How to Start Home Vegetable Gardening - Tips for Beginners

 

Gardening is once a hobby or interest but, now it has become a necessity for various reasons. While some people want to grow a home garden to avoid chemical food, some understood the need for growing plants to make the world a better place! If not for the world, you can do it for your home! Here are some tips for beginners to look into, before starting the home vegetable garden.

Know your Interest: What’s your interest? Do you want to grow one vegetable all over the space or you want to grow different veggies? Your first step is to decide on this.

Choose Right Location: To grow vegetables, plants need at least 5 hours of direct sunlight. So, choose the place that provides proper sunlight for not less than 5 to 6 hours. Also, it is essential to provide each plant with enough space to grow. So, you have to choose a wide space for better gardening.

Choose the Soil: To grow vegetables, lots of compost and organic matter should be used. Composted leaves and shredded bark would help. If you want to choose between sandy soil and clay soil, it would be better to go with clay soil as it holds moisture well.

Prepare the Soil: Preparing the soil is required for sowing. There are two methods to do this: Digging and Tilling. Using one of these processes helps roots to penetrate the soil easily to access water and nutrients. Digging is used for small beds while tilling is for large beds.

Tilling is about cultivating the soil with a mechanical device. However, excessive tilling is not recommended as it disturbs microorganisms and earthworms. So, do a little of it.

Digging is a practical approach for small beds. Mark the spots for the holes and observe the root ball of the plant to get an idea of how large the hole should be. Use the spade to dig and then remove the soil in the area to the size needed.

Plant Seeds or Saplings: Decide on planting seeds or little plants. Seeds generally take time to transform into a plant. Put seeds in the hole and pack the soil back in the hole. If you are planting vegetable starts, you need to push soil all around the plant after packing the soil back in the hole. Press the soil firmly. Repeat the same for all plants in your home vegetable garden.

Watering: When watering for the first time, you have to water the whole area to keep the soil moist. Avoid drowning the plant. If you are planting seeds, you have to water consistently until the plant rises. As they grow, you can lower it to 4 or 5 times a week.

Caring: Take necessary care. Planting is just a beginning and taking care is the journey that you have to do for life! Remove weeds if any, fertilize, and keep watering!