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Growitveg.com has information about garden designs and ways to plan for vegetable gardening. Picking a location, prepare a site, improve the soil, plan for crop spacing, and which vegetables grow best where, are topics to research here. Don't have room for a garden in the yard, then learn about container gardening and using raised beds to grow vegetables.
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Garden Designs
Vegetable Gardening takes planning and forethought. Before deciding on a location for the garden, the site should be studied to determine sun exposure, soil conditions, drainage, presence of tree roots and any under ground hazzards that might be encountered.
Good Garden Sites should:1. Have Plenty of direct sunshine. The more direct sun the better. Most vegetables need at least 6 hours of full sun a day.
2. Drain well and not be too steep. Sites that often stand in water, or that slope too steeply, are not good. 3. Be convenient to the house and easy to reach with a hose. A distant garden won't be check as often as it should be (out of site, out of mind). Larger garden pests, deer, rabbits, and birds, will be more of a problem. 4. Not be near any underground structures like water lines, telephone lines, septic systems, or gas or electrical utilities. 5. Not be too close to large trees. Tree roots compete with vegetable plants for soil nutrients and water. Chopping out the roots will hurt the tree and quickly become tiresome. Many trees like: oaks, maples, pecans, and popcorn trees spread seeds like crazy. 6. Be protected from the wind in some areas. In areas that tend to be windy, young plants can suffer from drying and cold winds. 7. Be in an area with good soil. If the soil is too sandy, too wet or filled with clay, vegetable plants will not do well. Even a small window sill garden is a thing of beauty, offering its own rewards. Garden Designing TipsRocky or overly wet soil
-Make raised garden beds -Use gardening containers Sandy soil -Work in lots of organic materials like composts, rotted leaves, peat moss, and rotted manures. Clay soils -Turn the soil deeply to break up clays -Rototill in sandy loam topsoil -Add layers of compost, groundup bark, perlite or vermiculite and till them in well. Steep slopes -Build garden terraces -Mulch well to prevent erosion. Weeds -Mulch heavily to smother weeds -Hoe them out when young before they go to seed -Use layers of old newspapers as a mulch. Give the neighbors a reason to want you and your noisy tiller around, Share the bounty.
Vegetable Gardening Mistakes-Taking on too much the first season. Start out with a small garden with one or two crops and add to it as your abilities and gardening know how grow.
- Planting too much of certain vegetables. Zucchini, pumpkins, cucumbers, and hot peppers, often produce a surplus. -Not checking on the garden daily. Plant diseases and garden pests can spring up quickly. -Not picking vegetables at the right time. Some crops need picking when fruits are young and others need to be fully ripe. -Not cleaning up the garden. Plants past their prime or too diseased should be pulled up and destroyed or composted to free up space. -Over fertilizing. Many plants, especially peas and beans will produce mainly vines if over fertilized. -Wasteful watering. Don't water in the heat of the day and don't use overhead sprinklers as much of the water will evaporate. Soaker hoses are better.
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Garden Design Articles and InformationClick on a title to go to the article or pdf document.1. Vegetable Garden Planning USDA
2. Backyard composting - Washington state 3. Requirements for growing garden Herbs - NC State Univ. 4. Vegetable gardening in containers - Texas A & M 5. Container gardening Vegetables - Univ. of Arizona 6. Gardening in the Shade - Univ. of Minnesota 7. The Home Vegetable Garden, Planning - Hopkins Tech 8. How to do Raised beds Gardening 9. Starting Seeds Yourself 10. Making Compost 11. The Balcony Vegetable Garden 12. Forest Gardening in the Shade 13. Block style planting in Raised Beds 14. Gardening with the Elderly 15. Spring Vegetables and Herbs 16. Water Saving Garden Irrigation 17. Autumn Vegetables and Herbs 18. How to plan your Garden without getting buried 19. Vegetable Garden Layout 20. Mulches for Gardens and Landscapes 21. Improving Soils for Vegetable Gardening 22. Vegetable Harvest and Storage 23. Gardening tips 24. Different Soil types 25. Companion plants for Potatoes 26. Vegetable garden companions 27. Raised Bed Gardening 28. Gardening for the Disabled 29. Vegetable garden planning 30. Gardening chores are meant for all to enjoy. Even little thumbs can be green. Garden Designs - Planting Tips
Vegetables that need full SunThese vegetables are sun lovers and need at least 8 hours a day of direct sun except in the hottest areas where some afternoon shade may be needed: tomatoes, melons, cucumbers, peppers, squash, eggplants, okra, corn, and field peas.
Vegetables for the ShadeThere are some vegetables that can take more shade than others. If you have an area that gets less than 4 to 6 hours of sun each day or gets dapple shade, try some of these: lettuce, spinach, collards, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, beets, brussels sprouts, radishes, and swiss chard. Even these vegetable plants will do better with more sun.
Plan for Crop rotations and
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