is very important for the success of your vegetable gardening venture. You need to at least have a general idea of where you want to place your different vegetables in relation to each other. Using pots is a good idea so you can rearrange your garden if the need arises. Of course, your options will be limited if you have a small garden space but if you have a large area to work with, your gardening options are limitless.

One more important element that all vegetable gardeners find very important is the elimination and prevention of garden pests. There are many organic pesticides that you can use to solve this problem without inflicting any damage to your crops.

If you live in a cramped apartment or high-rise condominium where there is no backyard to plant in, you have to use your creativity in order to create your own indoor garden. You can use any kind of containers to serve as an improvised garden plot and place this near a window in order to get as much sunlight as possible.

When it comes to productive hobbies, nothing can be better than vegetable gardening. Not only will vegetable gardening provide you with fresh vegetables to serve your family, but it also has therapeutic and relaxing effects on your body and mind.

Richard Wong asked:


More and more people are taking up vegetable gardening as it is gaining popularity. Vegetable gardening will provide you with cheaper vegetables compared with those from the stores. Moreover, your home vegetable garden will produce far better tasting vegetables. Vegetable gardening is very similar to growing herbs or flowers in your garden and if the proper procedures are taken and proper care has been given to the plants, they will flourish and provide you with great tasting vegetables.

When you want to start vegetable gardening, the first thing to do is to decide on the size of the garden you want to have and choose a suitable place for it. The place you want to plant your vegetables should have good drainage, good and deep soil, and good air flow. It also needs to have as much sunlight as possible. Because vegetable are so tasty, many animals, such as rabbits, deer, dogs, and others will try to get to your veggies. A good way to prevent this from happening is to build a fence around your garden. You may also want to put out some traps to catch moles, mice, and other small animals.

Before planting your vegetable garden, you need to prepare the soil properly. You achieve good soil for vegetable gardening by cultivation and the addition of organic materials. In order to control weeds, you need to till or plow the soil while mixing mulch into it. For those with a small garden, instead of plowing you’ll be better of with spading.

A vital part of soil preparation is mulching. Minerals, nitrogen, and other nutrients that plants will need to thrive are released when organic matter is added to the soil. Compost is the most popular and ideal type of mulch you can use. Usually, the soil and the types of plants will determine the type and amount of fertilizer to be used. Some plants have specific needs. For example, leafy plants, like lettuce, spinach, and cabbage usually need more nitrogen to grow better, while root crops like carrots, turnips, potatoes, and beets require more potash. Less fertilizer is needed by tomatoes and beans, while plants like potatoes, celery, and onions need a larger amount.

The garden arrangement is a factor that is very important in vegetable gardening. Due to varying conditions, there is no one plan of garden arrangement that will work for each and every garden. One popular way is to group vegetables together according to the amount of space they require. Plant vegetables needing only limited space together, such as spinach, beets, radishes, and lettuce and plant together those that require more room, such as potatoes, corn, and pumpkins. You should also consider planting tall growing plants towards the back of the garden while planting shorter ones towards the front. This will prevent sunlight from getting blocked and ensure that every plant will have sufficient sunlight.

You should begin planting your vegetable garden at the right time of the year. However, if you really want to get started early even when it is not the right time, you may want to start your vegetable gardening in a hotbed indoor and then transplant them later when weather permits. After completing your planting, make sure that your vegetables get the right amount of water. How much to water depends on the type of plant. Usually, most plants will require about an inch of water per week.

Weeds take up nutrients, light, and water that are meant for your vegetables. Hence, they must be controlled in vegetable gardening because they often bring insects and disease into your garden. Cultivation or mulching can get rid of weeds. You may also want to consider using controlled chemicals or buying seeds that are disease resistant in order to protect against disease and insects.

Because you get to eat the vegetables at the end, many people have made vegetable gardening their favorite form of gardening. Home grown vegetables taste much better than those from the supermarket and it is rather inexpensive to start vegetable gardening. If you provide proper care and maintenance to your garden and put in the effort, your vegetable gardening will be fruitful and you’ll be rewarded.

Samuel Quino asked:


Growing vegetables in your garden can save you money. During harvest time, your own produce becomes part of your meals. Home gardeners feel deep satisfaction in preparing salad or seasoning the casserole with freshly picked plants from their own vegetable gardens. Their feeling of the taste is incomparable. Fresh surplus are distributed to friends and love ones while some are keep frozen.

It doesn’t require much space to grow vegetables. Even a container pot or a window box will do the trick. Where space is limited, you can grow a mini-garden indoor or outdoor. If you have a good sun, access to water and enough containers, growing a garden’s worth of fruits and vegetables in a limited space is a no-brainer. You can even harvest more than one crop if your choice of plants and planting schemes are all well planned and executed. Windowsills, balconies and doorstep areas can be used, as well as empty packs of milks, pails, plastic buckets and cans.

When planting in containers, proper spacing is very important. One sturdy plant is better than several weak ones. Crowding chokes root systems will slow growth and poor production. With container vegetable garden, you no longer need to worry about poor soil types and bad drainage, or heavy-duty tiller to break up hard clay and rocks. There is no weeding to worry about and you can change the looks of your container placements by simply moving them around anytime to a place you wanted to.

Vegetable gardening offers a change from the monotony of the supermarket. You can grow variety of vegetables that you want. When choosing plants for your vegetable container garden, consider container worthy crops such as beans, carrots, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, eggplants and radish. Other root crops such onions and turnips can also do well in containers, but remember to always take care of these crops by ample fertilizers and water. Also consider grapes and berries. Though some take a while to get established, they bear fruits more each year. Planting for fall crops can be started in early summer, though summer planting can still be done in June in most regions.

One great advantage of growing vegetables and spices in containers involves the advent of the upside-down gardening. Crops with the likes of tomatoes, basil, parsley, rosemary and peppers do well with this approach. The ideas is that the vines will cascade downward instead of growing up a stake. A grow box can be treated by punching perforations through the bottom of a container. The other option is to purchase a device specially designed for this purpose. Upside gardens do not require a great deal of space and is perfect for balconies and patios.

Equally important, seeds and soil must properly be taken cared of in your vegetable container garden. Seeds do not always have to be bought. Reasonably fresh dill, anise, fennel, coriander and other seeds already on the spice rack should grow. If not, they are too old to add much to food anyway and should be replaced. Scoop out seeds from vegetables you’ve bought, dry them a week or so before planting.

Soil preparation on the other hand is very crucial for good results. Have the soil tested. Every state has a land-grant college that will test soil for a small fee. It will give abundant basic gardening advice, and garden resources tips. Start growing those veggies in your garden and turn your home made meals into something truly special. Take care of your plants to make them productive by keeping them watered and harvested.

Abhishek Agarwal asked:


There are no second opinions about the fact that vegetable gardening is a much more satisfying experience than any other form of gardening. This is more so because one gets the opportunity to relish the dishes made out of ones own produce. However, vegetable gardening is also not as easy as other types of gardening and one needs to plan well in advance, even before starting tilling the ground for the seeding purpose.

1. One important factor that needs consideration while planning is the climatic conditions. There are some vegetables that can be cultivated only in a certain type of climate and season. For example, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and broccoli can only be grown in cold areas, whereas, peppers, eggplants and tomatoes grow better in hot and sunny weather.

2. Another gardening tip that can be effectively used is that there are certain kinds of vegetables that do very well if exposed partially to sunlight. For example, lettuce is a plant that grows fantastically when exposed to sunlight for half a day and then kept in shade for the remaining half. One should plan the placement of ones vegetables in the garden keeping such factors in mind. Other vegetables that grow very well under partial exposure to sunlight are carrots, spinach, cauliflower, cucumbers, Swiss chard, radishes and beets.

3. Is your garden located in a region that either has a very long growth season or a very short one. Based on its weather conditions, a garden can be cultivated with the help of the following gardening tip. Gardens with long growth season are apt for growing vegetables like tomatoes, beans (lima, soy and dry), artichokes, celery, peppers, potatoes, asparagus, rhubarb, eggplant, onions, kale and leeks. Whereas, the gardens located in short growth areas must have vegetables like beets, cabbage, carrots, turnips, beans, peas, radishes, peas, mustard greens, onions and lettuce.

4. The next significant gardening tip is based on your level of expertise as a gardener. If you are a beginner, you will do much better by growing vegetables like beans (dry and green), potatoes, squash (summer and winter), radishes, tomatoes, beets, salad greens, beets, sunflowers, lettuce, Swiss chard and any other root crop, that don’t offer great challenges and put you off in no time. In case you are a seasoned gardener and wish to take on the challenges, you can try your hand at celery, watermelon, parsnips, leeks, cantaloupe, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, leeks, peas and corns.

5. At the time of planning for your vegetable garden, you must also include the space constraints that certain vegetable plants may impose. Some vegetables can do with minimum space while others may require yards and yards to come good. This gardening tip will help you classify the vegetables by the space that they require to grow. Vegetables that consume maximum space are artichokes (globe), cauliflower, cucumbers, peas, potatoes, winter squash, broccoli, corn, melons and sweet potatoes. Least space consuming vegetable plants are beets, Chinese cabbage, tomatoes, eggplant, lettuce, radishes, mustard greens, parsnips, beans (bush and pole), carrots, turnips, Swiss chard, leeks, sunflowers, peppers and onions. You must take care while planting these vegetables that you leave enough space for you to move around in the garden.

It is strictly advisable to not to use any chemicals in your vegetable gardens to get rid of weeds and insects. There are several organic methods that can be used without employing chemical herbicides and pesticides. Use of such chemicals kills both the good and harmful bugs in the vegetable garden. Moreover, the chemically exposed vegetables can have severe impact on the consumer health in the long run. You can always make use of a good naturally prepared mulch to get rod of weeds in your garden.