Why Plant a Vegetable Garden?

There are many reasons for planting a vegetable garden. The first would be the satisfaction of growing your own food.

Working outdoors and getting much needed excercise is also a big plus. With a minimal effort you can produce enough vegetables to make a significant dent in your grocery bill. Still others garden just for the fun of it. Whatever your reason for starting a vegetable garden, you’ll soon realize that gardening is easy, enjoyable and a great learning experience . A vegetable garden quickly becomes more than just something to tinker with, it becomes a way of life.

When you raise food crops, you tend to follow the weather a lot more so that you can plan planting, maintenance, watering and enjoyment of your growing vegetable garden. You also tend to take more attention of the condition of your soil. Whatever the weather you have to adjust to what you are dealt with to produce your nutritious vegetables.

 During the season as you start to harvest your vegetables that’s when you get to appreciate the fruits or should I say vegetables of your labour. Nothing beats the taste of freshly picked vegetables right out of the garden, it beats anything you can buy from your supermarket.

You’re bound to have some occasional disappointments, but on the whole, you’ll get full-size, well formed, tasty vegetables you’ll be proud to feed your family and friends. If you get a good crop you may also have enough to be able to store as well as freeze and can for latter use. During the dead of winter it’s always a treat to be able to serve those great tasting vegetables that you were able to store fresh. Other vegetables that must be frozen or canned are also wonderful to get into when fresh vegetables are unavailable.

Vegetable Gardening Tips

Most vegetables require at least 6 hours of sunlight per day, some need 8. Some quick growers like lettuce and radish can be grown between the rows of plants that take longer to mature, like beet or corn, thus making full use of the area available.

Throughout dry periods, vegetable gardens need extra watering. Most vegetables benefit from an inch or more of water each week, especially when they are fruiting.

During the growing season watch for insect pests. If you discover a bug problem early it will be much easier, but be careful to not use pesticides once the vegetable are close to being picked unless it becomes an absolute necessity. Organic gardening is one healthy and environment-friendly option. Once you have reaped your crop, put the vegetable waste into your compost pile so that it can be recycled for next spring.

It is important to protect your vegetable garden from wild animals looking for a tasty treat. Make sure your garden is surrounded by a fence that will keep out dogs, rabbits, and other animals. The harm done by wandering animals during one season can equal the cost of a fence. A fence also can serve as a frame for peas, beans, tomatoes, and other crops that need support.

Protection is needed in order for your vegetable garden to yield a bountiful harvest. Hard work will pay dividends if necessary precautions have been made.

Grow Your Vegetable Garden Inside

Choose Appropriate Vegetables

Different plants have different requirements and with indoor gardens the major restrictions tend to be available space and available light. Salad greens like lettuce, miniature cabbages, swiss chard, and spinach do well indoors.

Check out this cool video:

The size of your pots will determine your choice of plant, choose containers big enough for the plants full growth. Small root crops such as radishes and onions are great choices, and there are even small root carrots available. Herbs are a popular choice because they are compact and do not need much space. Miniature varieties of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant can also thrive inside when given the proper care.

Find the Perfect Spot for Growing

Lighting is an important consideration for any indoor vegetable garden. A bright south-facing window is your best bet, but any spot that gets a minimum of 5 hours of continuous light can be used. In addition to natural light, you can set up supplemental artificial lighting if you are really serious about growing healthy plants.

Traffic flow is also another important factor to think about. Vegetables in general bruise easily so you want to choose fairly quiet spots so minimize accidental human contact. If you have small children or pets at home, you may want to locate your garden well out of their reach. It is also important to think about proximity to your gardening tools and easy clean-up if things get messy.

Optimize the Microclimate

Plants grow best in high humidity and moderate temperatures. Indoor gardens usually suffer from low humidity. Container grown plants tend to dry out faster and will require more frequent watering. However, it is important not to let the plants get waterlogged as this may cause root rot. Make sure that there is good drainage by raising pots with a pan of gravel underneath. Evaporation from these dishes also improves humidity so they serve a dual purpose.

Another great way to optimize your microclimate, is to group your plants together. You can mix your vegetables with more decorative houseplants to create groupings that are not only beautiful but also functional. Temperature is actually easier to control inside the house, as it is easy to provide more shade by simply drawing the curtains. Just make sure plants are protected from drafts.

Get Good Potting Soil

Potting soil for indoor gardens should drain well and contain the nutrients required to support growth and development. You can purchase premixed potting soil that already incorporates the proper amount of fertilizer. If you prefer to go organic, you can get organic potting mixes from your local garden store. Add nutrients with caution, as fertilizer buildup is quite common in containers.

Planting vegetable gardens indoors can be incredibly rewarding, so do not be afraid to give it a try. You may even end up growing enough produce to give to family and friends.

 

Tips For Taking Care of Your Indoor Plants

Overwatering kills most houseplants. Looks can be deceptive, so to see if your soil is dry enough to water, try the finger test. Insert your index finger up to the first joint into the soil. If the soil is damp, don’t water it.

2. Feeding

Foliage plants usually have high nitrogen needs, while flowering plants, K2O is needed. Slow release fertilizers can be mixed with the compost. However, certain plants like cacti and orchids need special fertilizer. Feed plants during their most active growth period.

3. Lighting

Plants like Sanseveria and Aspidistra require no sun. They can be placed away from a window. Spider plants need semi-shade. You can put plants like these near a window that does or does not get sunlight. Check the label to see what your plant needs.

4. Temperature

Houseplants can survive in cool or warm temperatures, but drastic fluctuations of temperature may not be good for them. One thing that most plants cannot survive is gas heating. If you have a plant that likes warm conditions, don’t put it near an air conditioner in the summer.

5. Humidity

Some houseplants require a humid environment. One tip to maximize humidity is to put the pot inside a larger pot and fill in the gaps with stones or compost to keep in the moisture. Grouping plants together often creates a microclimate that they will benefit from. If you want, you can spray them with water once or twice a day depending on the temperature.

6. Re-potting

Some plants require re-potting for optimum growth but there are others that resent having their roots disturbed. Or their roots system may be small enough that they don’t require re-potting. One way to check if your plant needs re-potting is to turn it upside down. Tap the pot to release the plant and check its roots. If roots are all you see, then re-pot. Sometimes the roots will come out of the pot. You should either cut them off or re-pot the plant.

You just need to have a little care for your plants and in turn, you’ll reap the benefits. Indoor plants not only add to the beauty of your décor, but also give much pleasure to the indoor gardener.

The Basics of Planting Vegetable Gardens

First of all soil preparation is very important. This is one of the most basic things that any new gardener will have to learn. Whether you choose a spot in your backyard or start a vegetable garden in plant boxes, soil preparation plays an important role in whether your vegetable garden will survive or not. There are three types of soil that you need to be familiar with; sand, clay and loam. Sandy soil provides good drainage but dries out quickly. Clay soil retains water but turns rock hard when it dries out. Loam is a mixture of sand and clay particles and is the prefered combination for a good vegetable garden.

When preparing the soil for your vegetable garden, dig up the soil and break up the lumps. Take out the rocks, roots, and weeds while you’re at it. Loam should contain about 40% sand, and 20% clay, to provide ideal growing conditions and good drainage. One good way to test whether the composition of your soil is good is by scooping out a handful and forming a ball with it. The soil should hold the shape of a ball without too much difficulty. If the soil cannot hold the shape, you might have too much sand in the mixture. If the soil holds the shape but does not crumble easily when you poke it, it might have too much clay in it which you need to balance out with a little sand.

Now that you have finished cultivating the soil, select the variety of vegetable to grow. Keep in mind that some vegetables don’t grow well when you plant them too close to certain types of other vegetables. Potatoes, for example, shouldn’t be planted too close to squash or tomatoes because it inhibits their growth. They can be planted in the same garden, just don’t plant them beside each other.

After you have decided on the kind of vegetables you want and planted them you’ll have to learn about how to water them properly. Vegetables need to be watered consistently. When planting vegetable gardens in a big space, you might want to consider using a soaker hose. A soaker hose has many holes along its body that waters your garden by letting the water seep through its holes.

Planting vegetable gardens require manual labor and a lot of patience. Make sure your first vegetable garden is not too big in your first year as it can get out of contol in a hurry. Very important, you will have to keep a real good contol of the weeds to give your plants the best chance of survival.
 

Planning a Vegetable Garden

Planting A Vegetable Garden To Relieve Stress

We have all heard how stress wreaks havoc to our overall health. The negative effects of stress can and will bring several health problems such as: migraines, eating disorders, depression and even heart disease to name a few. Having your own vegetable garden can be very relaxing. They are fairly easier to look after, so long as you have a plan and tend to the garden at least on a weekly basis and hopefully even more. The more you keep ahead of the weeds and trimming the less likely your garden can contribute to a level of stress.

The weekends are a perfect time to unwind and make up for a stressful week. Different people have different ways of coping with stress. With a vegetable garden in your backyard, you would stop thinking about what went on in the past week and instead replace that with how the plants are doing, and how fast the weeds are growing.

One major contributor to stress is not getting enough sunlight. The best way to do that is tending to your vegetable garden. Working in the sun helps with the production of vitamin D, which is necessary for proper absorption of calcium in your body. It has been shown that the average person does not get enough sunlight during their commutes to and from work or even while going out for lunch.

Attending to the needs of your vegetable garden is a great opportunity to get enough sunlight. Depending on the time of year, you should be carefull staying out too long between the hours of 11 am and 3 pm as the sun within these times can be quite strong.

Spending your days indoors at the workplace prevents us from getting in touch with nature. There is nothing like surrounding yourself with all the different varieties of plants and seeing how differently they grow.

In the morning before going to work and then again in the evening on your return just the sight of your vegetable garden alone gets rid of stress. Knowing that you raised those healthy plants with your own hands is such a rewarding feeling. Yes, there is digging, weeding, pruning, raking and harvesting but with the right attitude I am sure you will agree that it is all worth it. All these activities done while planting vegetable gardens provide a constructive outlet for all the tensions that the body amassed during a week of stressful work.

Advantages of Planting Vegetable Gardens

Many people say they have little or no time to go to the gym or health spa to workout. Make gardening your daily dose of exercise. Tending your vegetable garden for at least 30 minutes a day is a great way to burn those excess calories and lose weight. You are able to work several major muscle groups in the body, like the legs, arms, back, buttocks and many others. Gardening also improves your flexibility each time you stretch to reach for weeds or bend to plant a seedling.

By the time your crops are ready for harvest, you will notice a change in your body, especially if you look after your garden on a regular basis. Unlike jogging, playing basketball and others, gardening has less impact on your joints. Gardening is best were vigorous exercises is not applicable, such as for people with high blood pressure, heart diseases, bone joint disorders and many others.

With all the types of vegetables you buy from the Supermarket on a weekly basis you really can not know whether the vegetables you buy are free of pesticides. Produce now comes from all over the world. Some vendors claim that their vegetables are free from harmful chemicals but they would only know this if they grew them themselves. Prolonged dietary exposure to pesticides is linked to various adverse reproductive and developmental effects, although there is little data to support this. Your children are at higher risk to the dangers of such chemicals on the vegetables they consume. Their bodies are not yet fully developed to properly metabolize or excrete such substances.

Once you grow your own vegetables you will notice how much better they taste compared what you can buy at your local grocery store. You will find out how much more flavorful your harvest is, whether you eat right from the garden or put in your favorite vegetable salad. Be it because of the extra amount of love and care these home-grown vegetables got or the person taking pride in growing crops in his or her backyard, it doesn’t rally matter. What really matters is what you serve on the table, that it is fresh right out of your vegetable garden for all to enjoy.

Indoor Gardening

Aside from the aesthetic value plants provide your home with, there are also health benefits – grade school science class tells us that plants cleanse the air through utilizing the carbon dioxide and producing more oxygen. Here is some important information on how to care for your indoor plants to gain the optimum health and aesthetic benefits.

Lighting

Most indoor plants need good lighting. You can provide this through natural lighting in the room of your choice or there must be electric lighting. Darker leaved plants usually don’t need as much light as others.

Here are the varieties of plants (usually those that only require medium to low light) that are known to be suitable for indoor gardening:

a. Philodendrons

b. Boston ferns

c. African violets

d. Cyclamens

e. Creeping Fig

Watering

A common mistake most people make in indoor gardening is they tend to over-water the plants, which may lead to rotting roots. Make sure to research the type of plant you have, because each kind of plant varies on their watering needs.

Potting

Choose good quality and attractive containers for your indoor plants. Make sure that the pot is clean before placing your new plant into it to prevent infection and to encourage healthy growth.

Humidity

In indoor gardening, humidity is a big issue. The amount of moisture in the air has an effect on the growth of your plants. During mornings, you could spray the plants with water for their much-needed moisture. Make sure the leaves don’t get covered in dust.

Fertilization

Just like watering, fertilizing depends on the type of plant. If you have managed to supply your indoor garden with the right amount of light, water and humidity, fertilization may not need much attention. A good indoor fertilizer can be bought from most home depot or hardware stores. Orchids need the special fertilizer available.

 

Hydroponic Gardening

Due changes in technology, this article on Hydroponic Gardening is being rewritten.

Next Page »