Starting a Backyard Vegetable Garden

Vegetable Picks for First-Time Gardeners

Here are some of vegetables that beginning vegetable gardeners may want to include when starting their backyard vegetable gardens:

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are one of the most commonly-used vegetables in the kitchen. You need them for spaghetti sauce, as well as for your salads. And, they're fairly easy to grow. So, it only makes sense to include tomatoes in your vegetable garden. If growing from seed, place each seedling in the plot 50 to 60 centimeters apart. Water.  Four weeks later, check the plant growth. Make sure that lateral side growths from the leaf axils are removed. On the sixth week, the tomatoes will start to flower. When the first flower appears, add some organic based fertilizer to keep the plants healthy. Six weeks later, you'll be able to harvest tomatoes that are fully ripe.

If planting already-growing tomato plants, follow the directions provided with the plant.  Give much attention to the space when you're planting tomatoes. If you crowd them, the plants will compete in getting the needed nutrients, water, and sunlight. You can also grow tomatoes in containers. Be sure to purchase containers which are safe for food.

Spring Onions

Spring onions aren't only capable of bringing more life to a dish, they are also easy to grow and maintain in your garden. In starting to grow onions, each seedling root has to be trimmed down to 5 centimeters. Make sure that pun nets are detached from each seedling. Then, place each seedling in a five-centimeter furrow and cover them up with the extra soil. Water.  After a few days, seedlings will be seen standing upright. After a month, trim down the seedlings. Use the trimmings as a replacement for chives. In addition, start planting a succession in order to have a continuous supply of spring onions. A few more weeks later, you would be able to enjoy your bountiful harvest.

Carrots

Carrots are another easy-to-grow vegetable that you can include in your garden. In planting carrots, make a mixture of carrot seeds and light friable soil. This mix should then be sown 10 to 15 mm below the surface. In covering up the furrows, place some compost on top of the mixture and gently add water. Keep dampening the soil with water for two to three weeks. In this period, seedling would emerge. On the fifth week, trim each young seedling to 3 centimeters from the next seedling. Do this when they reach the height of five centimeters. When the seedlings are 15 centimeters tall, trim them down to five centimeters apart. On the twelfth week, your carrots are ready for harvesting.

Other Fun Vegetable Gardening Ideas

In addition to the above vegetables, here are some other fun ideas for starting creative vegetable gardens.

Vegetable Pizza Garden

No, you aren't planting vegetables to make a pizza, but you are using different varieties to make it look like a pizza. For this to work, you need to plant basil, green peppers, selected herbs, jalapenos, oregano, thyme and tomatoes. Plant them in a circle to look like a pizza.

Rainbow Vegetable Garden

Using the colors of the rainbow, find vegetables with these colors and plant them to form a rainbow. 

Combating Pests

The biggest challenge in growing your own vegetables is that these may come under threat from pests, weeds and other animals. To prevent this from happening, you need to create a pest management system. Some of the things you can use to combat these threats include other insects (such as ladybugs), birds and even a toad. As for weeds, you have no choice but to pull these from the ground with your hands. If there are other animals that may damage your vegetables, you may consider putting up a fence around your garden. 

Crop Rotation

After your first harvest, it is advisable to rotate with another vegetable. This makes sure that there are always nutrients in the soil ready for the next season.

Synonyms: vegitable, vegtable, vegetables, vegatable, vegtables, vegatables and vegitables are typos for "vegetable" or "vegetables."  gardin, gardn, grden and gardne are typos for "garden."