Kick-start your vegetable garden at home and grow fresh, organic and juicy vegetables to feed your family. Here are a few tips & suggestions that you need to know about the basics of vegetable gardening & planning-
Are you planning to begin vegetable gardening at home? Gardening can be a tedious task at the beginning for the first-time gardeners, but it’s an incredibly rewarding hobby that you must try.
With a rapid rise in prices of vegetables, vegetable gardening can save you a lot of money, and you can enjoy the organic, fresh and juiciest home-grown produce. And, the best part is that the vegetables grown at home looks and tastes much better than anything you buy from stores.
A home vegetable garden is the best way to begin and does not require any specialised training or extra efforts. Following these simple tips, you can easily set up a small vegetable garden at your home and enjoy the fruits of the labour you put into your garden in no time.
Tip 1- Find a suitable location
Selecting a perfect location for your garden is an important key. For picking the best place for your plants, you need to consider the position of the sun and the amount of minimum sunlight required by them to grow.
Not all plants require the same amount of sunlight, plants like tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, peppers, peas, beans, etc. are sun-loving vegetables and require at least 6 hours of direct sunlight. Whereas, leafy greens and herbs like spinach, lettuce, parsley, etc. require very less amount of sunlight.
So, you can plan your location according to space, the sunlight received and the plants that you want to grow.
Tip 2- Choose good quality soil
Healthy, aerated and nutrient-rich soil plays the most crucial role in vegetable gardening. The best soil suitable for growing vegetables must include lots of compost and organic matter such as composted leaves and ground or shredded, aged bark. The soil should neither be sandy nor compacted.
To check whether the soil mix is right or not, if it gets squeezed when you bind it together and breaks apart easily when disturbed, then the soil is perfect, rich in microorganisms and water-retention capacity.
Tip 3- Water your plants wisely
The most important thing that you must know is when and how much to water. Newly seeded plants require frequent watering, in the beginning, and the established vegetable plants need one-two inch of water per week.
You can efficiently water your home produce with sprinklers or drips to adequately hydrate the plants and provide moisture to the soil.
Tip 4- Effective Fertilization & Pest Check
Add as much as organic compost as possible to the soil to supply all essential nutrients to the soil for healthy and fresh produce.
Mulching the soil by applying a few layers of straws and shredded leaves is beneficial to conserve water, reduce the need to water and to suppress the growth of weeds.
Avoid using chemical pesticides on crops and try to use only organic & natural pesticides when required.
If you follow and practice these simple tips and suggestions, you will soon grow and produce fresh vegetables in your home garden. In addition to this, if you are new to gardening, begin with smaller space and seasonal plants & vegetables that can grow easily and enjoy your fresh home-grown produce.
