In times when most families are looking hard at the amount of spending on grocery bills, planting a vegetable garden becomes a viable option that achieves two things; it helps reducing the cost of the family vegetable bills from the local supermarket, and it offers the opportunity to sell or "give away" excess produce to other family members or friends or neighbours. This will also reduce their grocery bills and will be much appreciated. Starting a vegetable garden is not particularly difficult as long as you put enough thought, time and effort into what you would you want to achieve from your garden. It's essential that you plan your vegetable garden first before planting.
LOCATION OF YOUR VEGETABLE GARDEN: This is the first decision that you must make. The location of your vegetable garden must be in an area where it is exposed to at least 6 hours of sunlight. It must not be in total shade and it must also be near to where you will source the water you will use to water the plants. You really don't want to be walking 100 metres carrying your watering can every time you want to water the plants. Ideally it should be near enough to be easily accessible to the hose that can then be connected to the water supply either inside your home or if you are lucky enough to have a water outlet close at hand. The location of your vegetable garden must be somewhere accessible so that you are able to frequently check for pests that will damage the plants and be able to pull out weeds when it is necessary.
SOIL PREPARATION: The next important factor to check is the condition of the soil. Check to see if it is suitable for growing the type of vegetables you have in mind. It must have good drainage; you don't want the ground waterlogged because this will rot the plants roots. It must be free of stones and other hard objects that will inhibit the growth of the plants. To most people soil is just "dirt", but if you think about it, to a plant its life or death. Basically this is what the plants feed off plus fertilizers that you add yourself. It's not difficult to identify your soil type. One thing to remember is whether you garden on CLAY, SANDY, CHALK or LOAM soil it will affect what vegetables will grow well. Usually whatever type of soil you have to work with, it can always be improved by adding plenty of organic matter such as well-rotted stable manure.
TYPE OF VEGETABLES: Included in your plans should be the type of vegetables you want to grow and the quantity of each. This consideration will help in determining the size of the plot you will require. Make a list of all the different types you want to grow, but a word of warning, this cannot be completely random. You must give thought as to what your garden will yield. What are your family's favourite vegetables, what do they like to eat in the winter and in the summer seasons. Consider what vegetables are often used for cooking the family meal. Will you be planting just for family consumption or do you have plans for the excess either selling them or giving them away to neighbours. Taking all these points into consideration will determine the size of the vegetable garden and reduce the risk of produce being thrown away.
PLANTING PLAN: It is worthwhile making a plan of where the vegetable plants you choose are to be planted. Consider the frequency of the yield of each type. Plants that can be harvested consistently throughout the year should be placed at the back of the plot where they will be undisturbed by whatever gardening activities you may have to do in the rest of the garden. Crops that produce early yield should be put together. These include such crops as RADISHES, SPINACH and CARROTS. Allow space for planting crops successively, so as you harvest one row you are able to plant another that produce yield later thus achieving produce all-year round.
PLANTS THAT CAN GROW TOGETHER: It must be noted that there are plants that you cannot grow along side other plants. There are vegetable plants that enhance the growth of another vegetable when planted together and there are those that restrict the growth of another plant. It is important that you take into consideration which of the plants inhibits the growth of another. If you overlook this, it could result in a much lower yield than expected. For instance, POTATOES are capable of inhibiting the growth of both SQUASH and TOMATO plants.BROCCOLI will also inhibit the growth of TOMATO plants. BEANS, on the other hand, inhibit the growth of ONIONS. This by no means stops you from planting all these plants in the garden it just serves as a reminder that when deciding what vegetables to grow, consideration must be given to which crops can be grown together without reducing the yield.
Planning is an essential part of having a successful vegetable garden that produces high yields of nourishing crops all-year round and ultimately rewards you financially by having smaller grocery bills.
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