Vegetable gardening has lately become just as popular, as going to the grocery store, for fresh produce.  Vegetable gardening can produce vegetables, that are usually cheaper than store bought and vegetables from a home vegetable garden, definitely taste better. Vegetable gardening, is no different, than growing herbs, or flowers and if the proper steps are taken and the plants are given the proper care, they will flourish and produce very tasty vegetables.

First, you must decide what size of garden, you wish to plant and then select a place for it. This should be somewhere, that has good drainage, good air flow and good, deep soils.  It also needs to be able, to get as much sunlight, as possible.  Because vegetable gardens have such tasty rewards, many animals, such as dogs, rabbits, deer and many others, will try and get to your veggies.  One way to prevent this, is to surround your garden with a fence, or put out a trap to catch mice, moles and other animals.

Before planting, the soil must be properly prepared.  Good soil for vegetable gardening, is achieved by cultivation and the application of organic materials.  The soil must be tilled (ploughed) to control weeds and then mix mulch into the soil.  If you have a small garden, spading could be a better bet, than ploughing.  Mulching is also a vital part, of soil preparation.  Organic matter added to the soil, releases nitrogen, minerals and other nutrients, which plants need, to thrive.  The most popular and best type of mulch you can use, is compost.  While the type and amount of fertilizer used, depends on the soil and types of plants, there are some plants that have specific needs. Leafy plants, like cabbage, spinach and lettuce, usually grow better with more nitrogen, while root crops like potatoes, beets, turnips and carrots, require more potash.  Tomatoes and beans, use less fertilizer, while plants like onions, celery and potatoes need a larger amount.

One thing that is vitally important in vegetable gardening, is the garden arrangement.  There is no single plan, that will work for every garden, due to varying conditions.  One popular way to arrange a vegetable garden, is to plant vegetables needing only limited space, together, such as radishes, lettuce, beets and spinach and those that require more room together, such as corn, pumpkins and potatoes.  Try to plant tall growing plants, towards the back of the garden and shorter ones, in the front, so that their sunlight does not get blocked.

When you are finally ready to begin planting your vegetable garden, make sure to plant at the right time of year.  If you are dying to get an early start, you may want to begin your garden inside, in a hotbed and then transplant, when the weather permits.  After you are finished planting, make sure your vegetables receive the appropriate amount of water, which depends on the type of plant.  Most plants will need the equivalent to about an inch of water, per week.

Weeds must be controlled in vegetable gardening, because they will take up water, light and nutrients that are meant for the vegetables and they often bring disease and insects to the garden. 

You can get rid of weeds by cultivation, or mulching.  To protect against disease and insects you can buy seeds, that are disease resistant, or use controlled chemicals.

Vegetable gardening, is many people’s favourite form of gardening, because you can actually taste the fruits of your labour.  Vegetable gardening, is not that expensive to start and the taste of home grown veggies, definitely beat that of supermarket vegetables.  Your vegetable gardening days, will be full of produce, if you take the proper precautions, when planting and continue maintenance of your garden.

For all you need to know about vegetable gardens get this book A Complete Guide To The Planting And Care Of Vegetables, Fruit, And Berries. You can get it here  http://dersales.jccpub.hop.clickbank.net/

Sally Robson is an up and coming, South African internet marketer, with a vision of empowering all fellow South Africans and non U.S folk, to have equal opportunity and success on the internet. She and her husband Derek, have started a string of sites, resources, courses and articles, as part of Dersalsites. She also has a passion for gardening.

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