Tips for your Vegetable Garden
July 1, 2009 by Lynn Sherman
Filed under Beginner Tips
Timing is Everything
If timed perfectly you can take your growing plants from the indoors to the outdoors without much worry. Timed poorly and move them too soon and all of that growth and hard work will be wiped out in a matter of minutes. So what causes this? Bugs? Your Neighbor? No! One of the worse enemies of a gardener, <!–more-memberlock–>frost! Frost occurs when temperatures go low enough to where overnight dew freezes. This condition will kill your new plants. To avoid this look up frost maps online at the United States Department of Agriculture to find when the first and last frosts occur in your area and then calculate your timing.
Compost
Compost is organic matter that has decomposed and when mixed with your soil provides many nutrients that your plants will absolutely love. You should be making compost throughout the year and mixing it in with the soil as new batches are completed. You could also buy compost, but where is the fun in that.
Plant Rotation
You should never plant the vegetables in the same location every year. Certain vegetables use more of some nutrients then others and by rotating them (combined with composting) you will never deplete an area of your soil from any one specific nutrient. So if you planted tomatoes in row 1 last year, move them to row 3 this year. Mix it up and your plants will love you for it.
Know you Limits
In my first garden I planted 6 grape tomato plants. Little did I know that they produced hundreds of tomatoes per each plant! I could not pick nor give them away fast enough. I learned the hard way to know my limits and not plant more than I can handle. Again gardening is supposed to be fun and enjoyable not a fulltime job. Plant only what you need and can pick in a reasonable amount of time and you will be sure not to overwork yourself.
Water
Next to oxygen, water is the most important part of any living organism and plants are no different. Yet, even though it is important, most people never give plants the ample amount of water they truly need. You should give your plants a good one hour per week of watering, and I don’t mean nine minutes every day, I mean sixty minutes in a single session. When you water like this, deep pockets of water are created underneath the soil which forces the roots of the plants to reach for them. When they do that the roots become stronger creating a healthier vegetable plant.
So there you have it. Five tips for vegetable gardening where you won’t have to alter your lifestyle in order to use. Simply follow these suggestions and gardening can be relaxing, fun, enjoyable and rewarding.
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About the Author
Bruce is the co-author of the book Vegetable Gardening for the Average Person. It is a practical easy to follow book that teaches gardeners everything from composting techniques, aeration and frost conditions, to choosing the right tools and picking the right seeds. To learn more about Mr. Tucker you can visit: AveragePersonGardening.com.
Weight Loss: Vegetable Gardening Makes for Great Exercise
June 30, 2009 by Lynn Sherman
Filed under Beginner Tips
Who says you have to spend hours in the gym in order to lose weight? As the season for growing vegetable gardens come into full bloom, it also provides the opportunity to get some exercise in and grow your own health food.
Let’s start with the obvious and that is the food that a vegetable garden yields. Many health experts, dieticians and nutritionists all agree on one principle when it comes to eating healthy and that is to ingest plenty of vegetables. Vegetables are filled with all of the nutrients, vitamins and minerals your body requires in order to function and the best part is most of them are calorie free.
A vegetable garden provides you the ability to grow your own nutrition and the freedom to pick and choose specifically which vegetables you like. For instance I am not a big fan of cauliflower so I do not include it in my garden. However, I absolutely love spinach and therefore I have 5 spinach plants going. As a side note, by growing your own food you also will save money at the grocery store, and saving money is something we can all agree on.
But what about the exercise part of gardening? How does that fit (no pun intended) in? In vegetable gardening there is a lot of <!–more-memberlock–>bending, stretching and moving, all of which help your muscles, and of course aids in burning more calories.
My vegetable garden is about eleven feet by eleven feet, give or take a few inches. I do not use any power tools what so ever. Everything is cultivated by hand. Throughout the year I am constantly working my soil by burying food waste for compost and turning the soil over to keep it well aerated. This might not seem like much but it is great exercise.
I am using tools that have some weight to them, the dirt I am lifting adds even more weight, and because it takes a good hour to completely turn my garden over, trust me, I am getting some great exercise in.
Then comes planting season, where I have to do a lot of bending down, to put the seeds in the soil, lay down my weed barrier and of course add in mulch and compost. All of these tasks are physically demanding, are great forms of exercise, and help me break a sweat.
Vegetable gardening is a fun and rewarding hobby but it also can be one that you can incorporate into your physical fitness routine. I won’t guarantee that it will get you prepared or in shape for the next Olympic Games or make you a professional athlete, but I can guarantee that you will break a sweat and get some great exercise in.
About the Author
Bruce is the co-author of the book Vegetable Gardening for the Average Person. It is a practical easy to follow book that teaches gardeners everything from composting techniques, aeration and frost conditions, to choosing the right tools and picking the right seeds.
div class=”info”>Author: Mike Podlesny
Growing Vegetables to Save Money: Important Tips to Consider for First Time Gardeners
June 30, 2009 by Lynn Sherman
Filed under Beginner Tips
Saving money is one of the biggest benefits to growing a vegetable garden in the mind of many first time gardeners. While this may be a good enough reason to start a vegetable garden, let’s not forget that there are others as well. Growing your own vegetables would increase your confidence in food safety and security. You would know where your food is coming from and all the history of plants grown in your own gardens. You would know what chemicals you used (if any), would learn what pests could impose problems and would essentially eliminate the whole resource-gobbling transportation chain to get the food to your plate. And all that gardening is good for you, because it‘s a great form of physical exercise!
For all you first time gardeners, here are several useful tips Read the rest of this entry »
Planning on Growing Your Own Vegetables – Where to Start?
June 30, 2009 by Lynn Sherman
Filed under Beginner Tips
These days with large sites hard to come by and allotments much in demand, old gardeners or gardening junkies are no longer the sole exponents of GIY. No, many new entrants are young professionals, nature enthusiasts, people who are genuinely interested in getting closer to nature or reducing their dependency on mass market produce. Whilst others are experimenting by growing their own vegetables, almost like self sufficent micro farmers or even environmentalists, taking positive steps to reduce carbon footprint or better still growing for their own organic consumption and self satisfaction. Not surprising therefore to read in Press reports that the sale of vegetable seed has overtaken the sale of flower seed.
So if you are a potential GIYer and do intend starting a programme or project of growing your own vegetables, you might be interested in the following advice. So whether your motivation is to reduce air miles or taste organic food, there are some important points to consider when planning to start a vegetable garden.
Does size matter? No – not really, whether you have a pot, an old kitchen sink, a window sill or a Read the rest of this entry »
5 Vegetable Garden Ideas
June 30, 2009 by Lynn Sherman
Filed under Beginner Tips, Garden Type/Location, Gardening with Kids
Everyone knows there are many benefits from having your own garden. Feeling a sense of pride as you watch the fruits (or vegetables, as the case may be) of your labor begin to flourish is just one of them. And your garden doesn’t ever have to be boring or the same year after year. Discover five vegetable garden ideas that will give you something creative to try for your next planting.
Plant a pizza garden
Vegetable gardening with a theme can be great fun for all ages. A theme garden is the perfect way to get the kids outside enjoying nature. Involving them will provide Read the rest of this entry »
Vegetable Gardening For Beginners – 6 Easy Tips To Start You Off
June 26, 2009 by Lynn Sherman
Filed under Beginner Tips
Vegetable Gardening For Beginners – 6 Easy Tips To Start You Off
Author: Abhishek Agarwal
Healthy vegetable gardens do more than provide a beautiful area in your yard. They repay your labor with nutritious food and a healthy varied diet. Vegetable gardeners are in tune with the environment, giving back to the soil what they take from it. Abundant vegetable gardens start with healthy, rich soil. Compost and mulch contribute to that natural wealth.
About 11,000 years ago, the first farmers began to select and cultivate desired food plants in the southwest Asian Fertile Crescent – between the ancient Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Although we believe there was some use of wild cereals before that time, the earliest crops were barley, bitter vetch, chick peas, flax, lentils, peas, emmer, and wheat. About 9,000 years ago, Egyptians began to grow wheat and barley. About the same time, farmers in the Far East began to grow rice, soy, mung, azuki, and taro.
Then, about 7,000 years ago, ancient Sumarians established the first organized agricultural practices that made large-scale farming possible. Of particular note, they established irrigation as a way to nurture crops where none were possible before. Vegetable gardeners today use many of the same techniques established in early history. But today’s vegetable gardeners have millennia of experience behind them. Trial and error today is success or failure at the margins. Failure is not disaster.
As in centuries passed, a successful vegetable gardener cultivates the garden before planting for three main reasons: to eliminate weeds, to distribute air and nutrients throughout the soil, and to conserve moisture. Preparation of the soil is the single most important step in assuring abundant harvests.
Weeds are the most powerful enemy of a healthy vegetable garden. Letting them multiply in your vegetable garden will create much work and disappointment through the growing season. And when your vegetables begin to grow, removing weeds can your new vegetable plants beyond repair. Weeds also steal the precious nutrients necessary to produce healthy vegetables.
Rather than sacrificing the new garden to a patch of weeds, the successful vegetable gardener will Read the rest of this entry »
Gardening and Avoiding Back Problems
June 26, 2009 by Lynn Sherman
Filed under Beginner Tips
Gardening is a hobby that is enjoyed by a great many people across the globe. In fact, studies have shown that working in a garden for just a few minutes a day, has proven to reduce stress significantly. Taking the time to smell the roses is beneficial for all! Sadly, however, many people are forced to give up gardening, as they grow older. Having trouble moving, getting up and down, carrying tools, etc., easily discourages those who suffer problems with mobility. Should our twilight years strip of us of one of your favorite pastimes? Definitely not! Keep on reading, to learn some methods of saving time and saving your back (and other body parts) in the garden.
Back-related problems are the number one reason that people give for avoiding garden work, which is perfectly understandable. Many of us suffer problems with our back as we grow older and gardening can prove quite painful if not done correctly. Appropriate tools and a few simple shortcuts Read the rest of this entry »
Organic Gardening For Beginners – Learning the Tricks of the Trade
June 24, 2009 by Lynn Sherman
Filed under Beginner Tips
Organic garden produce is known is for one thing – taste. The fruits and veggies they produce have real flavors because they are grown without the use of any chemicals. Many newbies actually start by growing herbs on their porch and later on get addicted to the taste of homegrown food. Before they know it, a small garden has appeared in their yard. Often, inexperienced organic gardeners forget one or more of the basic principals of sound organic gardening practice.
The decision a beginning gardener has to make is to choose the right Read the rest of this entry »
Vegetable Gardening – Grow What You Like
June 24, 2009 by Lynn Sherman
Filed under Beginner Tips
Vegetable gardening is becoming more popular all of the time. It is estimated that one out of every three people in the United States does some kind of gardening. A large percentage of gardening is done in urban areas. Growing great vegetables does not have to be difficult. In order to experience this wonderful hobby all you have to do is follow a few simple rules. As time goes by you will become more proficient.
There are several basic steps you need to follow to be a successful vegetable gardener. Here are the steps: Read the rest of this entry »