When it comes time to start planning your vegetable garden for the season, or if you are starting a new vegetable garden, there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure that you have the best yield. Growing a vegetable garden is easy and a great way to eat healthier while spending more time outdoors and being active. Once you have a garden area planned, and know where you want to grow your garden, take some time to notice a few things. How much light does this area get? What other vegetation or trees are growing near by? And what type of soil will I have available? Make sure that the area that you have in mind has the space to hold what it is you want to grow because a garden that is too tightly packed will not produce more food, but instead can create an environment for mold and rot because a dense garden may not air out or successfully drain.
Most vegetables need full sun or need to spend most of the day in a sunny location with hot afternoon sun for best results. However, many of the leafy green vegetables like spinach, lettuce, bok choy, and beets, can withstand partial shade and still grow a healthy crop. By knowing your lighting, and knowing how much sun your garden gets, you can start to pick out vegetables that are best suited to the variables available to you. It is also important to look at what, if anything at all, is growing around your garden. Large trees and mature hedges generally have a large and sometimes shallow root mass that will quickly invade your garden space and steal water and nutrients from your garden as soon as they notice that they can. Ivy, and other invasive plants will also invade your garden quickly, so it is important to try to select an area with as little competition as possible. Invasive plants in the area will be attracted to the water and aeration that you will be giving to your garden, and can quickly take over your garden or encroach on your space if they are not properly dealt with. Weeding is also important for regular garden maintenance. Weeds can also spread quickly, and just like ivy or other invasive species of plant, can be much harder to deal with if they are not addressed and removed as soon as they appear.
Soil is also important. Drier soils are better suited for certain vegetables, similarly, wetter, or heavier soils, benefit other vegetable types. Unless you are planning to replace or import additional materials to your garden, try to work with the soil available, and to pick vegetables that are best suited. Vegetables and fruits that need further nutrients throughout the growing season can be supplemented with compost in order to keep your garden organic, or if that is not important, many fertilizers that are available on the market will help to feed plants and encourage a higher yield. Once you have considered these things, and know what it is that you want to grow, it is easy to maintain your garden and to produce great plants with healthy, organic vegetables.
