Vertical Structures in the Vegetable Garden

The structure of a vegetable garden doesn't have to be a flat surface of soil where you grow your vegetables. Building vertical structures within the area such as arches, trellises, raised areas and frames will give your garden "height". This not only makes your garden look good, it is also very practical because it helps to produce more crops. By building structures you are able to have a vertical garden which increases your produce per square metre since it allows you to have more space to plant in the ground.

The most popular vertical garden structures are the ones that are built to support plants and give them the room to climb whilst supporting the weight of its fruit.

The types of vegetables that need support are CUCUMBERS, PEAS, BEANS, TOMATOES, PEPPERS and AUBERGINES. Growing these vegetables above ground not only will produce a better crop, it also protects them from insects that are in the soil. Having the fruits above ground also prevents them from rotting by not resting on the soil or in water should the soil have poor drainage. Growing plants against a structure will also help your plants to grow stronger and taller.

There are many types and choices of vertical structures that can be purchased for your garden. Call in at a local garden store or shop online and you will see just how many styles there are and the materials they are constructed from. Plastic, wood and bamboo are probably the most common. Many will have mail-order catalogues from which you can purchase and have your goods delivered to your home. The types of structures that you should consider are, trellis, spiral supports, tomato cages, bean towers, arches, stakes etc. Garden structures may vary especially in terms of form and functionality. You want to choose those that are strong enough to support your plants and their fruit but also the ones that will enhance the look of your garden.

Many options are available to you when it comes to planning and building your vegetable garden. You can build arches, walls, raised beds and trellises to give a more visual appeal and height than just having a flat vegetable bed. Planting flowers against these structures can be very beneficial to the vegetable garden. Flowers attract insects that are good for the garden and the vegetable plants, for example trumpet flowers attract bees into the garden. You can also attract other helpful creatures into your garden by building such things as a bird house or a bird bath. These features will attract the birds into the garden who will help by feeding on the insects thus eliminating harmful pests.

Growing plants against vertical structures must be secured to stop the plants from being damaged and this will also help the plants to grow in their correct form. There are several ways to secure the plants, plant ties, twines, plastic securing clips and jute chord. Make sure that you don't tie these too tight around the plant because this can restrict the growth; it can also cut into the plant and will possibly cause disease. If stakes are used to support the plants make sure that they are driven into the ground deep enough so that they will not fall over and also that they are placed a little away from the plant as to avoid damaging the roots.

If you are a do-it-yourself person you may feel confident enough to construct some of the structures yourself. Purchasing the wood from the local wood merchant to construct a trellis or arches can save you money and will give you satisfaction and pride when you erect it in the garden. Bird boxes can be constructed out of a few odd bits of timber that you may have lying about and even if you have to purchase the wood to build one, it will be less expensive as those that are available at the garden centre.

Your vegetable garden will look far more attractive if you erect arches and trellises for your climbing fruits to grow up as opposed to the flat garden that you usually associate with vegetable plots. It adds height to the garden; it allows you to plant flowers around the area which in turn will attract bees, birds, insects and other creatures all of which are essential for a healthy vegetable garden.

Reduce the Exposure to Pesticides - Grow Your Own Vegetables

One great way of reducing the exposure to PESTICIDES is to plant your own vegetable garden. The more people who do this, the demand for commercially grown vegetables would eventually decline. This would then mean that the commercial vegetable growers would have no reason to expand their plantations therefore reducing the need to use more pesticides and CHEMICAL FEEDS and no reason to destroy vast areas of land which in turn destroys the habitats of wild animals and harms our environment.

We have seen many cases over the years where countries have devastated rain forests destroying the different species of trees never to be grown again not to mention the devastation of the wild life that inhabit these forests, destroyed to near extinction.

If there is less demand for commercially grown vegetables, the growers would use less pesticides on the land that affect the environment and other harmful chemicals that find their way into our rivers destroying the fish communities and other water creatures.

With purchasing the commercially grown vegetables from the supermarkets, you are not certain whether they are free of pesticides or chemicals. You are not 100% certain on how they have been produced, even though some of the growers claim that they are free of chemicals, that the soil has previously been sprayed with pesticides or they have been grown next to crops that were sprayed with pesticides. These are questions that we are not sure of the answers to. The information that is available on the prolonged dietary exposure to pesticides, suggests that it can be linked to various adverse reproductive and development effects on human beings and that young children because their bodies are not fully developed are at risk to the dangers of such chemicals. You can guarantee that by growing you own vegetables there are no pesticides or chemicals used to produce the produce.

Home grown vegetables taste so much better than the ones purchased from the supermarket. They are fresh because you can pick them and use them straight away, more nutritious because they are not stored for days on end and you know that they are free from pesticides or chemicals. You can't say that for commercial growers produce.

Now you may feel that you alone could not make a positive contribution towards the environment by planting a vegetable garden in your backyard, but just imagine the difference that could be made if a friend encouraged a friend who encouraged another friend....and so on...to grow their own vegetables. Commercial growers will always exist because demand will always be there, but by growing your own, you will be contributing towards helping to save the environment because the commercial growers will have no reason the expand and importantly, you will be providing healthy fresh food to the table for you and your family and at the same time you will save on your grocery bill.

Why waste your money on paying to go to a gym? You have one already outside you back door. Let gardening provide you with your exercise whether it is on a daily or weekly basis depending on your work schedule. Many of us have hectic lifestyles working long hours, travelling to and from the workplace on congested roads. Release the stress that comes with this and work out in the garden. Burn those excess calories and lose that extra weight that has suddenly appeared probably through having to sit down much of the day. Gardening exercises muscles in the back, arms, legs and many others. You stretch, you bend, all these things that you would do at the gym, the BIG DIFFERENCE, you don't pay extortionate joining fees or yearly subscriptions. Gardening has less impact on the joints in your arms or knees, unlike jogging, tennis, football or other sports. Gardening is less vigorous than these types of sports and therefore is suitable for people who suffer from high blood pressure, heart problems, joint disorders and many more. It is suitable for all ages and all genders. Let gardening provide you with the exercise your personal trainer and doctors tell you to take. This is MUCH CHEAPER than a gym, you will be less prone to injury and you will still notice a difference in your well-being.

Experience the satisfaction of going down the garden, picking fresh vegetables whether it is for Sunday lunch, an evening meal or a summer salad knowing that you have taken great pride and love in presenting this healthy and nutritious meal to your family WITHOUT the need for PESTICIDES or CHEMICAL FEEDS.

SURELY THIS MATTERS TO YOU - GROW YOUR OWN VEGETABLES - HELP SAVE OUR ENVIRONMENT

Vegetable Gardens Can Relieve Stress

Growing your own vegetables not only saves you money on your weekly grocery bills or enables you to eat healthier; it is also very beneficial in relieving stress.

Stress is a big problem in society today and it affects many people in all walks of life. It is the reason for many illnesses and the negative effects of this in our lives can bring on several problems such as HEART DISEASES, DEPRESSION, MIGRAINE, EATING DISORDERS and many others. We live in a world that brings all kinds of pressure upon us, travelling to and from out workplace on heavily congested motorways, cost of living increases, household bills increases, the economic situation and much more. Being affected by stress removes the joy and serenity in our lives and very often disturbs the relationships we have with our family.

Being able to tend to your own garden and witness all your work come to fruition is an easy accessible method of stress relief. A vegetable garden is fairly easy to maintain in comparison to one with ornamental plants, working in a garden does not create additional stress.

Having a vegetable garden allows you to unwind after the stressful hours spent in the workplace. Different people have different ways of dealing with stress, but the most popular way is to get into your gardening attire and spend a few hours attending to the plants that eventually will give you a healthy meal and also save you money. It also allows you to have a quiet time to yourself, where you can also reflect on the good things of life.

Getting out into the garden and out into the sunshine will significantly improve your mood as well as providing Vitamin D which is necessary for absorption of CALCIUM into your body. It is a known fact that we feel better when we feel the sun's rays on our back. This alone will make you feel much better and reduce the stress enormously.

Many of us have to work in conditions that are unnatural. Many are exposed to unnatural light, noise from machines and maybe smoke from furnaces, maybe even no windows in the room. We are usually not exposed to natural light and the sun unless of course your employment is outside. Attending to the needs of your vegetable garden is an opportunity to get out into the sunlight and fresh air and away from the confinement of an office.

Being surrounded with plants and nature is both encouraging and invigorating. Days and weeks spent indoors and at our place of work prevent us from getting in touch with nature, but it can be invigorating to be surrounded by plants that flourish because you have lovingly tended from the seed. Their edible parts will improve your appetite and nourish the body with essential vitamins and minerals.

Having your own little piece of nature on your doorstep can help you get rid of stress. The sight of your vegetable garden will relieve stress knowing you have tended to, cared for and raised these healthy plants with the end results providing a healthy meal for you and your family. The hard work that you have put into your vegetable garden throughout the weeks and months, the digging, weeding, pruning and harvesting provide a constructive outlet for all the tensions that the body has amassed during a week of stressful work at the workplace.

BUT THE END RESULT IS REWARDING - TAKE A FEW MINUTES, SIT DOWN IN YOUR VEGETABLE GARDEN AND ADMIRE ALL YOUR HARD WORK, RELAX AND BE AT PEACE WITH NATURE AND THE STRESSES OF LIFE WILL DRIFT AWAY.

For a Healthier Lifestyle - Grow Your Own Vegetables

There is nothing better on a Sunday morning than to pick up basket or box, make your way down the garden to pick a few fresh vegetable for lunch, vegetables that you have lovingly grown. Growing your own vegetables will save you money on your food bills and more important you will be healthier for it.

You may live in the city or town where your garden is small, but it is still worthwhile cultivating your favourite vegetables. Growing your own gives you a tremendous sense of achievement plus they taste much better when you eat them within a few minutes of being freshly picked.

Just think, eating Sunday Lunch that includes freshly picked vegetables from your garden, surely that's better than one that has vegetables from the supermarket that you don't know how long they have been stored, how long they have travelled and what the grower has used on his land to cultivate the crop. It is a known fact that vegetables when eaten within a short time of picking are healthier for you because they retain their nutrition and flavour than those that have been picked and stored or transported over a number of days
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Having grown your own vegetables means that you know what "feeds" or methods have been used to cultivate them from seeds or plants to the table.

Don't try to grow everything, because you could find that you may not be able to harvest the entire crop which then would be a total waste. This would ruin your confidence, choose your crops carefully, choose the ones that taste best when picked and eaten straight from the garden
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If space is limited, it is still possible to have a vegetable garden by creating RAISED BEDS. These are usually constructed out of bricks, dry-stone walls or timber and filled with soil. Constructing a raised bed brings the garden up to an easy working level and also means that you don't have to walk on the garden to attend to the plants therefore the soil never gets compressed because you work from the paths either side. The ideal raised bed is usually 1.2 meters wide so that you can work without stepping on the soil, and 3 meters long and no less than 40cm deep. The easiest construction would be made out of timber, secured at each corner with screws and pegged at intervals around the side. This would secure the structure and stop any movement.

Before filling the raised bed with topsoil, it is a good idea to loosen the ground within the area so that the water can drain away. Failure to do this could result in the water soaking through the top soil and collecting on the lower surface. The roots of the plants could rot if the water is retained for any length of time.

Once the raised bed is filled with topsoil, add a generous helping of organic matter. Well-rotted manure or peat is a good dressing. If the soil is of a clay texture, it will benefit from adding organic matter and a measure of horticultural sand, about a bucket full per square meter. To check if the soil is good, take a handful, form it into a ball if it crumbles when pressed with the fingers, then you know that it is near perfect. Whatever the soil type you have to work with, it will always benefit from a good generous dressing of organic matter, whether it is rotted manure, garden compost or peat, they all add nutrients to the soil which your vegetables will thrive on.

When growing vegetables it is best to rotate your crop each year, divide your garden into different areas to achieve this. This means that the crops are not grown in the same area two years running. There are benefits to this, each crop will benefit from the nutrients left in the ground from the previous crop and also there will be less risk of plants picking up root diseases from a previous crop. Dividing your vegetable garden into different sections, these could be Root Vegetables in one area, Brassica types in another and your Salad types in another, means that you will have created a vegetable garden that will give you produce all the year from winter vegetables to summer salads.

Plant the traditional vegetables e.g Onions, Leeks, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Beetroot, Potatoes etc. In the Salad section plant Spring Onions, Carrots, Peas, Radish and Lettuce, this way you can provide vegetables for the table at little to no cost.

Growing your own vegetables gives you a tremendous feeling of achievement and satisfaction, it provides you and your family with a healthy diet, it saves you money on supermarket bills and it provides you with a relaxing hobby that can ease the stress of our everyday living.

Get Healthy by Planting a Vegetable Garden and Save Money on Your Grocery Bill

Instead of laying down a lawn and multiple flower beds in your back garden, why not think about using part of this for planting a vegetable garden instead.

Planting a vegetable garden is a great way to spend time after a hard stressful day at work and at the same time getting in touch with nature. You will also take great pride in watching your hard labour develop day by day with an end result to be proud of. By implementing a planting programme throughout the year, you will be able to have a supply of vegetables all year round; you will also improve your health by eating more healthily and at the same time lessen you food expenses.

MONEY SAVING STRATERGY: It's very difficult these days to ignore the soaring prices of food items especially fresh vegetables. It may be that your back garden is small and your vegetable garden may not provide all that you need or require, but it will I'm sure have a dramatic effect in reducing your weekly/monthly food bill and that must appeal to you.

Can you image not having to run to the grocery store to buy vegetables to prepare dinner or lunch? The most common of vegetables that you need to prepare your meals are already there in your own vegetable garden. Depending upon the type of vegetables you decide to plant and your methods of preserving them, the economic benefits you get from your vegetable garden will be felt all year round. There is nothing better than creating a summer salad from the produce taken from your own garden, the produce that you have lovingly tended to throughout its growing life or pulling new potatoes to go with your Sunday Roast.

It is a known fact these days that children prefer to eat "Fast Foods" e.g. hotdogs, burgers and others and are likely to eat less vegetables at meal times. However with the increase of "Celebrity Chefs" flooding the bookstores with their recipes, there are many that show you a variety of meals to prepare that are both nutritious and appetizing even for the children. If the food you serve does not look and taste boring, your children will prefer this to the "fast food" servings.

MORE NUTRITIOUS MEALS: With a variety of vegetables to cook from your garden, you will find it more pleasurable to cook and serve vegetable dishes to your family. This also means that all the family will enjoy all the numerous health benefits of eating fresh produce since vegetables contain many nutrients. The fact is that vegetables are LOW in FATS, CALORIES and contain NO CHOLESTEROL. Cholesterol is one of the highest health problems that affect many people in the world today.

By eating more vegetables you will also get a steady source of the following:

DIETARY FIBRE - This is very important for the normal bowel movement and is exceptionally good for the entire digestive system. Dietary fibre is also known to reduce the amount of bad cholesterol in the body thus reducing the risk of heart diseases and reportedly can fight off certain forms of cancers. If you are also on a diet, eating vegetables will make you feel fuller faster. Vegetables that are rich in dietary fibre are PEAS, CARROTS, CABBAGE and SPINACH.

POTASSIUM - This is a necessary element for keeping BLOOD PRESSURE at a normal level. It is also very important in keeping the BRAIN, MUSCLES and other TISSUES in the body functioning and working normally. Vegetables that are high with potassium include POTATOES, SQUASH, TOMATO, AUBERGINE and CELERY.

VITAMINS A, B and C - Vitamin A is very good for the eyes, it promotes bone growth, tooth development and helps maintain healthy skin and hair. Vitamin B is important because it helps the body cells convert carbohydrates into energy. It is essential for the functioning of the heart, muscles and nervous system. Vitamin C is necessary to maintain healthy connective tissues and is known to boost the immune system.

The following vegetables PEAS, LEEKS, CARROTS, ASPARAGUS, BROCCOLI and GREEN PEPPER are rich in Vitamin A. PARSNIPS, POTATOES, BROCCOLI, PEAS and BEANS are a great source of Vitamin B and RED CABBAGE, KALE, PARSLEY and TURNIP are rich in Vitamin C.

There are other Vitamins and Minerals that you can get from vegetables. These are CALCIUM, PHOSPHOROUS, SODIUM, MAGNESIUM, IRON, NIACIN, ZINC and MANGANESE.

By replacing the Lawn and Flower Beds with a Vegetable Garden, you will not have to expend your energy on cutting the grass every week in the summer or watering the lawn to stop it from going "brown" and many other things. Instead by creating a vegetable garden, you are also contributing towards a healthier lifestyle for both yourself and your family, plus the satisfaction and pride each time you serve your family a meal whose vegetable ingredients you cultivated yourself in your vegetable garden. NOW YOU CAN'T GET THESE THINGS FROM A LAWN!

Planning a Vegetable Garden for the City, Town or Countryside

It's true to say that people who live in the city where pollution is great because of traffic, have a busy lifestyle and more than likely live in a property that has confined space for a garden, so it seems inconceivable that a vegetable garden would survive. Whether you live in a house or an apartment the fact is, you don't need a large area, you can grow vegetables in tubs, growing bags or small raised beds. Therefore you can actually grow vegetables if you live right in the centre of a busy city, town or country if you get the basics of planting vegetables right.

One of the first things you need to get right is soil preparation. This is vitally important if you are a new comer to gardening whether you plan to use the back garden to grow vegetables or plant in boxes or tubes. Soil preparation plays an important role as to whether the vegetables will survive or not.

There are different types of soil, sandy, clay, chalky, loamy. Sandy soil is loose in texture and helps the roots of the plants to breathe because it lets the air pass through easily and won't hold together if you form it into a ball. Clay soil if formed into a ball will hold its form without crumbling or falling into pieces and once wet it becomes a sticky mess. Chalky soil drains very freely and therefore puddles drain away quicker. Loamy soil is dark in colour and when formed into a ball will hold its shape.

All types of soil can be improved and can benefit from digging in lots of well-rotted organic matter. Clay soil can also benefit from digging in horticultural sand.

When preparing the soil for your vegetable garden, dig up the soil and break up the lumps. Remove rocks, stones, weed roots. If you have clay subsoil try not to bring that up to the surface when digging. Remember that you don't want soil that traps the water inside too much that the roots of your vegetable will choke and rot. One good way to test whether the composition of the soil is good is by taking a handful and forming a ball with it. The soil should hold its shape; if it doesn't there may be too much sand in the mixture. If the soil holds its shape but does not crumble easily when you press it between your fingers, then the mixture may have too much clay in it, this then needs to have a dressing of horticultural sand mixed in. Whatever the soil type you have to work with, it will always benefit from a good generous dressing of organic matter, whether it is rotted manure, garden compost or peat, they all add nutrients to the soil which your vegetables will thrive on.

Once you have completed cultivating the area for your vegetable garden, you then have to make a decision as to what kind of vegetable you want to grow. Take into account that some vegetables don't grow well when they are planted too close to certain types of other vegetables. Potatoes for instance shouldn't be planted too close to squash or tomatoes because their growth will be inhibited. They can be planted in the same garden but don't plant them beside each other.

Having decided on the kind of vegetables you want to plant if the area is large, you may want to consider using a water irrigation system. This is where a tube or tubes with many holes along its length is placed between the rows of vegetables and connected to a water supply. When the water supply is turned on, water seeps through the holes and around the plants. This is a good system to install especially for summertime watering.

Deep or raised beds is a very popular way of growing vegetables where you only have a small area. These can be constructed by arranging planks in a square or oblong shape with a minimum size of 1.2 metres wide so that you can work without stepping onto the soil and 3 metres long. Growing your vegetables this way means that the soil never gets compressed because you work from paths either side. The depth of the bed should be a minimum 40cm. This should be filled with a mixture of top soil and compost providing a good composition so that the roots of the vegetables can penetrate a long way down.

Whether you have a large area or raised beds to grow your vegetables, it is a good idea to plan where you plant the different vegetables. A good way to do this is to divide a piece of paper into the number of sections that your vegetable area allows. For instance if you divide the area into three, in one area you can grow root vegetables, e.G. Potatoes, carrots, beetroot, the second area brassicas vegetables, this include cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli, the third area for salad crops e.G. Lettuce, peas, onions and beans. One point to take into account is that some crops take longer to mature than others. Brussels sprouts take a full season to grow, while others like the lettuce mature in 3-4 months.

Crop rotation is another thing that should be taken into account. This means that each year you move everything on to the next space so that you don't grow the same type of vegetable in the same area two years running. Crop rotation means that the each type of crop get the right soil preparation, each benefits from whatever nutrients the previous crop left in the soil and most importantly that there is less risk of plants picking up root diseases from a previous crop.

Autumn, winter or early spring is when you prepare the ground with spring being the main sowing seeds and planting time. In summer as you get to the end of the early crops, clear the ground and plant another crop to fill up the gap. Mid to end of summer you will be preparing the ground for the last sowing of seeds and plants. The seed sowing programme and instructions are always provided on the back of the seed container. One important point is to gather your crops little and often. You don't have to wait for the complete row to mature, if you wait, you will see the fruits of your hard labour go rotten in front of you.

Growing your own vegetables is very rewarding but it can be labour intensive but the rewards are greater than the effort that you put in throughout the growing year. Eating vegetables that you have grown, tended to throughout its growth, is far healthier than the ones purchased from the grocery store. You know what nutrients you have put into the soil to produce the produce, you don't know with the purchased product. You can go to your vegetable garden and pull the produce, prepare a meal with fresh produce, you don't know when it was pulled and how long it's been stored with the purchased product. There is no need to store your produce because you can go and pull it fresh which is far healthier for you and your family.

Remember, you don't need a large area to grow vegetables, you can grow them in tubs, growing bags or small raised beds. Therefore you can actually grow vegetables if you live right in the centre of a busy city, town or countryside.

Grow your own vegetables, eat more healthier!

JC's Profile

I'm new to this Bloggin' lark but thought I'd have a go........

My main hobby for many years has been gardening, vegetable gardening,  that's why you'll find most of the articles on my blog about gardening! but on the other hand you will also see other articles about other subjects that grab my interest.

I'll be reviewing a wide range of topic's that interest me and writing articles on them whilst hoping that they'll interest you.

Let me know.