Category Archives: Vegetable Gardens

Vegetable Gardens

Advantages Of Planting Vegetable Gardens

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Is there a patch of land in your backyard that has been left useless all this time? If you’re still undecided to what to make out of it, maybe it’s high time you consider planting vegetables in it. Read on to learn some of the advantages of planting vegetable gardens.


Yummier veggie treats


Many people attest that vegetables grown in their own backyard tastes much better than those bought at grocery stores. They remark how much flavorful their harvests are, whether used as ingredients in a fresh veggie salad or cooked dishes. Be it because of the extra amount of love and care these home-grown vegetables got or the person taking pride in growing crops in his or her backyard, it doesn’t rally matter. What matters is what you serve on the table is fresh right off your vegetable garden and more scrumptious for every member of the family to enjoy. You are also assured that what you put on the table is fresh and free from harmful chemicals like preservatives.


Guaranteed no harmful chemicals


Chances are you might not fully know whether the vegetables you buy at the supermarket are free of pesticides. Some vendors claim that their vegetables are free from harmful chemicals. What about if the soil where those crops grew was exposed to pesticides before or they were planted next to crops sprayed with pesticides? Prolonged dietary exposure to pesticides is linked to various adverse reproductive and developmental effects, although there is little data to support this. Your children are at higher risk to the dangers of such chemicals on the vegetables they consume. Their bodies are not yet fully developed to properly metabolize or excrete such substances.


A great way to workout


If you got little or no time to go to the gym or health spa to workout, then let gardening provide your daily dose of exercise. Tending your vegetable garden for at least 30 minutes a day is a great way to burn those excess calories and lose weight. You are able to work several major muscle groups in the body, like the legs, arms, back, buttocks and many others. Gardening is also improves your flexibility each time you stretch to reach for weeds or bend to plant a seedling.


By the time your crops are ready for harvest, you will notice a change in your body, especially if you look after your garden on a regular basis. Picking the car key that fell on the floor or reaching for a book at the top of a tall shelf will be a lot easier for you to do. Unlike jogging, playing basketball and others, gardening has less impact on your joints. Gardening is best were vigorous exercises is not applicable, such as for people with high blood pressure, heart diseases, bone joint disorders and many others.


Help save the environment


If commercially grown vegetables receive little demand from consumers, then commercial farmers will find no reason to expand their plantations. So there’s no need to cut down rain forests and devastate habitats of wild animals. Also, if demand is lowered farmers will use less pesticide and other harmful chemicals that pollute our rivers and the rest of the environment. You might feel that you as a concerned citizen cannot contribute that much positive impact on the environment by planting vegetable gardens. But imagine the difference made if a lot of people started to plant their vegetables in their own backyard.

Vegetable Gardens

Creating And Maintaining A Vegetable Bed

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Your reason for creating a vegetable garden can be varied. It might be the extra spending on herbs you had to make during the year gone by, a need for home–grown tomatoes, or the absence of preferred vegetables at the grocer’s. Regardless of reasons you need to follow the same strategy to grow anything you desire in your kitchen garden.

The first thing you need to do is prepare a plan otherwise you may just be digging up a lot of ground uselessly and end up growing much more that you can really look after or actually be preparing extra ground for weeds to thrive. The location for your vegetable garden site is also very important. A good spot that remains in full sunlight near the house is usually the best and most convenient location. However, you need to consider other factors like shade from buildings or trees, soil quality, drainage, etc before you make a final decision. If these factors were not favorable it would mean that you might have to ignore convenience and select some other spot farther from the house. A vegetable garden needs at least six hours of sunlight everyday for food crops to mature properly and provide good produce. Fertilizer, water and caring are equally important but in no case can substitute the need for adequate amount of sunlight.

Air movement is also very important, however, windy areas need to be avoided, as excessive winds tend to dry out plants and also cause plant breakage. It is best if you can find a suitable place for your garden near a water source, which will prevent using long hose lengths for watering. The garden area should also not be very far from the house. This will let you monitor the health of your plants conveniently, check pest problems and provide other plant care as needed.

The types of vegetables you would like to plant would largely depend on the likes and dislikes of your family. If there is a particular type of vegetable preferred by your family, you will love to grow larger quantities of it. In such a case it is advisable to start an indoor garden with plants grown from seeds. There are plants that resent transplanting. These need to be sown directly at the place they are expected to grow.

As your garden grows you need to keep constant vigil over your plants to ensure proper maintenance at all times. Watering is a prime issue especially during dry periods when some extra watering may be required. In such situations mostly an inch or more of water every week is beneficial for the plants especially during fruiting.

Protection from weeds is also necessary. Mulching between the rows provides effective weed control. It is also good for conserving moisture and provides a pathway for access to the plants as well. You can use straw, grass clippings, wood chips or garden debris as mulch. Be watchful against insects, pests and take timely action as the plants grow. After a plant has fruited avoid using pesticide unless absolutely necessary.