Planning a Vegetable Garden
Some people get the idea to start gardening in late spring while they are standing at the home improvement store staring at the seeds. Instead of making good plans, they simply choose some seed packets that look tasty and move on their merry way. Although planning a vegetable garden doesn’t have to be terribly difficult, you may need to put more effort into it than the above scenario.
Choosing Your Crops
In order to plan your garden well, you need to educate yourself on which are the best crops to grow. Part of this choice will be based upon your region, part will be based upon ease of growth, and still another part has to do with personal preference. Choosing easy to grow vegetable options such as garlic or radishes is a wise choice for beginners who want a quick and hardy crop.
Choosing Your Space
The two most important factors in determining where to put your plants are sunlight and competition. Vegetables need at least 6-8 hours of sunlight every day in order to thrive. And when choosing a spot, make certain that your vegetables are not “competing” with any roots from trees or bushes that might impede them from growing. In that kind of battle, the tree or bush will always win out and your vegetable crop will suffer, if it even grows at all.
Planning Your Space
A popular form of gardening recently is the square foot garden, where every square foot of space is marked out and each one has the option to grow something different. Choosing too many varieties of plants to start with may be confusing and most veterans suggest starting out with just two or three plants in the beginning. Once you know what you are going to grow, draw out on graph paper, or take advantage of an online garden planner. This will give you a plan for how you expect your garden to look and what to put where when it is time.
Planning When to Plant
Once you’ve decided on what and where, you’ll also need to plan out when. If you are cultivating seeds indoors first, follow the directions on the seed packet about when to sow them. Typically several weeks before the last frost is the proper timing. When sowing outdoors, beware of frost by keeping blankets on hand to cover the crops and be sure to track the weather in the late spring evenings.
If you have all of these ideas and you’re ready to go, then good job! If you are still left feeling a bit unsure of how to plan a vegetable garden, check out a system such as Seed to Cash. Sort of a dummy’s guide to growing vegetables, Seed to Cash gives you the starter kit you need for planting as well as instructions, advice, and access to the online forum so that you can get answers to all of your questions about vegetable gardening. Whether you want to grow food to feed your family, share with friends, or make a profit, Seed to Cash is a surefire way to plan your vegetable garden easily and properly.
