Growing a vegetable garden will save you countless of dollars from buying produce at the grocery store.
The taste of fresh home-grown organic vegetables far surpasses the taste of the vegetables that have been manufactured with potentially harmful chemicals.
Additionally owning a vegetable garden can be a fun, educational and rewarding experience for the whole family, with techniques that can be passed on through generations.
It can be exciting to visualize a garden full of radishes, cabbage, onions, peas, cucumbers, artichokes, herbs and more.
Before you get started, there are many things that you need to know in planning, preparing and maintaining your vegetable garden - this whole process is a part of the fun.
You want to decide on where your garden will be located.
It's always good to have the garden close to the kitchen or somewhere near your house; preferably near a window so you can keep a lookout on you garden.
You want an area that is not shaded by trees or any type of structures, the area must have full access to sunlight.
Also make sure that your garden will be protected from any pets, strays or other kinds of wildlife.
Then you need to think about what type of vegetables you would like to harvest.
When you know what vegetables to grow, then you will know how much space is need for your garden.
If you plan on growing certain types of squash, corn, melons, sweet potato and other similar type vegetables, be aware that these take out a larger amount of space.
Some will have a longer harvest period than others, therefore requiring more time in your garden space, and this is where research into the type of vegetable you wish to grow is needed.
Once you have selected you location for your garden and have your list of vegetables that you want to grow, you are ready to start the process in planting and harvesting.
You will need a good soil that is well-drained and moist, preferably peat moss or compost.
Before you plant any seeds, make sure that you test the soil for drainage.
Depending on what you are planting, you will need to a select layout, implement row cropping and other types of plant spacing for your site.
For the actually planting, you will want to loosen the soil either with your hands or a tiller.
Afterwards smooth the soil with a rake, water and then allow the soil to sit for several days.
After the soil has completed its resting period then you can plant your seeds.
Some seeds require soaking before plantation, while others do not; a seed package will tell you if there is any prep needed for the seeds.
Now that your garden is planted, you will need to maintain it with care.
Always make sure that your garden stays moist by watering; for in ground crops water once or twice a week, for raise bed crops water daily.
Keep a lookout for weeds and keep a hoe handy to eliminate weed seedlings.
Having a good fertilizer for your vegetable garden is essentially and there are many kinds to choose from.
To keep your vegetables safe from pests and diseases, you will find that there are many natural defenses you can step up that do not require using any chemicals.