Archive for the ‘Vegetable Garden’ Category

Methods To Plan For Vegetable Gardening For Small Gardens

Thursday, July 15th, 2010


Organizing a vegetable garden is not just an economically intelligent decision but is also a better way to support your family with healthy and nutritious food without having to depend upon outside sources.

It is invariably better to grow your own lettuce,
cucumbers,
carrots,
peppers,
Tomatoes and even more,
Especially because it will not take a lot of space and effort.

Even if you do not have a huge backyard you can cultivate a small garden on your porch or potio or even your balcony.

All you require is to make sure that the place for your garden is sunny and spacious enough for you to cater to your plants.

If you are a starter, it is prudent to go for a container garden,

Wherein you can grow plants in small containers.

You will need to fill the containers which may a recycled medium size container or plastic, ceramic or clay pots and you can make use of them.

The other step following will be to sow vegetable seeds or young plants according to the regulations and water them regularly.

In containers you can raise a variety of vegetables like cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, eggplants, radishes, peppers, onions.

Being more productive container garden might take more space than other types of small gardens.

If you have some explorative knowledge of vegetable gardening, you can go for designer gardens in a square or semicircular garden depending upon the space you need to place your garden in.

Some plants might be planted in smaller squares, rows or even at random. However, it is prudent to schedule your plants in a pattern to make sure that all of them get enough space and can be reaped easily.

You can apportion the area into similar [arts and sow seeds accordingly. If you have a square garden, it becomes easy to plant seeds in rows and then at the middle of smaller squares.

For vegetable like radishes, you can merely broadcast the seeds across the garden or sow them in row depending upon your choice.

Looking to find the best advice on vegetable garden planning, then visit www.vegetablegardenplantingtips.com to find the best information on vegetable garden layout .

Portable Greenhouse Do’s and Don’ts

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009


If you’re like many home gardeners you might not know about the many benefits that portable greenhouses have to offer. These portable structures come in many different sizes from smaller to larger and are fairly easy to put together. The main benefit is that you have the option of extending your planting season from earlier in the spring to later in the fall. Also, for people living in condos or apartments, portable greenhouse can be very convenient because you can still plant a garden even though you don’t have a yard.

A portable greenhouse can be moved anywhere in your yard. This can be handy if you have certain areas in your garden that receive different amounts of sunlight depending on the time of day. For example, the east side of your home will probably receive more sun in the morning while the west side receives more sun in the evening hours. You can use this to your advantage by using a portable greenhouse with certain plants, fruits, and vegetables if they have unique growing requirements.

If you’d like to grow plants and vegetables but don’t have room for a garden outside there are many small portable greenhouses available that fit nicely indoors and don’t take up a lot of space. You can use them to overwinter sensitive plants or to start new seeds for planting outside later in the spring or fall. You can even use them for growing a small herb garden if you like to cook. There are many options available for these little greenhouses depending on your needs and requirements.

Not sure if gardening is the hobby for you? A portable greenhouse is a great way to get your feet wet and practice planting vegetables and flowers without making a huge commitment in terms of time and money. All you have to do is simply pack up your greenhouse if you decide that you don’t have a green thumb. You can’t do this with a permanent greenhouse building that in addition to costing a lot of money, will become a fixed structure in your yard once it’s been established.

You can also place your greenhouse on a small deck if you live in an apartment and don’t have a place to plant your garden outside. It might take an hour or two to put your portable greenhouse together but once assembled you’ll have a very handy place in your home to grow all kinds of herbs, vegetables, and flowers. If you plan on keeping your greenhouse outside just make sure to tie it down properly so it doesn’t blow off your deck on a windy day.

You certainly don’t want to deal with the mess created if your greenhouse should topple over or fly off your deck like a kite. As an extra precaution you should make sure to secure the bottom of your greenhouse with extra weight to keep it from falling over or blowing away. You can use either water filled buckets or bags filled with sand. Another option is to tie your greenhouse down with extra ropes and tie-downs.

If you’re thinking about purchasing a greenhouse you should take the time to study all the different types of portable greenhouse kits available to find which one suits your situation the best. You don’t want to end up with a kit that is either too big or too small for where you intend to keep it. It should also be easy to move and store if you don’t plan on keeping it up all year long.

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Vegetable Garden Planning

Saturday, February 7th, 2009


Planting a vegetable garden can be a very rewarding hobby as well as provide you with a healthy food source. Planning a vegetable garden gives you the chance to grow only the ones that you and your family love and it gives you the satisfaction of knowing that they are healthy and contain no pesticides or other harmful chemicals.

Many people believe that planning a vegetable garden can be a difficult task. But it is actually a simple and fun project that anyone can learn. If you can prepare for it the right way and have all of the essentials that you need on hand then you will have the ability to grow some of the most delicious wholesome vegetables.

Make sure that you choose a bright sunny area that receives at least six hours of sunlight. If you are planning on growing spinach or lettuce or other leafy crops than it will be fine if you choose a more shady area as these are more tolerant of shade and cooler temperatures.

If you do not have the best soil you can improve it with compost, leaf mold, rotted manure, peat moss, or other organic matter. It is hard to grow things in clay soil, but it is not impossible. You can add some vermiculite or humus to help improve the drainage. To test your soil, take a handful and squeeze tightly. When you release your hand, the soil should crumble slightly but retain the basic shape.

Mulching around the plants in your vegetable garden in early summer is crucial. A thick layer of mulch applied will improve the moisture retention in the area around the plants as well as deter weeds and some insects. Good mulch products include compost, straw, hay, or shredded bark.

While planning a vegetable garden, consider building a drip irrigation system for your garden. A drip irrigation system will help to give water directly to the vegetables in a way that will benefit them the most. This means that they will hit the root zones. You can install a timer for the irrigation system to start it automatically during set time periods.

Deciding what you wish to grow is a key consideration to planning a vegetable garden. You will want to grow vegetables that fit well with your soil type, and with your personal taste preferences. Focus on these aspects as you plan and plot out your garden. While you may find it interesting to grow all kinds of vegetables, it may not be a good idea if your family refuse to eat them.

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Vegetable Gardening

Saturday, January 17th, 2009


Planting a home vegetable garden is a wonderful way to provide your family with fresh healthy produce throughout the year. Even though the vegetables in your garden will be ripe for just a short period of time during the year, you can take the extras and put them into your freezer, or can them up in jars to put into the pantry, and both will be useable by your family throughout most of the entire year.

Planting your own vegetable garden also allows you to know more about how healthy or dangerous the foods you’re eating are. Store bought produce for instance, is often grown on farms which use chemical fertilizers and poisonous pest control methods. Plants absorb whatever is put onto them or into their soil as they’re growing, so if you’re eating produce which has had chemicals and toxins used on it, those chemicals are also in the plant itself, and are being fed to your body. When you grow your own vegetables in a home garden though, you can choose to use organic growing methods which are much safer for both the environment, you, and your family.

Growing a vegetable garden starts with planning. You’ll need to decide first what vegetables you plan to grow in your garden. If this is the first time you’re growing a vegetable garden, try to start small so you can get a feel for how much of each thing is needed as you become more experienced. A nice way to get started with your first vegetable garden is to select three to five of your families favorite vegetables, and plant just those the first season.

Next you’ll need to decide where you’ll place your vegetable garden. You’ll need both plenty of space and plenty of sunlight to grow vegetables. Vegetables need at least five to six hours of full sunlight each day, so figure out where in your yard that much sun is available, then see if there is enough room there for the number of vegetables you intend to grow. If your vegetable garden will be small, you can probably choose a planting location which is only about three to four feet square.

Once you have your location chosen, it’s now time to prepare the soil for your vegetable garden. You can create raised garden beds to plant your vegetables in if you’d like, and this will make preparation and care easier. If you’re planting in the ground though, you’ll need to turn the soil, remove all weeds, roots and large rocks, then mix some healthy compost into the soil so your vegetables will have the nutrition they need while growing.

After preparing the soil, you’ll need to make planting rows or long mounds of soil, to plant your vegetables in. These rows should run east to west so they’ll get the best sun and water exposure. When you start planting seeds or starter plants, be sure to put those that will grow the tallest at the north side of your lot, so they won’t shade the smaller plants too much during the day. The smallest plants should go on the south side of your vegetable garden plot, and progressively taller ones should be planted across.