Vegetable gardening is nutritious in both body and mind. It’s exciting to watch a little seed turn into a sprout, then into a small plant, and eventually, into a big ole squash plant that’s bursting with bright yellow gourds and giant green leaves. Digging your hands into cool soil is meditative. Smelling the basil and dill is heavenly. And you don’t have to live on a country estate to grow your own food at home, either.
City dwellers can plant vegetables in patio container gardens. In cold climates, you can start a small garden indoors or even grow vegetables outdoors most of the year if you have a greenhouse.
When it comes to planning a backyard vegetable garden, ideas are easy to come by. There are plenty of pictures of elaborate gardens with rows of sun-ripened tomatoes, entire sections devoted solely to peas, raised beds for root vegetables, and, of course, a fountain and seating area. We don’t all have gigantic yards, though. As nice as it would be to have row after row of heirloom tomatoes and cucumbers, it’s just not realistic when your backyard garden is a two-foot by four-foot rectangle between your driveway and the foundation of your house.
The thing is, you can create a really nice garden in that small rectangle of space. It’s a simple matter of timing, design, and plant selection. But if you have a large backyard, even better!
In the articles below, we dive into everything you need to know about vegetable gardening. You can learn even more in our How to Grow a Vegetable Garden: 10 Things Every Gardener Needs to Know Before Starting a Food Garden freebie. Enjoy!
I remember being in third grade and my teacher separated two of the annoying boisterous kids (okay, one of them was me), and said: “You two just can’t be around each other!” We were constantly distracting others and getting into trouble. Well, not unlike a couple of disruptive 8-year olds, there are vegetables that should not be planted together.
Seed catalogs can sometimes be so beautiful that they look like collector’s pieces, and even though they do quite literally expire in use each year, it’s hard to throw them out. When I start getting my seed catalogs in the mail in January, I take to them like a good book and sit down with […]
Nice as it would be, we don’t all have big plots of land and healthy, rich soil to grow our gardens. Heck, some of us don’t have any land at all, so we stick to container gardens on the balcony or front porch. Even though that may seem limiting, there are a lot of shallow root vegetables that work in containers or those tough spots that don’t seem useful for growing anything.
Sometimes, gardening advice gets passed around like gossip. It could be gardening tips from your grandfather on your mother’s side or a neighbor’s anecdotal vegetable garden evidence. It’s easy to hear something a few times, begin to believe it, and then adopt it into your own gardening practice. Here are some gardening myths that I’ve heard passed around and how they are based on misinformation or outdated methods.
One sunny day in late summer, I went to visit a city-dwelling friend. We went for a walk, and I noted a few porches with a random tomato plant or two in pots and the occasional container garden of basil and thyme. And then.
We all know that vegetables need water to grow, but what happens when watering your garden gets complicated. You might live in a dry climate where droughts are common. Or maybe you use well water and need to be careful about using a sprinkler or irrigation system on a regular basis. Whatever your reason, choosing drought-resistant vegetables is a great strategy when planting a water-conscious garden.
I love a good garden joke. Why doesn’t Elton John like lettuce? He’s more of a Rocket Man. I was offered a job as a gardener, but I didn’t take it because the celery was too low. Oh, ho, ho. Knee-slappers I say. You know what else I love? Quotes about gardening, and these inspirational […]
I live in New England, and I love having four distinct seasons, even if winter is a bit longer than I’d like. If you’re reading this based on the title, you are likely in New England too (howdy neighbor!) so you know that New England also has a long history of farming, and you probably live on a plot that was once farmland. Bartlett Farm, one of the oldest farms in New England, is in Massachusetts and began growing vegetables in 1659 (or possibly 1639, depending on your source).
Vegetable gardening can bring a roller coaster of emotions. Watching your plants grow from seed or seedlings can be thrilling, especially when it comes time to harvest your crops. Not to mention the cost savings and peace of mind that comes from growing your own vegetables, herbs, and fruits. But vegetable gardening can be devastating, too. It’s heartbreaking to see your hard work and long hours go down the drain because of various garden diseases.
Let’s talk about health. No, I’m not your doctor, and no, I’m not about to make you feel guilty about the fact that you didn’t exercise yesterday. I, too, may or may not have exercised yesterday. As a food gardener, though, I am interested in what I eat and how it impacts my health. Since I can’t very well grow a chocolate bar in my garden, that topic is a bit more limited to vegetables that grow above ground and those that grow below ground.
