Growing your vegetables in your backyard is fun and a rewarding hobby this summer while still in lockdown. Vegetable gardening can be overwhelming at first, but all you need is a space to plant on, decent soil and a few plants. What's good about growing your vegetables at home is you can grow them organically.

More homeowners nowadays are turning their flower gardens into vegetable gardens because of the rapid increase of vegetable cost in the market. For beginners, here are some gardening tips to get you started.

5 Must-Know Tips for Growing your Vegetable Garden

Choose Where to Plant

You have to determine where to plant your veggies. If you have a wide space in your backyard, you can dig directly in the ground. But if you have limited space, you can consider planting on containers or pots. There are several methods of gardening and here are some of them:

• In-ground gardening

This is applicable when you have a wider space to plant on. This is the easiest method, cost-effective, and easy to start. All you need is good soil, a good source of water, and enough sunlight for your plants.

• Container gardening

Growing your veggies in containers is a perfect way to maximize space. This method is very convenient and popular for homeowners who have small spaces like balcony or patio gardens.

There are different types of garden containers, however, a garden container is restrictive. The size of the container depends on the method of how to grow the plant. Climbing varieties of plants need more space to grow, so make sure to place them in a spot where they can creep. Small herbs like Rosemary can be planted in a small ceramic or plastic container and can be placed inside the kitchen.  

However, for the larger varieties of veggies, they prefer large containers. When setting up a container garden, great planning and consideration is a must. One can choose different garden containers in different colors and all sorts of shapes and sizes. Make sure that the containers you select are suitable for the garden design.

If you are going to choose this method, make sure that you water the plant on schedule so that they will not dry. Also, invest in quality containers that don’t crack easily like clay pots.

• Raised beds gardening

The latest trend in raised bed gardening is the wood pallet garden frames.  In raised bed gardening, you have to elevate the soil higher than the original level and make garden beds from bricks or woods. Pallet gardening is the easiest, eco-friendly, and time-saving raised bed gardening method to grow your veggies at home. The pallet slats hinder the weeds to grow and you can even write plant names on it.

Plant in Sunny Area

Most fruit-bearing veggies like cucumbers, peppers, squash, and tomatoes need direct sunlight at least 6-8 hours a day. However some leafy greens and herbs need less light.

Plant in Healthy Soil

For a more fruitful vegetable garden, you need a healthy, and rich soil. For organic gardening, you can use homemade compost like organic fertilizers, and well-composed animal manures.

Pick your Veggies

For starters, carefully pick the vegetables you want to grow. For your first vegetable garden, pick 4-5 types and tend them well. Don't cram too much in a small space or you'll end up in a lesser harvest. To boost your yield, you can do succession planting. When you're done harvesting your initial crops, follow up with a second planting. For example, follow lettuce with string beans.

Here are vegetables that best grow in the summer heat:

• Beans
• Cucumbers
• Eggplant
• Lettuce
• Malabar Spinach
• Okra
• Peppers
• Tomatoes
• Shallots
• Sorrels
• Squash
• Southern Peas
• Sweet Potatoes

Tend your Plants Well

You need to water, feed, and weed your plants. If you want to harvest more veggies than weeds, treat your garden with great TLC. For newly seeded beds, they need frequent watering, but established plants need less watering for at least 1-2 inches of water a week.  To conserve water, mulch your soil with several inches of shredded leaves or straw. This organic mulch will help retain the moisture in the soil, suppress the growth of weeds, help improve the fertility of the soil and keep the soil cool as well.

As for feeding your plants, long-term vegetables like eggplants, tomatoes, and squash needs fertilizers like organic fertilizers to support their growth and to have a bigger harvest. However, for quick-growing veggies like lettuce and radishes, they will grow well in fertile soil and won't need any fertilizers.

 

Gardening can be tiring, but a fulfilling experience. After a long day, pour yourself a glass of wine and enjoy the sunset. These Garden Veggie Magnetic Wine Charms are perfect for your glasses and summer entertaining or would even make a wonderful gift for a gardener. You'll surely love the adorable details on these vegetable wine charms.

Summer is a great time to have a fruitful vegetable garden especially this trying time where most people are still in lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic. Most people are staying at home and gardening is a fun and rewarding hobby for all of us! With these basic vegetable gardening tips, you'll learn where to plant, what to plant, and how to tend your garden well to have a flourishing and bountiful garden to enjoy all summer long.

Stay home and happy gardening!