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 10 Things I
Wish I’d Known Before Starting a New Vegetable Garden
Ben Vanheems is a vegetable gardener in the United Kingdom who
presents a series of videos on growing vegetables. In this video, he
presents some of the things he wishes he knew when he started
gardening.
Vanheems says that “the first thing to consider when starting a new
garden is light. Most vegetables, fruits and herbs will grow best in
full sunshine.” Some crops can also be grown in partial shade.
Vegetables need to be fed plenty of organic matter, meaning garden
compost and manure. “Over time your soil structure will improve,
becoming better draining and a healthier environment for roots,”
says Vanheems.
Planting too soon can spell trouble if you get hit with a sudden
late frost. This means finding out last and first frost dates to
help further define your actual growing season. Garden planners are
useful for helping to keep track of growing dates, and when you
should be sowing, planting and harvesting your chosen crops. See the
NWS Keeping Track
of the Last Freeze
“Seed beds - that's the area you sow into - should have a fine,
crumbly texture. Sowing undercover into plug trays and pots is a
great way to get a head start while temperatures outside are still
too low,” says Vanheems.
Some vegetables can be picked regularly. Harvesting certain crops
will allow for more to follow before the season is up.
Quick-maturing
Plants: 5 Fast Growing Vegetables to Try
In another video, Vanheems says that “leaving the ground bare not
only attracts weeds and leaves the soil prone to erosion, it's also
a wasted opportunity to grow another crop…there are plenty of
vegetables that go from sowing to harvest in very little time at
all.”
Radishes take only 3-4 weeks to reach harvest time. Seeds can be
sown into prepared ground or in separate pots. Radishes will pop up
within 3-5 days. Seeds should have enough room to expand, and should
be kept clear of weeds.
“Salads” is actually a category of plants that “presents a symphony
of leaf shapes, textures and tastes, ideal for livening up
mealtimes.”
Suitable salads include lettuce, mustards, kale, and rocket (or
arugula). These can be mixed based on individual tastes. Harvesting
usually starts in about three weeks. Vanheems says to “take 2 or 3
outer leaves from each plant at any one time. This allows the
remaining leaves to grow on and provide another cut in a few days'
time.” Bush beans can be planted after other
crops, and only take two months from planting to harvest. If you
time it right, you can plant “once a month until the end of
summer…picking every few days as they appear.”
Carrots don’t really look like a speedy vegetable,
but certain varieties only need around six weeks to grow and
harvest. You can actually pull up the carrots while they're still
“young.”
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 Spinach can be planted once a month for most of
the year. Vanheems says to be careful though, as these plants “can
quickly bolt in hot weather, which causes the leaves to turn
bitter.” Leaves should be harvested in small amounts more often than
you might think.
Vegetable
Gardening for Beginners - 7 Tips You Must Know
Finally, this video has its own tips for beginning gardeners.
These tips include:
Provide an environment that attracts pollinators. “One way of doing
this is to mix colorful flowers with some of your vegetables.
Pollinators are one of the most valuable allies that your beginner
vegetable garden can have.”
Pay attention to your soil and its nutrients. “The soil in a garden
is depleted at a much faster rate than in larger gardens or farms.
You will therefore need to add organic compost and to top dress the
soil in your garden.” This also means rotating crops if you can.
Growing crops vertically maximizes use of space, leads to better
management of pests, enhanced yields and an easier harvesting
process.
Conduct a full pH test of the soil in your garden. This will help
you to determine the best plants for your soil.
Finally, it is better to begin with a small garden that is easy to
manage. “You can then expand after each season and experiment with
different plants in order to learn what grows best on your backyard
garden.”
These are just a few examples of the resources out there on starting
vegetable gardens. With a basic search and a bit of trial and error,
anyone can start growing fresh vegetables right outside their door.
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