Solving Vegetable Garden Problems

Vegetable gardens are a great hobby that is very rewarding when you are able to see your own produce grow right in front of you. There are some problems that some people face when starting their vegetable gardens. Here are some simple solutions to common problems faced when starting your vegetable garden.

The first tip to plant your garden in raised beds instead of planting the vegetables directly in the ground. When me and my dad first started our vegetable garden, we found this out the hard way. Most soil that is in urban areas tends to be made of a mixture of clay, sand, and soil. This made it really hard to dig into because the clay was almost as tough as rocks. Raised beds cut this struggle completely out of the picture. All you need to do it nail together four pieces of wood to make your box. Not only is it easier to make a raised box than to make your garden right out of the ground, but it also allows you to choose the soil that you want to grow your vegetables in. There are tons of different types of soil to choose from when you go to your local hardware store, but here is what you should look for when buying the soil. The best soil to buy is organic soil or soil mixed with compost. The main focus when getting the right soil is to make sure that there is enough organic material in it. This soil has a lot of living organisms in it that help feed your plants and make them grow to their full potential. Also, water will be more easily retained by the plants and it won’t saturate the soil. The main benefits of using a raised boxed when starting your vegetable garden is that it is much easier than digging into the regular ground and it allows you to choose which soil you want to use.

Another tip when starting your vegetable garden is to plant your plants in triangles rather than planting them in rows like most people do. Planting your vegetables in triangles rather than rows will allow you to plant more plants. Doing this will let you fit up to fourteen percent more plants than planting them in rows. Make sure that you aren’t planting them to close though. Just because you are able to plant more doesn’t mean that you have to plant them closer. If you plant them closer together, then the plants won’t be able to grow and mature. This may stop them from producing vegetables or make the vegetables not grow fully. My dad and I tried this technique of planting the plants in triangles and we were able to plant three more plants then last year. Planting your vegetables in triangles will allow you to plant just a little bit more plants than planting them in rows.

The next tip is to try and plant your vegetables vertically by using cages, trellises, fences, or stakes. This tip piggy backs off the last one because when planting your vegetables vertically, you are able to plant more plants. This isn’t the only benefit to planting your vegetables vertically though, it also saves you a lot of time when taking care of them. If they are planted vertically, it allows you to see exactly where the vegetables are located. Not all vegetables need to be planted vertically, but vegetables like tomatoes, pole beans, peas, squash, melons, and cukes benefit the most from being planted this way. Another reason to plant your vegetables vertically is that it less likely for your plants to be affected by fungal diseases. This is because there is more air circulation around the foliage of the plants. The next reason to plant your vegetables vertically, especially the ones listed above, is that there is a lesser chance of the produce to be damaged. When my dad and I planted tomatoes for the first time, we found it hard to get healthy tomatoes. When tomatoes are planted with no support system, they will start to be pulled down when the tomatoes get bigger. When tomatoes are laying on the ground for too long, they start to rot and turn brown. The next season, we planted our tomatoes with a cage and found that we were able to harvest more healthier tomatoes than last year. Planting your vegetables vertically is a huge benefit because it saves space, vegetables are less likely to be affected by fungal diseases, and because there is a lesser chance for your produce to be damaged.

The last tip that I have for you when starting your vegetable garden is to know when to plant your vegetables. This may seem to be a simple step but it is always looked over. When you have an idea of what vegetables you want to plant, make sure to plant them in the season they are meant to planted in. For example, tomatoes grow throughout the summer but don’t grow and produce anything in the spring and fall. Celery on the other hand can be grown and harvested in the spring, summer and the fall. Also, knowing when certain vegetables grow will allow you to plan out which ones you want in your garden so that you are always getting produce from your plants. My dad and I did this for our first season and it made the experience more enjoyable because we always had something to look forward to when we went out to the garden to pick the produce. Simple things like knowing when to plant you vegetables will make your garden experience more enjoyable and easier to take care of the plants.

The best tips that I could think of that helped me the most when staring my garden with my dad are to plant your vegetables in a raised box, plant you vegetables in triangles rather than in rows, plant some of your vegetables vertically, and knowing when to plant certain vegetables. Hopefully these tips help you when starting your own garden.

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