How to make our own vegetable garden

Vegetable garden, a place to grow our favorite vegetables and enjoy them delicious and healthy on our plate.

Creating a small vegetable garden is the first step to discover new flavors and taste the joy of the whole production process. It is the place where gardening meets the daily diet.

The aroma and taste of the vegetables we grow in our garden is truly unique. For those who are planting for the first time, the experience is definitely exciting. Maintaining a vegetable garden requires dedication, some basic knowledge and a lot of appetite.

How to make our own home vegetable garden from scratch, where we can plant vegetables, how to prepare the soil, what vegetables we choose to grow, along with useful tips for their care from watering and fertilizing to protecting them from diseases .

• Where can we make a homemade vegetable garden? Traditionally, vegetables are grown by planting directly in the ground. If we do not have a garden, we can make a vegetable garden on the balcony, in the yard and on our terrace, using pots, planters, raised flower beds or other improvised construction we can fill with soil. To have a rich production with delicious and juicy fruits, we cultivate in places where there is enough sunshine. In shady places that do not have direct sun exposure, it is difficult for our crop to succeed.
• Plants need water. The closer we are to a fountain or the easier we can carry water to our vegetable garden, the easier it would be to water our plants. Planting in the garden usually gives us more space and we can do more sparse planting of vegetables. We need to properly prepare the soil and enrich it with nutrients before we start our vegetable garden.
• Planting in pots and planters may have space limitations, but it allows us to better control the growing conditions. We can choose the soil we will use and direct access to take care of our vegetables more easily.
• One option that combines many positives is to create a vegetable garden in raised flower beds. In this way, we can plant in any soil, since we choose the soil mixture we will use. At the same time, we can take care of our plants more easily and have more control when growing without unwanted weeds.
• For starters this is a great way to get started. It is better to have a few vegetables that we can take care of properly and enjoy the whole production process. A party of 10-15 square meters in the garden is more than enough to get started.
• The closer the vegetable garden is to the house, the easier it is to take care of it, but also to cut the vegetables to enjoy the moment we need in our kitchen.

What do we plant in the vegetable garden every season?

Most vegetables are annual, ie they last for a growing season and after completing their fruiting they are dried. This is either because they do not tolerate the cold, or because they are sensitive to heat

We should also be aware that not all vegetables are planted at the same time.

There are vegetables that we plant in the fall and vegetables that we plant in the spring. If we are not sure when to grow the vegetable we are interested in, we consult the detailed guide about the planting season for each vegetable.

We should also be aware that not all vegetables are planted at the same time.

There are vegetables that we plant in the fall and vegetables that we plant in the spring. If we are not sure if the vegetable we are interested in is ever grown, we consult the detailed guide on the planting season for each vegetable.

Making our own vegetable garden, is an opportunity to try qualities and flavors of our favorite vegetables that we do not find so often in the grocery store or supermarket. Yellow cherry tomatoes, purple carrots, white aubergines, mini watermelons and so many other vegetables that are worth growing.

• Vegetables that we plant in autumn and winter

The cold season vegetables of the autumn vegetable garden include high nutritional value broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. Favorite lettuces, carrots, beets, celery, spinach, arugula, as well as wonderful herbs such as parsley, dill, fennel, celery, leeks and chives. For novice gardeners and those who want a carefree harvest, we suggest choosing from the list of the 15 easiest autumn vegetables to grow.

• Vegetables that we plant in spring and summer

The warm season vegetables of the dormant vegetable garden include tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, zucchini, okra, beans, corn, as well as herbs such as onions, parsley, dill and herring. We can also plant delicious fruits such as strawberries, melons and watermelons.

How do we prepare the soil for planting vegetables?

The soil we cultivate is very important for the growth of our vegetables. We need fluffy and fertile soil that does not hold much water.

Before proceeding with the cultivation, we make the necessary preparation of the soil for planting and incorporate the appropriate soil improvement materials, such as peat, compost and manure to make the soil more fluffy and to strengthen it with nutrients.

At the same time, we add complete organic fertilizer to enrich the soil with nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium. In addition, the addition of calcium fertilizer helps to avoid tanning at the bottom of the tomato and pepper fruits.

What do we pay attention to when planting vegetables?

We grow our vegetables at the appropriate planting distances between the plants, as well as between the planting lines. Avoid dense planting in the vegetable garden for better ventilation of the plants.

• In this way, we reduce the development of fungal diseases and entomological infestations.
• We plant our vegetables in sunny places that have at least 6-8 hours of sun exposure in the direction of the planting lines from the analysis to the west to see a bigger and better quality harvest.
• For the vegetables that we grow in pots, we choose a balcony with south or west orientation.
• To avoid the growth of weeds and to improve the growth of our plants we can use various soil cover materials, such as geotextile.
• As for the planting arrangement of the various crops of the vegetable garden, in order to avoid shading issues, on the north side we choose to plant tall plants, corn, beans, and tomatoes while in between we plant peppers, eggplants and zucchini.
• On the south side, we choose low-growing crops such as strawberries, cucumbers, melons and watermelons.

 How often do we water the plants in the vegetable garden?

The most common problems we encounter in plants are caused by excessive or insufficient watering. Drip irrigation is the best irrigation system for our vegetables, whether we grow in the garden or in pots on the balcony to ensure greater efficiency in watering and water economy.

• At the beginning of the cultivation, we take care not to water the young vegetables daily, but every 2-3 days, in order to acquire a deeper root system and better support. Then, during flowering, our vegetables need water and not excessive watering because they can shed their flowers.
• Finally, during the fruiting of our vegetables, during the summer period when high temperatures prevail, watering becomes more frequent while the duration and amount of watering water. In hot weather, we may not water our vegetables daily. A practical way to water our plants with complete control over how often they are watered and with how much water an automatic watering system is installed.

What fertilizer do we use for the plants in the vegetable garden?

• The cultivation of vegetables has important requirements in fertilization in order to have plants with good growth, rich fruiting and production of delicious fruits.
• We prefer to use organic fertilizers in the context of organic farming to enjoy delicious fruits free of chemicals.
• In addition to the basic fertilization we do when we plant our vegetables, then we add complete organic fertilizer every 2-3 weeks.
• It is important to avoid fertilizing with nitrogen fertilizers after fruit set of our vegetables because the quality of the fruit is degraded. At the stage of fruiting of vegetables, we add organic fertilizer rich in a little for better ripening of the fruits and to acquire a tastier and sweeter taste.

How do we protect vegetables from diseases and insects?

• To have healthy plants and a rich harvest of vegetables, it is important to protect vegetable crops from insects and diseases using ecological methods of treatment. Initially, sulfur and copper are essential materials for the treatment of fungal diseases of vegetables, such as downy mildew, mildew and blackleg.
• To treat insects that appear in the vegetable garden during the summer, such as mealybug, meligra, liriomza and stink bugs, we use biological insecticides such as natural pyrethrin, Thuringia bacillus and potassium salts. Traditionally, basil and marigolds are planted among the vegetables in the vegetable garden for their insect repellent properties, as well as to attract bees that help pollinate the plants.

When do we harvest the plants in the vegetable garden?

• The harvest of the first vegetables starts gradually within the first 2 months with zucchini, cucumbers, strawberries and continues with peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes.
• Also, many vegetables can be stored outdoors in a cool place such as tomatoes, melons and watermelons and others put in the fridge as is the case with peppers, eggplants, cucumbers and zucchini.

And one last secret for growing in the vegetable garden

It is important in our vegetable garden to plant vegetables that match each other, to save space. The co-cultivation of plants and vegetables offers an increase in productivity, an increase in the species we cultivate as well as water and fertilizer savings.

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