Nearly every spring there are people that have the notion of planting a vegetable garden to have fresh produce through the summer and fall. In addition to the fresh taste that homegrown vegetables provide, they can also provide a savings to the family food budget as well as alleviate some of the concerns of what might be used to help the crops grow. Additionally, having their own vegetable garden allows people to grow the types and quantity of vegetables they will use with the only limits being the size of the space they have available.

Most products will require a sunny location in which to grow and even those without space in their yard for a large vegetable garden can grow their own in small patio gardens or in containers. The larger the space available for a vegetable garden obviously will result in a better harvest at the end of the season but will also require a larger investment in sweat equity.

In order to have a productive vegetable garden, planning of the types of crops needs to be conducted way ahead of time as well as soil preparation and knowing what plants can be started from seed in your basement and what plants you are better off buying as starter plants from a local greenhouse.

Choosing The Crops That Will Be Used

When putting in a vegetable garden only the crops that will be used should be planted. If a person is not that fond of tomatoes for instance, they probably should not bother with them unless they plan to give them away. Remember too, that some of the crops will grow without need for continual attention while others may require almost constant care to insure a bumper crop.

There is not secret that if you are going to plant and care for a vegetable garden you have to dig it, and soil preparation is probably the most time consuming and labor-intensive part of having your own vegetable garden in the backyard. Most plants grow will in loose soil or lightly compacted ground, but even soil that contains a lot of clay can produce a good crop if the soil is worked with things such as vermiculate or sand to provide a growing medium conducive to developing a good root structure.

Many of the items grown in a vegetable garden can be harvested and frozen or canned for use throughout the winter, but some do not lend themselves to be saved for long. Planting only what you will use of those plants will save you a lot of energy that can be used on the ones that you can pack away for the winter.