It is very rewarding to work a vegetable garden. It really is good exercise and the home grown food tastes better than anything bought in a shop. You also know exactly what's gone into the produce. A veg patch requires a variety of jobs for which you'll require the correct tools. The basics will be enough and these are a rake, trowel, spade, hoe and a fork. It's best to get well-known brands. Other makes will cost less money but they're less likely to last so long. A wheelbarrow is also of use and a watering can. Now and again, there are drought notices and it's a good idea to have 1 or 2 rain butts. If you're beginning your vegetable patch from scratch and it's a big area, you may want to make use of a rotary cultivator to assist with the digging. It will save you a great deal of time and a sore back. They can be hired if you don't want to purchase one.
First, you have to locate and plan out your design. Plants should be moved around to keep the ground healthy. Make use of a soil tester to check which kind of soil you have. This is vital because different kinds of soil require different ways of dealing with it. Your soil may be heavy clay, light, sandy, chalky or alkaline. It also affects what variety of veggies you can grow in your veg patch, as plants react differently to differing types of soil.
The soil will need to be broken up so the seedlings can get settled and so water and air can get through. Unless the soil is especially hard, use a spade rather than a fork. Take the weeds out and put in fertilizer or manure. It's a good idea to create a compost heap near the veg garden. This will be a free supply of nutrients for the ground.
Once you have set up the area and fed the soil, you're ready to start planting and sowing. Break up the vegetable patch into root crops, brassica and crops not in the first two groups. Root crops can include potatoes, carrots, swede, beetroot and onions. Brassicas include such veg as cabbages, broccoli, sprouts, kale and Cauliflower. That leaves garden vegetables such as beans, squash, peas, sweet corn and salad plants like tomatoes and cucumbers.
You could start some crops growing below a cloche or in a greenhouse, especially if your are in an area where there can be a lot of windy or cold weather. Make sure that you keep up with the watering and weeding. Some gardeners find it helpful to put up a wall chart and plan out their jobs in the vegetable patch, month by month.
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Go to the grow a vegetable garden site for useful information about planting vegetables , growing a culinary herb plot, raised bed and vegetable container gardening. Plus all the latest news about this year's vegetable garden trends.
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