My attempts at growing brassicas, or members of the cabbage family, have been all but thwarted by pests like cabbage loopers, cabbageworms, and harlequin beetles. And when the ravaged plants have finally had time to recover and begin producing, they bolt instead, because the summer heat has set in. While any of a slew of …
Vegetable Gardening
Vegetable gardening offers a variety of benefits that will enrich your life in so many ways! In addition to enhancing mealtime with fresh homegrown vegetables that you grew yourself, tending the garden is great for the body. It gets you outside in the fresh air and sunshine where you can get a little closer to nature while enjoying the simple things in life.
It’s important to grow food, not lawns!
Vegetable Gardening Benefits
Growing a vegetable garden is also great exercise. Tending to and harvesting the plants require a considerable amount of bending and stooping that can help you stay in shape. It’s a great way to clear your head, which enhances mental clarity while improving your self-esteem. After all, sitting down and enjoying the delicious foods you grew yourself is very rewarding.
However, growing a vegetable garden is a lot of work. It takes planning and preparation to ensure your garden thrives but don’t let that deter you from getting started.
All you need is a little guidance and a few great ideas to help you get started and that is exactly what we have to offer.
Vegetable Gardening Tips and Ideas You Can Really Use
The first step in growing a garden involves choosing a location for your plants. Your garden should be close to a water source and have good drainage to prevent standing water from rotting your plants. The location should also allow your plants to receive several hours of direct sunlight to help keep them healthy.
Here, you’ll find some great garden layout ideas and raised gardening plans to help you choose the perfect spot and options for your garden.
You’ll also discover some great tips on which vegetables grow best in the spring, along with tips on how to grow vegetables such as cucumbers, beets, basil, broccoli, and spinach. You can even find information on what to do if you end up with too many tomatoes to eat, so nothing goes to waste.
This is an excellent place to learn about composting and how it benefits your garden. Discover how trench composting works or learn how to compost with worms to help your vegetables grow healthy and thrive.
Pests are a common problem that all gardeners small and large dread. They can do a lot of damage to the vegetables you worked so hard to grow but don’t worry. Here, you can get some great tips on how to get pests such as slugs, snails, caterpillars and hornworms out of your garden without using harsh chemicals.
You can also learn how to protect your garden from animals such as deer, cats, dogs, moles, squirrels and birds that can destroy it in a few short days.
Not having enough space is another problem that keeps many people from enjoying the benefits of vegetable gardening. If you’re dealing with limited space, this is a great place to gather tips and ideas for small space gardening. Learn how vertical gardening works or how to grow a living wall. You can also discover which vegetables grow best in small gardens or learn how and where to grow vegetables indoors for the best results.
If you’re at all familiar with companion planting, you have likely heard that carrots love tomatoes. But why is that? And what other plants do carrots love? Keep reading to learn the answers to these questions in our list of the best companion plants for carrots. Because not all plants get along well together, this …
Sweet and tangy, and easy to grow. So if you planted some on a whim, you might be wondering what to do with beets? This vegetable is actually quite versatile. The bright pink root vegetable is very good for you, but it doesn’t get as much attention as it probably should. One reason for this …
Your grocery bill didn’t double because you started eating better. It doubled because the produce you already buy, like fresh herbs, salad greens, tomatoes, and peppers, quietly became some of the most expensive items in the store. The good news is that every vegetable on that list grows easily in a backyard raised bed, a …
Most people who say they “can’t garden” have never tried growing the right plants. They started with something fussy like a finicky heirloom tomato or a temperamental pepper and concluded that gardening just wasn’t for them. It wasn’t them. It was the plant. The truth is that a handful of vegetables are almost impossible to …
Peppers are packed with vitamins, antioxidants, flavor, and, depending on the variety, heat. But they can be difficult to grow in the vegetable garden. One excellent way to help pepper plants along is to grow companion plants alongside them. Some will provide benefits to the peppers, while others will receive benefits from the peppers. Not …
Artichokes get along well with most other plants, but their impressive size can make it difficult to determine what and how to plant around them. Depending on the variety, artichoke plants can reach four to six feet tall and wide, casting shade and crowding out anything growing too close. But artichokes do appreciate companions, and …
Growing tomatoes is one of the most rewarding aspects of gardening. But waiting for that first ripe tomato can test even the most patient gardener. Luckily, early-ripening tomato varieties offer a quick payoff, providing fresh, juicy harvests in as little as 50 days. Whether you’re looking to outpace pests or enjoy garden-fresh tomatoes before summer’s …
There are several health benefits of asparagus, and you should try to add this spear-like plant food to your dinner plate whenever you can. This tasty vegetable will: Help keep your immune system healthy. Lower your cholesterol Help prevent diabetes, cancer, and heart disease And more… Okay, so maybe you don’t care much for asparagus …
Starting your own garden is an exciting adventure, but not all vegetables are created equal when it comes to ease of growth and the rewards they offer. Some vegetables require intensive care, have lengthy growing seasons, or yield a harvest that might make you wish you’d used the space more wisely (was that worth saving …