How to Start a Vegetable Garden

There are several different ways you can plant a vegetable garden. You can purchase the vegetable plants and transplant them into your garden. You can plant seeds in a tray and when they have grown to small seedlings, you can transplant them in your garden. Or, you can plant them as seeds directly into your garden.

I suggest planting them in trays first and them planting them in your garden. I like this way best because using existing plants, you don’t have to worry that they won’t sprout, and when you grow them yourself you can save money and can grow them exactly as you want.

Choose your seeds

First decide what you are going to plant. Choose all your vegetable seeds and make sure you have enough for the garden you’re planting. Make sure you are choosing seeds that will grow in your climate. If you are buying for a local store, they probably won’t sell seeds that you can’t grow in your area, but make sure you do your research before buying vegetable seeds online.

Choose a time to plant

Obviously you aren’t going to start planting tomato seeds in December because the ground outside won’t be ready in January. Read the back of your seed package to find out when you will need to start planting your seeds.

Prepare the soil in your trays

You can use seed starter tray or any other tray that you have. They won’t be in them too long, so it’s not a big deal. Preferably, you will use trays with holes in the bottom to allow water to drain.

Get some potting soil and fill your trays. Press down the soil gently but firmly. Next, lightly moisten the soil before you begin planting your seeds.

Start sowing!

Next, sprinkle your seeds over-top. Place one seed in each spot, spacing according to the directions on the back of your seed package. Next, spread some more soil over-top of the seeds and press it down. How deep you sow your seeds will depend on the directions provided.

Once you’ve sown your seeds, wait for them to grow making sure you give them plenty of sun and water. When your garden is ready and the time is right, transplant your small plants into the garden and continue to tend to it. In just a few short months, you will start to see the fruits of your labor!

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You’ve decided to start a vegetable garden. As much as you’d love to just start planting, there are several things you need to do first. Preparing the soil for a vegetable garden is an important step to ensure you grow the best plants and produce.

Cultivate your soil

You need to start out by cultivating your soil. To cultivate your soil means to break it up and prepare it for gardening. Unless you already have a garden, you will probably need to plot out your garden, and break up the grass. First decide how bug you want your garden to be and then find a place to put it. Put it where it will get plenty of sun and is out of the shade.

Next, plot out the space and start cut the grass. Use a tape measurer of necessary to make the edges of the garden straight and make it the right dimensions. Once you’ve cut it, remove all the grass and top layer. If you have a tiller, you can leave it there. The tiller will break it up really well and put the grass back into the soil for added nutrients.

If you don’t have a tiller and feel like you can’t break it up sufficiently, add it to your compose pile. Once it is broken up naturally, you can use it later on as soil.

Continue breaking up your soil as deep as possible. Break up all the clumps and remove all the rocks. You should be able to run a garden cultivator through the soil without catching too many rocks and grabbing hold of roots.

Fertilize your soil

Fertilizing is a very important step of preparing a garden. Without the proper nutrients, your garden will not thrive. You can start by adding any compost you have. This includes the fresh soil from leaves, dead plants, eggshells, and other kitchen products that you’ve thrown away and let sit and break down.

Next, if you feel you need it, you can add a fertilizer. I suggest 10 lb. Osmocote Vegetable Plant Food because it is made especially for vegetable gardens.

Test your Soil

It is possible to over-fertilize your garden. If you have too many nutrients, your garden will not grow right. By using a soil tester, you can find out how much of which nutrients are in your soil. You will find out what you need more of and what you can cool down on.

Soil Test Kit Soil Test Kit

Once your garden spot is cultivated and fertilized, you can start planting!

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What is soil and why do we need it?

Soil is the top layer of the earth’s surface. It is made up of a whole bunch of stuff that has broken up over time such as dead plants, bugs, leaves, trees, rocks, etc. If you have a compose pile, you understand that all the old food scraps, eggshells, and other stuff that you put into it breaks of over time and turns into soil.

If there was no soil, there would be nothing else. How’s that? Simple, you need soil in order for plants to grow. You need plants to feed people and animals. Animals and people eat animals. It’s all part of the circle of life and soil is an important part of it.

What does soil do?

Soil is the base where you plant seeds. If you just watered the seeds without soil, they would sprout, but eventually they would die out. Plants need soil for their roots to grow around and hold on to. They also use the soil to get the food and water that they need. Plants soak up water and nutrients through their roots and not their leaves.

The soil also helps to drain the water. You can over-water plants. If they are sitting in water, they will drown and die. The soil gives them the proper amount of water, draining the rest.

Soil also holds the plants up. Can you imagine what would happen to all the trees if they just sat on the ground, roots and all? They would fall over, assuming they even grew at all in the first place.

When plants die, their roots, stems, and leaves break down and enrich the soil. When their roots break down and enter the soil, they leave channels to help with water irrigation. Soil is very efficient. This is why plants don’t die even if we aren’t taking care of them. Think of all the forests and jungles out there that continue to thrive. Nobody is taking care of them, they just live on their own efficient cycle.

How can I take better care of my plants through the soil?

When you first start your garden, make sure that you cultivate the soil. Break it up and remove all or as many rocks and you can. If your soil doesn’t have a lot of nutrients, add your own. You can use any kind of fertilizer or use your own compost. A compost is a great way to recycle and have exceptional soil.

Make sure that your soil is well aerated. It needs water and nutrients just as much as air. Once you’ve planted your seeds and plants, continue to take care of your plants and soil by weeding your garden and cultivating it every season. When you do this your plants will thrive and your produce will abound.

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As much as you’ll love digging your hands in the dirt and getting them dirty, you will need more than your hands to start gardening. Here we will discuss some basic must-have tools to get started with your vegetable garden.

Shovels

First things first, you will need a shovel and a trowel. Each has its own uses and benefits, which is why it’s best to get both. You will a shovel to do basic tasks you can complete with other tools. If you are starting fresh with a spot of your yard that is covered in grass, you will need a good shovel to start digging, unless you are able to have a larger power tool to do it. You can also use it to dig wholes for larger plants when you aren’t using seeds.

27″ D Grip Round Point Shovel 27″ D Grip Round Point Shovel

The trowel you will use for small planting. If you are using seeds, you can use a trough the dig the whole if you don’t what to use your fingers. Also, it will come in handy when you need to transplant anything. You will notice yourself constantly reaching for your trowel once you really get into gardening. Make sure you use a durable and comfortable trowel such as the Corona Comfort Grip Trowel.

Corona Comfort Grip Trowel Corona Comfort Grip Trowel

Garden Hoe

A garden hoe is used to break up the soil. If you live in an area with clumpy hard soil and especially clay, a garden hoe will be invaluable to you. You should get a good quality garden hoe such as the garden pro forged hoe. A long-handled garden hoe works best for large clumps of dirts instead of having to bend down all the time.

Garden Pro Forged Hoe Garden Pro Forged Hoe

Garden Cultivator

A Garden Cultivator is also good to break up soil, but is especially beneficial for those with rocky soil. If you get a multiple prong cultivator, you can rake out all the rocks. This extendable cultivator is great because you can use it standing up and kneeling in your garden. A cultivator is another invaluable tool that any gardener must have.

Extendable Cultivator Extendable Cultivator

You can also get most of these tools in hand held versions that are good for when you need to get down in the soil. With a nice Garden Tote to put them all in, it will work out great when you are seriously gardening and just touching up.

Fiskars Nyglass Garden Tool Set Fiskars Nyglass Garden Tool Set

Circle Hoe

This is the perfect tool for weeding. They are small and precise so that you don’t accidentally cut up your plants, just the weeds you want to kill. They will also help in aerating the soil so that you can grow healthier plants. It looks a little out of the ordinary when it comes to gardening tools, but you will be surprised how precise and helpful it is.

Long Handle Circle Hoe Long Handle Circle Hoe

If you are interested in a faster and easier to cultivate your soil, you can use an electric cultivator. If you are serious about your garden and don’t mind spending the money, you can get a Rear Tine Tiller. It’s very powerful and will help quickly and easily cultivate your soil. It is expensive, but if you have tough soil and a large area to till, it will come in handy. You could even rent it to others to help pay for it. A basic rule of thumb is, if you think you’ll use it more than twice, you should buy it.

Mini-Electric Cultivator Mini-Electric Cultivator

Shears and Trimmers

When you plants start to grow, you will need to trim them and tend to them. Buying a quality set of shears will help keep your garden from growing out of control and keep it looking its healthiest. This is another gardening must have.

Bypass Prunning Shear Bypass Prunning Shear

Fertilizer Applicator

If you are going to use a fertilizer, you will also need a fertilizer applicator. It is attached to your hose so that you simple fertilize by watering. Fertilizer can help a weak garden turn around to grow a large bounty of fruits and vegetables.

NO CLOG 4 IN 1 Applicator from Miracle-Gro NO CLOG 4 IN 1 Applicator from Miracle-Gro

Wheelbarrow

If you are going to be moving a lot of plants and produce, a wheelbarrow will really come in handy. It will also be very useful when you start with your garden and need to move a lot of dirt. Also, you can use it for any other basic yard work. A wheelbarrow is a basic necessity of any well-kept yard.

Loadumper Wheelbarrow Loadumper Wheelbarrow

Now that you have all your supplies and equipment, you just need to get your seeds and plants and you can begin gardening!

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Find a Place to Plant your Vegetable Garden

Before you can plant a single crop, you need to have a place to plant. The size and space of your garden will depend on what you want to plant and how much you want to plant.

If you are completely new to gardening, you may want to start with a small garden about 25 to 30 squared feet. As a beginner, you should start with as few as one plant type or as many as three and just try to get the hang of these plants your first year.

If you are not knew to gardening, you can start with a larger space. If you want to get serious about vegetable gardening and turn a usable crop, you could go much larger, also depending on how much space you have.

Some people want to grow enough to feed their family for at least a few weeks while the vegetables are growing, and some just like the extra bounty of produce. I would suggest that if you are new to gardening, even if you are using up half of your backyard, don’t expect to grow tons of vegetable. You might get lucky, make no mistakes, and end up with piles of veggies. Just let that be a pleasant surprise!

Get your Tools and Supplies

Before you start growing anything, you will need to make sure you have all the right supplies. Go through this list to make sure you are prepared.

Plant the Right Vegetables at the Right Time

Believe it or not, tomatoes will not thrive in below freezing temperatures under piles of snow. It just won’t happen. Even if you live in an area that never drops below 70 degrees, you will not be able to grow any fruit or vegetable at any time of year.

Before you begin planting, do some research on your region. Make sure you are starting at the right time, after all signs of frost. For example, in the Northeast, if you plant too early and there is a frost, your plants will die.

Also, make sure you are planting the right vegetables for your region. Most likely, a nursery near you will not be selling plants that you can’t grow in your area, but it is still not foolproof. If you purchase from a catalog or off the internet, you need to know you are getting the right plants.

Prepare your soil and plant the seeds

Before you begin planting, you need to make sure you have excellent soil. Once your ground is prepped and ready, you can begin sowing. Whether you are sowing seeds or starting with plants, you need to read the directions for the correct planting procedures. If your plant does not come with directions, ask who you bought your plants from how to plant them.

If you are planting from seeds or if you prefer to use plants I suggest checking out Amazon.com. You can get vegetable seeds, and plants all at great prices.

Tend to your plants

Your plants will not grow if you don’t plant them first, but tending to your plants is what will really get them growing and producing. First, you need to make sure you water your plants on a regular basis. Keep an eye on the weather and if you notice your plants are getting dry and it’s not supposed to rain anytime soon, get out your hose and water them thoroughly, but don’t drown them. It is possible to over-water them.

Next, you need to always remember to weed your garden. With any outdoor garden, your plants will be in danger of weeds. Any plant that ends up in your garden, whether it be grass, dandelions, or a familiar flower, needs to be removed. Not only does it look bad, but it will steel all the nutrients and water from your plants and might kill them.

Finally, if you are following all these directions and your plants look like they are dying, you may need to give them food. I recommend 10 lb. Osmocote Vegetable Plant Food. It is a great plant food that will keep your plants looking their best and producing the best fruits and vegetables possible.

More Gardening Articles

Best Gardening Tools - Find out what you need to cultivate, prepare, plant, and maintain your garden.

Why is Soil so Important? - Soil is the life-blood of all plants. Don’t overlook it!

Preparing Soil for a Vegetable Garden - Soil is very important in gardening, and you need to now how to cultivate and fertilize it properly.

How to Plant Seeds - Once your garden is ready, you will need to start sowing your seeds.

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