One hundred pounds of tomatoes from just 100 square feet.
Twenty pounds of carrots from 24 square feet.
Delicious vegetables from a 15-by-20-foot plot.
Believe it or not, it's not impossible to grow your own vegetables with such high yields.
All that's required is some patience and smart tactics for you to start your own vegetable
garden.
Hi viewers and welcome back to another Bestie video!
Vegetable gardening at home can be a good way to save money while you get up close and
personal with nature.
It is both fun and rewarding.
All you really need to get started is some decent soil and a few plants.
Apart from saving you money, you’ll also find that the flavor and texture of garden-grown
produce is even better than what you're used to finding at the grocery store.
Tending your vegetable garden counts as exercise as well.
And in today’s video, we will give you the best tips to start your own vegetable garden.
From starting with a small space, picking the best soil, planning the layout, planting
the seeds to protecting against pests and more, watch till the end to learn about all
of them.
Outline A Vegetable Gardening Plan: Wherever you are planning to start growing your vegetable
garden, there is most likely someone in your neighborhood or local area who is already
doing it.
Use this collective local knowledge.
Try to find out who these people are and ask them about what works best and what doesn’t
work in the specific climate you are at.
These tips are gold as they might avoid disappointing first tries.
They can also help you start a successful cycle that gives you the confidence to go
further.
What grows best in your area, what is the sowing and harvesting time of each vegetable
and how much you want to produce of each variety are questions that need to be answered.
If you prepare your gardening calendar with early-season crop seeds and late-season ones
you will have new growings every month, maximize the use of space and leave less room for weeds
to develop.
What are the most common vegetables that people grow in their garden where you live?
Tell us quickly down below in the comments section!
Start with a Small Space: Lots of people dream of having a huge vegetable garden, a sprawling
site that will be big enough to grow everything they want.
But efficient vegetable gardens are much easier to care for.
Being a beginner gardener, you should start small.
It’s better to be thrilled by what you produce in a small garden than be frustrated by the
time commitment a big one requires.
It's also best to learn a few gardening basics before investing tons of time and money in
this new hobby.
You’ll get a feeling for how much time gardening takes.
You’ll find out if you like spending time outside planting, watering, and weeding.
You’ll learn how much produce you and your family can eat over the course of a summer.
A good size for a beginner’s vegetable garden is 6x6 feet.
Select up to five types of vegetables to grow, and plant a few of each type.
You’ll get plenty of fresh produce for your summer meals, and it will be easy to keep
up with the chores.
Growing vegetables in containers is also a good way to start out.
With them you don't even need a yard; a sunny deck or balcony work fine.
It is also very important to pick the correct location for your garden.
You have to consider factors like the amount of sunlight the space receives, proximity
to water, and protection from frost and wind.
Choose What And How Much You Want To Grow: Pay close attention to the description on
the seed packet, tag, or label.
Each variety of vegetable comes with certain characteristics.
Some produce smaller plants ideal for containers or small gardens.
Other varieties offer better disease resistance, improved yields, or better heat- or cold-tolerance.
Start by choosing veggies you like to eat, then look into their sizes and care needs.
Think about how much you and your family will eat and how likely you are to freeze, can,
or give away excess produce.
Then be realistic about how many seeds or plants you need to put into the ground.
Many beginners make the mistake of planting too much.
Vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, and squash keep providing throughout the season, so you
may not need too many plants.
Other vegetables, such as carrots, radishes, and corn, can be harvested only once and then
would need to be replanted.
Planting both cool and warm weather vegetables will give you veggies continuously through
the spring, summer, and fall.
In early spring, grow lettuce, greens like arugula, peas, radishes, carrots, and broccoli.
After you’ve harvested your cool-weather crops, plant hot-weather favorites, such as
tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and herbs.
In fall, you can harvest potatoes, cabbage, and kale.
Plan The Layout: Once you know where you want your garden, decide on the type and size of
garden bed.
Raised beds are attractive and may make it easier to work in your garden, but they also
dry out more quickly.
In very dry areas, sunken beds can be used to gather available moisture.
Think about planting your garden in blocks or beds of plants instead of single rows.
Beds should be 3 to 4 feet across – narrow enough that you can reach the center from
either side.
They should be roughly 10 feet long or less, so you’re not tempted to step into the bed
and compact the ground.
Within the garden beds, place plants in rows or a grid pattern.
The goal is to minimize walkways and maximize growing space.
You only add fertilizer and soil amendments to the planting area, which saves time and
money.
Work with companion plants to attract beneficial insects and improve yields.
Invest in Good Soil: For the best harvest, your vegetable garden needs the best soil
you can give it.
Rich, healthy soil is something you know when you feel it: It’s easy to dig and drains
well.
Pick up a trowel's worth and put it in your hands.
Does it feel gritty?
Too much sand.
Is it powdery?
Too much silt.
Is it sticky when wet?
Too much clay.
The combination of these three types determines the texture of your garden soil.
That texture affects drainage and the availability of nutrients.
You want soil that is dark, crumbly, and literally full of life.
Fortunately, no matter what the texture may be, all soil can be improved over time by
incorporating organic matter into it.
To prepare your soil for planting, spread any needed additions like compost and work
them into the soil with a tiller or spade.
Avoid stepping on freshly tilled soil or you’ll compact it and undo all your hard work.
Then rake the surface smooth and water thoroughly.
Allow the bed to rest several days before you plant so the additions can do their work.
Plant Your Seeds and Water Them: Your seed packets should indicate your top months to
plant and to pick your fruits and veggies.
It should also give some instructions about how deep you should plant your seeds.
Usually, the smallest seeds can be sprinkled right on the soil surface while “larger”
seeds will need to be buried 2-5 centimeters down.
Follow the seed packet or other online instructions on how to sow the seeds.
Water your vegetables once or twice a week rather than every day.
It will force the roots to reach further down into the soil to seek moisture, improving
the plant’s resilience.
In the meantime, remove undesired weeds as they come up so they don’t start reproducing
and getting stronger.
Defend Against Garden Pests And Weeds: Pests weaken plants and take nutrients away from
vegetable production.
But before grabbing pesticides at the first sign of a chewed leaf in your garden, think
about some alternative solutions.
A lot of the time, you can combat pest problems – and increase your yield – by using natural
remedies.
Floating row covers, handpicking and slug traps are all effective ways to naturally
reduce the damage to your vegetable garden, without the harmful chemicals found in so
many pesticides.
Weeds also compete with your vegetables for light, water, and nutrients, so it's important
to keep them to a minimum.
A mulch of clean straw, compost, or plastic can keep weeds at bay around larger plants
like tomatoes.
Use a hose to discourage any weed seedlings that do pop up.
Did you know that baking soda can also defend your vegetables against pests and weeds?
And not just that it has a wide range of other uses in the garden as well.
To know what they are, watch this video titled “Put Baking Soda On Your Garden And See
What Happens”
Now back to Helpful Tips To Start Your Own Vegetable Garden.
Be Patient And Harvest: Growing takes time.
On the surface, you will start seeing the first signs of development as, for instance,
the first lettuces or tomato stems come out of the soil.
It may look small but hidden underneath the soil there’s a whole root structure developing.
And, that’s just the beginning.
Surface growth will take its own time.
Don’t pick small vegetables and fruits while they’re still green at the risk of losing
flavor.
Be patient, the time will come.
Once the time comes, collect the fruits and vegetables as they become mature.
There are different methods to harvest each crop – some like scissors better, others
can simply be hand-picked.
If they are not perennials – like basil – you will need to repeat the process to
have them growing again.
While these tips can help you start your own vegetable garden, it’s very important to
cook these veggies in the correct way to maximise their nutrition.
Learn more of what we are talking about by:
Watching: 12 Ways You're Cooking Your Vegetables Wrong Which Reduce Their Health Benefits
Or
Finding out Kitchen Hacks That Will Change Your Life
These 2 videos will definitely help you cook your food in the best way possible to maximise
its nutritional benefits.
So go ahead and pick a video, or watch them both for maximum benefits.
Would you ever give vegetable gardening a try and what would you grow?
Let us know in the comments section below!