Vegetable Gardening - Getting Started

By: John Degroot

February 21 2009

Vegetable Gardening - Getting Started

Garden Clippings for Feb 21, 2009

Feeling frugal?  Penny pinching is in vogue lately, for good reason.

One of the smartest places to save a bundle is on your grocery bill, specifically in the produce department.  It is easy to grow your own groceries, and gratifying.  You’ll have the freshest food in the neighbourhood and it will taste better than what’s available on the grocery store shelf.

If you are new to gardening, or are considering a vegetable garden for the first time, read on. 

Like real estate, it’s all about location, location.  Pick a spot in full sun.  A vegetable garden needs at least 6 hours of consecutive sun.  Choose a high and dry location that has good drainage.   If possible, find a spot that is near a source of water. 

Your next critical issue is soil.  Good soil is the key to good gardening, but don’t fret if you have poor soil, because you can amend soil to make it fertile.  Add peat moss, compost, manure, or any organic matter in order to improve soil’s performance.  Blend your new soil amendments together with the existing soil and you will be off to a fine start. 

When starting a new vegetable patch make sure the soil is clean and free of weeds.  If the patch is currently grass, you will want to peel off and set aside the existing sod rather than till the green sod into the topsoil.  Alternatively, find a friendly way to kill the existing grass and once you are assured the weeds and grass are dead,  rototill the dead sod into the top few inches of topsoil. 

The fun begins when you pick out your garden seeds.   I recommend going through a seed catalogue and making a list of your favorite vegetables.  Once you have established your wish list, shop around for good pricing and selection.  Be aware of the ultimate size of your choices.  A small packet of beets or radish takes up just a little space, but a dozen cucumber seeds can easily take up a huge chunk of backyard real estate.

Start your planting with hardy vegetables that can withstand light frost.  These include radish, broccoli, peas, kale, onion, turnip, spinach and lettuce.  It is safe to plant these seeds in late April or early May, as they won’t be bothered by late frost.  Onions can be planted as early as March. 

Half hardy vegetables can be planted in May, even if a slight frost is expected.  Half hardy vegetable seeds include beets, cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce and carrots.

Most vegetables are considered tender and therefore need to be planted sometime around the end of May after the danger of frost is past.  These include tomatos, peppers, corn, bean, squash, cantelope, watermelon, eggplant and cucumber.  In order to get a head start on these vegetables, particularly tomatos and peppers, it is a good idea to start the seeds indoors or buy started seedlings from a greenhouse. 

Harvest time will come quickly with the fist crops of lettuce and radish reaching your table in late spring.  By mid summer you can start reaping the benefits of your work with beans, beets and onions and by late summer you will be saving money by the bushel.