Grow Your Own Garden This Year

Vegetable garden

With increasing concern over the high cost and shortage of food, you might think it’s time to start a garden. However, doing this offers even more benefits than saving money and having peace of mind. Even if you have a small yard or perhaps no yard at all, you can still grow fresh fruits and vegetables like a pro.

Benefits of a Home Garden

Again, this is an excellent way to save money. At the same time, you won’t worry about not putting food on the table for your family. But gardening provides even more benefits. For example, it’s therapeutic for a lot of people. It’s also a great way to teach your children about nature and sustainability.

Not only that but gardening is also fun. Things become more exciting once you choose what you want to grow. Depending on the available space and time, you can grow a few plants or go all out by growing 20 or more fruits and vegetables. Now is a perfect time to learn if you don’t know how.

Select a Location for Your Garden

Start by determining where you’ll have a garden. For the biggest and healthiest crops, choose a flat piece of ground that receives between six and eight hours of sunlight daily. That way, you won’t have a problem with water runoff or the plants dying from a lack of sun. Also, avoid ground that contains a lot of clay or stones.

Now, if you live in an apartment or don’t have adequate space for a garden, you can always grow plants in containers. A simple balcony with good sunlight works great. In addition, if you can’t do a lot of bending and stooping or have limited yard space, you could start a raised garden.

Prepping the Soil

Preparing the soil is one of the key elements of a successful garden. Over time, topsoil often becomes deficient in required nutrients. As a result, it’s no longer fertile. It doesn’t take much to correct this problem. Put down three inches of organic compost, then till it into the existing soil.

One important note – when turning the compost into the soil, don’t overwork it. Doing that could compromise the structure of the soil and damage microorganisms. Instead, work the compost in until it’s partially blended.

Annuals Versus Perennials

Next, you must decide whether to plant annual or perennial plants. As the name implies, annuals only grow one year. After that, you’d need to replant. In comparison, perennials come up year after year. If properly cared for, they’ll continue to yield healthy fruits and vegetables.

Eliminate Weeds

If you don’t keep weeds out of your garden, you probably won’t enjoy much of a harvest. Make a practice of spending time weeding almost every day. For those close to the surface, you can pluck them out. Deeper weeds may require a little bit of shovel work.

Keep Insects at Bay

Insects are notorious for destroying gardens. Take the Tomato Hornworm as a prime example. While it only measures about two to three inches long, one worm can demolish an entire tomato plant in three days. You need to keep insects out of your garden. For this, turn to an organic insecticide.

Avoid Diseases

Yes, diseases cause plants to become sick and die. To ensure the fruit and vegetables don’t have anything bad, use an organic fungicide and herbicide. Also, you can try several homemade remedies that work incredibly well.

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Watering Your Garden

Remember, the amount of water depends on the type of plants. Some gardeners, especially those just starting, either overwater or underwater their gardens. The key is to keep the soil moist. In other words, you don’t want it to dry out, nor do you want it sopping wet.

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