Growing Your Own Vegetables

(Just a sample of the produce taken from my garden last year.)

This is a project that I tackled this past week. I finally got my garden tilled! Ok, so my father-in-law did all the tilling but I got all my strawberry plants (37 of them) dug up and replanted! I also got all the sod from the new garden area raked up and moved out of the way. It was a huge project. Now, in the next couple weeks as the weather gets warmer I can tackle planting the rest of the garden.

One way to save money is to grow your own vegetables. I love having a garden. There is nothing more satisfying than eating something that came out of your own backyard. You can have just a few pots on your deck or a large area in your backyard.

Planning your garden is the most important first step. You will want to find a location for your garden preferably in full sunlight. A garden should have at least 6 full hours of sunlight each day to maintain growth. Make sure you have well fertilized soil with good drainage.

What you plant is entirely up to you. It might be a good idea to draw out your plans on paper if planting multiple types of vegetables. Make sure you follow the guidelines for planting depths and spacing so that you do not overcrowd your garden. You should add a tag or sign marking what each row is so that you know what should be coming up there.

Once your garden starts to grow make sure it is getting enough water. During dry periods you will need to water it. Your garden should get about an inch of water or more per week. Mulching between rows will help cut down on weeds and give you an easy path to walk on. Some idea are grass clippings, wood chips, or straw. Throughout the season be on the lookout for insect problems. If you find the problem early you should be able to save your crop. I always check with my local gardening store if I have any issues. Also, keep the weeds down. Weeds will rob your garden of water, light and space. To completely eliminate the weed you must get down to the root.

Once you harvest your plants, you can place the remains of the plant into a compost bin. You can use this next year to fertilize your garden. The following year make sure to rotate your crops to prevent the build up of diseases and preserve nutrients in the soil.

Having your own garden takes a bit of work and dedication. But the enjoyment of eating something freshly picked out of your own back yard makes it worth it!

To see what others have tackled this week visit Five Minutes for Mom and then head over to The Lazy Organizer to see what others are talking about today. Also visit Heavenly Homemaker for more Gratituesday.