Have you always wanted to grow vegetables? Well, urban gardening isn’t impossible as long as you have a bit of free space in your yard.
Although vegetable gardening seems daunting for most beginners, it can be mastered by anyone willing to invest time and patience in this rewarding hobby. Making the right choice of location, improving soil quality, using raised beds, and companion planting are only some aspects worth considering.
The following tips will prove practical for homeowners looking to grow vegetables.
Consider the location
The first step towards planning your vegetable garden is considering the location and its size. Homeowners whose yards aren’t spacious enough should consider container gardening, as pots take up less space than planting crops in the ground. If space presents no issue, be careful when selecting the right size of the garden. The larger the garden, the more time you’d need to spend planting, aerating, harvesting, watering, and weeding.
Moreover, sunlight plays an important role when picking the location, as the largest part of vegetables needs a minimum of six hours of sunlight. Only certain leafy vegetables like broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, and spinach thrive in some shade. Read more about sixteen types of vegetables that grow in partial shade. In order to prevent any damage done to the plants, keep them away from wind-prone and flood-prone spots.
Use raised beds
Instead of planting vegetables in rows, future gardeners are advised to make raised beds. These are more efficient when it comes to spacing, which helps gardeners with limited yard space. Raised beds offer numerous benefits in terms of providing better yield and saving significant time doing gardening tasks.
The need for fewer paths allows gardeners to plant crops closer to one another, which reduces the growth of weeds. As a result, you’ll waste less time on watering, weeding, and harvesting. The dimensions of raised beds can be adapted to the yards of homeowners as long as they have a proper drainage system.
Pay attention to soil
One of the essential aspects of vegetable gardening is soil type and quality. It’s necessary for the soil to be moist enough to provide crops with hydration and nutrients. Gardeners having no clue about the type of soil in their yards can purchase a soil kit, which reveals the amount of clay, sand, and slit. Clay and sand are supposed to make up for the largest percentage of the soil, whereas slit should be no higher than twenty percent.
In addition, the PH of your soil is also supposed to be inspected in order to check its acidity and alkalinity. Although the PH value of soils ranges from 4.0 to a maximum of 8.5, most vegetables require a PH of approximately seven PH units. The easiest way to calculate the number of nutrients is by making a PH test, revealing the amount of potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus.
The PH can be lowered or raised with the help of limestone or aluminum sulfate. The former is used to raise the value, whereas the latter is necessary to reduce the value. Make sure you check out this awesome website for gardeners for some useful tips about improving soil PH level and nutrient content. When gardeners need to increase alkalinity, the procedure of adding aluminum sulfate should commence three months ahead of the gardening project.
Drainage is closely related to the type of soil, as not all variants retain moisture in the same manner. For instance, sandy soil doesn’t provide vegetables with enough hydration unless they are watered regularly. Conversely, clay soils retain water and impede oxygen from getting in touch with the crops, which makes drainage the only solution for vegetable growth.
Consider companion planting
Companion planting is an essential aspect for gardeners to take into account when choosing vegetables. It refers to a process that allows crops to induce each other’s growth by being planted in close proximity. Besides growing faster, companion planting prevents vegetables from being attacked by pests and even makes them tastier.
Moreover, vegetables can be used in combination with herbs and flowers for better growth. For instance, basil is believed to protect tomatoes by preventing hornworm from getting close to these crops. Marigolds are universal when it comes to protecting veggies from the nematodes fond of feeding on their roots.
Additionally, sage and mint are useful in the protection of veggies against cabbage moths. Mint is also capable of repelling ants, which are keen on causing crop damage. Zinnias are considered absolutely helpful in every garden due to their ability to attract ladybugs. Unlike other insects, ladybugs aren’t harming but protecting plants from damaging pests such as cabbage flies.
Checking this page https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/companion-planting-guide-zmaz81mjzraw would give you in-depth guide about companion planting.
Furthermore, asparagus is compatible with carrots, tomatoes, and parsley, whereas beans work well with beets, corn, cucumber, peas, and carrots. Broccoli is a good companion to lettuce, garlic, carrots, onions, spinach, carrots, and celery. Carrots are compatible with peppers, onions, tomatoes, and beans. Potatoes are excellent companions of corn, garlic, peas, radishes, spinach, celery, and basil. Ultimately, zucchini thrive when planted near peas, spinach, oregano, radishes, and beans.
Final thoughts
Why purchase vegetables from the market when you can grow them in your garden?
There’s nothing tastier than the taste of fresh veggies harvested from your yard and used for making a delicious salad!
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